Bitso is celebrated as the first-ever cryptocurrency exchange in Mexico. It arrived in the Mexican financial industry in 2014 under the leadership of Ben Peters, Pablo Gonzalez, and Daniel Vogel. Its head office is located in Campos, Eliseos, 400 601B, Col. Polanco Reforma, Mexico DF, Mexico.

During its infancy, Bitso aimed to bring Mexico and Latin America into the folds of cryptocurrencies. Its objective was to open Mexico to the benefits of cryptocurrencies such as fast transaction speeds and low fees, and it has attained massive success towards this goal.

Today, Bitso is the largest cryptocurrency exchange in Latin America. It offers cryptocurrency pairs, but only against the Pesos or BTC. For example, you can trade XRP for Bitcoin, ETH for Bitcoin, LTC for Bitcoin or Mexican Pesos. Since Bitso is both a crypto exchange platform and a wallet, you can use it to simply store your coins.

One of the critical strengths of Bitso is that it allows Mexicans to deposit MXN into their wallet through bank transfer. Also, users can deposit and withdrawal Mexican Pesos through the Ripple gateway.

Bitso Wallet

As a wallet, Bitso offers the storage of 4 altcoins: Bitcoin Cash, Ripple, Ethereum and Bitcoin. The wallet interface is intuitive; it will allow you to see both your transaction history and current balance.

Converting any of the coins into fiat money or fiat money into cryptos is fast and straightforward. Select the amount of altcoins or fiat money that you want to convert, Bitso will process the conversion based on the latest market price. The platform offers a host of other features such as the limit order. This feature allows you to set parameters and have the trade executed only after your specified settings have been achieved. For example, you can specify the price level, and have the trade executed automatically once that price level is attained.

Bitso Trading Fees

Arguably, one of the most important factors to consider when choosing a crypto exchange is trading fees. Every currency exchange occurs between two parties; the maker and the taker. Makers are traders who create/boost liquidity in the exchange. In other words, makers add new orders to the order book. On the contrary, takers reduce liquidity in the market.

Most exchanges offer discounts to encourage liquidity in the market. Other exchanges operate on a flat fee model. Such platforms charge both makers and takers the same trading fees.

In this regard, Bitso charges a flat fee of 1% if the trader is trading 1BTC or less. It offers volume discounts which means the more the amount you are trading, the lower the fees. The flat fee model for 1 BTC and less tends to favour takers.

Overall, Bitso flat trade fee of 1% is way higher than the global average, which lies around 0.25%. However, if you are familiar with the Latin American crypto industry, you will agree that Bitso offers the best trading fees in the Mexican crypto industry.

There are several justifications for higher than average trade fees. First, Bitso faces strict regulatory standards, a smaller market compared to brands that operate globally, and higher taxes. As of the time of this review, Bitso is licensed to operate in the Mexican and Latin American. This means the brand cannot easily accumulate the trade volume that would be required for it to charges low fees.

So, in terms of trade fees, each investor should evaluate whether Bitso provides features that justify paying the higher cost. The exact trading fees are as follows:

• Trading BTC/MXN costs 1% for trades of 1BTC and below. However, the higher the amount, the lower the trade fees. For instance, if you exchange 9-12 BTC for the Mexican Pesos, the fee drops to 0.75%. The price falls further to 0.5% BTC for trades of 40-45 BTC, to an incredible 0.1% for trades of 40-55 BTC.
• Exchange of ETH/MXN incurs 0.8% in trade fees for volumes below 50 ETH. The cost drops to 0.1% for 16000 ETH and above.
• The platform charges 0.8% to trade XRP/MXN. It lowers the rate to 0.1% for trades above 75,000,000 MXN.
• Bitso charges 0.5% for LTC/MXN trades regardless of the trade volume.

The bottom line, trading cryptocurrencies on Bitso is a great deal, especially for large-volume traders. Bitso supports crypto deposits which makes it a great starting point for new traders.

Liquidity

Unlike some websites that only allow you to buy altcoins, Bitso is a true exchange where you trade with other Mexicans. Therefore, the liquidity of the brand is a critical factor. Otherwise, it is impossible to make trades if there is no one else on the platform to trade with. Fortunately, liquidity isn’t an issue on Bitso.

We don’t have the recent user data, but as of 2016, the brand had 20,000+ users and a daily trade volume of 147 BTC. This translates to roughly $522,000 per day. Sure, the volume isn’t as impressive as what you would get from brands such as Binance, but Bitso users are able to move crypto in and out smoothly and fast.

Minimum Depositw

It is a fact that Mexico has been battling with unequal wealth distribution. Consequently, it is only equitable that Bitso should not impose unreasonable barriers to entry. To be more specific, you can create a Bitso account and start trading with as little as MXN 100 (roughly $5.3). The minimum trade amount is capped at 0.001 BTC which is low. It’s no wonder that Bitso describes itself as “Accessible.”

Deposit Methods

Bitso accepts deposits through wire transfer. However, you can’t load funds into your account using a credit card. Deposits are free. The full list of supported deposit options include:

• Ripple Getaway
• SPEI Network
• International Bank Wire

Bitso Withdrawal fees

While Bitso trading fees may be far above the industry average, but its withdrawal fees lie on the other end of the spectrum. The exact amount varies, but it averages to about 0.0007 BTC. The amount is far below the industry average and one of the key competitive advantages of Bitso. Ethereum withdrawals incur a cost of 0.0025 ETH.

The supported repertoire of withdrawal options include:

• Bitcoin withdrawals
• Ethereum Withdrawals
• Ripple Gateway
• SPEI
• International Bank wire

Mobile Application

The Bitso iOS and Android app has won good reviews on both Google Play and Apple’s App Store. The app is a replica of the desktop platform. It allows users to check their account balance, and access live price charts, busy and sell crypto – all from their smartphone or tablet screens.

Creating Account

As I mentioned above, Bitso focusses on being accessible. This is the feeling the brand gives with its sign up process. It has one of the most user-friendly and fastest registration processes I have seen so far.

The brand only requires you to supply your area of residence, email and to set a password. Then, you will be required to check a few boxes and agree to the brand’s terms and conditions. The next step requires you to confirm that you are 18 years and above, tick the reCaptcha box, and click done. After this, you will be sent a confirmation code via email. Copy and key it in, and you are now free to start exploring the trading interface.

Trading Limit, Types of Accounts, and Verification

Bitso does not put entry barriers, but it has withdrawal and deposit limits which are based on the traders level of verification. The limits are highly reasonable and unlikely to be a problem. Bitso classifies account into three levels based on your level of verification:

1. Level 1 – You only need to create your account and confirm your phone number, and you will automatically be enrolled in level 1. Level one traders have a deposit and withdrawal limit of MXN 5,3000 per day and MXN 32,000 per month.
2. Level 2 – To qualify for a level 2 account, you must verify your identity, provide proof of residence, and load funds into your account using SPEI at least once. Also, you must have traded MXN 5,000. Level 2 traders are allowed to deposit a maximum of $150,000 per day and $480 per month.
3. Level 3 – You need to sign a contract with Bitso to join level 3. The account has a daily deposit and withdrawal limit of $1,000,000 and no maximum.

Customer Service

One of the primary demerits of small exchanges is their subpar customer services – and this is one of the most significant weaknesses of Bitso. We won’t beat around the bush – the platforms customer support team has much room for improvements. The only way to reach Bitso representative is by opening a ticket. The brand promises a 24-48 hours response, but from my experience, the wait is much longer.

However, the support team is very active on social media, especially Twitter. They will most likely answer all your basic questions on the platform, but often refer users to the support ticket for challenging problems.

Conclusion

I began this review by stating that Bitso is a fully-fledged crypto exchange and wallet that is dedicated to serving Mexicans. That is still true, but upon a more in-depth analysis of the platform features, Bitso is far from perfect.

The user interface is excellent, especially the trading view, but it lacks in numerous ways. The customer support – which is a crucial pillar of a good trading platform – is terrible. You can’t reach the team in any other way other than a tweet or an online ticket system. Also, the platform asserts that it is entirely secure, but beyond 2FA, it does not share more information on how it secures traders funds. This is is a bit worrying especially given the 2018 hack attempt on Bitso.

Overall, Bitso is a crypto exchange that has done many things right. The brand has nailed its motto of being “Accessible,” thanks to its quick and fast, no limit registration process. The brand is not perfect, but it crosses the gap for Mexican traders. With a few improvements, Bitso has the potential to turn into a brand at the pink of its health.