Our Verdict

Changelly is a global cryptocurrency exchange that aggregates various payment gateways. It operates in over 200 countries and offers 500+ cryptocurrencies. It features two modes: Basic and Pro, each with different assets, security measures, and even fund storage.

Changelly Basic has a light, user-friendly interface for non-custodial crypto switching, ideal for beginners. Its numerous fiat payment gateways simplify the process for new users.

The Pro Version caters to professional traders with sophisticated strategies. It functions as a classic centralized exchange with full custody of assets.

This hybrid platform combines centralized and decentralized solutions, appealing to both casual and advanced traders.

With a wide variety of trading pairs and the simplicity of transactions, Changelly is a good choice for casual traders. Its extensive range of fiat payment methods makes it an ideal solution for crypto novices. Besides, its non-custodial approach can appeal to investors who prefer to avoid centralized exchanges and make all transactions across their own wallets.

Changelly Pros and Cons

Is Changelly Right for You?

Not all traders are the same. Some seek easy apps for trading on the go, while others look for advanced features like leverage or social trading. When reviewing exchanges, we cater to all types of traders, from beginners to advanced. We divided all traders into seven main target groups.

Our thorough yet straightforward method ensures a clear understanding of trading strategies and their requirements. By assessing, ranking, and recording key factors, we determine how well the exchange meets the needs of each target group. We use three types of rankings: perfect match, good choice, and not recommended. Here’s our verdict:

Casual Traders: Acceptable choice

Changelly Basic is an acceptable choice for casual traders like me. It works well for those who want to quickly exchange assets without having to register on centralized exchanges and who aren’t concerned about the exchange rate. Unlike its rivals, both the Pro and Basic versions of the platform do not require KYC, making the onboarding smoother. Despite lacking standard security measures, its non-custodial approach contributes to its high security. During my tests, I quickly switched between two cryptocurrencies on different blockchains using non-custodial wallets.

Day Traders: Acceptable choice

Changelly Pro is an acceptable choice for day traders who rely on candlestick graphs and various analytical tools. Integration with TradingView allows for market analysis within the app. However, the platform has a relatively small selection of trading pairs and low liquidity for about half of them. During my tests, I navigated the platform quickly thanks to its standard trading layout. The fees were average, while the level of security was relatively high, as the Pro version offers measures such as 2FA and a physical security key.

Hodlers & Position Traders: Not recommended

We don’t recommend using Changelly for hodling. Although the platform supports a huge variety of assets, it doesn’t provide any tools for passive income like lending or staking. Hidden fees and poor exchange rates make it unsuitable for position traders. However, its friendly and efficient customer service may still attract novices needing help purchasing crypto. Also, the fact that the platform has never been hacked speaks in favor of its security.

Leverage & Derivatives Trading: Perfect Match

Changelly is a perfect match for those interested in leverage and derivatives trading. Although its selection of available contracts is smaller compared to larger CEXes like Binance or OKX, it offers high leverage. The app’s Pro version provides futures with leverage between 50x and 100x, and margin trading leverage ranges from 3x to 25x depending on the asset. This makes Changelly Pro suitable for investors looking to diversify their portfolios with riskier assets.

Auto, Social & Copy Trading: Not Recommended

Changelly is not recommended for auto, social, or copy trading, as the platform doesn’t offer advanced functionality for these types of trading.

Algorithmic Traders: Not recommended

Changelly is not recommended for algorithmic trading since the platform doesn’t offer any bots or other tools for automating trading strategies.

DCA Investors: Not recommended

Changelly is not recommended for a Dollar-Cost-Averaging (DCA) strategy as it lacks the functionality for automating this process.

Supported Countries and Regions

As Changelly aggregates various fiat payment gateways such as Simplex and MoonPay, it can serve users from 200+ countries, including the US. This approach helps Changelly outperform competitors who face local regulatory limitations with their payment solutions.

The method is not ideal, though. Partners of the platform have their own geographical restrictions and may reject customers due to citizenship or debts, potentially leading to worse exchange rates. Each payment method has its own set of restricted regions. For example, Switchere doesn’t operate in Botswana and Panama, while Simplex and other payment providers support these regions.

The full list of limitations is available in the section “Where are your services available?” on a corresponding FAQ page. For the most relevant information, I recommend checking the respective pages on the websites of Changelly’s partners.

Changelly Bonuses and Special Offers

Changelly does not offer any welcome bonuses or sign-up rewards for new users.

The only way to earn additional income beyond trading is through its perpetual referral program. This program allows users to earn up to 50% RevShare on crypto transactions made by their referred friends. The platform provides widgets like buttons and referral links.

Additionally, Changelly offers CPI, CPA, and hybrid earning programs for marketers, webmasters, and advertising specialists. The rates for these programs are negotiated individually with each affiliate. To participate, users must create a dedicated account and provide links to their traffic sources.

During my testing, I attempted to join this program, but unfortunately, my application was declined.

Changelly Background

Establishment: Changelly was founded in 2015, with its headquarters in Kingstown, St. Vincent, and the Grenadines. Like other Caribbean islands, this one is known for registering startups with questionable reputations. This may be a concern for those who plan to exchange large sums of crypto on the platform.

Leadership: External sources claim that Changelly was founded by Konstantin Gladych, who is currently the CEO of Atomic Wallet. However, the official website neither confirms this nor provides information about the CEO or other key members of the platform.

Security & Transparency

However, the platform lacks many industry-standard security measures, such as Proof of Reserves and insurance for customers’ assets. It also does not have mandatory KYC. Nevertheless, in my opinion, its non-custodial nature and unblemished security record make it a relatively safe option for trading.

Verified Trusted Scores

Changelly has a low ranking when it comes to security, likely due to the absence of industry-standard security measures.

Cyber Security Measures: Changelly doesn’t offer deposit insurance or Proof of Reserves. For users’ protection, only 2FA is available in the desktop version, while the mobile app lacks even that.

General Reliability: There is no active bug bounty program, and there has never been one in the past.

Know You Customer (KYC)

The basic version of Changelly doesn’t require customers to pass KYC. According to its FAQ section, KYC is only occasionally requested if the platform’s risk-scoring algorithms detect suspicious activities. Transfer limits are imposed by the payment gateways aggregated within Changelly’s service, not by Changelly itself.

Changelly Pro has three levels of verification, each offering different features. Users can refer to the platform’s detailed table for specifics on the features and requirements for each verification level.

Is Changelly Safe to Trade With?

Changelly doesn’t have a license from any of the major financial bodies, like the FCA, which is certainly a drawback. However, it doesn’t need one since it doesn’t hold any customer funds. The licensing responsibility falls on the fiat gateways within its interface.

The platform’s non-custodial nature makes security measures, such as Proof of Reserves, irrelevant. In my opinion, the platform is more secure than other reputable centralized exchanges like KuCoin or OKX. Its clean history with no security breaches supports this view.

Despite this, third-party platforms rate Changelly low due to its opaque corporate structure and limited cybersecurity measures.

Trading Experience

Such an approach makes the exchange process quite secure as it eliminates the counterparty risks inherent to centralized platforms. However, it also increases the complexity as users have to deal with personal crypto wallets and take care of the security of their funds themselves.

The Pro version, available only on desktop, represents a classic CEX offering exchange convenience and full control over wallets and private keys. It features a more complex interface and a standard set of trading tools for professionals, similar to Binance and KuCoin.

During my tests, I primarily worked with the Basic version since this is the primary product that the Changelly team focuses on. The platform performed well, with transactions going smoothly, though not instantly. Changelly doesn’t have a central hub and allows users to exchange crypto in a non-custodial manner. Due to the limitations of the underlying blockchains, it extends the time needed for transaction confirmation.

Trading Test

For our trading test, we thoroughly evaluated both Changelly Basic and Changelly Pro. Our process included signing up, completing the KYC (Know Your Customer) verification, logging in, depositing funds, and making withdrawals. We also tested the trading functionalities by exploring different trading pairs and conversions and assessed the associated fees for transfers and withdrawals. This comprehensive test allows us to provide an informed and reliable review of the exchange’s usability, features, and actual costs. Here’s our verdict:

Step 1: Setting Up and Funding Your Account

Creating a new account on Changelly is easy. You can sign up with your email address or conveniently integrate with Google, which I opted for during my tests. Plus, the platform didn’t require any KYC, making the process even simpler.

 

Since Changelly is a non-custodial platform, it doesn’t provide a central hub for depositing assets. Instead, it integrates a plethora of fiat payment gateways for purchasing crypto, with the assets remaining in your own wallet.

It surely simplifies the process, but the exchange rate is not the best. During my tests, I tried purchasing USDT with a bank card. Of all the payment solutions aggregated by the platform, Simplex offered the best rate, 92.7 USDT for depositing $100. Compared to centralized exchanges like Binance and KuCoin, the fee for fiat-to-crypto conversion is quite high.

Out of curiosity, I tested larger sums. The rates improved slightly, but not significantly: 933 USDT for $1,000 and 9,360 USDT for $10,000.

In the next step of the purchase, the service redirected me to the Simplex checkout page, where I was required to provide my card details. Since I selected the Ethereum network, it took a couple of minutes for the funds to arrive in my wallet. The amount I received was exactly what the service declared, with no additional fees or charges.

Step 2: Trading

Having gained some ether in my Metamask, I tried to exchange it for LTC. Once again, the rate was not the best. Changelly offered 1.41 LTC for 100 USDT, while the average rate at CoinMarketCap was 1.47 at that moment. Another unpleasant surprise awaited me at the next step when I was prompted to provide my wallet address. When trying to exchange less than $96 worth of crypto, the service automatically specifies the floating rate that may change due to market conditions.

To finalize the transaction, the service provided me with its own address to send funds from my personal wallet. This seemed suspicious, as it implies a centralized hub for exchanging funds, while the service doesn’t provide any information about it anywhere.

Nevertheless, I decided to take a risk. I copied the provided address and sent funds from my Metamask. Once I did that, the page reloaded and displayed the status of the exchange process.

When the final stage of the transaction, “Sending funds to your wallet,” was complete, LTC showed up in my TrustWallet. The whole transaction took about 20 minutes.

In addition to the bad exchange rate, there was also a network fee. So the final sum was even lower than declared on the website.

Step 3: Withdrawal and Review

Since Changelly doesn’t have a central hub for storing crypto, users can exchange funds directly between their own wallets. After performing a test transaction, I didn’t need to withdraw any funds, as they arrived directly in my personal wallet.

From my perspective, this approach is convenient, removing the hassle of deposits and withdrawals typical of large centralized exchanges. It also ensures the security of my funds, as they are not exposed to counterparty risks.

Desktop Version: Basic

In this section, I tested the desktop version of Changelly. This solution is ideal for beginners thanks to its user-friendly interface and simplified approach to crypto. As I was performing my tests in the Chrome browser, I enjoyed the smooth experience that the platform provided.

Experienced traders seeking advanced tools won’t find them here. Changelly focuses on simplicity, removing extra tools and features to make crypto accessible to everyone.

Changelly enables users to perform four key activities:

• Exchange cryptocurrencies through an OTC (Over-the-counter) desk
• Buy and sell crypto for cash
• Perform DeFi swaps within the most popular networks like Ethereum or Polygon.

Exchange crypto: Changelly supports over 500 crypto assets for direct exchanges, simplifying the process for exotic assets. No KYC is required, but exchange rates are often worse than traditional CEXes.

Buy crypto: As Changelly aggregates many different payment gateways like Banxa, Simplex, and MoonPay, it removes geographical limitations and enables users from practically any part of the world to buy crypto for fiat. Thus, it offers more than 80 different fiat currencies to choose from.

Sell crypto: Partnered with Mercuryo, allows withdrawing crypto to bank cards. During my tests, I was able to withdraw crypto directly to my bank card in a few steps that involved passing a simple KYC procedure. This method has a few downsides, including lower exchange rates, opaque fees, and limited withdrawal methods.

DeFi Swaps: In addition to cross-chain transactions, Changelly offers a DeFi swap that operates with tokens residing on the same blockchain only. It aggregates DEXes to find the best peer-to-peer rates.

Third-Party Sign-in: Creating an account using Google or email is easy and convenient. During my tests, I selected email and had no issues logging into the service afterward.

Search Functionality: Whether you exchange crypto through an OTC or make a DeFi swap, a user-friendly search to find assets by name or ticker simplifies the exchange process.

Wallet Protection Measures: Prevents sending coins to a non-existent wallet address by warning users of typos.

Saved addresses: Changelly doesn’t offer an explicit option to save trusted addresses for future transactions. However, I was able to select a recently used address upon purchase, even though I hadn’t conducted any actual transactions at that time.

Recently used addresses can be selected for transactions within the same blockchain (e.g., Ethereum). There is no explicit option to save, edit, or remove trusted addresses.

Tools for active traders: Since Changelly Basic focuses on the simplicity of the exchange process, it doesn’t offer any specific tools like technical indicators or charting.

Desktop Version: Pro

In contrast to the basic version, Changelly Pro is a classic centralized exchange with full custody over users’ assets. The platform caters to advanced traders with broader tools and features, and it is available in desktop mode only.

It follows industry best practices and provides users with a standard trading layout that includes a candlestick graph, order book, and the latest trades.

To make use of Changelly Pro, a separate account must be created. The signup process doesn’t support any third-party integrations, it is only possible to register on the platform by providing your email and password.

Charts: Integrated with TradingView, it offers a plethora of analytical tools. Also features a basic candlestick graph with no additional trading analysis features.

Navigation ease: Navigating Changelly Pro was straightforward due to its standard layout. To perform a trade, I simply searched for the pair using Coin Search, specified the order type, and filled in the price and sum. The exchange was smooth and quick.

Deposits: Offers two deposit methods: send assets from an external wallet to the specified address, or buy crypto with a bank card via Banxa. Deposit limits differ from the basic version.

Tradeable assets: Changelly Pro supports fewer assets and trading pairs compared to the basic version. It offers less than 50 cryptocurrencies, tradable against BTC, USDT, ETH, DAI, and USDT. What’s more, about half of these assets have little to no liquidity.

The Order book: The standard order book shows buy and sell orders with prices and sums. The layout has the sell orders on the right of the buy orders.

Coin Search: The coin search functionality allowed me to quickly find the assets I was interested in. I could also add coins to the list of my favorites for faster access by simply pressing on the star icons.

My Key Takeaways After Testing Changelly

The basic version of Changelly is ideal for novices and casual traders like myself. It simplifies the process of buying and exchanging crypto by removing unnecessary hassle.

As an OTC desk and an aggregator of DeFi platforms, Changelly is comparable to services like Shapeshift, OTC desks offered by Binance, and other centralized exchanges. However, unlike these solutions, Changelly doesn’t require KYC.

Changelly Pro is a better fit for experienced traders seeking strong analytical tools to enhance their strategies. While the platform implements a standard trading interface, the relatively small selection of coins and low liquidity for half of them are significant drawbacks.

Mobile App

Changelly’s app, the mobile version of the basic desktop mode, is available for iOS and Android, with an APK download link provided on the website. The mobile app offers mostly the same set of tools and features, with a few additional options not available on the desktop.

During my tests, I didn’t find standard security measures like biometric authentication or an anti-phishing code. However, Recent Addresses and Saved Addresses are available for protecting funds.

My Key Takeaways After Testing Changelly on Changelly Mobile

The mobile version is just as clean and user-friendly as the desktop app. While the functionality is basically the same, I’ve discovered a few additional options — enhanced market discovery features came as a nice surprise to me.

Compared with the mobile applications of other fully centralized exchanges like OKX or KuCoin, Changelly is much simplier and intuitive. Overall, the mobile app is good for crypto novices.

Fees

Changelly Basic Fees

The fee structure on Changelly Basic is not transparent and depends on different factors. Fiat-to-crypto transactions are determined by fiat partners, but Changelly itself does not charge any fees.

For crypto-to-crypto transactions, fees depend on the exchange method: a fixed rate involves dynamic fees to protect users from market volatility. A floating rate includes a fixed service fee of 0.25%, plus network fees. Selling crypto for fiat ensures a minimal fee of 3.95%, but the final fee depends on the selected fiat currency, the country of residence, volatility, etc.

Changelly incorporates fees into the final sum displayed to users, making it hard to estimate charges. Additionally, the platform doesn’t offer any fee discounts.

Spot Maker/Taker Fees

In our review of spot fees, we examine spot fees across three distinct tiers, focusing on the fees for different trading volumes. We focus on the essentials and potential savings through native tokens and various discount schemes. Our unique methodology provides a clear view of fee structures and how they benefit traders of all levels.

The first tier typically represents casual traders, as they don’t usually trade more than $10,000 per month, while the higher tiers often relate to more advanced traders. Using this method, we’re categorizing users not only by their trading style but also by the amount of money they spend on the exchange.

Additionally, we also compare these fees with industry standards to give a thorough perspective on each exchange’s affordability.

Deposit fees

As an aggregator of fiat payment gateways, Changelly doesn’t charge any additional service fees on fiat deposits. However, the fees charged by its partners may be substantial.

Withdrawal fees

Neither Basic, nor Pro version supports traditional fiat withdrawal methods like Wire Transfer or ACH. The Basic version enables fiat withdrawals to a bank card through its partner Mercuryo. As for crypto withdrawals, the Basic mode doesn’t charge anything extra, while the fees in the Pro mode vary depending on the selected currency.

Leverage And Futures Trading Fee Rate

On Changelly Pro, futures trading fees are fixed across all tiers at 0.02% for Maker fees and 0.05% for Takers. In addition, the platform charges liquidation fees of 0.5% both for Margin Trading and Futures Trading.

Note: Please remember that fees and available methods may vary by country.

Are Changelly Fees Competitive?

While testing the Basic version of Changelly, I found it charges medium fees for exchanging assets, that align with the industry average. The lack of additional charges for fiat deposits is a nice bonus. Yet, network fees and the fees charged by its partners significantly reduce the initial deposit, leading to a poor exchange rate. The platform’s fee structure is also opaque, as it doesn’t clearly show all fees for each transaction.

Changelly Pro offers greater transparency and competitive fees, aligning with the industry average. Fees may vary, so it’s advisable to check Changelly’s official website for the latest information.

Cryptocurrencies Available on Changelly

The liquidity at Changelly Basic, in turn, is outstanding despite the high diversity of assets and pairs. During my tests, I tried selecting rare assets for the exchange but never faced an error, which was quite impressive.

On Changelly, users can trade popular assets such as LTC, ETH, and XRP, as well as niche and rare coins like Smooth Love Potion (SLP) and Basic Attention Token (BAT). New crypto projects can also list their assets, though. There is no public information about the requirements for listing a crypto asset. Applicants are asked to submit a contact form to receive a presentation detailing the crypto listing process.

Deposits & Withdrawals

Changelly partners with Mercuryo to help its users sell crypto for fiat. The service works worldwide, including the US (except for New York and Hawaii), though there are many restricted regions.

Changelly Deposit Options

Changelly Basic relies on its partners to conduct fiat-to-crypto transactions. The list of available payment options is presented in the table above. However, I’d recommend checking the up-to-date information on the website of each payment provider separately.

Changelly doesn’t impose any minimum or maximum purchase amounts, but some transactions require a minimum amount to cover fees. For example, the minimum deposit in USD for buying BTC is $30.

I had a positive experience buying ethers for fiat on Changelly. I selected Banxa as it offered the best rate and made a purchase via a bank card. The assets arrived at my Metamask in about 5 minutes.

Changelly Withdrawal Methods

Changelly Basic conducts crypto-to-fiat transactions through its partner Mercuryo. It supports around 40 cryptocurrencies for sale. The list includes:

• Bitcoin (BTC)
• Bitcoin Cash (BCH)
• Ethereum (ETH)
• Basic Attention Token (BAT)
• Tether (USDT)

The fiat currencies available in exchange for crypto include EUR, RUB, USD, GBP, TRY, UAH, and JPY. It’s recommended to check Mercuryo’s website for up-to-date information. The minimum amount one may sell equals €25 (or equivalent in other currencies) for most crypto.

Changelly Pro, in turn, only allows crypto-to-crypto withdrawals. The fee size on this version depends on the selected currency.

Changelly Daily Withdrawal Limits

Changelly Basic doesn’t impose any withdrawal limits. Its partner Mercuryo that conducts crypto-to-fiat transactions has its own limitations that are applicable to verified users only.

Customer Service

During my two-week testing, I contacted support using both methods. Responses took just a few minutes in both cases, which is quite fast for the cryptocurrency industry. The support agent in the Live Chat was not very helpful, but the one who responded to my ticket via email provided the answers I needed. Compared to other centralized exchanges like KuCoin, the quality of support is much better.

Changelly Customer Support Test

The customer support at Changelly responds quickly. In the Live Chat, it took about 3 minutes to connect with a live agent, who was knowledgeable and provided relevant links to the Knowledge Base.

The Live Chat support was fast and helpful. However, English was the primary language option, with Russian also available. I guess there must be more since the website seems to automatically adjust the list in accordance with users’ geographical location.

Testing the ticketing system, I received a response in about 15 minutes. The email answer was informative and thorough, although only two languages were offered as language options. Changelly seems to limit visible language options to avoid overwhelming users with choices.

FAQ

Is Changelly legit?

Changelly is a reliable and secure cryptocurrency exchange that has never been hacked. Users store their assets in a non-custodial format, which eliminates the counterparty risk.

Can US Citizens Use Changelly?

Yes, Changelly operates in the US. The platform aggregates various payment processors under its hood and doesn’t have custody over customers’ assets which helps it serve practically any country.

Has Changelly ever been hacked?

No, the platform has a clean record, with no successful hacking attempts since its launch. The non-custodial approach contributes to its security.

Does Changelly require KYC?

No, it doesn’t. It may occasionally request that some of its users pass the verification procedure in case suspicious activities are detected.

Can I use leverage or margin trading on Changelly?

No, Changelly doesn’t support any sophisticated trading tools. It focuses on the simplicity of exchange processes and helps non-technical people get exposed to cryptocurrencies.

Is my money safe on Changelly?

Changelly is a noon-custodial exchange. This means that it doesn’t have access to customers’ funds as they remain safely in their personal wallets.

Is Changelly regulated?

No, Changelly is not regulated by any financial authority. Since the exchange is non-custodial, it can freely operate in practically any region without external regulation.

Does Changelly offer any bonuses, welcome offers, or referral rewards to its users?

Changelly has a referral program that helps users earn up to a 50% revenue share on crypto transactions made by their friends. It also offers a hybrid earning program for marketers, webmasters, and other advertising specialists.