How to Buy Cryptocurrency in Colombia
Buying cryptocurrency in Colombia
In 2020, there was a major boost in crypto use as an asset as well as for transactional purposes in Columbia, where peer-to-peer lending platforms and cryptocurrency exchanges hit historic growth. Furthermore, the country of Columbia accounted for 11.3% of LocalBitcoins' global volume, making it one of the firm's top markets. While the coronavirus pandemic may have caused the boosted use of Bitcoin in the country, its citizens started showing interest in cryptocurrencies long before that. Having said this, the question of Colombia's crypto regulation remains unsettled. A published guidance by the SFC in 2014 declared that Bitcoin was not recognized as currency and that it was not considered legal tender. The very same guidance barred banks from dealing in virtual currencies which are considered personal property and aren't subjected to value-added tax. Other than this, there is little clarity regarding the actual policy of crypto regulation in the country
As of 20/03/2021
Exchanges Info
These exchanges all accept customers from Colombia. While they broadly offer the same services and you can buy cryptocurrency at all of them, there can be differences in transaction fees, security, verification requirements, deposit methods and features, as shown below
Binance
Binance is one of the largest crypto exchanges with low fees, 100s of coins, and high trading leverage. It is one of the easiest & cheapest exchanges for crypto trading.
Hundreds of coins and pairs
- Very low fees
- High liquidity
- Trade without verification
No US residents
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eToro
An Israeli fintech startup well known as a social trading broker, eToro has now over 10 million users worldwide. If you want to trade CFDs of most popular stocks, gold, shares or commodities as well as some crypto eToro is an interesting choice.
- Fully regulated financial institution
- Free stock and ETF trading
- Ability to follow expert traders
- Fees (spreads) are high
- Only USD as base currency
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Bitfinex
Operating since 2012, Bitfinex has a huge range of coins and trading pairs, a good user interface and low trading fees.
- Very low trading fees
- Large range of coins and trading pairs
- High liquidity
- Slow account verification
- Two major hacks
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Changelly
Changelly allows you to trade cryptocurrency without registration or verifying the identity through KYC. Being a non-custodial exchange, Changelly doesn’t require you to keep any deposits. The platform also works as a fiat-to-crypto gateway.
- Non-custodial exchange
- Great way to switch altcoins
- Doesn’t require extensive KYC
- 2FA security and high exchange limit
- A high transaction fee of 0.5%
- Unclear owners
- Sometimes their service is quite slow
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Poloniex
Poloniex is a centralized cryptocurrency exchange that started its journey back in January 2014. The platform offers margin trading, spot trading and margin lending
- No verification required
- Low fees
- Margin trading and lending options
- Not regulated
- No Fiat deposits
- No US users
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OKEx
OKEx is the second-largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world by volume. It posts over $2 billion in trades daily and has over 400 trading pairs.
- Good range of coins
- DEX trading
- No hacking history
- Not available in US
- KYC required
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Kucoin
Founded in 2017, KuCoin has already managed to establish itself as “The People’s Exchange.” With 200+ cryptocurrencies and more than 400 markets, it has become one of the hubs for cryptocurrency trading.
- Vast selection of altcoins
- Ability to stake & earn crypto yields
- Robust security features
- No forced KYC checks
- No fiat currency deposits
- Trading volume is low
Coinmama
Coinmama was formed in Slovakia in 2013. As a user, you are not allowed to exchange cryptocurrencies with other users on this platform. Instead, you will be trading cryptocurrencies with Coinmama directly which makes your transactions more secure.
- Receive coins to your wallet instantly.
- High limits for buying bitcoin
- Faster customer service
- High levels of security
- No option for trading with other users
- Higher fees
- No mobile app
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Bittrex
Bittrex is a veteran US-based cryptocurrency exchange launched in 2013. Its has Worldwide availability, comprehensive mobile app, high liquidity and low fees.
- Strong security features
- Faster transaction & withdrawals
- Compliant with US laws
- Inexpensive bank card deposits
- No leveraged margin trading
- Intrusive verification process
- Unexplained closure of account