Why so much hassle finding Fiat/Altcoin pairs exchange?

[Red-Leonard2]

I was hoping this would be easy to do

ie. find Fiat (preferably GBP)/Alt coins exchange with multiple pairs

Other than BTC and ETH this seems to be a lot of hassle

and the idea of having to convert several times to find a pair kills the deal due to fees

any views on this?

[Bttzed03]

I was hoping this would be easy to do

ie. find Fiat (preferably GBP)/Alt coins exchange with multiple pairs

Other than BTC and ETH this seems to be a lot of hassle

and the idea of having to convert several times to find a pair kills the deal due to fees

any views on this?

The widely used fiat pair for cryptocurrencies by international exchanges is USD. It's the discretion of the exchange whether they will add other fiat pairings or not. If they don't, it's probably because there is not enough demand for it or they don't want to run into another trouble with regulators.

Try local based exchanges instead. They usually have their national currency paired with cryptos - https://www.finder.com/uk/cryptocurrency/exchanges

By the way, here are some international exchanges that has GBP pairings:

Code:

Coinbase
BiboxEurope
Bitstamp (unsure if trading is allowed already)
Kraken

[DooMAD]

Any exchanges handling fiat are strictly regulated and have numerous rules they need to comply with, so it stands to reason that some exchanges simply don't want the hassle of dealing with that.  Which is why it's generally much easier to find non-fiat exchange pairings.  KYC/AML is the problem.  It's supposedly a safeguard to protect consumers, but I'm yet to be convinced of that, personally.

[joniboini]

Another reason is probably because they make more money when they do that. As you said, you paid more fees, so it's a plus for them. Other than that, I don't think there's a problem with regulators etc, as they can provide fiat exchange for BTC. The reason is likely profitability, at least right now. I don't think this is going to change soon, considering the cost of providing such service with low interest is 'big'.

If you want direct fiat-alts exchange, and assuming your alts are not some ICO garbage, there might be some people who can exchange it for you on the exchange section.

[tsaroz]

Bank to exchange trading has to go through traditional system of paper works and taxes. There are regulations on every steps and risks involved for every parties involved as the policy towards the business is ever changing. The best way possible to buy coins if you are going to do it regularly and in large volume is to have a P2P trading partner.

[thesmallgod]

You might need to tell us the specific altcoin you want to convert. However, major pairing of most coin with ETH and BTC is because the two are most used coin and mostly the have the highest marketcap but some exchange have started pairing USDT with most altcoin as well. Binance and Poloniex have a lot of this pairing. Due to variants in stablecoin, some of the platforms might distribute the pairing of the various stablecoins such USDT, USDC, DAI, BUSD etc with some selected altcoin

[Darker45]

It won't be easy to find. First, because of the regulatory challenges in doing so, as has already been mentioned above. Second, because these are cryptocurrency exchanges and not foreign currency exchanges. You should be surprised if these cryptocurrency exchanges are offering all kinds of fiat pairs.

However, you might want to try checking out Kraken and binance.je. They might have GBP/crypto pairs there. Don't expect much fiat/altcoins pairings, though. If there are, I reckon they are limited to the top altcoins such as ETH.

Also, you don't have to convert several times. You just have to pass through BTC or ETH before finally selling for GBP.

[kryptqnick]

I was hoping this would be easy to do

ie. find Fiat (preferably GBP)/Alt coins exchange with multiple pairs

Other than BTC and ETH this seems to be a lot of hassle

and the idea of having to convert several times to find a pair kills the deal due to fees

any views on this?

I think there can be multiple factors that contribute to this.
1. There isn't so much interest in altcoins as there used to be, so there are more places for fiat-BTC pair, but not with altcoins.
2. It seems to me that people usually buy Bitcoin/Ethereum/USDT with fiat and then exchange it for other altcoins. So there isn't enough demand for altcoin-fiat exchange pairs to be offered.
If you're thinking about investing in altcoins, think again. Maybe the lack of options is a sign that it might not be a good choice. It's fully up to you, but please take a look at Coingecko or Coinmarketcap to see various altcoins and how they've been doing over the last few years.

[DoubleEdgeEX]

The hassle is in the regulations. Countries have different demands about what license a VASP need and those alicenses are far from cheap! You need to have a boatload of administration to do and cooperate with authorities as close as possible to not get closed by them. It´s easier to open a crypto/crypto exchange and when this works out fine, get the legal stuff together and acquire a money transfer license (or on equivalent). Think of Binance. The first 2 years they were just a crypto/crypto trading platform but as they grew, CZ saw the potential and tried to get as many licenses as possible. As for the USA, it´s another chapter, since you need to apply for  a license in every 50 states seperately! Imagine about 2M USD for each license including lawyer costs and all the administation and you get an idea how expensive that venture is and not many are actually doing it.

[Red-Leonard2]

thanks for all the quick replies

yes, it seems like buying ETH/BTC with GBP , then selling it for USD on the exchange I use opens up quite a few more pairs.

(blockchain.com)


So I guess tomorrow I can experiment with trading ALGO, XLM, XRP, LTC - does anyone have any opinions on those coins?

[pakhitheboss]

This article might help you - https://cryptobuyersclub.co.uk/faqs/sell-cryptocurrencies-gbp

Although most exchanges have been listed already but the above articles also helps you to find alternatives. Not promoting the article but found it interesting. So, check it out once.