This article is about Coincheck – a bitcoin exchange and wallet. We have compiled a guide to its operation, to make it easier for you, so keep reading.
Summary: How to Buy BTC on Coincheck
- Open up a free account at the platform’s website and verify your email address.
- If you happen to live outside of Japan, you do need to verify your account by clicking “Verification” tab on the top of the page.
- Go to your account page and click “Deposit” and provide your bank account details to deposit money into the exchange.
- Click “Exchange” tab and fill out the purchase order, then click “Buy” to get BTC.
- Check your balance and click “Withdraw” button to open up a transfer form.
- Fill out your external wallet’s details, as address code and bring your coins out of the platform.
How Does Coincheck Operate?
Coincheck is a cryptocurrency exchange where traders can purchase their first bitcoins...
What Countries Does Coincheck Support?
The platform’s main service area is Asian continent, since the company behind it is based in Japan...
What About Its Security?
Coincheck was hacked in the past and yet provides very little protection even after the incident...
Coincheck’s Privacy
Verification of trader’s identity is applicable for non-Japanese clients only at this moment...
What About Fees?
Only deposit fees are applicable, since trade costs are leveled at zero marks to attract more...
Does It Offer a Wallet?
Coincheck offers its own wallet service, which we recommend not to use due to the hacking incident...
Cryptocurrency can be considered a stable medium of purchasing goods and services. Cryptocurrencies, such as ripple or bitcoin, were initially devised as a reward for solving blockchains. The bitcoin miner was rewarded with an amount of bitcoin, corresponding to the difficulty of the blockchain and the time needed to solve it.
Another common method of acquiring bitcoin is through exchanges. Like foreign exchange platforms for fiat currencies, such as dollars and euros, the need to develop secure cryptocurrency exchanges took place. We will focus on one of those exchanges, Coincheck, as we will discuss its advantages and shortcomings.
What Is Coincheck?
Coincheck is an online exchange platform for trading on cryptocurrencies. Coincheck supports a wide range of cryptocurrencies, such as ripple, bitcoin, Ethereum, and many others.
Coincheck was founded in Tokyo, Japan. The founders, Koichiro Wada and Yusuke Otsuka, were planning on providing a platform wherein you can retain your cryptocurrency and use it to trade on other cryptocurrencies. Alternatively, to use most of the popular fiat currencies as a form of payment in order to purchase bitcoin and other cryptos.
Back in 2014, when Coincheck was just founded, over 2,200 users were operating within its marketplace, as their medium to trade on bitcoin and other cryptos. Coincheck is considered to be one of the pillars of cryptocurrencies trade ecosystem operating in Asia. As it works on enlarging the cryptocurrency exchange business and trade.
Coincheck is a member of Japan Blockchain Association. They work on improving the customer experience in terms of trading on cryptocurrencies.
Where Is Coincheck Available?
One of the crucial points in any review and assessing the reach of any cryptocurrency exchanges are the countries in which it is available. Coincheck is based in Japan, Tokyo. But that does not mean that it does not support countries outside the premises of its headquarters.
Coincheck supports many Asian countries and is deemed a powerhouse in trading on bitcoin in Asia. Provided that you are residing in Japan, you will not need to undergo extensive verification of your information when you create your account.
Payment Methods and Currencies Supported
Let’s assume you are keen on trading on bitcoin. You will start by selecting a cryptocurrency trading exchange in mind and assumingly, you will proceed by trading on Coincheck. How do you acquire your initial bitcoin?
The answer is simple, you will start by paying the initial amount of bitcoin you intend to buy via any of the available payment methods.
Coincheck supports Yen and US dollars. You start by depositing the amount you desire in order to start trading on bitcoin.
There is a fee of 25 USD to be paid by the customers when they deposit the fiat amount in their account if the deposit is in US dollars. Coincheck supports different payment methods, by depositing in the account or credit cards.
Trading Conditions
In May 2017, Coincheck issued their trading terms and conditions. It is downloadable for free, and the details within the pamphlet should include most of the inquiries that will occur to traders, be them current traders with Coincheck or prospects. We will highlight some crucial points here.
In short, the trading manual states that Coincheck retains the right to suspend orders in case of irregular market fluctuations or reduced liquidity.
Also, they state that there is a risk for the virtual currency to be lost in any cyber-attacks or when server maintenances. This is a point that we will need to discuss later on regarding the news of Coincheck’s hack.
Coincheck states clearly the transactions fees as shown in the screenshot below.
Coincheck Security
Online transactions are not practically 100% secure. As a matter of fact, many companies that trade online allocate some of their revenues as a fund for countering such issues, to arrange reimbursements in case of cyber breaches or situations like that.
That being said, it is impossible to devise a perfect security protocol for any online entity. However, cyber-security specialists keep updating, improving, and improvising online security measures on the go.
At the beginning of 2018, it was all over the news that Coincheck was hacked. The estimated amount to be pilfered by the hackers was around the equivalent of $500 million dollars. The security shortcoming was attributed to the method of storing cryptocurrencies in hot wallets, rather than cold or deep storage.
Is It Easy to Use?
For some users, the user interface can be a no-no, without any second thoughts.
Most users deem Coincheck to be easy to use and user-friendly. When you log in or sign in, you are prompted to follow the directory suitable for your need.
Registration is relatively easy, especially if you are located in Japan, albeit that new submissions and registration are temporarily suspended.
This is mainly in response to the recent cyber-attack. Coincheck is acting proactively by amending the flaws in their security system, whilst governing their member base volume.
In conclusion, Coincheck is friendly to be used by the average to the novice users alike.
Is Coincheck Private?
One of the most important aspects of online trading is privacy. Many users or traders prefer to exchange the minimal required information in order to proceed with any transactions. Many exchanges provide a sense of privacy by requiring minimal identity verification or not at all for transactions that do not exceed a certain trading limit.
As Coincheck is virtually active in only one country, Japan, there are no scrutinizing security checks if you are trading from Japan. However, if you are operating from outside of Japan, extensive identity verification may be required.
Mostly, this is to combat money laundering and organized crime investment. In general, Coincheck provides a fair, relative amount of privacy if you are dealing with it domestically, whilst being located in Japan.
bitFlyer vs Coincheck
bitFlyer is an online trading exchange that was founded in January 2014. bitFlyer earned a name for itself for being able to appeal to the average user and recruiting financial experts in order to maintain a successful exchange for cryptocurrencies.
Like Coincheck, bitFlyer is a member of Japan Blockchain Association.
Also, both exchanges are focused on operating within Japan. Now, to compare what points that strengthen each exchange, we will proceed with a brief bitFlyer vs Coincheck comparison:
- bitFlyer had recently received confirmation approval in regulatory procedures from the New York Department of Financial Services. Coincheck is still approved within Japan only so far;
- bitFlyer requires relatively minimum deposit fees, reaching a meager $5 sometimes. This could be preferable to traders using small amounts of money.
Beginner’s Guide to Buy Bitcoin at Coincheck
Normally, we would proceed with a step by step guide to creating an account on Coincheck. Currently, due to the NEM breach incident, Coincheck does not accept any new submissions. Coincheck is working on refunding the hack victims and improving their security measures.
Create an Account
You can proceed by entering your details in order to sign up your account. If you have an account with Coincheck already, you can access it normally by entering your email address and password.
In order to deposit in JPY, you will need to verify the confirmation email, required identity verification, and the SMS authentication that will be sent to your mobile.
Deposit Funds
As previously mentioned, you can deposit in either using JPY or US dollars. Normally, JPY does not incur any fees whilst US dollars requires a minimum fee of $25, that will be charged as a transaction fee on you once you deposit the desired amount in your wallet.
In the buy bitcoin link, choose deposit Yen and enter the desired amount. You will be prompted with a bank account that will be displayed on the page once the amount is specified. You just need to deposit the amount of fiat currency to the bank account. Then you can proceed to buy bitcoin for making deposits on your wallet.
Buy Bitcoins
Now that you have an active account, you can proceed by buying bitcoins from the exchange normally.
According to current Coincheck procedures, when the amount you purchased in bitcoins is displayed on your home dashboard, this means that the transaction went through successfully.
In the exchange, you can track the bitcoin price in US dollars or JYP and plan your purchases accordingly. Paying for bitcoin takes place in credit cards, you can use your credit card to purchase the necessary amounts of bitcoin around the week for 24 hours. On the other hand, confirming the transaction may take some time.
Send BTC into Your Wallet
A standard active Coincheck account will grant you access to a wallet by sending the desired amount to any address.
Once you have access to this wallet, you can keep your bitcoin funds in it normally. Before the infamous Coincheck hack, the wallet was considered secure, to an extent, it is still considered so in relative terms. However, it is always advised against storing bitcoins that you do not intend to use in hot wallet form.
Therefore, it is recommended to have a digital vault or cold storage hardware wallet handy. Thus, giving you the option to send your purchased bitcoin to this wallet by entering its address.
Coincheck Compared to Others
There are many bitcoin exchanges out there, providing numerous clientele with options varying from instant bitcoin purchases or premium services, some even offer lending bitcoin, as well.
We will compare some of these exchanges to Coincheck, in the light of giving you some perspective by benchmarking the exchanges in contrast.
Indacoin
Indacoin was founded in 2013, an exchange operating in the European region. Indacoin is one of the well-established names in the field on online cryptocurrency exchanges. It covers and supports many languages and countries in comparison to many other exchanges, especially exchanges operating in Asia.
In addition, Indacoin is considered to be more user-friendly in terms of usage against Coincheck. As Coincheck can be somehow confusing, especially after the added security due to the recent hack issue.
Indacoin also supports bitcoin deposits, if you are interested to buy other cryptocurrencies for a change. As a matter of fact, they support it by imposing zero fees on the deposits. Yet, Indacoin requires a wallet address in order to proceed with creating an account.
Paxful
Paxful is one of the most agile cryptocurrency exchanges out there. It is a sort of mega-platform service for buyers and sellers trading on bitcoin, connecting interchangeable exchanges in real time.
Compared to Coincheck, Paxful is considered more diverse in terms of covered markets. Though could be less reliable, as it requires a high density of bitcoin traders in order to gain access to various trading options.
Paxful provides a range of prices, albeit they may differ drastically and be irregular, buying bitcoin from different buyers. Also, provides a higher sense of privacy as it requires little verification.
The interface of Paxful can be a little bit confusing compared to Coincheck, which is somehow countered by the option of chatting with the trader.
BitPanda
BitPanda is an online exchange platform that is based in Austria. BitPanda was founded in 2014, during the peak of bitcoin craze. Recently, in January 2018, BitPanda began to support Bitcoin Cash, adding it in the list of the cryptocurrencies they provide as options of trade.
In terms of ease of use and interface, BitPanda is somehow deemed more friendly compared to Coincheck. Bear in mind that Coincheck is solely oriented to serve Japanese customer base, unlike the wider range of BitPanda.
In addition, BitPanda provides a wider range of payment methods for their customer, rather than Coincheck, as they support Credit Card payments, Netellers, Skrill, Yandex, and a wide range of wallets and payment services. This makes it more fluid that Coincheck in this aspect.
FAQ
Does Coincheck Have a Mobile App?
Most exchanges for bitcoin and cryptocurrencies extend their reach to include mobile apps. In this aspect, Coincheck supports this feature.
Coincheck supports working with different peripherals. The mobile access to the exchange and the wallet can be granted through the mobile app.
Coincheck provides apps to both the Google Play Store and Apple’s App Store, extending to tablets and mobile gadgets alike, both providing access to the wallet, and buying bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies through mobile.
The only lacking aspect is poor prices analysis on the mobile app.
What Are Fees at Coincheck?
Exchanges need to generate revenue somehow. The scheme by which exchanges realize revenue differs, as some resort to imposing a fee on mining, imposing a fee on deposits or withdrawals within a certain time limit. Some exchanges impose all the procedures together, making them more suitable for large sums, one-time transactions.
Other exchanges found it more feasible to minimize their fees and make the main source of their revenue through sponsoring and advertisement. Thus, decreasing the financial load on the customer and waiving the expense on other sponsors in the sort of symbiotic agreement.
Coincheck charges on deposit in USD or from abroad, $25 and 2,500 JPY respectively. While on withdrawals for JPY and USD charges are 400 JPY and 2,500 JPY respectively.
Does Coincheck Have Own Wallet?
Many exchanges try to compete with their peers. The need for providing competitive advantages and to attract new investors is always rising in quite the competitive and economically aggressive market. Some exchanges proceed by enhancing the security of their platforms and ensuring them, sparing no expense in maximizing the safety of their procedures and verifications.
Lately, most exchanges also began to support their own secure wallets or vaults, in order to facilitate storage of online cryptocurrency funds and to trade in relative ease and speed.
Coincheck supports their own wallet solution, allowing the customers to trade in the exchange by simply accessing the funds stored in their designated wallet’s address. However, they only support hot storage or hot wallets.
Conclusion
In summary, Coincheck is one of the most prominent names in bitcoin online exchanges, it is not a deniable truth that they were breached, and their security may have been flawed.
Yet, their approach to the situation and how they are responding to the crisis shows how much of reputable and strong as a financial entity, starting with reimbursing the hack victims.
What Exchange Else Can I Try?
There are many online cryptocurrency trade exchanges, though the main goal is seldom different, but some is trading on bitcoins or other cryptocurrencies, some exchanges interfaces can be more appealing, their fees are better compared to others, or simply they support the country you are residing in. You should choose the exchange better suiting your criteria and preferences, in this case.
See More About bitFlyer
bitFlyer is one of the names that hold its weight amidst different exchanges for trading on bitcoin with a scope aiming at the Asian market. Next, to Coincheck, Indacoin, and others, bitFlyer is well-known for the easy interface and wider option provided for their users in comparison to other exchanges.
bitFlyer is a favorite within the Japanese market bitcoin traders for a multitude of reasons, not only it does support a mobile app for users to maintain their deposits and funds on the go, it also provides various sign-in options, whether via Facebook, Google, or Yahoo!
Moreover, bitFlyer provides insurance coverage on the customer’s assets. This may be evident in a slight premium fee, yet insurance against the trading usual risks can be very welcomed in a risky business. You can find more information about the platform in our own guide about it.
Huobi Exchange – Read More
Huobi exchange is based in Singapore, a multilingual online cryptocurrency trading exchange. It is one of the names that should be taken into account when you consider trading on bitcoin using online exchanges.
Huobi provides integrated solutions to many aspects related to cryptocurrency. For example, it supports one of the largest mining pools operating in Asia.
Additionally, Huobi exchange incepted their OTC (over the counter) platform. The platform was launched in November 2017. Huobi also supports its own Exchange Token like some exchanges does, for example eToro. Their token is dubbed HT.
Huobi supports a wide range of cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoins, as you will see in our article about the platform. However, the downside is that Huobi follows a no-fiat currency approach, as it does not support trading in fiat currencies of any sorts.
Note, that Huobi Global has moved to new address www.hbg.com
What About Coinbase?
The main feature of Coinbase is that it supports a large group of countries, reaching up to different 30 countries. Coinbase maintains their own wallets and vaults. One of the other notable features of Coinbase that it is accredited by many goods and services providers, allowing you to use it directly as a payment method, in bitcoin, to buy products directly via online payments.
On the other hand, Coinbase may be confusing to a degree to new users. Although it does provide a user-friendly interface compared to other exchanges, it can be convoluted in the eyes of the new bitcoin trader.
Nonetheless, it goes without question that Coinbase is viable option to be considered when you think about trading on bitcoin, as it is considered to be one of the most reputable and secure exchanges out there in the field. Make sure you read our article about the exchange to get the latest news and information regarding Coinbase’s services.
In the wake of issues that have not been broached in this guide, contact us directly at BitcoinBestBuy to get answers right away.
