Crypto exchangers without illusions: facts instead of fears

1. There are many scammers among exchangers

Indeed, fraudulent services are often found among exchangers. However, there are also plenty of scammers among cryptocurrency exchanges. For example, the founders of the exchanges Cryptsy and QuadrigaCX disappeared with users' stolen assets.

To reduce the risk of fraud, it is recommended to use special aggregators that provide a list of verified exchangers with a good reputation, such as BestChange. In addition, BestChange helps find the most profitable exchange options for the user's chosen direction.

When searching and selecting an exchanger independently, it is essential to consider signs that may indicate fraudulent services:

1. Suspiciously favorable exchange rate, e.g., significantly below or above the market rate;
2. Recently registered domain (only a few months old);
3. No positive or many negative reviews.

2. Exchangers are less profitable than crypto exchanges

The buy and sell rate at exchangers differs from the exchange rate because it includes a service fee, but for many exchangers, the difference is not that big.

When exchanging through exchanges, you also have to consider deposit and withdrawal fees. Therefore, in reality, buying and selling cryptocurrency via exchangers can often turn out to be even more cost-effective than using crypto exchanges.

Moreover, it is much more convenient, as the user receives funds directly into their wallet or card. Because of this, the exchange process may be significantly faster.

3. You can get "tainted" cryptocurrency through exchangers

Even if that's true, such cases are sporadic, as almost all legally operating services today are required to comply with KYC ("Know Your Customer") and AML ("Anti-Money Laundering") regulations.

For this reason, exchangers continuously perform AML checks on the addresses they interact with to avoid receiving "dirty" cryptocurrency associated with illegal activities. Finally, the services themselves are legally liable for exchanging illicit funds, so it is in their best interest to conduct these checks.

Therefore, if you try to withdraw "tainted" cryptocurrency from your wallet through an exchanger, the service may reject the transaction. For this reason, as well, only verified exchangers with a solid reputation should be used.

4. Exchangers are slow

In reality, most exchange operations via exchangers take between 5 and 15 minutes. In rare cases, transactions may take 30 minutes or more. This depends on many factors, including the exchanger's operation type: manual, semi-automatic, or automatic.

In manual mode, requests are processed by an operator so that the exchange speed may be lower than at automatic exchangers. As a rule, online exchangers specify processing times on their websites.

Exchange speed can also depend on the following:

1. High number of user requests causing queues (e.g., during high market volatility);
2. Additional manual verification of the payment (e.g., if the amount is large or the transaction seems suspicious);
3. Issues on the side of payment systems.

If you need to exchange cryptocurrency quickly, you should prefer online exchangers that operate in automatic mode.

5. Exchangers are anonymous and used for money laundering

Before 2020, many exchangers indeed allowed crypto exchanges without verification, at least for small amounts. This was possible because the crypto market was still lightly regulated.

However, regulation has tightened, and nearly all exchangers now follow strict KYC rules and are required to verify clients' identities and cooperate with financial regulators and law enforcement.

Some exchangers even require bank card verification during exchanges to reduce legal risks from accidental connections to illegal activity. In rare cases, online exchangers may also ask for proof of the source of funds.

Thus, even if exchangers do allow anonymous transactions, it's only for small amounts. Such services are becoming increasingly rare. Moreover, many of them are likely to shut down or be forced to comply with KYC and AML rules soon.

Conclusion

Many myths about crypto exchangers are now outdated or exaggerated. While the risks mentioned still exist, they can be minimized by following basic security practices and using verified exchange services, for example, those listed on BestChange.