Bitcoin has been the best performing currency in the world for two years in a row, attracting investors and speculators. Bitcoin exchanges are now popping up all over the world, allowing you to buy bitcoin and exchange them as you would any other currency on the foreign exchange market.
A few of these bitcoin exchanges have developed great iOS and Android apps. I’ll be reviewing what some of the most popular exchanges offer on mobile, and what you can do with bitcoin on the go.
Trading Bitcoin on Mobile
The foreign exchange market is the biggest and most active market in the world. Traders make and lose fortunes every day guessing if prices will go up or down.
The price of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies has been a rollercoaster ride for years. This volatility is seen by many as an opportunity for profit. However, predicting these movements requires you to keep up-to-date with any relevant news or information, and act fast. This won’t always happen when you’re sitting at your desk looking at your trading dashboard.
Having fast access to your bitcoin exchange on your mobile can give you an edge. Let’s take a look at some of the bitcoin exchanges that offer their services on your phone.
CEX.IO
Currencies: US Dollars, Euros, British Pounds, Russian Rubles, Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ether
CEX.IO is a popular bitcoin exchange based in London, UK. It’s intuitive and easy to get started for beginners but offers an arsenal of trading tools for more experienced traders.
The exchange offers services to help you trade faster, and with greater potential for profit. These include ability to use leverage, to increase your risk and potential profit. Also, you can place different types of orders, such as market and limit.
They have invested a lot into developing their mobile app, and it’s one of the best on iOS and Android. Here is a summary of the options you have for trading on the app, and the tools available to help you make decisions.
CEX.IO – Mobile Trading Options
- Access to CEX.IO bitcoin exchange
- Instant card and crypto payments
- Market and limit orders
- 24/7 trading
CEX.IO – Mobile Tools
There are also tools to keep your funds safe and stay informed when news breaks.
- Safe app authorisation on iOS and Android
- 24/7 support
- Price comparison with other bitcoin exchanges
- Real-time market data
- Transaction history tracking
- Candlestick charts
Bitfinex
Currencies: US Dollars, Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ether
Bitfinex is a Hong Kong-based exchange. It offers “advanced services for cryptocurrency traders and liquidity providers”. There is a limited number of currency pairs to trade, but there are other tools that are worth knowing about.
One unique feature is it peer-to-peer financing when opening trades that require borrowing funds, such as margin trading. Rather than borrowing money from Bitfinex, you borrow it directly from other traders.
This means that you can also lend money to other traders and earn interest for doing so. This is a unique way to earn interest on your bitcoins other than just waiting for the price to go up. The interest rate you earn varies depending on the currency and duration of the loan.
Bitfinex – Mobile Trading Options
- Access to Bitfinex bitcoin exchange
- Margin trading – up to 3.3x Leverage
- Margin funding
- A wide array of order types, including market, limit, stop loss etc.
- 24/7 trading
Bitfinex – Mobile Trading Tools
- Charts
- Reports of your deposits and withdrawals
- Real-time market data
- Notifications when your trade orders execute
- Price alerts
- Email support
For security, you can also customize the permissions for the app, restricting access to your account if your phone is lost.
Kraken
Available currencies: US Dollar, Euro, JPY, GBP, bitcoin, Ether, Ether classic, Iconomi, Augur, Dogecoin, Lumen, Monero, Ripple, Zcash
Kraken is another reputable bitcoin exchange that offers a forex like trading experience. It has the largest volume of Euro transactions of any bitcoin exchange and has been trusted as part of the Mt. Gox investigation.
The mobile app isn’t quite as developed as the others, but it does have some nice features.
Kraken – Mobile Trading Options
- Access to the Kraken bitcoin exchange
- Margin trading – up to 5x Leverage
- Market and limit orders
- Stop loss, take profit orders
- A variety of combined and other order types
- 24/7 Trading
Kraken – Mobile Trading Tools
- Alerts – read the latest news
- Historic price charts
- Calculator for converting values
The charts available with the Kraken app are great. Rotate the screen to see detailed candlestick charts of all the different currency pairs available.
Be Cautious
If you are familiar with bitcoin, you’ll know it is a very risky investment. While it was the best performing currency in 2015 and 2016, it was awarded the worst investment of 2014. Many people have lost money to fraud and attacks on bitcoin exchanges. Add trading with leverage into the mix and your risk goes higher. However any investment is a risk.
Using a well know bitcoin exchange is a good option, but remember that they do not offer the same protection and insurance as banks do.
Nobody knows if the price of bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies will continue to rise. Whatever happens, there will be huge opportunity to profit as a trader. Numerous success cases show, that bitcoin investments are worth taking look at. Successful trading requires you snap up chances to buy low and sell high. These mobile apps can help you be ready when you need to be.