Local Bitcoins Experience 2021: The Crypto Exchange Test
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Local Bitcoins allows investors to buy or sell bitcoins. Of course, the question arises at the beginning whether Local Bitcoins is a scam.
Again and again, one reads and hears about "black sheep" - which is exactly why one should look into various test results as well as experiences that users have made before opening an account.
Are there any relevant experiences or indications that the marketplace is not recommendable?
A Local Bitcoins test should provide clarity and answer the most important questions, such as whether Local Bitcoins is a scam, how high the Local Bitcoins fees are and what else to look out for in the course of registration.
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LocalBitcoins: Advantages and disadvantages at a glance
An advantage is the fact that you can buy Bitcoin at a pretty good rate via Local Bitcoins.
At this point, it must also be mentioned that the Local Bitcoins fees are extremely fair - you will hardly be able to find another provider that has such low fees. In addition, there are many payment options.
As the name already reveals, you can buy Bitcoin via Local Bitcoins - no other cryptocurrency is offered.
What is Local Bitcoins?
If you want to buy Bitcoins, you first have to choose a provider and then register on the chosen platform. Then you can buy coins of the cryptocurrency Bitcoin (or, if offered, also coins of other cryptocurrencies).
Due to the fact that there are various exchanges as well as marketplaces, you should deal with the various providers in advance and compare the offers and conditions with each other.
Only then, when you have gained an overview, can you be sure that you have found the best offer for you.
If you carry out such a comparison, LocalBitcoins should definitely be included.
If you compare Local Bitcoins with other providers from the same industry, it quickly becomes clear that this is one of the oldest exchanges.
The exchange was founded in 2012 and is extremely popular with crypto fans because, among other things, countless means of payment are accepted here.
The basic idea behind Local Bitcoins?
Anyone can buy and sell Bitcoins via the marketplace - but care should be taken that the people are also in the vicinity when Bitcoins are physically exchanged for cash.
The problem: Local Bitcoins is not available. Anyone who wants to use the exchange platform must therefore use a proxy or VPN service.
Currently, the platform is available in 248 countries and offers services in 13,774 cities. The Local Bitcoins Exchange is based in Helsinki, Finland.
Local Bitcoins Review - The Offer
Local Bitcoins is one of the largest peer-to-peer marketplaces that helps both Bitcoin buyers and Bitcoin sellers who are from the same region - i.e. live only a short distance from each other - to carry out both face-to-face and online transactions.
An escrow service is also offered by Local Bitcoins. This ensures that every transaction is carried out fairly.
At this point, it must be mentioned that Local Bitcoins respects the anonymous nature of the cryptocurrency Bitcoin - those who use the service do not have to fear that they will have to provide personal data that other users will see.
In the end, you only need an email address if you want to register on the marketplace.
Even though no information about the buyer or seller is required for the exchange, the seller or buyer may still ask for identification when it comes to continuing the trade.
If fiat currencies are involved, such as the euro or the US dollar, users are free to decide in which currency they want to trade.
If a person finds someone who accepts the fiat currency offered, there is no objection from Local Bitcoin.
Possible currencies that can be traded are:
Euro | Russian rouble |
|---|
The functions
Local Bitcoins is a one-stop shop for both buyers and sellers. LocalBitcoins is more or less a platform that brings together buyers and sellers of cryptocurrencies and provides the opportunity to buy or sell Bitcoins.
This is exactly what distinguishes Local Bitcoins from Bitpanda, Anycoin or Coinbase - here, the provider itself buys and sells.
This is exactly why there are hardly any differences between the buying and selling price.
It should be noted that the Local Bitcoins site is not available. However, if you still have some school English in mind, you should have no problems understanding the functions on the site.
On the site, you can search specifically for your own country - sometimes you can also take a look at the map and search for people who are looking for Bitcoins in the immediate vicinity or even offer them for sale.
However, if you prefer to buy online or even pay by bank transfer, you can ignore the local proximity.
Marketplace rules
It should be noted that - as is so common in a marketplace - you will not find just one offer price.
Each seller has his or her own price, so there are serious differences.
The values in brackets next to the seller represent the number of trades already carried out.
The positive feedback is given as a percentage. This means that you can tell in advance whether the person is trustworthy or not.
On the part of the seller, the desired and accepted payment methods as well as limits that cannot be exceeded or undercut are indicated.
Open an account with Local Bitcoins
The Local Bitcoins homepage is very clearly laid out.
The advantage is that the site is easy to use, which means that even those who have no previous experience with such platforms will have no problems. You can find all the information you need relatively quickly.
Thus, the registration process is not a great difficulty either. Registration is free of charge.
The only thing to note is that you have to confirm your identity if you want to use the services of Local Bitcoins. This is of enormous importance anyway, especially in terms of the trust factor.
If you don't have a review about a successfully completed transaction, you might have problems finding a suitable buyer or seller - who would want to enter into an exchange transaction with a person who doesn't even know if he or she is a real user?
Opening an account only takes a few minutes. The operator has really taken care to make registration as simple as possible. Registration works as follows:
Step 1: Enter your user name, e-mail and password.
In the first step, you choose your user name and password. The account must be verified via email, so make sure you use a working email address.
Step 2: Terms of use and data protection
In the next step, the terms of use and the privacy policy have to be confirmed. This is done by clicking the button at the bottom right.
Step 3: Confirm account
In the next step, the account must be confirmed via email. Afterwards you will see the following screen:
The account is now active, in the next step you can start trading Bitcoins.
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Buy Coins with Local Bitcoins
There is no typical brokerage business model with Local Bitcoins - this is a classic peer-to-peer network that connects sellers with buyers who are in the immediate vicinity or in the same region.
The traders place ads on the platform with the respective exchange rates, and there is also information about accepted payment methods.
Interested users can then reply to these ads, meet with the trader or carry out an online transaction.
It should be noted that Local Bitcoins has a feedback mechanism like a reputation system so that members can be helped to find legitimate merchants. This is because one should not believe that there are no "black sheep" on the site. Time and again, scammers want to take advantage of the good faith of other members.
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Incl. wallet
Buy and sell cryptocurrencies directly in the wallet
Paypal, credit card and instant bank transfer
Regulated provider
Real cryptos or CFD trades
Escrow service included
Local Bitcoin therefore also offers an escrow service so that the trust between the trading partners can be strengthened.
The provider also offers a so-called conflict resolution service in case of misunderstandings between the parties.
Local Bitcoins therefore takes great care to ensure that the customers who use the site's services also feel comfortable.
Those who trade on Local Bitcoins should nevertheless be careful, because it is quite possible to be scammed. Finally, it should never be forgotten that the deal is between individuals. So before you decide to make a transaction, you should consider the following things so that you don't get a nasty surprise in the end.
Attention to the Feedback Score
It is important that the seller meets various requirements:
Product Features
The Feedback Score should be at least 98 per cent,
the seller should have already traded over 100 Bitcoin in his trading history,
is a verified seller and also has an account that was opened more than a year ago.
In addition, it is important that there are other people who have rated the seller as trustworthy.
A seller should never be chosen based on the (low) price.
The better the price offered, the higher the probability that there is a fraudster behind it.
Especially if the above-mentioned conditions cannot be fulfilled.
Ready for big deals?
When it comes to communication and staking out various agreements, one should never engage in trading outside the exchange or even transmit information in advance before receiving a response from the seller.
It is also important that no payment information is transmitted outside the exchange.
It should be noted that there are, of course, larger traders on the site who refuse to do business with new users who have not yet received feedback.
In this case, you should make a few smaller trades in advance so that you get positive feedback and move up into the "big leagues".
Local Bitcoins does not support futures trading or derivatives. In addition, there is no margin trading, no short selling and no other options - so if you decide to use Local Bitcoins, you have to be aware that you cannot expect a traditional trading platform here.
How high are the fees at Local Bitcoins?
Anyone who creates an advertisement has to pay a fee of 1.0 percent.
It does not matter whether it is a buyer or a seller.
The person who takes up an offer, on the other hand, does not have to pay a cent.
An additional Local Bitcoins fee of 0.5 percent is charged for the billing service - but this service is optional.
Fee type | Fee amount |
|---|---|
Ad creation buyers | 1.0% |
Ad creation seller | 1.0% |
Invoicing service (optional) | 0.5% |
The Local Bitcoins payment methods
Both merchants and sellers use various payment methods. The most basic variants include Webmoney, Western Union, cash on delivery, cash by post or even personal cash delivery.
But also the purchase of Bitcoins with PayPal is offered.
Due to the fact that the transactions take place between individuals, one cannot use a credit card here.
Is Local Bitcoins secure?
All transactions that take place via Local Bitcoins are secured in the so-called escrow.
The amount is frozen for the seller by Local Bitcoins.
The seller can then no longer cancel the transaction. If one follows the theoretical explanations, the platform is extremely secure.
But are there also Local Bitcoins experiences that report the opposite?
As a rule, the risk can be reduced if a transaction is concluded with a user from the region.
However, if one takes a closer look at the security mechanisms of Local Options, it quickly becomes clear that there are various precautions so that customers do not have to worry.
On the one hand, the site is encrypted using HTTPs, and on the other hand, there is also two-factor authentication.
The security measures have not failed so far. According to various sources, Local Bitcoins has not yet been hacked.
The Local Bitcoins app
The Local Bitcoins app can be downloaded for free from the Google Play Store and installed on a smartphone or tablet.
Users who want to use Local Bitcoins via mobile devices can access the same functions that are provided via the web version.
There is no iOs Local Bitcoins app and also some apps in the Play Store that adorn themselves with the LocalBitcoins logo do not seem to originate from the operator!
Local Bitcoins experiences and user opinions
Various scam reports can be found on the web, which of course have damaged the reputation of Local Bitcoins.
However, as a rule, the Local Bitcoins experiences do not deal directly with the platform, but with the sellers and buyers. Anyone who acts carelessly here can sometimes - as already mentioned - fall for a scam.
It should be noted that Local Bitcoins has taken several safety precautions, so that if you follow various tips, you can quickly find out whether the trading partner is an honest member or a "black sheep".
Local Bitcoins Customer Service
If you have questions or difficulties, you can use the FAQ section.
On the other hand, you can also contact the staff directly via a contact form.
Please note that the customer service is also only available in English.
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Incl. wallet
Buy and sell cryptocurrencies directly in the wallet
Paypal, credit card and instant bank transfer
Regulated provider
Real cryptos or CFD trades
Is Local Bitcoins a scam?
Here we can definitely answer with a no.
Anyone who has decided to use Local Bitcoins will find that there are various security measures that make fraudulent activities (almost) impossible.
The fact is that the question of whether Local Bitcoins is a scam can be answered in the negative.
If you find Local Bitcoins experiences on the internet that speak a different language, it is mainly about experiences with other users.
Although the platform is not a scam, you are always trading with other participants - and they may very well have fraudulent intentions.
So if you want to trade via Local Bitcoins, you should definitely make sure that the trading partner is not a scammer.
Local Bitcoins - The Conclusion
The Local Bitcoins test has shown that there are definitely advantages that should not be disregarded.
On the one hand, there are extremely many payment options, and on the other hand, there are also quite good Bitcoin rates.
The platform is clear and easy to understand, the registration process only takes a few minutes and there are no indications from the provider that one must assume that this is actually a scam.
In addition, the Local Bitcoins fees are also convincing. If you take a look at the Local Bitcoins fees, you will quickly realise that there is hardly any other platform that prescribes such low fees.
The fact that the site is only available in English is problematic - but those who speak a little school English should have no major difficulties.
If you want to buy or sell bitcoins, Local Bitcoins is a very interesting alternative that you can take a closer look at.
Our recommendation: Buy cryptos with eToro
Incl. wallet
Buy and sell cryptocurrencies directly in the wallet
Paypal, credit card and instant bank transfer
Regulated provider
Real cryptos or CFD trades
FAQ
The provider is a crypto exchange where cryptocurrencies can be bought and sold.
In our test, Quoinex was convincing. The diverse trading options and the excellent customer support attract many customers, most of whom are very satisfied with the provider.
The amount of your own investment should depend on your own liquidity, the chosen cryptocurrency and your own risk tolerance. In general, you should never invest money that you actually need elsewhere, as profits can never be guaranteed.
Here, too, the platform is convincing. Withdrawals are processed very quickly and, depending on the selected withdrawal method, are in your account within a few minutes to 2 working days.
You should always know what you are investing in. Cryptocurrencies are highly volatile, so you should first get to know the selected coin in detail. If you have the necessary know-how, as well as the occasional bit of luck, then nothing stands in the way of early profits.
