FoxBit

[mlawson71]

FoxBit Is a one of the major players in the Brazilian cryptocurrency space. They are a member of the BLINKTRADE network, which also serves clients in Venezuela (SurBitcoin), Chile (ChileBit), Pakistan (Urdubit, which will shut down soon) and Vietnam (VBTC). In essence, FoxBit allows Brazilians access to Bitcoin.

FoxBit Advantages

Trading against BRL – the most obvious strong side of this exchange is the fact trading it done against the local currency (BRL). This makes the company much more appealing to some customers, but a few other relatively exotic ones are supported (by the entire BLINKTRADE network), namely VEF, PKR, CLP and VND. We are not certain if having an account with one of the companies in the group will grant you access to all the service of them.

Brazilian bank transfers supported – being able to deposit and withdraw Brazilian Real via bank transfer is without a doubt a significant convenience. There is no information on the support of such functionality for the other fiat currencies on offer.

When it comes to the fees, deposits in BRL are free of charge, while a 1.39% commission is taken from withdrawals with partnering banks. In case your account is with a non-partnered bank, this is increased to 1.39% + R$ 8.95.

That being said, bank transfers can take several days and will involve some fees. Some exchanges accept credit cards and while the fees involved may also be solid, at least you get instant execution.

Investment advice + tutorials – FoxBit has started offering a more personalized service, since our initial review. After registering in the dedicated form, one would supposedly be contacted by a crypto-veteran who will explain the possibilities of accessing altcoins. On top of that there are three educational video-series. They are paid and we can’t really say if the content provided is of high quality, but if your English is far worse than your Portuguese, they may prove invaluable.

External charting available - FoxBit has added charting, but it isn’t directly connected to the rest of the trading module. This means one would have to open two different windows (or tabs) in the browser, if he is to see both.

FoxBit Disadvantages

Only suitable for Brazilians – the main benefit of this entry-level company is also its main flaw, which is often the case with local players. If you are not living in Brazil, this exchange will not be of much benefit to you. Luckily there are companies like CEX.io, Coinbase and Bitstamp, which offer banking services to a broader range of countries.

Only Bitcoin offered – another weakness of FoxBit is the lacks of actions. While bitcoin is the most popular cryptocurrency, there are many others and some people will prefer to diversify their crypto-portfolio. Luckily for them, there are many other exchanges, where they could send thee newly acquired coins.

High market taker fees – the trading fees at FoxBit are higher than what one is used to seeing at other exchanges. That being said, they do serve a very specific market, which may justify the 0.25% maker and 0.50% taker fees. Most other companies charge takers (or all traders) around 0.25%.

No margin trading  – Given the service offered by FoxBit, it’s no surprise, that margin trading is not available at this exchange. They are oriented towards helping people convert their fiat currencies into Bitcoin and vice versa, instead of providing a speculative trading venue.

No built-in charting –  FoxBit does not provide what experienced traders will call a trading platform. While the order book is very clean and easy to read, the absence of a chart next to it quite notable. Then again, a lot of exchanges do provide solutions which are not practical, so one can’t really be that dissatisfied with FoxBit.

Conclusion


FoxBit is a company which allows Brazilians to enter the world of cryptocurrencies and more specifically the most popular one – Bitcoin. They are part of the  BLINKTRADE network, which also serves other countries. While we didn’t manage to find may user opinions about FoxBit, the ones we did put it at par with other local competitors. The maker fees may be a bit too high, but this seems justified, given the fact this is an entry level company, which doesn’t charge deposit fees. As a whole FoxBit seems like a credible company.