Bitquick Review: Complete Beginners Guide
About Bitquick
BitQuick is a peer-to-peer bitcoin exchange that allows users to purchase bitcoins for money. In essence, the platform is considered a third-party escrow agent.
BitQuick stores both BTC and fiat funds as long as users perform all necessary actions to complete the transaction without exception.
The platform guarantees the usual method of converting BTC into money and retains United States dollars, currency, and Canadian bucks.
BitQuick is available all over the world, but it is mainly used in the United States of America.
The socket of the exchange is well-presented, clean, and easy to use. The platform is subconsciously clear and comfortable, which makes it possible to freely purchase and sell Bitcoin in 3 steps.
For the transaction, it is not necessary to disclose the result, but to acquire BTC it is necessary to prove your identity.
The website is responsive and looks good on mobile devices, but the market does not provide add-ons for Android and iOS.
What is BitQuick?
BitQuick is a peer-to-peer Bitcoin exchange that allows traders to buy coins one by one. In other words, BitQuick is more like LocalBitcoins than Bitstamp or Kraken.
The operator of BitQuick is the North American firm Athena Bitcoin Inc. with offices in the Windy City, St. Louis, and Dallas.
Previously, the company was called BuyBitcoin.us, but in 2013 a rebranding authorization was established. This was done because the new name was more in line with their core business.
Athena Bitcoin Inc. is considered a Bitcoin ATM operator and acquired the BitQuick.co website under the guidance of Jud Mubaslat and Chad Davis, who stood behind it during that period.
This was accomplished immediately after the BitQuick information was hacked in 2016 (more on this below).
Taking into account that this is a P2P exchange, the interchange is made directly from the merchant to the consumer.
The merchant exposes a list of coins that someone would like to realize, and the consumer connects with the merchant directly.
After the agreement on the realization, the edges exchange coins and use the BitQuick escrow service.
BitQuick Safety
When talking about cryptocurrency exchanges, one of the main judgments is the reliability of money. At the same time, concentrated exchanges are required to meet a huge level, as they are a significant target for hackers and outside investors.
BitQuick is considered the smallest target for hackers, as it does not keep any closed sources of buyers in its servers.
One period, if the resources are present with them, is the end of the escrow transaction.
In this case, there is only this aggregate that was sent because of the purchase.
But, despite this, hackers had previously stormed BitQuick and were able to get the information.
Hackers gained access to the names of users, email addresses, and phone numbers. In the presence of this, there was no money stolen from customers, no secret papers.
In this, I will stop in detail in the exercises of providing security
As for multisig transactions, BitQuick was one of the first P2P platforms to implement multisig P2SH (Pay To Script Hash) addresses.
This was accomplished through the BitGo platform. In addition, in 2015, they started 1 platform that implemented the development of “confirmation of reserves”.
The wallet together with multi-signature is an auxiliary stage to security, as someone will require the BitQuick and BitGo authorities to use 3 keys to sign a transaction.
This significantly reduces the threat of a security breach, whereby an attacker can introduce resources.
Information about BitGo security operations allows the user to make transactions in the required amount of up to 250 thousand dollars.
This limit must be enough for many traders, as well as the scale of single transactions as a rule significantly less than this means.
Just as is customary nowadays, the website is fully encrypted according to the SSL protocol.
This means that the whole traffic between you and the servers of the company is encrypted with the use of the current stereotypes of encryption AES 256.
This is especially important in our period, taking into account the prevalence of phishing and man-in-the-middle (MITM) attacks.
Most of all, when visiting BitQuick you must always be convinced that the screen reflects a secure palace (see image).
KYC requirements
This issue is usually a pretty serious stumbling block for traders using P2P exchanges. KYC documents are a requirement of these exchanges to prevent fraud. However, traders may see them as an invasion of privacy.
BitQuick is registered with the US Treasury as a money services company (license # 31000069357653). This means that they must request a certain minimum of documents by anti-money laundering (AML) regulations.
As such, they are subject to stricter documentation requirements than LocalBitcoins and other exchanges. The minimum requirement to purchase coins on BitQuick is a photo ID.
After that, a tiered verification system is in place, with higher transaction limits being lifted when more information is provided.
This means that you can’t buy/sell bitcoin anonymously on BitQuick, which can be a major hurdle for some traders.
BitQuick’s fees
BitQuick’s fee structure is pretty simple. All purchases are charged a flat rate of 2%. The coin seller is not charged a commission.
While this is great news for the seller, the buyer may find the 2% rate quite high compared to other sites such as LocalBitcoins that don’t charge a commission at all.
It could be said that the commission on BitQuick is slightly higher to pay for the escrow services provided by the platform. However, it might be fairer if this fee is also shared with the seller as they also benefit from it.
Financing options
One of the main benefits of BitQuick is the ability to buy Bitcoin with cash. Here, the buyer can deposit cash into the seller’s bank account and BitQuick will authenticate and then release the bitcoin.
BitQuick does not accept bank transfers from the US as payment. However, for those traders who would like to use the service in Europe, SEPA payments in Euros are possible.
For a Bitcoin seller, the coins must first be transferred to the BitQuick wallet before the listing will appear. Once one confirmation has been made online, the listing will become available.
Customer Support
Considering that BitQuick is involved in many aspects of transactions, they should have fairly responsive customer support.
This is really what they have managed to build a reputation for online. There are four ways to get in touch with BitQuick’s support team.
The most efficient way to contact BitQuick staff is through an online form or email.
Of course, the company is also quite prompt in responding to inquiries on its social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook. The average response rate to inquiries is about 1 business day.
Using BitQuick: step by step
Given that BitQuick aims to be a fast and efficient way to buy bitcoins, we decided to put it to the test. In the guide below, we’ll go through the steps we took to buy our first Bitcoin on BitQuick.
Buying Bitcoin
If you want to buy Bitcoin, you select the “buy” order book on the platform. After that, a list of all offers from sellers on the platform will open in front of you.
After that, a list of financial institutions where you can deposit funds will appear on the screen. This will allow you to easily choose the bank closest and most convenient for you. Each of them works with different customers and, accordingly, has different prices.
Once you have chosen the institution and price you are interested in, you are taken to the last page. Here, you must first verify your phone number and enter your Bitcoin address to receive Bitcoin.
They will then ask you to enter your name and e-mail. You must use a valid e-mail, as it will contain a link to download a deposit confirmation. They may not ask for your ID at first, but they have the right to ask for it at any time.
Once you agree to the terms and conditions and place your order, you will receive an email inviting you to transfer funds to your chosen bank account within 3 hours.
After that, all you have to do is fill out a deposit order form at the bank, deposit the money, and keep the receipt.
To confirm to BitQuick that you have made the payment, you need to download the receipt by clicking on the link that BitQuick sent you.
Once the seller confirms the payment, BitQuick will transfer the Bitcoin to the address you provided.
Selling Bitcoin
When you want to sell coins on BitQuick, you will click on the “Sell” button and you will be taken to an online form. Here, you need to fill in all the details related to your listing.
You fill in details such as the bank account you want to use, the price you are willing to offer them, and the amounts you are willing to sell in total.
You also have the option to set a “dynamic” price. This is a useful tool to ensure that you don’t have to update your listing as the bitcoin price fluctuates.
You choose a percentage price above or below the market price that you are willing to accept for your listing.
You also need to enter a password in case you need to change your order. Once all your listing details are filled in, you can submit your listing for review.
You will be sent a Bitcoin address to which you can transfer funds. This will be the same multi-signed address we mentioned above, which is under the control of BitQuick and BitGo.
After that, the only thing left to do is to wait for the buyer to find you on their own. The likelihood of selling your coins depends on the price you set, as well as how convenient it is for the buyer to fund your chosen bank account.
Once you receive funds from the buyer in your bank account, you can confirm to BitQuick the completion of the sale and it will transfer the money.
Conclusion
As we have shown in this review, BitQuick is indeed one of the easiest and safest ways to buy bitcoins for cash. While you can always use a service like LocalBitcoins, this will require you to meet a stranger in person, which is much riskier.
Also, since it’s a P2P platform, you won’t have to store your funds in an exchange and run the risk of an exchange being hacked or other unscrupulous activity. It’s also less prone to errors as it only requires a Bitcoin address to receive coins.
It is also a great way for a merchant to advertise their coins without paying a fee and receive funds directly into their bank account.
Although the exchange fees are higher, it seems as though you have to pay a bit more for the safety and security provided by the exchange.
Disclaimer: These considerations are the opinion of the author and should not be considered investment advice. Readers should do their research.