What way would you choose to exchange one crypto asset for another? A crypto trader will probably choose a cryptocurrency exchange (also known as a trading platform) for this purpose, as it provides a wide range of functions to explore the market, like the market depth or a trading volume of various cryptocurrencies. Hence, crypto exchanges are more suitable for crypto savvy people. But the majority of us need only look at the interface of a trading platform to become dumbstruck with all the diagrams and quickly changing numbers.

The interface of an exchange section of Binance cryptocurrency exchange

Hence, crypto exchange is probably not the best choice for those who need a convenient tool to swap one crypto for another quickly, safely, and easily. The best choice for this type of crypto enthusiasts is an instant exchange service, which represents a simple yet safe way of exchanging crypto.

Changelly instant exchange service main page

In this article, let’s compare the most popular instant exchange services, namely Changelly, CoinSwitch, and Shapeshift to choose the one that suits your needs the most. But before that let’s review the main pros of instant exchange services over traditional crypto exchanges.

Table of Contents

Why Choose Instant Exchange Services Over Trading Platforms

It is not a secret that instant cryptocurrency exchange services have some advantages over traditional exchanges. And the first good reason for turning attention to instant exchange service is that it is non-custodial. Thus, the funds are being held by its owner not by the exchange. This eliminates the risk of money loss in case of a hacker attack, which becomes an increasingly frequent and problematic issue of the crypto industry each other day.

So for instance, six crypto exchanges were hacked during the last year alone. The total number of stolen funds has reached a total amount of $865 million according to Coinbase.

Non-Custodial exchange services allow its users to keep their funds under control in their crypto wallets instead of placing it in a user account of an exchange. Hence, such services are much more reliable than custodial ones. Also, it is quite easy to create an account on this type of platforms, moreover, the registration is not always compulsory. In most cases, a user only needs to provide his email to get registered in a service.

Changelly instant exchange service registration form

Crypto exchange registration form

The other good argument for choosing instant exchange services over trading platforms is the time needed to execute an exchange itself. If you decide to exchange crypto through a trading platform be ready to wait for the needed cryptocurrency for hours, or even days and weeks. When it comes to instant exchange service the time of proceeding a transaction takes from 5 to 30 minutes, on the average.

Thirdly, non-custodial exchange services provide their users with privacy. Unlike a centralized exchange decentralized one doesn’t require users to reveal their personal data.

If all the arguments mentioned above convinced you to try instant exchange service instead of a trading platform, let’s take a look on the list of the most prominent ones on the market to date.

Comparing Instant Crypto Exchange Services



Changelly, CoinSwitch, and ShapeShift are worthy examples of non-custodial exchanges which have skyrocketed in the past several years. All of these exchange platforms were founded during the last quinquennium. Thus, ShapeShift and Changelly have been successfully operating since 2015 and were among the first instant exchanges. As for the CoinSwitch, it is a younger service that was found in 2017. We have collected essential features of these exchange services in the table below. Some of the factors usually play a key role in choosing a service.

CoinSwitch ShapeShift Changelly Creating an account Depends on the exchange Required Required Supported coins 400+ 50+ 130+ Fees 0% to 0.49% No fees 0.5% Rates Average Average Low 24/7 customer support No Yes Yes Exchange time 15-30 minutes 30 seconds up to several hours 5-30 minutes Reputation* Excellent Poor Great Amount of reviews* 83 114 1037 iOS app No Yes No Android app No Yes Yes Website languages 17 11 11 Supported fiat currencies USD, JPY, RUB, EUR USD, EUR USD, EUR, GBP Coins available for fiat-to-crypto exchange 100+ crypto BTC all supported coins API Yes Yes Yes

*according to Trustpilot

All these exchanges definitely have both pros and cons. Let’s highlight the pros and cons of CoinSwitch and Shapeshift.

Pros and Cons

CoinSwitch

Pros

Offers the widest range of cryptocurrencies to exchange.

Provides the most various choice of fiat currencies.

Optional registration.

Various website languages.

Excellent reputation.

Provides API.

Cons

There are no mobile applications.

The customer support service is not operational 24 hours a day.

The average processing speed of exchange.

The Average rates.

Shapeshift

Pros

Low fees.

24/7 customer support service.

Various website languages.

Mobile apps are available for iOS and Android users.

Provides API.

Cons

Going through KYC is obligatory

No-fiat policy.

Poor reputation.

Not a diverse list of assets.

Compulsory registration.

Average processing speed of exchange.

Average rates.

Each of these two compared exchange services has its benefits and drawbacks. However, against the background of other instant cryptocurrency exchanges, Changelly looks more comprehensive. Here are the main Changelly advantages over CoinSwitch and ShapeShift:

24/7 customer support service.

Wide choice of assets to exchange.

Possibility to purchase cryptocurrency with a bank card.

Wide choice of assets to buy for fiat money.

Changelly is intended to be used as an API.

High speed of exchange.

Average fees for crypto-to-crypto orders.

Changelly app is available on Google Play.

Various website languages.

Low rates.

Takeaways

To sum it all up there is always a choice to make when it comes to buying or exchanging cryptocurrency. Cryptocurrency market offers a vast amount of services for all kind of crypto lovers whether it’s a crypto trader, or a hodler, or a crypto beginner. Hopefully, this small research of cryptocurrency instant exchange services helped you to make a better choice. So let’s sum it all up once again. Cryptocurrency instant exchange service is definitely the best solution for:

crypto newcomers

people who care about personal data protection

those who need to exchange crypto fast and easily

When it comes to choosing the service to exchange cryptocurrency there’s no more doubt. Changelly instant exchange service provides its users with the best customer support. Also, the exchange rates of the service are better that are offered by the most trading platforms as Changelly compares the exchange rate on different crypto exchanges and chooses the best for its users. Moreover, one can buy cryptocurrency right in the service. Visit Changelly and see it for yourself!

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