ShapeShift Exchange Review 2022 - Is It Safe?
The cryptocurrency market every day replenishes its ranks with new services and exchange platforms, among which there are proven and honest services and services that do not inspire confidence and play against the interests of users. Today we will overview one of the largest and fastest crypto exchanges on the market - ShapeShift. Is ShapeShift legal? Is it really safe to use? Or maybe ShapeShift is one of the scam services? Let’s take a look together with Cryptogeek!
- ShapeShift Overview
- ShapeShift Features
- ShapeShift Fees
- ShapeShift API
- How to Use ShapeShift exchange
- Customer Service
- Is ShapeShift Safe?
- Conclusion
ShapeShift Overview
ShapeShift was founded by Eric Voorhees in 2014. Online exchanger based in the Swiss town of Geneva. The main function is the quick conversion of bitcoin and popular altcoins with the highest possible protection of transactions. The peculiarity of the exchange is that client assets are not stored on the site itself. And this, undoubtedly, increases the security of the service, although it somewhat impoverishes the functionality. You can find more information on the ShapeShift team and the project here.
ShapeShift cryptocurrency exchange is one of the most convenient services for a quick cryptocurrency swap. However, previously on the platform, users could seamlessly make transactions without registering on the website. Now ShapeShift has made mandatory registration on the website in order to complete any operation. Later we will review the sign-up process.
ShapeShift decided to go to Decentralized, hope other exchanges will decide so
— Vladimir Nikitin (@GeniusDeFi) January 9, 2021
The platform supports a large number of alternative conversion directions. For example, popular ones include Bitcoin-Ethereum (BTC-ETH), Bitcoin-Ripple (BTC-XRP), Bitcoin Gold-Bitcoin Cash (BTG-BCH), ash-Dogecoin (DASH-DOGE), etc. About 40 cryptocurrencies are available today and another 20 altcoins are planned shortly before entering the platform for possible use.
The service operates in all countries, but in 2017, the state of Washington in the USA unexpectedly banned its activities on its territory (find more info in ShapeShift Terms of Use). New requirements were put forward for companies working with digital currencies, it was necessary to obtain a special license from the Department of Financial Institutions of the state and to require personal data of clients during operations. The company did not want to change its policy, so it had to make a radical decision. So, the exchange administration was forced to transfer the Keepkey crypto wallet office to another state, where it was re-registered.
The rest of the activities of the platform are carried out in accordance with the legislation of the country in whose territory it operates. The client must comply with the legal regulations of the state and exchange.
ShapeShift Features
High project efficiency is achieved by the fact that the user has the ability to quickly switch between assets, while in a holistic and safe environment. All operations are performed in real-time, taking into account the latest changes in the cryptocurrency market. The interface is simple and does not differ much from other popular exchangers.
Exchange services of ShapeShift are accessible to absolutely everyone and the project works without time restrictions or prohibitions in other states. The service will exchange wherever the client arrives - at the service, on vacation, at home, on a business trip, etc.
The project has a good translation into the languages of several countries:
- Europe (English, French, Spanish, Italian, German, Portuguese and Polish);
- Asia (Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean);
- Russia and Ukraine.
The site has a mobile application available for iOS and Android. This is a significant advantage for users who prefer to use the phone to exchange digital assets, rather than allocate time for the same operations on a PC.
In addition, the creators of the project made an extension for Firefox and Chrome. Due to this, a special plugin appears on the page where payment is made. With it, you can pay for purchased goods for altcoins, which will automatically be converted to bitcoins.
The service also supports the Segregated Witness protocol. This is an updated protocol that solves the problem of the flexibility of currency transactions on the Bitcoin blockchain. In addition, the use of this protocol increases the throughput of ongoing transactions.
Since the launch, the ShapeShift crypto-exchanger has replenished its ranks with valuable products, including:
- Online store of crypto assets;
- Statistical site (like CoinMarketCap);
- Cold wallet.
So, for large transactions in the ShapeShift.io online store, you need to go through the registration on the website. The CoinCap page displays real-time cryptocurrency market analysis. KeepKey hardware-type cold wallet can be purchased on the site.
It is possible to purchase BTC by credit cards for euros or dollars, as ShapeShift works with the payment company Bitcoin company Simplex.
ShapeShift has no so-called price slippage. In the case of a failure for any reason, the funds will be returned to the sender's address. You can choose the most convenient exchange option. If you need the fastest option possible in the system, you only need to specify the addresses of the sending and receiving wallets. If you need an accurate currency exchange, then the number of coins and addresses for one-time use must be indicated. To improve the exchange process, the site contains data on the price of cryptocurrencies, indicates the change in the exchange rate in percentages, provides statistical information on exchange transactions. The exchange takes materials on cryptocurrency rates on coincap.io.
There is also a possibility of becoming a member of the FOX club, whose program applies to all ShapeShift branded products. It is necessary to purchase FOX tokens and keep them in the crypto wallet for at least 30 days. During this period, the client is provided with benefits, preferences and additional opportunities.
A special nuance of the Swiss cryptocurrency exchange service is the well-functioning system of anonymous, profitable and fast conversion of Skeleton Exchange. This tool is able to transform any web resource into a cryptocurrency exchange. Skeleton Exchange will be an intermediary “bridge”, combining the interests of the seller and the buyer’s ability to convert. Moreover, the complete inviolability of customer funds is considered a significant feature of the platform’s functioning.
The total amount of exchanges made per day can be very different. All data is presented on the site. The daily volume of converted bitcoins at the time of writing was 7.1 BTC. The platform does not have its own cryptocurrency markets and does not provide for internal trading.
One of the first partners was the Jaxx crypto wallet. The cooperation between the two projects was announced in the summer of 2016. At that time, it was possible to exchange Bitcoin, Ethereum and Dash for each other. Since then, the list of digital wallets has been increased to several tens, such as ZCash, Ethereum Classic, and Litecoin, etc joined the list.
The specialists at ShapeShift today highlight 3 key shortcomings. In fact, they are due to the original policy of the exchange service, forming its exclusivity and uniqueness:
- No exchange transactions with ICO tokens are provided. Clients who plan to earn on a profitable investment in new blockchain projects are forced to work on other cryptocurrency exchanges;
-The exchange limits for each cryptocurrency are set in the rules of the exchange resource.
-The project does not work with fiat money. An exception is a Simplex payment company, through which it is possible to convert EUR, as well as USD to Bitcoin. Clients have to purchase and exchange another option of fiat on third-party crypto-exchanges or exchange services.
ShapeShift Fees
This platform has a unique situation. The site charges a negligible percentage for operations, but this fee is for miners that supply Bitcoins and altcoins. The main profit of the ShapeShift service is made by specialists on cryptocurrency exchanges. The absence of commissions makes ShapeShift the most convenient, profitable and promising online exchanger today. Analogs of this financial instrument for converting virtual currencies are not yet found on the Web.
ShapeShift API
The main purpose of the Shapeshift exchanger is the use as an API for the quick exchange of crypto assets on various resources.
The platform has a profitable affiliate program of a single-level type. This program is designed for website owners who are integrated with the company’s exchanger API. The reward is 0.25% of the volume of bitcoins made through an affiliate link;
This also applies to cryptocurrency wallets. The implementation of Shapeshift in such services allowed us to quickly transfer one coin to another without the need for their withdrawal to other sites. Thus, the wallet owner does not lose money on withdrawal fees. You can find more information on ShapeShift API here.
How to Use ShapeShift Exchange
Sign Up
Firstly, the client needs to sign up on ShapeShift so that in case of force majeure, the lost amount will be freely returned. You should not be afraid, because in any case the data will not be shared with the third parties.
Benefits of registering with ShapeShift! This will give you the 1st level of partnership, the daily conversion limit of $ 10.000, 100 FOX tokens, favorable exchange rates, priority access to new altcoins, as well as a 0.05% reward in FOX coins from major financial transactions, etc.
First of all, on the main page in the upper right corner, you need to click on the "Sign Up" button.
Next, in the registration form, you need to enter your email address, the password twice, solve the captcha, read the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, and then click “Sign Up”.
Once the registration is completed, you will be sent a confirmation email of your account, in which you need to click on "Verify My Email".
After confirming your mail, you will be redirected to the ShapeShift window in your personal account window.
Verification
In total, the ShapeShift account has 4 stages of verification, the first of which is marked passed after the confirmation of your email.
To pass the second verification step, you must fill the forms with your First Name, Middle Name, Last Name, Date of Birth, Phone Number and also with the Country, Address, City, Apt/Suite, State, and Postal Code.
Once all the lines are filled, click "Next" and ShapeShift will ask you to confirm all the information you just entered. You will need to upload a photo of an ID card with a photo, such as a driver’s license, national ID or passport.
After, you will need to wait until ShapeShift confirms your account information. Then your validation process is complete, and you can start swapping on ShapeShift.
KYC
As noted in ShapeShift FAQ, you only need to verify your account to trade or buy crypto. If you don’t verify your account you can still send, receive, track, and hold with the ShapeShift Platform.
Exchange process
After registration, you can make exchange operations with cryptocurrencies available on the service. Ordinary customers will need to visit the ShapeShift website, complete a deal in two to three minutes and be happy to leave the site, as the resource copes with these tasks perfectly.
On the main page, you must choose the currencies you want to exchange. It is important to note that ShapeShift supports two options: Quick and Precise types of exchange. If you want to swap your crypto and you are ready to take a risk (since the market is volatile and there is no guarantee you will receive the number of funds expected), you need the Quick exchange option. It also allows you to create a reusable deposit address. In case you want to catch the precise rate and want to receive the exact amount of funds, you need to use the Precise option. Also, you must confirm your deposit within a certain period of time.
Enter your recipient address in the upper field (this is the destination address where ShapeShift sends your coins when your order is completed). Then enter the address of the input currency in case of a refund. Agree to the Terms and click "Start Transaction".
ShapeShift will generate a deposit address for you to send the input currency. You must send your funds to this generated address and follow the “Deposit Max” and “Deposit Min” limits. Amounts that are not within the range of the presented limits cannot be sent to ShapeShift, otherwise, the funds will be stuck for 8-12 days in the system. You will have to return them through technical support.
After sending funds directly to the ShapeShift service, your conversion will start automatically. Usually, this process takes no more than 5-10 minutes, depending on the amount of sending, currency features and blockchain load. The identifier of the transaction will be the change of the phrase “Awaiting deposit” to “Awaiting exchange”. When the conversion is completed, an icon with the word “Completed” will appear.
How to withdraw
Directly on the service itself, the user does not have his own balance or internal wallet. Therefore, this item by itself disappears. The platform does not store any personal data or virtual assets of its users. All funds and keys are stored in cold wallets.
Customer service
Although difficulties in exchanging coins are extremely rare, however, in case you have any questions, you can try to find it on the ShapeShift FAQ or can contact the support service for help using the feedback form on the website or through the live-chat on the website. Resource customers are invited to share their impressions on a special blog. Communication is carried out online. It is possible to track company events through groups on Reddit or on social media Facebook and Twitter.
Users note that, with all the advantages of ShapeShift, the work of the support service leaves much to be desired. There is no quick response to questions, despite the fact that there is a convenient feedback form. Sometimes the answer does not arrive until 72 hours. Another disadvantage is the lack of token trading options. In addition, customers do not like the impossibility of using fiat currencies. You can find more reviews on the ShapeShift Trustpilot.
At the same time, one cannot fail to note the availability of a quick exchange of altcoins for bitcoins, the security of work, convenient exchange of tokens through mobile applications, payment for purchases in online stores with altcoins. In general, we can conclude that the service currently has more positive comments than negative ones, which perfectly characterizes it.
Is ShapeShift safe?
The reliability of the ShapeShift online exchanger is guaranteed by three factors:
- The data you share while registration is not shared with any third parties;
- No need to transfer funds to the account of the site. Everything is done outside the exchange service thanks to a unique counterparty search system and verification of the execution of operations by independent miners;
- The calculation is carried out directly between crypto-wallets of customers, and operations are insured with additional addresses in case of malfunctions or force majeure.
Also, ShapeShift provides the customers with a 2-FA verification feature that you can enable to your account. But in general, hackers have nothing to hack and steal.
Conclusion
ShapeShift cryptocurrency exchange is stable and reliable, also, there are quite a lot of respectable users fulfilling large exchange transactions here. Customers are pleased with the speed of transactions, as well as security. Some difficulties happen with technical support, however, such delays in ticket processing are probably due to periodic overloading of the resource's capabilities.
The ShapeShift project needs to be considered when frequent cryptocurrency conversions are needed. Work comfortably in its convenient interface. In addition, there are many areas of profitable exchange of virtual currencies, there are mobile applications, browser extensions, and there is complete anonymity.
Volle müll, kein
Undependable, I would say.
I transferred 0.12 XBT and 2 ETH into the wallet, and all was fine - did some minor trading and experimented with transferring crypto.
Then, sometime between Christmas Eve and Boxing Day the IOS app forgot who I was. The website wouldn't let me in either.
Attempting to change the password wasn't helpful ("feature coming soon", it said)
Support glibly tried to dismiss it by saying that I'd changed the password and forgotten it.
As if...
The case is ongoing, but at least I've left a warning here to others.
The review is cool, I got the full understanding of the exchange, I've been searching for some information about the exchange and I found it here, thanks a lot for that. I'm gonna check snapeshift.
I mostly agree with the article, Shapeshift is great. But there could be some additional features I need.
