Shapeshift VS Changelly: Ultimate Crypto Exchange Comparison Guide

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General Information

	Shapeshift	Changelly
Year of foundation	2013	2013
Country	Switzerland	Hong Kong
Mobile app	iOS, Android	iOS, Android

Registration and Verification

Shapeshift

There is no need to create your account. The platform does not require any personal data for verification. There is also no need to specify your Email. You enter the exchange site and immediately start trading.

Changelly

Changelly has a straightforward and easy verification process. All you need for the Changelly verification process is an email ID. You can also choose two-factor authentication (2FA). This provides additional protection for the account. 2FA can be disabled at any time. Unlike other exchanges, which take one to three days to verify, Changelly’s verification time is less than 24 hours.

User Interface

Shapeshift

Previously, ShapeShift exchanger was known as an exchange without accounts. However, in September 2018, the developers decided to change the platform model to give users extra protection and reduce friction. Now, to trade on ShapeShift, you will have to register.

Changelly

One of the most straightforward and easy to use interfaces in general among all cryptocurrency exchanges. For example, on Changelly, you don’t need to go to a new page to look at trading options and calculate exchange rates: all this information is at the top of the main page. Of course, before you start trading, you will have to register. Additionally, Changelly may sometimes charge a hefty fee for its services.

Compared to Changelly, ShapeShift may seem like a more complicated exchanger to newbies. On its homepage, a pop-up window appears, “an account is required to trade,” which also describes all the perks. After closing this window, you will find yourself on the page with statistics, where you can see various indicators. For example, you can look at recent crypto-to-crypto transactions (BTC-altcoin, altcoin-BTC, or altcoin-altcoin). The homepage also has 24-hour stats on the number of transactions and BTC volume, average order processing time, and the most popular trading pairs.

Trading Volumes and Traded Pairs

Of course, the main advantage of both ShapeShift and Changelly over most other exchangers is the variety of trading pairs.

Shapeshift

You can easily exchange Qtum to Aragon directly instead of exchanging Qtum to Bitcoin first and Bitcoin to Aragon as required on most other platforms. There are no fiat currencies in ShapeShift’s exchanger. Instead, ShapeShift has partnered with Simplex to provide its users with this capability. However, even given this partnership, your choices are limited to BTC-USD and BTC-EUR trading pairs. There are about 33 cryptocurrencies available on ShapeShift. A few more cryptocurrencies are marked as “temporarily unavailable,” which for some users may limit their use of the platform.

ShapeShift has a relatively low transaction limit of $10,000 for Level 1 users. You can expand these limits by your participation in the exchange.

Changelly

Changelly offers a large selection of trading crypto pairs (over 90) for USD and EUR. Also, this exchanger allows the use of debit and credit cards (Visa or Mastercard). Changelly’s maximum limits are from $50 to $10,000 for the first transaction, up to $20,000 per day and up to $50,000 per month.

Commission

Shapeshift

ShapeShift’s commission depends on the currency you want to use and the market situation. The company charges what is called a “miner’s fee” on your transaction. Naturally, deposits and withdrawals are entirely free. But even with that said, many people are suspicious that ShapeShift includes a fixed fee but does not specify it, in which case they make a profit while claiming low costs. However, keep in mind that these are only suspicions – there is no conclusive evidence behind them at this time.

Changelly

The service does not charge any hidden or unreasonable fees. There is only a fixed fee of 0.25% for crypto-swaps (quick exchange of one cryptocurrency for another). There is also a fee, which is stipulated in the cryptocurrency system, a network fee. Some users require a lower price for reviews, but the service’s convenience is worth the money.

Security

Shapeshift

ShapeShift has always prided itself on not storing user data on the platform while still allowing fast transactions between cryptocurrencies. But between March and April 2016, the platform experienced three hacks. The same hacker carried out all three attacks – a total of about USD 200,000 in LightCoin, Etherium, and Bitcoin equivalents were stolen as a result. After the situation stabilized, ShapeShift discovered that one of the company’s employees was behind the attacks – he had leaked important information regarding the platform’s security to the hacker.

Changelly

There were very few attempts to hack the platform – one was related to Etherium and the other to support service disruptions. This happened during the December 2017 hype and was a very significant event – although many other cryptocurrency exchanges have had similar problems in the past. Changelly has a two-factor authentication; this eliminates (or at least reduces) the chance that you will be hacked or cheated.

Pros and Cons

Both platforms have their advantages and disadvantages.

Shapeshift

Changelly