Sterling Savvy

Crypto.com Review UK

Crypto.com Review UK

Crypto.com is one of the best crypto exchanges for UK investors. And it’s popular among seasoned traders as well as beginners.

It offers useful features and a wide selection of cryptocurrencies to choose from.

And it provides a convenient, user-friendly mobile app.

So, registering on Crypto.com is definitely something to consider. But if you’re not sure if this exchange is for you, this Crypto.com review will help clear things up.

Crypto.com Review

Crypto.com is a popular cryptocurrency platform that allows you to store, transfer, and exchange more than 170 cryptocurrencies. You can do this in different fiat currencies including GBP.

And with the Crypto.com Visa Card, you can use your crypto and spend it in any place that normally accepts Visa. Plus, you’ll get up to 5% cashback with every purchase.

There are many benefits of using Crypto.com, but the platform also has a few drawbacks. So, let’s take a quick look at the platform’s advantages and disadvantages.

Crypto.com Pros & Cons

Pros:

  • Available in the UK, Europe, the United States, Canada, Singapore, and Australia
  • 170+ cryptocurrencies
  • Easy to register and get verified
  • 24/7 customer support
  • Crypto.com Visa Card
  • Up to 5% cashback
  • No maintenance fees

Cons:

  • Bad Trustpilot rating
  • If you want to unlock the highest rebates, you have to stake a lot of CRO
  • Crypto Earn could be improved

What is Crypto.com?

Founded in 2016, Crypto.com quickly became one of the most popular crypto exchanges. The platform’s founders raised $26.7 million from their Monaco (MCO) initial coin offering in 2017.

They are currently located in Hong Kong and have a team of more than 900 people from around the world.

The platform was previously named Monaco (MCO) before rebranding in July 2018.

Crypto.com currently has around 10 million users worldwide, shortly after announcing they hit 5 million.

Crypto.com Products

Visa Card is one of the most popular features provided on Crypto.com. It allows you to convert your crypto and spend it at any place that accepts Visa.

But the platform also offers plenty of other options:

  • Crypto.com App: The app allows you to buy and sell a large number of cryptocurrencies. You can also use it to receive, store, and send crypto.
  • Crypto Pay: With this feature, you can buy gift cards for many popular brands and receive crypto on your phone. You can also pay any merchants that are using ‘Crypto Pay Checkout’ with Bitcoin (BTC) and other well-known assets.
  • Crypto Earn: This allows you to earn up to 12.5% interest on your crypto deposits.
  • Crypto Credit: With Crypto Credit, you can deposit cryptocurrency and get credit. You can then use it on your Crypto.com Visa Card.
  • Crypto.com Exchange: If you want to trade popular cryptocurrencies on your desktop, this platform allows you to do it with low trading fees (up to 0.4%).
  • Crypto.com DeFi Wallet: This user-custodial wallet allows you to store your crypto and have control over your private keys. It can be connected with ‘DeFi Swap’ so you can swap between tokens and earn interest.

Crypto.com Visa Card

If you want to spend your crypto in-store or online, you can easily do it with the Crypto.com Visa Card. The Card is accepted in any place that normally accepts Visa – from outlets to ATMs.

You can choose from different Crypto.com Visa Cards, so let’s take a quick look at some of them:

Card TierCashback (No CRO Stake)Cashback (CRO Stake)
Midnight Blue0%0%
Ruby Steel0%1%
Royal Indigo / Jade Green0%2%
Icy White / Frosted Rose Gold1%3%
Obsidian2%5%

Either way, you’ll have to stake a certain amount of Cronos (CRO) in the Crypto.com app. But you’ll also get extra benefits when you stake it and get a higher-tier card.

The Visa Cards that offer the highest cashback are quite unrealistic though because they require you to lock up a huge amount of money. For example, at the time of writing, you have to lock up £300,000 worth of CRO in the Crypto.com app if you want to get the Obsidian Black wallet.

Nevertheless, the versions with a lower CRO stake will ensure you a competitive cashback on your spending. So, if you’re fine with staking the equivalent of £300, you can get Ruby Steel which provides 1% cashback. And it provides a 100% rebate on Spotify subscriptions.

You should also bear in mind that rewards are capped in case you get the Royal Indigo or the Ruby Steel version.

Card TypeRewards Cap (USD)
Ruby Steel$25
Royal Indigo / Jade Green$50

These are the CRO staking requirements in a few other currencies.

If you want to avoid staking, you can still get Midnight Blue without any cashback.

Also, you can withdraw the CRO you staked after six months. So, it’s only temporary, but if you stop staking it, you can expect a lower (or zero) cashback rate as well as lose some of the card benefits. 

The Crypto.Com Visa Card is currently available in:

  • United Kingdom
  • Europe
  • United States
  • Canada
  • Singapore
  • Australia
Card TypeGBP CardEUR CardUSD Card
Midnight Blue£180€200$200
Ruby Steel£360€400$400
Royal Indigo£720€800$800
Jade Green£720€800$800
Icy White£720€800$1,000
Rose Gold£720€800$1,000
Obsidian Black£900€1,000$1,000

You can also be notified when they’re shipping in your country by registering your interest in the ‘Card’ section of the Crypto.com app.

Fees

If you don’t count the staking requirements, getting the Crypto.com Visa Card is completely free. Putting money on your card is also possible without any charges.

However, if you load your card with cryptocurrencies, you’ll be quoted prices below the real exchange rate. To avoid this, you can top up your card with a debit card.

It’s also important to note that there are no domestic transaction fees. And if you want to purchase something with your Crypto.com Visa Card in another currency, you’ll get the interbank exchange rate. There’s also a monthly limit to be aware of. But the fee for exceeding is only 0.5%.

There’s no monthly management fee, which is good news. However, you’ll be charges  £5.00, €5.00, or $4.95 for inactivity. You need to use your card at least once in a 12-month period.

Limits 

Some of the limits of the Crypto.com Visa Card you should keep in mind are the following:

LimitGBP CardEUR CardUSD Card
Maximum Card Balance£22,000€25,000$25,000
Top up Limit (Daily)£22,000€25,000$10,000
Top up Limit (Weekly)£22,000€25,000$25,000
Top up Limit (Yearly)£220,000€250,000
ATM Withdrawal Limit (Daily)£1,800€2,000$500 *
ATM Withdrawal Limit (Weekly)£9,000€10,000$5000 *
ATM Withdrawal Limit (Yearly)£66,000€75,000
ATM Withdrawal Frequency (Daily)333
ATM Withdrawal Frequency (Monthly)303030
ATM Withdrawal Frequency (Yearly)360360

Crypto.com App

One of the best things about Crypto.com is the platform’s convenient, user-friendly mobile app.

The app allows you to buy, sell, store and transfer more than 170 cryptocurrencies on Crypto.com including Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), Ripple (XRP), and so on.

You can purchase these cryptocurrencies with fiat currency like GBP, USD, and EUR. Plus, you can exchange between different cryptocurrencies with ease.

On Crypto.com, you can buy Bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptos at ‘true cost’. However, some users have complained about the quoted prices that don’t match the real exchange rate.

Either way, it’s possible that Crypto.com became a less competitive place, but it’s still cost-effective, especially if you compare it to some other options.

Nonetheless, if you want to avoid fees, you have to deposit your local currency into the exchange using a bank transfer. If you use a credit/debit card, you’ll be charged additional fees.

Supported Cryptocurrencies on Crypto.com

As we mentioned earlier, Crypto.com offers more than 170 different cryptocurrencies, and more is being added every month.

Supported Fiat Currencies on Crypto.com

When it comes to traditional currencies, Crypto.com allows you to choose from a variety of payment currencies. According to Crypto.com, these are the supported fiat currencies:

  • United States Dollar (USD)
  • British Pound (GBP)
  • Euro (EUR)
  • Singapore Dollar (SGD)
  • Canadian Dollar (CAD)
  • Australian Dollar (AUD)
  • New Zealand Dollar (NZD)
  • Hong Kong Dollar (HKD)
  • New Taiwan Dollar (TWD)
  • Norwegian Krone (NOK)
  • Swedish Krona (SEK)
  • Danish Krone (DKK)
  • Swiss Franc (CHF)
  • Polish Zloty (PLN)
  • South African Rand (ZAR)
  • Kenyan Shilling (KES)
  • Russian Ruble (RUB)
  • Bulgarian Lev (BGN)
  • Romanian Leu (RON)
  • Israeli New Shekel (ILS)
  • Saudi Riyal (SAR)
  • United Arab Emirates Dirham (AED)
  • Hungarian Forint (HUF)
  • Czech Koruna (CZK)
  • Brazilian Real (BRL)
  • Turkish Lira (TRY)

Payment Methods

In terms of payment methods, investors from the UK have the following options:

  • UK bank transfer
  • Debit card
  • Credit card

You should bear in mind that US investors can deposit USD with a bank transfer via ACH network, and users from the EU can deposit EUR with a SEPA bank transfer.

However, when you buy cryptocurrency with your credit card, that will probably be considered a cash advance. Therefore, you’ll probably have to pay a higher interest rate and some extra fees.

UK bank transfers are processed quickly because they are completed via the Faster Payments Service (FPS). Additionally, you can withdraw GBP from the exchange with a UK bank transfer, although that’s not so quick.

On the other hand, debit or credit card purchases are instant. However, you can’t use them to buy as much crypto as a UK bank transfer allows. And if you don’t have any CRO staked, you can use your credit/debit card only to buy about £6000 of cryptocurrency on a weekly basis.

Crypto Pay

Crypto Pay is another option available on the Crypto.com app. This feature allows you to buy gift cards with certain cryptocurrencies. This is possible for multiple brands in more than 30 countries including the UK, the EU, and the US.

Plus, you’ll get up to 10% cashback in CRO when you purchase these gift cards (with CRO). Supermarkets like Tesco, Asda, and Sainsbury’s accept this option.

Also, you can top up PAYG mobile phones with crypto and get cashback. In addition, you can use Crypto Pay to pay any merchant as long as they use Crypto Pay Checkout. This includes more than 15 cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin, Ethereum, and USDC.

Crypto Earn

If you want to earn interest, you’ll probably be interested in the Crypto Earn feature.

With Crypto Earn, you can earn up to 12.5% per year. That depends on the crypto you’re investing in, how long you’re locking it up for, and how many CRO you’re staking.

Crypto Credit

There’s also a Crypto Credit feature, but it’s currently not available in the UK.

With Crypto Credit, you can request instant loans, use your crypto holdings as collateral, and get the 50% loan-to-value (LTV) ratio. So, you would get £500 credit if you deposit £1,000 worth of, for example, Bitcoin (BTC).

If you have previously mentioned Ruby Steel or Midnight Blue card, you’ll be charged 12% APR. But if you stake more CRO, this can be reduced to 8%.

Crypto.com Exchange

In 2019, the beta version of the Crypto.com Exchange was launched. Every Crypto.com app user can sign up within minutes. That way, people can trade popular cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and Litecoin (LTC).

However, trading fees are rather hefty now. Therefore, if you do a small trade or don’t stake anything, you’ll pay 0.40% in trading fees based on the maker-taker model.

But if you register on the Crypto.com Exchange now, you can get a 2% bonus on all cryptocurrency deposits in the first 30 days.

The Syndicate

The Syndicate allows you to buy cryptocurrencies that are about to be listed on the exchange at a discounted price. You might even get a 50% discount.

You can access this feature by locking up 5,000 CRO on the Crypto.com Exchange. But since this feature became quite popular (we can understand why), you now need to have a trading volume of at least $5000 over the last 30 days on the Crypto.com Exchange to be eligible.

Soft Staking

On the Crypto.com Exchange, you can get a small amount of interest on crypto balances in your exchange wallet. This interest is usually up to 4%.

If you want to focus on this, there’s no lock-up period. You just need to enable the option in your settings and you’ll receive rewarded interest every day. If you meet the minimum amounts, you’ll get a bonus.

Alternatives to Crypto.com

Crypto.com is a unique platform that offers many options and possibilities, so it’s hard to offer an alternative.

However, you can check out Wirex. It’s a platform that allows you to receive, store, and send popular cryptocurrencies as well as buying and selling without high fees. It supports 37 countries including the UK.

The platform also provides a Wirex Card that rewards you with up to 2% cashback. You can use it anywhere where Mastercard is normally accepted.

Crypto.com Review UK – Final Thoughts

All things considered, Crypto.com is one of the most popular platforms for a good reason.

First of all, Crypto.com allows you to buy crypto in a quick and easy way and you can choose from more than 170 cryptocurrencies.

The Crypto.com Visa Card provides competitive cashback and the possibility to use it almost anywhere. Plus, you can get up to 10% cash back on gift cards for popular brands.

All in all, whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned trader, Crypto.com will undoubtedly meet your needs.

I’m Will! I recently left my job working for one of the UK’s leading financial companies in London to start Sterling Savvy, a place to empower people in the UK financially.

 

With my experience working with some of the biggest financial services companies in the world and my education in Economics & Finance, I want to help you be more savvy with your money. 

 

You can read more about my mission here.

Advertiser Disclosure

We may receive compensation from our partners for placement of their products or services, which helps to maintain our site. We may also receive compensation if you click on certain links posted on our site. While compensation arrangements may affect the order, position or placement of product information, it doesn’t influence our assessment of those products.