Gatecoin Review by professional Forex trading experts the “ForexSQ” FX trading team, Finding out everything you need to know about the broker in this Gatecoin Review.
Gatecoin Review
Gatecoin is a Hong Kong-based cryptocurrency exchange offering spot trading in Bitcoin, Ether and Bitcoin Cash. The first two tokens can be traded against each other and three fiat currencies: USD, EUR and HKD. Bitcoin Cash can only be traded against Bitcoin.
The cryptocurrency selection may not be very extensive, but contains two of the largest tokens. There are other Hong Kong exchanges, like Bit-Z, which also offers Litecoin and trading against the CNY.
Like the majority of cryptocurrency exchanges, Gatetcoin offers only spot trading, but some larger platforms, like Hong Kong-based Bitfinex, Kraken, Poloniex, Lykke, Crypto Facilities, Coincheck etc., offer leveraged trading on coins. There are also regulated forex brokers like IG, FXTM, HYCM and many others, who offer leveraged trading on cryptocurrency CFDs, as well as some other investment instruments involving tokens.
With regard to account verification, Gatecoin has fairly strict policies. In order to start trading, one needs to provide digital copies of their ID and proof of residence documents. This is a verified account (Tier 1) If the client wants to deposit or withdraw fiat currency worth over USD 50 000, one needs to upgrade to Tier 2 – certified account. For the purpose, Gatecoin requires certified true copies of documents – ID and proof of residence – sent by registered mail to the address of the exchange in Hong Kong.
Gatecoin says it accepts clients from some US states, but with certain conditions regarding deposits and withdrawals in tokens and fiat currencies and does not accept clients from Arizona, California, Maine, New York, North Carolina, South Dakota, West Virginia, Wyoming at all.
Gatecoin also provides over-the-counter trading for sums of USD 100 000 or more, but one needs to specifically get in touch with the exchange and to arrange for this.
The Company. Security of Funds
Gatecoin was established in 2015 and is based in Hong Kong. The company has a license as a Money Service Operator (MSO) subject to regulation by the Hong Kong Customs and Excise Department, despite the fact that in Hong Kong the bitcoin and other similar virtual commodities are not considered money and do not fall under the regulation of the department.
Even though Hong Kong does not have specific legislation on cryptocurrencies, crimes involving them, such as fraud and money laundering are persecuted under the existing laws such as the Organized and Serious Crimes Ordinance.
Recently, however, the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has issued a statement on initial coin offerings (ICOs). It defines them as either ‘virtual commodities’, ‘securities’, ‘shares’, ‘debentures’, or an interest in a ‘collective investment scheme (CIS)’. As securities, the ICOs fall under SFC’s jurisdiction and any company who has issued such tokens to a Hong Kong citizen, must be registered with the Commission. This, though is not the case with Gatecoin, so the MSO license is sufficient.
In terms of customer security, Gatecoin employs the standard two-factor verification. As for funds, the exchange keeps them in segregated multi-signature offline hardware wallets (cold storage). For ease of withdrawal, Gatecoin keeps a small fraction of the funds in segregated online wallets. Despite offering the wallet service, the exchange advises its clients to keep the majority of their funds in their own secure wallets, outside the platform.
Trading platform
Gatecoin’s platform is more or less the standard offering for a spot exchange – with buy and sell orders, trading history and an order book. There, however, are some frills: a price chart provided by TradingView, with major indicators and some basic charting tools, which can be quite useful for the more experienced traders.
Methods of payment
The only payment method for fiat currencies, accepted by Gatecoin, is bank transfer. The fees vary, depending on the currency and type of transfer (domestic or international).
Deposits in EUR are free, but withdrawals come with a fee: a fixed 5 euro fee for SEPA transfers (EU) and 0.5% fee of the amount, with a minimum of EUR 50 for other international transfers. Deposits in USD come with a fixed USD 7 fee and withdrawal fees depend on the client’s bank. Deposits in HKD are for a HKD 50 fee and withdrawal fees depend on the client’s bank, similarly to USD.
Additionally, the client’s bank can charge additional fees.
We did not find information about the fees for transfers in cryptocurrencies.
It is rather unfortunate that Gatecoin does not have more fiat currency options like credit/debit cards, for the convenience of the clients, but considering the strict verification requirements, perhaps there is a reason for that.
Gatecoin is a major and reliable cryptocurrency exchange, which, additionally, is licensed by an official Hong Kong authority. The platform regularly ranks among the ones with highest daily trading volume, according to the data of Cryptocompare.
Despite its relatively small offering of cryptocurrencies, Gatecoin’s portfolio includes the essentials, but we believe it could expand the list. Plus, the trading fees are relatively acceptable, even though not among the lowest. The deposit and withdrawal fees for fiat currencies, charged by Gatecoin are also fairly reasonable.
What we do not like is the fact that the platform does not accept cards, which can be rather inconvenient, especially for international users.
Another inconvenience is the cumbersome paper-based snail-mail method for Tier 2 account verification.
Gatecoin Review Conclusion
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