Crypto.com Review 2024

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Crypto.com is a multi-service cryptocurrency firm, offering exchange capabilities to buy, sell, earn, and spend digital coins. The brand also provides simple-to-use trading facilities for over 250 cryptocurrencies. This UK review will give our opinion on the Crypto.com exchange, mobile app, fiat withdrawal fees, security features, and more. Our experts also explain how to buy, sell and cash out crypto positions on the exchange.

Our Take

• Crypto.com offers market-leading crypto products including physical pre-paid VISA cards, rewards and NFT hosting facilities
• The brand’s strong reputation, regulatory registration and insurance coverage outshines competitors and boost its trust score
• Its fees are comparably high in the market and generally favour high-volume traders, whilst withdrawal fees are particularly punishing
• The lack of leverage/multiplier trading and fiat-friendly payment methods may be limiting for some traders

Markets

The Crypto.com token list is decent, with 250+ cryptocurrencies available to buy and sell. This is similar vs Kraken and Coinbase but smaller vs KuCoin with 700+. Nonetheless, Crypto.com regularly adds new coin listings.

Some of the most popular coins include Bitcoin (BTC), Ripple (XRP), Ethereum (ETH), Tether (USDT), Litecoin (LTC), and Dogecoin (DOGE). The brand also offers a native token, Crypto.com Coin (CRO).

You can trade these coins with a fiat currency including USD, however, GBP fiat-to-crypto pairs are not offered.

Fees

Trading Fees

Crypto.com is transparent when it comes to its trading fees, with no hidden charges. We thought the exchange fees were reasonable, but those trading in higher volumes will be rewarded with reduced costs.

We did also find that paying charges using CRO will provide further cost savings so long as you have a lockup value. This includes a 3% fee reduction with less than a 1000 CRO lockup.

Spot trading fees by volume:

• Level One (30-day spot trade volume less than $250,000) – 0.750% maker fees and 0.750% taker fees
• Level Two (30-day spot trade volume between $250,000 and $1,000,000) – 0.700% maker fees and 0.720% taker fees
• Level Three (30-day spot trade volume between $1,000,000 and $5,000,000) – 0.650% maker fees and 0.690% taker fees
• Level Four (30-day spot trade volume between $5,000,000 and $10,000,000) – 0.600% maker fees and 0.650% taker fees
• Level Five (30-day spot trade volume over $10,000,000) – No maker fees and 0.500% taker fees

We particularly rated the Crypto.com tax tool, which provides tax calculations for customers based on trading history. Simply link your exchange and wallet address and the tool will compute the financial details for you.

Card Fees

Our experts reviewed the Crypto.com prepaid card fees and ranked these as pretty uncompetitive. There are charges not only to top up a card (1%) but non-GBP payments and ATM withdrawals will incur a 0.2% foreign transaction fee (within the UK) or a 2% fee (outside the UK).

We were also disappointed to see that there is a £5 monthly inactivity charge after 12 months of not using your card and a £50 fee to close your account.

Withdrawal Fees

Fund removals are really where the brand can catch you out. Crypto.com has withdrawal fees and a minimum withdrawal limit that apply to every digital token. This includes a 0.001 BTC minimum withdrawal for Bitcoin and a 0.0005 BTC fee.

It is a shame that some of the less frequently traded tokens didn’t offer free withdrawals. XLM and XRP, for example, have a 0.1 and 0.25 withdrawal fee, respectively.

How To Open A Crypto.com Account

We opened a Crypto.com account for the desktop exchange. The process was straightforward and took just a few minutes.

1. Add your email address and create a password. Select ‘Sign Up’
2. Input the one-time password sent to your email address and select ‘Verify’
3. Add your name, date of birth, and nationality from the dropdown menu. Select ‘Continue’ to proceed
4. Add your phone number on the following screen and select ‘Submit’
5. You will be sent an SMS verification code to enter. Add this on the screen and select ’Submit’
6. You will be redirected to the exchange dashboard

It is worth noting that you must upload an identity document and photo to have access to all Crypto.com services.

 

Funding Methods

Fiat deposits to the Crypto.com exchange are not currently accepted. This means you will need to fund your account with digital currency tokens such as Bitcoin or Ethereum rather than a GBP PayPal transaction or bank wire transfer.

The good news is that there are no deposit fees or limits for funding your account with cryptocurrency. Processing times will vary by the token due to differing blockchain confirmation requirements.

How To Make A Deposit

1. Login to the Crypto.com exchange and select ‘Wallet’ from the homepage
2. Click on the token you want to fund your account with and choose ’Deposit’
3. Use the Crypto.com mobile app to scan the QR code displayed on the screen
4. Review the fees and expected processing time on screen. Double check the address details are correct and select ’Submit’
5. A deposit email confirmation will be provided once the number of confirmations is achieved

We were disappointed to see that withdrawal fees apply for both external wallet addresses and transfers to your Crypto.com app wallet. These vary by cryptocurrency, which we outline with some examples in the ’Fees’ section above. Withdrawals to an external address can take up to three hours to process, which is reasonable.

Similar to deposits, Crypto.com does not offer fiat withdrawals meaning you cannot withdraw GBP to your registered bank account in the UK.

Crypto.com Exchange App

The Crypto.com mobile app is available for free download to iOS and Android (APK) devices. We found it easy to use, with clear navigation and simple screen switching. The buy and sell icons are the first logos listed on the app home screen.

You can buy and sell cryptocurrency, with no hassle, as well as manage your account and VISA card balance. We also liked that you can track your favourite digital currencies and instigate price movement alerts.

Among the best features in our opinion are:

• Annual yield earnings up to 8.5% on held cryptocurrency
• Instant cryptocurrency transfers to other Crypto.com users, with no fees
• View top-performing tokens by 24-hour price movement alongside live news updates
• Review full transaction history including staking rewards, CRO purchases, and withdrawals
• Access to Supercharger events to earn cryptocurrency by locking up CRO (minimum 100 CRO per lock-up)

We were assured the Crypto.com app operates with all the security features of the desktop exchange. You can add a biometric login such as Face ID, enable a 2 factor authentication (2FA) code, and implement an anti-phishing verification code.

How To Buy Cryptocurrency On The Crypto.com App

We found it very straightforward to purchase crypto tokens, both in the mobile and desktop apps. You will need to fund your fiat wallet first though.

1. Select ‘Buy’ from the app dashboard home screen
2. Choose a cryptocurrency to purchase (e.g. Bitcoin)
3. Under the ‘Cash’ header, choose the applicable fiat wallet and select ‘Continue’
4. Confirm the transaction using a passcode or biometric approval

Demo Account

We were not offered a demo account service when using Crypto.com.

However, there are no minimum deposit requirements when signing up for an account, so you can have a wallet and explore the exchange without having to invest your personal capital.

Is Crypto.com Regulated?

Crypto.com has approval from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to offer services in the UK as a crypto-asset business. This licensing enables the brand to offer products to UK customers, aligned with AML and CFT regulations which are good to see in a primarily unregulated part of the industry.

Our experts found the company is registered with the FCA under FORIS DAX UK LIMITED, license number 941745. We feel assured the brand complies with all the stipulations, however, you may not be covered by the benefits you would achieve if investing with a standard forex and CFD broker. This includes access to the Financial Services Compensation Scheme or negative balance protection.

Security

Our team appreciated that Crypto.com has integrated leading security features. Some of the standard app functions include multi-factor authentication (MFA) for login verification, email authentication withdrawal protection, plus 24/7 customer support.

Fund safeguarding is clearly important for Crypto.com. The brand holds all client funds segregated in ‘institutional-grade’ accounts on a 1:1 ratio. This means you can access your money as and when needed. There is also Proof of Reserves available. You can check this via the third-party auditor Merkle Tree.

Our team were impressed to find that Crypto.com was the first cryptocurrency firm to achieve ISO 22301:2019, ISO/IEC 27701:2019, ISO/IEC 27001:2013, and PCI-DSS v3.2.1 Level 1 compliance. External stress test firms and bug bounty programmes maintain a secure trading environment for customers.

It is important to note the digital currency market is not risk-free despite the security features the brand has implemented. The decentralised operations mean the crypto market is often subject to fraudulent activity.

Our experts found that Crypto.com has been hacked in the past, including $35 million worth of unapproved digital currency withdrawals from client accounts in 2022. Fortunately, the brand did stop this and compensated impacted customers, with no financial losses incurred.

Leverage

The UK is on the list of restricted countries for margin trading. This means you cannot use borrowed funds from Crypto.com to boost your position sizes.

Bonus Deals

We were not offered any traditional sign-up bonuses or financial incentives when we registered for a Crypto.com account.

However, there are plenty of alternative perks available. We found the card memberships unlock several benefits including up to 5% CRO rewards via eligible purchases, merchant rebates from companies such as Spotify and Netflix, and airport lounge access for the top three tiers.

Other rewards include:

Referral Code

A refer-a-friend programme is available, with generous CRO rewards. We liked that the joining bonus is paid out immediately once all required conditions are met.

Referrals must register for a live exchange account and complete KYC verification, plus ‘lock up’ a value of CRO. This value will determine the bonus received, the lowest being 1000 CRO to release a $10 value of CRO reward.

There are no maximum limits for the number of referral invite codes you can share which is a plus.

Supercharger

The Supercharger is another way to earn rewards on the Crypto.com exchange. We enjoyed that these were categorised into ‘events’ which last between 10 and 45 days.

You must deposit at least 100 CRO during the event, and in return will be rewarded with upcoming or popular tokens. Reimbursements are provided daily, which is advantageous, and are pro-rated based on the number of customers in the pool.

You should feel assured that there is the option to withdraw your funds before the event starts.

VIP Programme

As Crypto.com does not have a choice of account type, they offer a VIP status aimed towards high-volume traders. Our experts found this is certainly only suitable for the elite, with minimum eligibility requirements of more than 0.10% of the total exchange spot trade volume.

The rewards are good, with trading fee discounts, dedicated customer support, API connectivity, additional lockup payments, and a Virtual Private Link for reduced latency and improved stability.

Crypto.com Pay

Another reward method offered by the brand is its Crypto.com Pay scheme. The programme offers generous rewards of up to 10% CRO cashback for purchases made to partner merchants. You can pay with 30+ tokens including Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Dogecoin.

We did review the accepted merchant list and this didn’t include many well-known firms which is a shame. Merchants include Time Magazine, Ledger, and Alternative Airline.

We were, however, impressed to see that you can purchase gift cards using Crypto.com Pay, with 300+ major global brands such as Airbnb, Adidas, Apple iTunes, and Starbucks available. We think this is much more appropriate given the reach of these companies.

Features

Crypto.com Prepaid Card

A unique benefit of trading with Crypto.com is access to a VISA prepaid card. There are five card types available, with varying benefits based on membership status. We liked that the Midnight Blue card is available with no minimum threshold, ideal for beginners.

The other tiers: Ruby Steel, Royal Indigo/Jade Green, Frosted Rose Gold/Icy White, and Obsidian are only available once a minimum CRO number of tokens has been held for at least 180 days.

Our review found all cards have a monthly top-up limit of £22,000 and a monthly ATM withdrawal limit of £9000 which is reasonable. However, we did discover a 2% fee will apply for ATM withdrawals after a free quota is reached. This is only £900 worth for the Obsidian tier which is a major downside.

You can link your Crypto.com metal card to money wallets such as Google Pay and Apple Pay which is good to see for UK clients.

Card benefits and requirements:

• Ruby Steel – £300 CRO lockup requirement. 1% CRO rewards, 6 months Spotify membership reimbursement
• Royal Indigo And Jade Green – £3000 CRO lockup requirement. 2% CRO rewards, 6 months Spotify and Netflix membership reimbursement. Airport lounge access
• Frosted Rose Gold And Icy White – £30,000 CRO lockup requirement. 3% CRO rewards, unlimited brand membership reimbursement including Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Spotify. Airport lounge access plus an additional guest and access to Crypto.com Private
• Obsidian – £300,000 CRO lockup requirement. 5% CRO rewards, unlimited brand membership reimbursement including Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Airbnb. Airport lounge access plus an additional guest, access to Crypto.com Private, and a private jet partnership

We found Crypto.com Private unlocks even more benefits including priority customer support, access to industry events, research reports, and inheritance services.

DeFi Wallet

Suitable for more experienced customers, Crypto.com offers a non-custodial DeFi Wallet. The wallet is available for free download to iOS and Android (APK) devices.

We liked that this provides customers with full control of private keys, so you can send digital currency to others by setting your own confirmation speeds and network fees. You can also earn annual rebate yields on your held tokens, connect with DeFi marketplace products, and deposit NFTs within the app.

We thought the wallet was easy to use, and provides simple account management for 1,000+ tokens across 30+ blockchains. You can easily transfer an existing wallet by using a 12/18/24-word recovery phrase.

Earn

Our experts were pleased to see generous benefits simply for holding digital currency in an account. This includes a yield of up to 6.5% per annum for USDC (standard rate) and up to 8.5% per annum for USDC (private member rate). Given its popularity, we did find the rewards for Bitcoin are considerably lower vs alternative tokens. You can only earn up to 1.5%.

We liked that there is an earnings calculator so you can view potential rewards before signing up. Simply input your held token, value, CRO lockup, and length of time.

Trading Bots

We were impressed to see Crypto.com offers automated trading opportunities via two bots. The exchange offers two ‘robots’: Dollar Cost Averaging (DCA) and Grid Trading. These are ideal for retail investors who don’t have the time to spend reviewing price patterns.

You can create positions to automatically open based on pre-defined parameters. You can create your own strategy, or choose from an existing portfolio which was good to see.

To set up from the exchange webpage:

1. Click on the ‘Trading Bots’ icon from the top menu and choose ‘Create a Bot’ next to the list of instruments
2. Complete the auto trade parameters;
   • Buy/Sell Every – The frequency of execution
   • For – The duration of execution
   • Investment – Choose either the amount to purchase or sell or, the total investment amount
   • Base Currency – The currency to execution positions
   • Change – When you want the bot to start
3. Click ‘Proceed’ to complete the set-up
4. Review and confirm the Crypto.com T&Cs

NFTs

We were pleased to see Crypto.com has integrated an NFT shop into its services. You can purchase non-fungible tokens (NFTs) from the company’s online marketplace, all of which are live on the Ethereum blockchain.

You can buy, sell and stage your purchases from some of the leading brands including Aston Martin F1, UFC, Philadelphia 76ers, and Heavy Metal. We also liked that you can filter top collections by sales volume or floor price, with live sales data as it happens.

Crypto.com is upcoming in this field and celebrated its 5th anniversary of service with a mystery gift box drop which allowed customers to purchase for $10.

Education

Our experts came across a comprehensive learning academy, Crypto.com University. The online portal has a wealth of articles and blog posts, with imagery, step-by-step guides, and examples.

We liked that new posts are published weekly. You can filter by beginner, intermediate, or advanced experience level or by major topics such as wallets, blockchain, coins, NFTs, and more.

Alongside the education materials, Crypto.com customers can also benefit from expert insights and analysis with weekly research newsletters and the latest trends. When we used Crypto.com, our experts found these helpful for trade ideation, particularly with coin price predictions and changes to the digital currency landscape discussed in detail.

Customer Service

Crypto.com customer support is quite limited which is a shame. You can contact the brand via email (contact@crypto.com) or live chat (icon located at the bottom right of the website).

There is no UK phone number but a very detailed online help centre can be used to answer popular questions such as how to sign up and log in to a live trading account, issues or help to upgrade from a VISA Ruby card, and support with 2FA not working, dynamic password creation and 3DS error messages.

We did find there are a lot of user guides, which made it difficult to find the relevant information. However, the search bar did make it easier to filter through the articles by keyword.

Company Details & History

Crypto.com was founded in 2016, under the trading name Monaco Technologies GmBH. The vision of the company is to get cryptocurrency into the hands of everyone, by accelerating the adoption of digital currency throughout the world.

Crypto.com has an impressive 80 million users, from 90+ countries including the UK. The company has headquarters in Singapore, as well as a localised office presence in the UK, Paris, and the USA. The current CEO is co-founder and owner Kris Marszalek.

In August 2022, Crypto.com received crypto-asset business approval from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) meaning the company can provide services and products to UK retail investors, aligned with regulations.

The brand aims to boost its global presence via partnerships. Some of their existing and past sponsorships include the 2022 Qatar World Cup and Formula One. The brand has also built a branded, multi-purpose indoor arena in LA.

In 2021, Crypto.com completed the largest token burns in history and destroyed a value of 70 billion CRO.

Trading Hours

Unlike alternative products such as stocks, cryptocurrencies are available to trade 24/7. The digital asset market does not adhere to any market closures, such as public holidays or weekends.

The Crypto.com exchange offers unlimited access so you can trade, anytime and anywhere. Bitcoin, in particular, tends to see the highest levels of volatility in the mornings, though the price is influenced by supply and demand. Customer sentiment and changes to government regulations can also impact the price in the long term.

Should You Trade With Crypto.com?

We were impressed with the services offered by Crypto.com. Though quite advanced, suggesting suitability for more experienced traders, the exchange alongside NFTs, pre-paired debit cards, several rewards schemes, education, wallets, and more, makes it a one-stop solution for all your digital currency needs.

We were pleased to see FCA registration, a big step in the crypto market, plus several robust security measures which boost the credibility of the brand for us. Just keep an eye on the withdrawal fees as this is where you may get caught out.

FAQ

Article Sources

Crypto.com Website

Crypto.com FCA Registration

Crypto.com Hack 2022, Forbes

Top 3 Crypto.com Alternatives

These brokers are the most similar to Crypto.com:

1. Swissquote - Swissquote is a Switzerland-based bank and broker that offers online trading and investing. The company has a high safety score and is listed on the Swiss stock exchange. The firm offers a huge range of products, from stocks, ETFs, bonds and futures to 400+ forex and CFD assets. Hundreds of thousands of traders have opened an account with the multi-regulated brokerage. Clients can get started in three easy steps while 24/7 customer support is available to assist new users.
2. Binance - Binance is one of the best-known crypto exchanges. The company is available in more than 180 countries with over 120 million registered customers. The platform offers a suite of crypto trading products, from staking and NFTs to derivatives.
3. Interactive Brokers - Interactive Brokers (IBKR) is a premier brokerage, providing access to 150 markets in 33 countries, along with a suite of comprehensive investment services. With over 40 years of experience, this Nasdaq-listed firm adheres to stringent regulations by the SEC, FCA, CIRO, and SFC, amongst others, and is one of the most trusted brokers for trading around the globe.

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