Complete Coindirect Review for Beginners

Coindirect is a decentralized, peer-to-peer crpytocurrency exchange platform that was launched in late 2017 to serve cryptocurrency enthusiasts in the U.K., South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya. It has since seen meteroric growth and has expanded its offerings to 23 different countries as of August 2018.

Especially in Africa, the company is filling a gap in the market by providing a platform that users can tap for convenient payments using a wide variety of altcoins. Best of all the platform supports local currencies, so users in Nigeria can purchase crpytocurrencies using Naira and Kenyans can make purchases with Kenyan shillings.

This can be done via bank transfers, the mobile payment system M-pesa and through the online payment provider PayPal.

Buying and selling cryptocurrencies through Coindirect is quick and easy, and since the prices are set by the sellers you can sometimes find bargains. With 43 cryptocurrencies currently available, exchanges can be made 24/7 and the fee structure is completely transparent. It’s a what you see is what you pay setup.

The team behind Coindirect has worked very hard to create a platform that makes it easy for anyone to trade, buy and sell, or invest in cryptocurrencies.

Like competing exchanges, Coindirect has implemented stringent security measures, including an escrow protection and registration with the Isle of Man Financial Supervision Commission. Coindirect is committed to complying with international financial standards.

Below you can get full information about Coindirect, including the features they offer, how to create an account, the safety of the platform, and much more.

Let’s get started!

Coindirect Review: Features

I’ll start out by letting you know what you can expect to get from working with the decentralized Coindirect exchange.

  • Multiple Currencies – Trade Bitcoin, Ethereum or over 40 other altcoins, including Ripple, EOS, Monero and NEO.
  • Buy, Sell and Convert – Buy, sell and convert multiple cryptocurrencies. Sellers are able to set their own prices, while buyers have a variety of different prices to choose from. And you can convert any of the altcoins on the platform to and from Bitcoin seamlessly.
  • Open New Wallets with Ease – Coindirect makes it easy to open new wallets for every cryptocurrency you want to use.
  • Simple Transfers – Transfer are kept simple, and you can send coins to and from third-party wallets with just a few clicks.
  • Security – Coindirect has taken several steps to maintain your security when using their platform. Besides providing bank level security to the network, they also keep coins in an escrow account until the transaction has been completed.
  • WYSIWYG – With Coindirect you’ll always know what your fees and costs will be. The price on the payment page is the final price. There are never any hidden fees.

Account Registration and the Coindirect Dashboard

It’s quick and easy to create an account at Coindirect. Simply use their sign-up form and enter your email address, your desired password, and check the reCaptcha box to prove you’re not a robot. Coindirect will send you an email to confirm your account, and after you click the enclosed confirmation link you’ll be good to go.

Once your account is confirmed you can sign in and have a look at the Coindirect dashboard. The first thing you’ll see is a reminder message to verify your personal details. This needs to be done before you can place an order. It’s a requirement for Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) regulations.

You can get to the personal details by clicking the “Profile” link. There you’ll be able to add details such as your name, address and mobile phone number. You’ll also be able to upload your ID and proof of address documents. This unlocks more features and higher deposit/withdrawal/trading limits.

You can also add your bank account for withdrawals and your preferred payment method here. This is a list of the payment categories and types Coindirect accepts:

  • Bank Transfer
    • National Bank Transfer
    • Same Bank Transfer
  • Mobile Money
    • M-PESA
  • Online Payment
    • PayPal

You’ll also see in your dashboard that Coindirect gives you three wallets immediately upon account creation. You’ll have a wallet for Bitcoin, Ethereum and USDT. If you need a wallet for any other cryptocurrency supported by Coindirect you can add it easily by going to the “Wallets” tab, clicking “Add Wallet” and then selecting the cryptocurrency you’d like a wallet for.

Coindirect Review: Buying Cryptocurrencies at Coindirect

Before you can buy anything you need to go through the identity verification process, but once that’s complete you can begin buying whichever cryptocurrencies you might be interested in. The peer-to-peer exchange has 43 different cryptocurrencies represented.

If you want to stick with a more traditional exchange you can buy from Coindirect itself, but the exchange only offers Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, Litecoin and USDT. You can make purchases from the exchange using Bitcoin or South African Rand.

You can also stick with the peer-to-peer marketplace for more choice in cryptocurrencies available and payment methods. As you can see from the image below there’s a “Buy” button clearly shown on the right of each cryptocurrency, and clicking that takes you to the detail screen, where you can see what coins are on offer at what price and from which sellers – including the seller’s user rating, payment terms, and name.

Coindirect has made it as simple as entering the amount of coins you’d like, or the amount you’re willing to pay and then choosing your payment method.

Click to buy and the transaction will be processed, with the coins showing up in your account once they are verified on the blockchain. There are no additional fees, and the price you see is the price you get. No surprises.

Coindirect Review: Selling and Converting Cryptocurrencies

As you can see there’s also a “Sell” tab in the peer-to-peer exchange, and this is where you can go to list your coins for sale. It’s straight-forward and easy to do, and any proceeds will be deposited into the account you’ve specified as the bank account in your profile.

Currently you can sell Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, Litecoin and Dash. If you have other altcoins to sell its as simple as converting them to one of those other five first and then sending them to your appropriate Coindirect wallet.

Remember you need to create a wallet for Ripple, Litecoin and Dash if you want to send those coins to Coindirect. You can’t send incompatible coins to an address. This means your Bitcoin wallet is only for Bitcoin, and your Dash wallet is only for Dash, etc.

Coindirect clearly states that “attempting to send coins to an incompatible wallet will lead to them to be lost in the blockchain, typically rendering them irretrievable”.

To transfer coins simply go to the correct wallet and then click “Receive”. You’ll be given a wallet address that you can use to send your coins to the proper wallet. You can even send coins from an external wallet to sell on Coindirect.

Coindirect Review: Fees

I’ve mentioned fees at Coindirect before, but it’s worth repeating that Coindirect charges a 1% fee only when you sell coins. There is no fee for buying coins. And there are no hidden fees to surprise you when you send or receive coins. The stated and actual practice for prices at Coindirect is “what you see is what you get”.

One area where people sometimes get confused about this is with network fees. In some cases Coindirect needs to move coins to a different address before moving them to you and in these cases there could be network fees imposed by the blockchain. Those fees are out of Coindirects control, but typically they aren’t very large.

Coindirect Review: Support

Support at Coindirect is currently only available via email. You can also take advantage of the FAQ document in the Coindirect Help section, and this should answer most basic questions.

Note that there have been online complaints from some users that support is extremely slow at Coindirect. There have also been complaints that sometimes support will respond without giving a proper answer. I’m sure some of these cases are simply a misunderstanding on the customers part, or simply disgruntled customers looking to smear Coindirect’s reputation.

Safety at Coindirect

The first layer of safety comes from the operations of the company itself. It has operations in London and the Isle of Man, and is register with the Isle of Man Financial Supervision Commission. This is to ensure that Coindirect is complying with all international standards and best practices in regard to financial transactions.

The network itself is secured by international bank grade security practices, keeping transactions encrypted and safe from hackers. Coindirect also employs an escrow system which transfers funds to a third-party before they get sent to their final destination. This is to ensure payments are made properly and protects users from scammers and other bad actors.

Buyers are protected from potentially malicious sellers by the Coindirect requirement for all users to verify their identity before buying or selling on the site. In addition, a rating system rates users from 1 to 5 stars, which let’s new users see immediately which sellers have been trustworthy in the past.

And finally, personal accounts can be protected by adding two-factor authentication as part of the log-in process.

Earning at Coindirect

If you’re interested in using Coindirect to enhance your income there are three ways to accomplish this. The first and most obvious is to simply use the exchange to trade cryptocurrencies and profit from price changes. A second related method is to buy cryptocurrencies at low prices and then sell them in the peer-to-peer marketplace for higher prices.

This might not be the easiest way to make money, but once you get more experience the process will become quicker and easier, allowing you to scale the business to greater levels.

A final way to earn with Coindirect would be to join their affiliate program. This is a program that pays you for getting others to join Coindirect and trade there. Currently they are offering 20% commission on trade fees for life. That means you can continue earning on a referral for as long as they continue using the Coindirect platform. Payments are made daily.

Coindirect Review: Conclusion

Until quite recently users in Africa didn’t have a lot of options when it came to making payments, and most of them included large transaction fees. With the addition of Coindirect those living in Africa can inexpensively transfer funds, or begin investing in cryptocurrencies.

The recent rebrand and addition of the South African Rand as a purchasing currency shows that the team at Coindirect is committed to improving and growing the business. This also shows in the increased number of crpytocurrencies available since the launch of the platform, and the increase in the number of supported countries.

Many users also appreciate this type of decentralized peer-to-peer cryptocurrency exchange because it stays true to the vision of Satoshi Nakamoto when he created Bitcoin.

Coindirect Rating: 4.0 - Review by