BitBay is a polish based cryptocurrency exchange that was founded by Sylwester Suszek in 2014. The head office of BitBay is located at ul. Kępowa 45 40-583 Katowice, Poland. The exchange also maintains branch offices in Amsterdam and New Delhi. BitBay was set up with the primary goal to offer Polish cryptocurrency traders a safe and secure platform for them to trade in popular cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin. In addition to cryptocurrency trading services, BitBay also offers its customers the ability to pay their bills with Bitcoin via SMS.

Contents

• Deposit and Withdrawal Options
• Supported Countries
• Fees and Charges
• Privacy and Security
• Customer Support
• Pros and Cons
• FAQ
• Conclusion

Today, the exchange boasts of more than 400 thousands active users conducting more than 1200 transactions per minute. Today, its annual Bitcoin turnover exceeded half a million Bitcoin. It is also worth noting that it is one of the few cryptocurrency exchanges around the world that offers cryptocurrency trading with the Polish Zloty (PLN).

Deposit and Withdrawal Options

For the benefit and convenience of its customers, BitBay has provided them with several methods for depositing and withdrawing funds. You can deposit or withdraw in cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, lisk, Monero, Bitcoin Cash, dash and even game tokens. Alternatively, you can also fund or withdraw in fiat currencies such as euros, U.S dollar, and Polish Zloty. The methods that can be used to transfer these funds can be through cryptocurrency wallets, bank wire transfer, credit/debit cards, through the Polish post office, Express DotPay or the Zabka store chain. Withdrawals can also be done through a BitPay debit at any ATM machine that accepts MasterCard.

The fees for making a deposit are as follows:

• Bank wire – Free
• Cryptocurrencies = Free
• Express DotPay – 2%
• Polish Post Office – 2%
• Express Żabka Market – 2%

For withdrawals, the applicable fees are as follows:

• Bitcoin – 0.00045 BTC
• Bitcoin Cash – 0.0006 BCC
• Bitcoin Gold – 0.0008 BTG
• Ethereum – 0.00126 ETH
• Litecoin- 0.005 LTC
• Lisk – 0.2 LSK
• Dash – 0.001 DASH
• Game – 0.005 GAME
• Bank wire transfer (PLN) – 4 PLN
• Express transfer (PLN) – 10 PLN
• ATM withdrawal via SMS – 20 PLN

Supported Countries 

At present apart from Poland, BitBay maintains a physical presence in the Netherlands and India. However as BitBay is unregulated, there is no restriction on who can hold an account at BitBay. This means that even U.S residents are accepted by BitBay.

However, for account holders from India to be able to trade on the BitBay platform, they are required to fulfill the “Know Your Customer” requirement first.

The trading platform which BitBay has provided to those who wish to trade in cryptocurrencies is a proprietary web-based platform. It is designed to be simple and easy to use. It has the basic “Buy” and “Sell” feature and lacks any kind of analytical tools. The price chart is provided by TradingView. BitBay also provides you with the option to trade cryptocurrencies on your smartphones. However, the exchange does not have a dedicated mobile app of its own. Instead, its platform is integrated with a third party mobile trading app called “TabTrader”, a trading terminal for all the major exchanges. At present, BitBay account holders can trade in the following cryptocurrencies:

• BITCOIN
• ETHEREUM
• LISK
• LITECOIN
• GAME
• DASH
• BITCOIN CASH
• BITCOIN GOLD

Fees and Charges

BitBay offers two types of accounts, individual account and corporate account. The individual account is provided free of charge and can be unverified if you are trading solely with cryptocurrencies. With the BitBay account, you will be able to do the following:

• Exchange cryptocurrencies and fiat currencies
• Access the trading platform
• Make online and offline payments
• Apply for a BitBay Debit card
• Make international transfers

For those who wish to trade cryptocurrencies with their business funds, they may do so through a corporate account. The corporate account comes with the same kind of benefits as an individual account except that the commission charges are invoiced directly to the enterprise on the 10^th of every month.
The Maker and Taker fees at BitBay depend on the volume that is being traded. The following table below shows the applicable fees for the respective trading volume:

Privacy and Security

BitPay takes the issue of security very seriously. All the transactions on the website are processed via secured HTTPS connections. In addition, all transfers have to be authorized by BitBay’s employees. Other security measures adopted by BitBay include hidden password, 2 factor authentication and cold storage wallets. In short, the security at BitBay is ironclad.

Customer Support

BitBay’s website is available in English and Polish. To ensure that its clients can access the support service at any time when they need it, BitBay has made its telephone support available 7 days a week from 8 am to 8 pm. Alternatively, for the more frequently asked questions, you can access the Helpdesk to check out their comprehensive FAQ section.

Pros and Cons

Pros

• Support ATM withdrawals
• Tight Security
• Easy to use platform
• Good customer support
• Support Euros, U.S dollars, and Polish Zloty

Cons

• Some service limited to Polish residents
• Limited range of cryptocurrencies

FAQ

• How do I register with Bitbay?

On BitBay’s website, click “Log In” first then “Register”. Next, provide your email address. It is also to automatically register by logging with your Google account. Next, you need to “activate your account” through the activation link sent by BitBay to your email address. Once, activated, you will be required to complete the registration form.

• How safe is a BitBay account?

For security, BitBay uses HTTPS security protocols for all transactions on its website. All data are also encrypted to prevent unauthorized access. BitBay also offers two-factor authentication and cold storage wallets as an added layer of security.

• Is it necessary to verify my BitBay account?

No, it is not necessary to verify your BitBay account if you are just trading with cryptocurrencies. However, verification is required if you will transact with fiat currencies.

• I am 18 years old. Can I open an account with BitBay?

No, You need to be at least 18 years of age before you can open an account at BitBay.

• How to start trading immediately?

Once you have opened and funded your account, go to the “Exchange” tab and select ‘Quick Transaction”. The platform will automatically select the best deal for you.

Conclusion

Overall, we find Bitbay to be a reliable cryptocurrency exchange. The main advantage of BitBay is the fact that they support 3 different types of fiat currencies. In addition, BitBay has also simplified the withdrawal process through the issue of its own branded debit card.