Back in 2017, Bitcoin garnered the attention of the world as it shot up to $20,000 in less than 10-months, sparking the Great Bitcoin Bubble that eventually popped in January 2018.
While some investors watched in horror as they saw the price of BTC drop by 75% in a few weeks, others saw it as a buying opportunity to up their stakes in the game. Today, Bitcoin remains a popular virtual asset, and it remains above the critical $4,000 handle, despite pressure to the downside coming in the form of the May 2020 halving event.
There are over 5,400 cryptocurrencies’ available, and while BTC may be the most well-known, there are plenty of others that offer different utility and growth projections. If you’re new to crypto, and you want to get on the bandwagon of the currency of the future, then you’ll need to understand how crypto exchanges operate.
Think of exchanges like a bank and a financial market. They offer coins for sale, and wallets that allow you to store your coins. However, there are well over 200 exchanges online, so how do you know which one is the best to use?
In this review, we’ll look at the Coinmama exchange and its offering.

What Is the Coinmama Exchange?
Founded in 2013, Coinmama operates as a digital finance company. The Coinmama exchange is an NBV International venture, registered in Slovakia, and operating out of Israel. With a database of over a million users, Coinmama enjoys support from over 180-countries around the globe.
This exchange offers you a regulated marketplace allowing you to purchase cryptos with fiat currencies, such as the US Dollar and Euro.
You also have the option of buying coins and tokens using your credit or debit card. Overall, Coinmama offers you a convenient way to purchase crypto online, without the need to use an unregulated exchange that only caters for crypto-to-crypto transactions.
How Do You Start with Coinmama?
Sign Up Steps
Signing up with Coinmama is a straightforward process. You sign up with your email address and open your account. However, before you start trading, you’ll need to verify your identity and address with Coinmama.
Coinmama is a regulated exchange. This regulation means that they require your proof of identity and residence before they let you withdraw from your account. This policy adheres to international KYC (know your customer) and AML (anti-money laundry) regulations designed to keep criminals away from laundering funds into cryptos, which they then convert back into dollars.
New users of the platform must set up their accounts using two-factor authentication protocols, as well as text authentication via SMS. The security of your account and wallets is paramount when dealing with an exchange.
Over the last 10-years, numerous hacks took out the wallets of MtGox, Bitfinex, and many other crypto exchanges. Securely storing your coins is the only way to guarantee you don’t lose anything if hackers take control of the platform.
Customer ID Verification Guide
When verifying your account to increase your buying and withdrawal limit, follow these guidelines to ensure your application has no hiccups in the registration and verification process.
- Ensure that all four corners of your photo ID are visible.
- Ensure your documents are available and uploaded in high-definition (300dpi or higher).
- Avoid submitting expired forms of ID or proof of residence
- Keep your images under 8MB in size to ensure smooth upload.
Coinmama offers different levels of verification, and each of them provides you various features. However, it takes longer to verify some of the applications. The average wait time for a level 1 verification is 10-minutes. Level 2 and 3 could take a few hours before you receive approval on your verification.
After verifying your account on level 1, you can start using the Coinmama platform to trade. However, with a level one clearance, you have a limit of $15,000 on your account. Coinmama is pretty stringent in its verification protocol.
You’ll need to submit a copy of your photo ID, as mentioned above, as well as a selfie of you holding that same ID, and a note that says “Coinmama.” Acceptable forms of photo ID include the following.
- An international passport (non-US passport, and photos of double pages)
- National ID (both front and back)
- Driver’s license (both front and back)
Last Step Is Address Verification
If you want to take things a step further and register for level 2 verification, you’ll need to provide a proof of address. A utility bill addressed to you is suitable for this requirement. Coinmama also accepts bank statements and credit card bills if they feature your name and address on the bill. After approval for level 2, your limit increases from $15,000 to $50,000.
To register for level 3 verification, you’ll need to complete a short questionnaire and contact the support team to start the application process.
Is Coinmama a User-Friendly Exchange?
The Coinmama user interface has a sleek and minimalistic design. The dashboard is clean and easy to navigate, with all your functions in easy reach with one click. You can purchase ETH or BTC directly from your dashboard and select the amount your wish to buy without moving off-screen.
What Cryptocurrencies Does Coinmama Support?
Coinmama is another regulated exchange offering you the chance to purchase your favorite cryptos using credit or debit cards. The safe and secure portal allows for the purchase of ETH, BCH, BTC, LTC, ETC, XRP, QTUM, and ADA.
Coinmama recently introduced an option allowing European customers to buy Bitcoin using the SEPA transaction for the 37-EU countries that are part of the single payments area.
One of the differences between Coinmama and other mainstream regulated exchanges is its wallet system. Coinmama doesn’t offer users the chance to open a wallet, and you’ll need a third-party wallet if you want to buy or sell coins on the platform.
What Fees Does Coinmama Charge?
Coinmama has favorable fee structures for using SEPA payments and direct wire or bank transfers to fund your purchase. Unfortunately, the fees for purchasing using your credit or debit card are astronomically high. Most other platforms that only accept payment for crypto with cards charge up to 3% for the service.
However, Coinmama will charge you an additional 5% for purchasing using your card, which is a significant amount. Therefore, you’ll need the market to gain 5% just to break even with your initial purchase price. Currently, Coinmama only allows for the purchase of crypto using Visa and MasterCard. No other credit or debit cards are valid for any transactions on the platform.
Coinmama operates in 188-countries all around the globe, and they support most states in the US. However, US users need to be aware that Coinmama is not available in all 50 US states, so check the listings on the site to see if you qualify to use the service.
Is Coinmama a Secure Exchange?
On February 15th, 2019, Coinmama was a victim of a database hack that saw cyber criminals make off with the email addresses of 450,000 of its customers. Fortunately, the hackers did not gain access to any cold wallets or hot wallets on the site, and no crypto went missing.
However, it was a stern warning to the Coinmama team to beef up its security protocols. Coinmama states it identified the weakness in its security and fixed the problem.
Coinmama Customer Support
Coinmama is boosting its customer service and support channels to provide its clients with many different avenues for reaching out to the company with your problems. The site has an excellent archive of troubleshooting articles to help guide you through your issue.
The customer support forum offers you the opportunity to reach out to support staff with a direct inquiry via email. Coinmama is also on social media, and they accept support requests through its Facebook page as well.
Coinmama also offers a live chat during business hours, and there is talk that the exchange is looking into extending this chat service to a 24/7 basis. However, for now, if you want to reach the support team outside of office hours, you’ll have to submit an email ticket.
The Bitcoin Tester Conclusion
Coinmama is another example of a user-friendly crypto exchange for newbies to the crypto market. This regulated exchange is above-board and requires you to verify your ID and address before you get full access to buying and selling coins on the exchange. However, it makes the process of buying crypto simple.
With Coinmama, you can use your credit or debit card to purchase coins or tokens on the platform. One of the downsides of Coinmama is its lack of wallets available through the exchange. Newbies might find it confusing to learn how to download and operate a third-party crypto wallet.
We would also like to see Coinmama introduce a mobile app for its customers. Another downside to Coinmama is that it doesn’t accept payment for crypto from PayPal, and there is no facility to use Amex or Discover cards on the exchange.
However, the convenience of purchasing on your card, and the wide-reach of this exchange make it a great exchange for your first cryptocurrency purchase.