Editor’s note: As of May 8, 2023, Bittrex’s US arm has filed for bankruptcy after announcing it would cease operations in the country in April. The company expects that customers will receive the full value of any crypto assets left with the company. Bittrex Global continues to serve customers outside the US
Bittrex offers a steeply declining commission structure that offers cheaper trades to those who add volume to their trades, and those looking for a wide selection of coins have plenty to choose from here, even if some popular names are missing. Customers can also get staking rewards, albeit on just one cryptocurrency. Your customer support choices include service tickets, email, and 24/7 live chat – but no phone support.
Traders who need an even wider selection of tradeable coins should check out Coinbase or Crypto.com. For those who want to make crypto a sideline to more traditional trading and only need the most popular coins, TradeStation and Interactive Brokers are worth comparing.
Bittrex at a glance
| Category | Bittrex |
|---|---|
| Minimum balance: | No |
| Marketable securities: | 108 cryptocurrencies |
| Cost per transaction: |
|
| Customer service: | Self-help, support tickets and 24/7 live chat |
| Mobile App: | The Bittrex mobile app is available on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store |
Pros: Where Bittrex stands out
Commissions
Bittrex’s commission scheme is relatively simple and structured similarly to rivals. Like many others, Bittrex has a maker-taker commission structure that gives some preference to those who create liquidity in the market (makers) over those who reduce it (takers). It also offers discounts to those who bring a lot of trading volume to the crypto exchange.
Here are the commission structure and 30-day volume required to reach each price level:
| 30 day volume | Maker | Taker |
|---|---|---|
| Less than $25,000 | 0.35 percent | 0.35 percent |
| $25,000 – $50,000 | 0.25 percent | 0.30 percent |
| $50,000 – $100,000 | 0.15 percent | 0.25 percent |
| $100,000 – $1 million | 0.10 percent | 0.20 percent |
| $1 million – $5 million | 0.06 percent | 0.16 percent |
| $5 million – $10 million | 0.05 percent | 0.15 percent |
| $10 million – $60 million | 0.02 percent | 0.10 percent |
| $60 million – $100 million | 0 percent | 0.08 percent |
| $100 million and more | 0 percent | 0.05 percent |
Your commission is the product of your rate times your trade value. For example, if you purchased $10,000 worth of cryptocurrency and had no previous 30-day volume, you would pay $35 at the maker or taker rate. Now suppose you already had $30,000 in volume and placed another $10,000 order: a maker would pay $25 for that trade, while a taker would pay $30.
The volume-based pricing is attractive, especially if you regularly use high volumes. However, other players offer better prices at lower volume levels, including Binance.US, which offers commission-free trades on Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Bittrex also charges more reasonable fees for PIN transactions, at 3 percent, while some rivals reach the level of 4.5 percent.
Other costs
Bittrex is also good about other fees. It does not charge deposit or withdrawal fees for US dollars, and it does not charge fees for cryptocurrency deposits. However, it does charge fees for cryptocurrency withdrawals to cover network transfer costs. Bittrex openly displays this fee so you know what to expect before you get to the decision point.
Selection of cryptocurrency
Bittrex offers 108 different cryptocurrencies – one of the largest crypto buffets around – and like many rivals, it is constantly adding new ones. You get the most popular options like Bitcoin and Ethereum, but also other top options like newcomer Cardano and meme coins like Dogecoin. And that’s on top of dozens of altcoins.
While more than 100 choices are certainly a lot, Bittrex doesn’t offer all the most popular cryptocurrencies, at least not yet. So it doesn’t matter how big the offer is, if Bittrex does not offer the coin you are looking for. Conversely, if the buffet already offers your favorites, an even larger buffet won’t really add much to your experience.
This range compares favorably to many traditional brokers who only offer four to seven cryptocurrencies, and only the most popular ones. Interactive Brokers and Robinhood, for example, offer trading in only a handful of cryptocurrencies.
Cons: Where Bittrex could improve
Limited betting options
Bittrex does offer wagering rewards, but these are limited to one cryptocurrency for now – Cardano. Staking allows holders of a cryptocurrency to contribute their holdings and participate in the rewards that accrue to those who validate and therefore support transactions in a cryptocurrency. Starting in January 2023, Bittrex will offer staking rewards of 5.5 percent on Cardano.
With only one cryptocurrency available in the betting options, the choices are limited. Those looking for a little more variety can turn to Binance.US, which offers staking rewards on 23 cryptos as of last count.
Customer support
The customer support at Bittrex is slightly better than the rest of the field. That’s not to say it’s good, just that it’s slightly above the level of support that many crypto traders have come to accept. Like many other crypto exchanges, customers can look for answers on self-help pages and access support tickets, where you send an email and then wait for a representative to respond to you. However, Bittrex outshines the competition with its 24/7 live chat functionality.
Yet, compared to the world of traditional online stock brokers, where you can often get a helpful and knowledgeable person on the phone to answer that tough question within a minute, the support options at Bittrex leave much to be desired.
Missing key coins
Bittrex offers some of the most popular coins on the market – the really big coins like Bitcoin and Ethereum of course, but also Dogecoin, Cardano and major stablecoins like Tether and USD Coin. But if you want to trade other popular currencies, you might be out of luck here.
Bittrex does not currently offer Polygon, Solana, Polkadot or Shiba Inu – all top 20 coins – according to CoinMarketCap. If that’s what you’re looking for, then those missing coins are probably a deal breaker for you. Still, you may come across a more obscure coin further down the ranks of Bittrex, and that could be a major driver for choosing to trade on this exchange.
