ShapeShift is a cryptocurrency exchange that allows trading a large variety of digital assets. Based out of Switzerland, the exchange was founded in 2013 by Erik Voorhees and supports some popular tokens such as Monero, Bitcoin, and Ethereum. It received its first round of funding in 2015 and has since received multiple rounds of funding from major investors, such as Bitfinex.

Overview

Interface

ShapeShift is also called as an “instant” cryptocurrency exchange. It offers a highly convenient service without the need to create an account or even provide an email. In fact, it’s one of the few platforms that lets investors trade cryptocurrency without an account. The company recently acquired KeepKey, a leading hardware wallet that offers greater security against theft. That means you can expect strong privacy and security standards as you work on the platform. Despite the convenience, some investors have faced some problems who have either lost money or been unexpectedly charged high fees.

One more caveat being, Shapeshift may be termed as “ instant” but for certain transactions, it can take several hours for your trade to be fully processed. This is because Shapeshift has to make an actual transaction on blockchain ones the order is received.

Currency Support

ShapeShift only facilitates crypto-to-crypto exchanges which means it only exchange one token for the other because support to fiat currency is not enabled.

Fees

Shapeshift doesn’t charge any fees and instead makes profits from the exchange rate spreads of crypto- to – crypto trades. Each transaction also attracts miners fees which may differ from currency to currency

Security

The platform is safe to use and has not reported any cyber breaches. Although there is no clear picture on the security guidelines, ShapeShift is regarded as one of the most private crypto exchanges on the market. No account setup is required. The investor only has to do is type in the address of the cryptocurrency wallet to exchange one token for another.

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Customer Support

The ShapeShift website provides a comprehensive FAQ’s section to help the users. The ShapeShift website also has a “support” tab and a “submit request” tab. Response times are usually slow as compared to the commitment of 48-72 Hours.

Conclusion

Shapeshift is fairly easy and simple and provides a seamless way to transfer cryptocurrency. The exchange supports over 50 altcoins and also provides anonymity and is fairly quick. With the speed of transaction about to increase, this exchange can be fairly useful to exchange cryptocurrencies.