BTCC Limited is based in Hong Kong, although the exchange’s Chinese division (BTCChina) is based in Shanghai. The company was originally founded in Shanghai, but opened the Hong Kong office to cater to international customers.
The company was founded in June 2011. At the time, it was China’s first and only bitcoin exchanges. Today, most of the company’s customers are Chinese. In 2013, BTCC hired CEO Bobby Lee and oversaw the exchange’s rapid expansion. Bobby Lee is a Stanford computer science graduate whose brother founded the Litecoin cryptocurrency.
BTCC made headlines in February 2017 after announcing that it was halting bitcoin and other cryptocurrency withdrawals for one month. The news came one week after Huobi and OKCoin, two of China’s “Big Three” exchanges alongside BTCC, revealed they were freezing cryptocurrency withdrawals in an effort to combat money laundering. China’s central bank had previously ordered the Big Three bitcoin exchanges to take action.
BTCC Advantages
Good reputation, proven security
Founded back in 2011, BTCC is the longest-running bitcoin exchange worldwide. It was the dominant player for CNY/BTC trades before it closed its China operations. It is still considered as one of the best exchanges for trading in popular digital coins like BTC, ETH, ETC and BCC.
BTCC has a 100% track record in security since its inception, as it has not experienced any major hacks in its long history. More than 95% of its users’ digital assets are kept in cold storage with multi-signature controls to minimize the risk and exposure to hacking.
Large trading volume, deep liquidity
Currently, BTCC is rated 16th by 24-hour trading volume according to the data provided by CoinMarketCap and is typically among the top 20 players in this category. This basically means that its users don’t have to worry about insufficient liquidity.
Supports fiat (USD) currency, and Bank Wire and credit card transfersoffered
On BTCC’s USD exchange you can exchange your dollars for Bitcon, or vice versa. Supporting fiat currencies is an advantage, especially for newcomers in the cryptocurrency world, who are yet to buy some digital coins with their real money in traditional currencies. For those, using their credit card or bank account is utterly convenient.
Competitive trading fees
The fees charged by BTCC are relatively competitive, amounting to 0.1% / 0.2% per trade. Typically, exchanges charge 0.20% – 0.25%. However, some of them do not charge market makers, as the latter provide exchanges with liquidity.
Relatively low withdrawal fee
Like most exchanges, BTCC does not charge blockchain deposits. Other than this, certain fees apply to deposits in fiat currency, as well as to withdrawals, depending on the funding method and the currency. While many exchangescharge quite hefty deposit and withdrawal fees, BTCC’s commission seem relatively low
BTCC Disadvantages
Not regulated
Like most crypto-exchanges, BTCC is not licensed, nor overseen by any governmental authority. So, this is no big issue.
If you prefer to trade in digital coins via a regulated company, we remind you that you can do that with forex brokers. Make sure you are aware of the differencesbetween trading on an exchange and with forex brokerage beforehand.
Limited instrument portfolio
BTCC doesn’t offer a wide range of pairs for trade, choosing instead to focus on a smaller number of high-volume ones. Currently the available ones on both exchanges are: BTC/USD (constituting 70% of its overall volume), BCC/BTC, ETH/BTC, and ETC/BTC.
If you would rather trade in more exotic cryptocurrencies, check out Bittrex – this major US exchange offers over 190 digital assets for trade.
No margin trading
As a matter of fact, BTCC used to offer margin trading but discontinued this service in the beginning of 2017 after “discussions” with the People’s Bank of China (PBOC). Most cryptocurrency exchanges do not offer leverage, but there are some who do, like Kraken, Quoinex and others. Besides, all forex brokers ffer leveraged trading on cryptocurrency CFDs.
No anonymous trading
Since BTCC Exchange requires its users to verify their identity in order to trade in order to ensure the safety and security of the funds and activities on its platforms. Identity verification is also required in compliance with certain government AML KYC regulations. Verification process can be slow and complicated. Besides, itdefies the initial idea of of Bitcoin to allow anonymous trades.