LocalBitcoin is a peer–to–peer marketplace that allows its users to exchange cryptocurrency directly without any middleman. It offers a huge variety of cryptocurrencies and payment options. It also has an escrow system in place to protect both buyers as well as the seller.
That being said there are many users online claiming that they have been scammed through this website so make sure you are alert at all steps of the transaction.
According to our research, this website should only be used if you cannot find your desired payment method elsewhere. This is because at times this platform may charge high fees and if you are not careful during any transaction you could be scammed easily.
In this article, we have done a complete review of the services provided by LocalBitcoin.Some of the concerns answered in this article are
- What Are LocalBitcoins?
- What Can You Do At LocalBitcoins?
- Payment Methods
- LocalBitcoin Fee
- How to Get Started With LocalBitcoins?
- Supported Countries
- Customer Support
- How Safe Is LocalBitcoins?
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LocalBitcoin was founded in the year 2012 by Nikolas Kangas and is registered in Finland. Since its inception, it has growing and evolving.
Today it has become one of the leading marketplaces to exchange crypto currency.Whether you want to buy or sell crypto you will easily find your crypto exchanger here.
LocalBitcoin has a very secure trading eco system, they use the following measures to make sure that their users do not face any difficulty during transactions:
Escrow: Escrow is a common feature offered by many decentralized exchanges. It protects both the buyer and seller. For example, suppose you want to buy crypto and you agree to trade with a seller.
Once the trade is started the escrow system will deduct the money, according to the order size, from your account but not transfer it to the seller, instead store it in a temporary safe deposit.
After the coins are released by the seller and both the parties have honored their terms of trade the respective accounts are debited and credited.
Reputation system: This is a unique feature which is offered only by a handful of exchanges.
Here the users are ranked based on the number of trades they have done and their account page also shows their trading history.
2 factor authentication: Two – factor authentication is optional. Users who require more privacy can use two – factor authentication of this exchange.
The exchange will prompt you to input your phone pin code whenever you log into your account.
This will provide an added layer of security and protect your account from any hacking or security breach.
Customer Support: LocalBitcoin has a fantastic support teams who are always ready to help their users.
You can ask your queries and resolve your doubts by contacting the support team. They also solve any dispute between buyer and seller in case anything happens.
Login Guard: LocalBitcoin can verify that every time you are logging in from the same browser.
In case you log in from a different place an email requesting verification will be sent to you.
PGP encryption: LocalBitcoin uses Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) encryption for email communication.
All in all this platform has a solid security system in place. You can also buy bitcoin anonymously on this platform.
However, the new legislation concerning cryptocurrencies has compelled the platform to verify its users by Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti – Money Laundering (AML) verification process.
Being a peer–to–peer exchange people can communicate with each other directly without the need of any third part.
Just visit the platform, sign up in less than a minute and start browsing advertisements according to your demand.
If you want to buy cryptocurrency the list of buyers along with the price will appear on the top of the homepage.
You can buy cryptocurrency through bank transfers or direct face-to-face trading.
If you want to sell your cryptocurrency just scroll down and you will see the prevailing exchange rate in your region.
Unfortunately, this platform only offers buying and selling Bitcoins. Also, users are not allowed to trade fiat currency for crypto coins as it recently got banned.
There is a wide array of payment options this website offers you:
- PayPal
- SEPA
- Wire Transfer
- MoneyGram
- Neteller
- Skrill
- Payoneer
- Payza
The payment method also depends upon the person you are dealing with. Also please keep in mind that different payment system may charge you different rates.
Registering, buying and selling cryptocurrency on LocalBitcoin is totally free. However, the users who create an advertisement are charged 1% for every successful trade.
Also, transaction to other LocalBitcoin wallet is free of cost. However, transferring your Bitcoins to their Bitcoin wallet are subjected to a sending fee.
It is always wise to transfer your bitcoins from LocalBitcoin to another external wallet which has more security than this platform.
Step 1: Register with LocalBitcoin according to the new law you will have to go through KYC and AML verification. You get a free and secure online wallet once your registration is done.
Step 2: Go to the main homepage and in the empty dialogue boxes that appear on the top, fill in the amount of currency you will exchange for crypto, your location, and your desired payment method.
However, if your payment methods are flexible click on ‘All online offers’ and hit search.
Step 3: From the list of advertisements that appear in front of you select the one you find suitable according to your need.
Remember to check the rank of the seller and his/her trading history before finalizing your deal with them.
You might also notice a small colored dot in green, orange, or grey, alongside the name of the seller, which indicates that whether the trader replies in minutes or is inconsistent in replies.
Once you select which trade suits your choice click on ‘BUY’.
Step 4: After you press the Buy you will see in-detail information of the trade you are going to enter into.
After reading the terms of trade if you agree to them input all the requested details in the empty boxes. After filling in all the details click on send trade request.
Make sure you are ready with your payment as the process will get canceled if you don’t pay till the payment window is active.
Step 5: After the payment is done click on ‘I have paid’ button. Once the trader verifies that he has received your payment your bitcoin will automatically be released from the escrow to your account.
And that’s it. You have successfully completed your trade with LocalBitcoins.
As mentioned earlier, LocalBitcoin is a decentralized crypto exchange platform which means any person from any country can avail of the services of this platform.
They have a huge area of operation.Moreover, this exchange works well even in places where the fiat currency of that country had deteriorated.
In such countries, exchanges like LocalBitcoin are emerging and evolving. A good example is Venezuela.
Now seen as a pioneer in cryptocurrency regulation, the Venezuelan government legalized mining cryptocurrency in September 2020.
As mentioned earlier this platform has great customer support who are willing to help their users.
They keep their users updated through announcements on their social media handles on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram.
Also in the past users used to constantly complain of getting scammed on their website.
Looks like, they have worked very hard to remove the bad elements from their platform which resulted in them getting a solid 4.5 rating on TrustPilot.
They have a detailed FAQ section where they try to answer as many as user concerns they could.You can also phishing through special forms.
The team typically replies within one hour in case the traffic is high they put out a notice apologizing beforehand for the delayed reply.
They resolve queries only over email, but overall their service is great.
LocalBitcoin is an established and well-known company that has been around for almost 9 years, so they certainly know what they are doing and are well recognized for it.
What makes this platform stand apart from its competitors is the security it gives to its users.
In case of most exchanges like Binance and Bittrex you never know who your trading partner is, but here on LocalBitcoins you know almost everything you need to know about the trader.
You can see your trader’s rank, his past transaction and then select whether you want to trade with them or not.With that LocalBitcoin gains an additional score.
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That’s it. With this we end our review of LocalBitcoin platform. LocalBitcoin offer a huge variety of payment methods but with increased opportunity comes increased risk. This increase in payment method can become a gateway for hackers and scammers to rob from your crypto account.
So please be vigilant while transacting online and do a thorough background check on the opposite party. Also, we will recommend you to use this platform only if your desired payment method could not be found on any other crypto exchanges.
We hope you must have gained some insight regarding LocalBitcoin and will help you while trading through it. Overall a great exchange, but we do not recommend this platform for beginners due to its complexity.