Best Bitcoin Exchange South Africa – Top Exchange Revealed

Bitcoin has been one of the most unstoppable assets in the world over the past year. In 2020 alone, the world’s most popular cryptocurrency gained 269% in value.

That’s left more and more South African investors wondering how to get into this digital currency safely and without paying high fees. The answer is with a Bitcoin exchange.

In this guide, we’ll explain how Bitcoin exchanges work and help you find the best Bitcoin exchange South Africa.

Best Bitcoin Exchange South Africa List

There are dozens of Bitcoin exchanges to choose from in South Africa. But if you want the smoothest experience, lowest fees, and most powerful trading tools, you need one of the top providers.

Here are our 6 top picks for the best Bitcoin exchange South Africa:

• eToro – Buy Bitcoin and 14 Other Cryptos with 0% Commission
• Coinbase – Widest Selection of Digital Currencies
• Binance – Best Platform for Active Bitcoin Trading
• Kraken – Best Customer Support for Buying Bitcoin
• Coinmama – Buy Bitcoin as Quickly as Possible
• Luno – Best SA Bitcoin Exchange for Beginners

Best Bitcoin Exchanges South Africa Reviewed

Now let’s take a detailed look at the best exchange to buy Bitcoin on and runners up.

1. eToro – Buy Bitcoin and 14 Other Cryptos with 0% Commission

Whether you’re looking to buy Bitcoin and hold it for the long term or to trade around Bitcoin’s price fluctuations, eToro is one of our favorite Bitcoin exchanges in South Africa. This platform offers both outright Bitcoin investing and Bitcoin CFD trading.

However you buy Bitcoin with eToro, you pay nothing in commissions. The crypto trading platform charges a fixed spread of 0.75%, and that only applies when you buy Bitcoin – not when you sell it. That’s different from how most other platforms use spreads, so you’re essentially paying half of what another Bitcoin exchange might charge.

Another thing that’s great about eToro is that it offers a wide range of trading and investing tools. You get access to advanced technical charts and a news feed, for example, as well as research from professional analysts about the future of Bitcoin.

eToro also has a built-in social trading network, where you can connect with thousands of other crypto traders from South Africa and around the world. For active traders, this network provides a very useful look into Bitcoin’s momentum.

You can buy 14 other top cryptocurrencies in addition to Bitcoin on eToro. The platform allows you to copy other traders’ portfolios, too, so it’s easy to put together a portfolio of many different digital coins.

eToro offers 24/5 customer support by phone and email. The platform is not regulated in South Africa, but is regulated by top-tier watchdogs like the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority.

Pros

Cons

Cryptoassets are highly volatile unregulated investment products. No investor protection.

2. Coinbase – Widest Selection of Digital Currencies

If Bitcoin is just your entry point into the wider world of cryptocurrency trading, then consider using Coinbase as your exchange. This crypto trading platform offers trading on over 50 digital currencies and is routinely adding more options for traders.

Coinbase also has one of the best multi-coin wallets of any Bitcoin exchange in South Africa. The wallet is simple to set up, highly secure, works on mobile devices, and supports decentralised apps for payments and finance. The Coinbase wallet can even store collectables like digital art in addition to Bitcoin.

This exchange has two different platforms, which makes it useful for beginners and pros alike. With the basic platform, just enter the amount of Bitcoin you want to buy and you’re done. Coinbase also has a number of cryptocurrency trading guides, and you can actually earn Bitcoin as a reward for making your way through the lessons.

With the Coinbase Pro platform, you can dive into technical charts, market news, and even the Coinbase order book for Bitcoin.

The biggest downside to Coinbase is the cost of trading. Simple transactions using the basic platform cost 1.5% or more, plus an additional 2% if you pay with a credit card. In addition, every transaction of less than 150,000 ZAR on Coinbase Pro incurs a 0.50% spread.

Coinbase is considered extremely safe and is currently preparing for a debut as a public company. The platform is regulated by the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority.

Pros

Cons

Cryptoassets are highly volatile unregulated investment products. No investor protection.

3. Binance – Best Platform for Active Bitcoin Trading

Binance is one of the best Bitcoin exchanges in South Africa for active traders who want to profit off of Bitcoin’s price movements. This platform offers an incredibly in-depth trading platform, complete with dozens of technical indicators and access to the Bitcoin order book. In addition, the Binance platform is available on mobile, so you can easily trade on the go.

Another benefit to using Binance for active trading is that this exchange offers more than just Bitcoin. It also offers a variety of alternative crypto derivatives like Bitcoin futures contracts and vanilla options. For instance if you wanted to buy cardano, this allows you to hedge your risk and speculate on more than just whether the price of Bitcoin will go up or down

The platform is also highly flexible. For example, you can access the API to connect a third-party trading service like a Bitcoin trading robot. Or you can loan out your crypto holdings to earn interest over time.

Of course, Binance isn’t only meant for experienced crypto traders. The exchange offers a simple interface for one-time Bitcoin purchases and a built-in wallet that’s highly secure, also providing one of the best ripple wallets. Binance also supports a wide variety of payment methods, including debit and credit cards, which makes buying Bitcoin more accessible.

One very neat thing about Binance is that the exchange has its own cryptocurrency, called BNB. If you deposit funds and hold them in BNB rather than rand, you can actually get a discount on trading. Binance offers spreads starting at 0.075%, which is extremely inexpensive compared to other top exchanges.

Binance isn’t regulated, which can raise some concerns. However, the platform has a reputation for being extremely trustworthy. It also provides 24/7 chat support, which is something that’s not overly common among Bitcoin trading platforms.

Pros

Cons

Cryptoassets are highly volatile unregulated investment products. No investor protection.

4. Kraken – Best Customer Support for Buying Bitcoin

Kraken is another popular cryptocurrency exchange with a lot of clout in the world of digital currencies. What makes Kraken unique is that it prioritizes trust and puts your experience front and center in its platform.

To that end, Kraken offers perks like 24/7 customer support via live chat 365 days a year. The company also makes the sign-up process painless and enables you to deposit funds using common payment methods like debit or credit cards, so you can buy Bitcoin with credit card. The company even offers 3 different mobile apps, so you can choose the one that perfectly suits your trading needs and goals.

Kraken currently offers more than 50 digital currencies to trade. In addition the platform has a handful of fiat-crypto trading pairs for Bitcoin that you can use to trade with leverage up to 50:1. However, don’t expect to find options or leveraged tokens like the kind that Binance offers.

Another benefit to Kraken is that the exchange’s trading fees are fairly low. Most Bitcoin trades cost around 0.2%, although that can vary over time depending on the token’s liquidity. Figuring out exactly how much a trade will cost can be confusing, but Kraken is transparent about costs before you place an order.

Kraken complies with FinCEN rules in the US, but isn’t regulated as a crypto exchange. The platform has an incredible reputation among users, though, so trustworthiness isn’t a problem for this exchange.

Pros

Cons

Cryptoassets are highly volatile unregulated investment products. No investor protection.

5. Coinmama – Buy Bitcoin as Quickly as Possible

If you want to buy Bitcoin as quickly as possible, Coinmama is one of the best Bitcoin exchanges in South Africa for the task. This platform offers an incredibly simple and fast sign-up process. Plus, you can fund your purchase instantly with a debit or credit card, bank transfer, or Apple Pay without first making a deposit.

One thing to keep in mind when you sign up for Coinmama, though, is that this exchange doesn’t offer its own built-in wallet. That can be a good thing if you want to take advantage of a custom third-party wallet or to manage your own Bitcoin wallet. However, for new crypto traders, the process of setting up a crypto wallet outside the exchange can be a barrier to entry.

Coinmama doesn’t offer the advanced trading tools or research features that many other exchanges prioritise. Instead, this exchange focuses on providing a seamless interface.

You get the current price of Bitcoin and a few basic order options, and that’s it. While this simplicity won’t work for more experienced traders, it can be a big plus for one-time crypto investing.

The biggest issue with Coinmama is its pricing, which can be quite expensive. The platform charges a commission of 3.9% when buying Bitcoin and a commission of 1.9% when selling. If you fund your purchase with a credit card, Coinmama will add a staggering 5% charge. There’s no additional fee for bank transfers.

Coinmama offers support by live chat 17 hours a day, 5 days a week. The platform isn’t regulated, but does follow rules set by FinCEN in the US to prevent financial crimes.

Pros

Cons

Cryptoassets are highly volatile unregulated investment products. No investor protection.

6. Luno – Best SA Bitcoin Exchange for Beginners

Luno makes the process of buying Bitcoin in South Africa incredibly simple. The platform breaks the process down into three simple steps and eliminates a lot of the barriers that typically prevent investors from getting into Bitcoin.

One key feature to Luno is that it has a built-in crypto wallet. So, when you sign up for a new account, you can easily set up your wallet at the same time. For first-time Bitcoin investors, that’s a lot easier than figuring out how to set up and connect a third-party wallet.

Another plus to this platform is that it offers helpful features for long term investing. You can set up recurring transfers from your bank account or credit card to buy Bitcoin. In addition, you can loan out Bitcoin from your wallet and earn interest worth up to 4% of your Bitcoin’s value.

While Luno’s trading platform is very simple – you won’t find many tools for technical analysis – it does allow you to stay on top of the crypto market. For example, the platform offers price alerts on your smartphone and you can set limit and stop-loss orders for trades.

Luno allows you to buy Ethereum, Litecoin, Ripple, and Bitcoin Cash in addition to Bitcoin, so it’s a good option if you want to build a crypto portfolio. Just note that the exchange only offers email support, so it can take a day or two to get answers if you need help with your account.

Pros

Cons

Cryptoassets are highly volatile unregulated investment products. No investor protection.

What is a Bitcoin Exchange?

A Bitcoin exchange is a platform where you can buy Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

Bitcoin exchanges operate a lot like stock brokerages. When you put in an order to buy Bitcoin, the exchange matches your order with a sell order from another trader in the marketplace and facilitates the transaction.

Importantly, Bitcoin exchanges allow you to use fiat currency – like ZAR – to fund your trade. For most Bitcoin and other crypto traders, an exchange is the on-ramp from fiat currency to digital currency.

Many Bitcoin exchanges also offer the best Bitcoin wallets – you’ll need one of these in order to store the cryptocurrency you buy. You can either use the built-in wallet that your exchange offers, or set up your own crypto wallet and connect it to your account.

Which option is better for you ultimately comes down to what types of digital currencies you want to trade and whether you want to manage your own wallet or have your exchange manage it on your behalf.

How to Compare the Best Bitcoin Exchanges in South Africa

There are dozens of Bitcoin exchanges to choose from in South Africa. So, how do you decide which one is right for you?

There are a number of key factors to consider when picking a Bitcoin exchange. Let’s take a look at some of the things you need to keep in mind in order to find the best South Africa Bitcoin exchange.

Safety & Regulation

Safety is enormously important when it comes to buying Bitcoin. The history of Bitcoin exchanges is littered with examples of platforms that didn’t take security seriously enough and then lost clients’ money after being hacked.

That said, there are things you can look for to decide whether an exchange is worthy of your trust.

First, look at the exchange’s reputation and history. Has it ever been hacked or lost clients’ funds? If not, it’s likely that the exchange is doing something right. Most of the top Bitcoin exchanges offer details on the security measures they implement, and it’s worth digging into these to find out whether they’re as secure as they seem.

Another thing to consider is whether the exchange insures your funds. This is increasingly common at major Bitcoin exchanges, and ensures that your money is guaranteed even in the event of a security breach.

Finally, check to see whether an exchange is regulated. Most aren’t, since regulators are still grappling with how to police crypto exchanges. However, top Bitcoin exchanges South Africa like eToro and Coinbase are regulated, and that can be a strong sign that these platforms are worthy of your trust.

Trading Options

Virtually every cryptocurrency exchange in South Africa offers trading on Bitcoin. After all, it is by far the most popular digital currency in the world.

If you plan to trade more than just Bitcoin, though, it’s worth checking what other coins an exchange offers. Some only have a few of the most popular cryptocurrencies, while others give you access to dozens of altcoins.

Another thing to consider is whether you want to trade cryptocurrency derivatives. Instruments like CFDs, futures, and options are best for experienced traders with strong risk management skills. That said, these instruments allow you to add leverage to your trades and to speculate on more than just whether Bitcoin’s price will rise or fall.

Fees

Trading fees can add up quickly when you’re buying and selling Bitcoin. So, it’s important to look closely at what different exchanges charge for their services.

Figuring out what the fees are for buying Bitcoin can be surprisingly difficult. Many exchanges charge a fixed commission or spread, but the cost of that commission or spread depends on the size of your trade and whether you’re adding or removing liquidity from the order book. In addition, some exchanges charge more if you fund your transaction with a credit or debit card, or offer a discount if you use a specific currency to buy Bitcoin.

Be cautious when evaluating fees, and don’t be afraid to get in touch with customer support to ask questions. Even if the fee schedule is complex, your exchange should be transparent about how much trading will cost you and what you’re being charged for.

Trading Tools & Features

If you’re just making a one-off purchase of Bitcoin, having access to a variety of technical trading tools might not be that important to you. But for anyone who wants to trade the price of Bitcoin for a profit, your exchange’s trading platform will be critical.

To start, look for an in-depth charting and analysis interface. You should have access to dozens of technical indicators and drawing tools. Being able to see the order book for a cryptocurrency is also useful since that allows you to quickly spot changes in price momentum and liquidity.

Some exchanges also offer features like professional analysis, a crypto news feed, price alerts, and more. To help manage trading risk, look for the option to enter limit and stop-loss orders in addition to just market orders.

Finally, some exchanges have unique features that can be extremely helpful. For example, eToro’s social trading network enables you to interact with other traders to gauge sentiment and try out new strategies. You can also copy others’ portfolios to quickly put together a custom crypto investment.

Payment Methods

What payment methods an exchange accepts is also important when deciding which platform to use.

Most exchanges allow you to fund your purchase with a bank transfer, debit card, or credit card. Some of the top Bitcoin exchanges South Africa also allow you to pay with an e-wallet or even with Apple Pay or Google Pay.

If you already have Bitcoin or another cryptocurrency, you can typically transfer that over to your new exchange (although this may incur a transaction fee).

Customer Service

While you might not use customer support very often, it’s very helpful to know it’s there if you do need it. Bitcoin exchanges vary widely in the level of support they offer, so be sure to check.

Some exchanges offer 24/7 customer support, while others only allow you to get in touch during business hours (often US business hours, not South Africa business hours). In addition, check whether you can get a representative on the line immediately by live chat or phone, or whether you need to wait for an email reply.

How to Get Started with the Best Exchange to Buy Bitcoin On

Ready to buy Bitcoin? We’ll show you how to get started with eToro, which offers 0% commission Bitcoin trading, a built-in social trading network, and powerful analysis tools.

Step 1: Create an eToro Account

To get started with eToro, head to the platform’s website or download the eToro app on your smartphone from Google Play or the Apple App Store. Click ‘Join Now’ to register a new account, and create a username and password. You can also register using your Google or Facebook login.

Step 2: Verify Your Identity

eToro is regulated by the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority, which requires all users to verify their identity. You can do this online by uploading a government-issued ID (your passport or driver’s license) and a proof of address (a recent utility bill or financial statement).

Step 3: Fund Your Account

Next, you can add funds to your trading account. eToro requires a minimum deposit of 3,000 ZAR, which you can pay by bank transfer, credit or debit card, or e-wallet – including PayPal – if you are looking for a full tutorial on how to buy Bitcoin with PayPal we can help. Other options include Neteller, and Skrill.

Step 4: Connect a Crypto Wallet

If you already have a third-party crypto wallet, head to your account settings to connect it to eToro. Otherwise, download the eToro Wallet app from Google Play or the Apple App Store. When you log into your account, this wallet will automatically be connected to your eToro account.

Step 5: Buy Bitcoin

Now you’re ready to buy Bitcoin using eToro. Head to your account dashboard and search ‘Bitcoin.’ Click ‘Trade’ when it appears in the menu to open a new order form.

Choose how much money you want to invest in Bitcoin and enter a take-profit or stop-loss level if desired. When you’re ready, click ‘Open Trade’ to buy Bitcoin.

Best Bitcoin Exchaneg South Africa – Conclusion

Buying Bitcoin is incredibly easy. But to get started, you need the best Bitcoin exchange South Africa.

Look for key features like low fees, powerful trading tools, customer support, and trustworthy security. Any of the top Bitcoin exchanges  South Africa we reviewed are great places to start.

Ready to start trading crypto in South Africa? Click the link below to buy Bitcoin with eToro today!

eToro – Best Bitcoin Exchange South Africa

Cryptoassets are highly volatile unregulated investment products. No investor protection.

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