What is Northcrypto? It’s a Finnish online service for buying, selling, and storing cryptocurrencies. Northcrypto has been praised for its simple interface, which makes it a perfect place for newcomers to buy their first coins. This article is a Northcrypto review. We’ll go through all the key features and tell you about our Northcrypto experiences.
Northcrypto review (company presentation)
Northcrypto is a Finnish blockchain company founded in 2018. The cryptocurrency service opened its doors to customers in the spring of 2019.
The founders of Northcrypto have a background in information technology, online marketing, and finances. Members of the board of directors are all Finnish: Ville Runola, Miikka Laukkanen, and Tyko Karjalainen. Ville Runola is the current CEO.
Northcrypto has always wanted to streamline the process of buying cryptocurrencies without cutting corners in safety. The website is designed for newcomers, and it’s almost impossible to find a simpler interface anywhere. It’s also translated into five different languages: Finnish, German, Swedish, English, and Spanish.
The company is also registered with the Finnish Financial Supervisory Authority making it one of the few companies in Finland with a cryptocurrency operator license. Northcrypto accepts customers from all EU countries.
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Northcrypto registration
Opening a new account is a fast and simple process. You’ll be forwarded to the Northcrypto registration form when clicking the link below.
Your name, address details, and e-mail is needed for opening a new account. Filling in this information takes just a minute.
In the second stage, you’ll perform a quick KYC process, meaning account verification. This is a standard procedure at any service where bank wire transfers are available. Northcrypto is using Onfido for non-Finnish customers. It’s a fast and painless procedure, where you’ll upload a picture of your passport or ID. Finnish customers are verified through their bank IDs.
The whole registration process is fast and straightforward. If the issuing country in your ID document is not the country you live in, you can contact Northcrypto’s customer support to get your account verified manually.
Northcrypto deposit
Now we can go forward in our Northcrypto review and make a bank wire deposit to your newly registered Northcrypto account. This operation is performed from the My Account page. If you are not there already, click the user icon in the main menu and select My Account (see the picture below).
Here you can see the balance of all your currencies. The green and red buttons will take you to the deposit and withdrawal pages.
Click the green Deposit button on the Euro row. When depositing for the first time, you need to input your bank account information. Deposits and withdrawals are only allowed using this bank account.
Next, you’ll see the following popup.
Northcrypto has enabled instant deposits in February 2021. At the time of writing this article, instant deposits are only available in Finland. This might change in the near future.
Click the bank transfer option to make a standard SEPA transfer.
How to buy crypto
Once you have made a successful deposit, it’s time to buy some cryptocurrencies. Northcrypto has the following selection: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Aave, Chainlink, Polygon, and USD Coin. They will be enough for most investors.
Click the Buy & Sell link in the top menu to access the following page.
Input the desired Euro amount in the Sell box and the number in the Buy box will update automatically. Once you click the green Execute trade button, your trade is processed immediately.
If you want to sell your bitcoins to euros, use the same form. You can swap any available currencies to each other from this page: BTC to ETH, EUR to AAVE, LINK to LTC, and so on.
We have only positive Northcrypto experiences from the trading feature. Execution is fast, and the interface couldn’t be simpler.
How to send and receive crypto
When your crypto portfolio grows larger, you might want to store your coins in a hardware wallet or maybe in a desktop wallet. In such a case, you need to make an outgoing transaction. This is very easy.
Click the user icon in the main menu and select My Account. You land on the same page which you used for deposits as well. This time click the red Withdraw button.
This is how the page looks for Bitcoin withdrawals.
Just input the receiver’s address into the Address box. Remember to always copy-paste cryptocurrency addresses, and never try to input them letter-by-letter. You are bound to make a mistake and there is no undo option available when it comes to cryptocurrencies.
Also, make sure you are sending bitcoins to a Bitcoin address, Litecoins to a Litecoin address, Ether to an Ethereum address, and so on. The fee is deducted from the transaction automatically.
After submitting your withdrawal, you’ll also get a confirmation link to your e-mail. Click this link to finalize the transaction.
When you have confirmed the withdrawal, it shows on your pending withdrawals. Click the user icon in the main menu and select withdrawals.
Once Northcrypto has processed your withdrawal, it moves to Completed withdrawals. Usually, this happens in a couple of minutes.
If you want to make a cryptocurrency deposit into your account, it’s also easy.
Click the user icon in the main menu and go to the My Account page once again. Click the green Deposit button and you’ll see a simple deposit page with your cryptocurrency address and QR code.
Either scan the code with your mobile or copy-paste the address to your wallet software. Confirmation times for each cryptocurrency are described in the next chapter.
Northcrypto fees
Northcrypto’s fee structure couldn’t be simpler. All trades have a fixed 1.0% fee. This is much lower than popular newbie-friendly exchanges, such as Bitpanda, or Coinbase.
Both cryptocurrency and fiat deposits are free of charge. Northcrypto also shows the number of confirmations required when making cryptocurrency deposits. The confirmations are 2 for Bitcoin, 6 for Litecoin, and 20 for Ethereum tokens.
These will translate into an average transaction time of 20 mins (BTC), 15 mins (LTC), and 5 mins (Ethereum).
Withdrawal fees are the following: 1 EUR (euro), 0.0005 BTC (Bitcoin), 0.001 LTC (Litecoin), and 0.005 ETH (Ethereum), 0.5 LINK (Chainlink), 0.1 AAVE (Aave), 20 MATIC (Polygon), and 30 USDC (USD Coin).
Rates mentioned in this chapter are valid at the time of writing this article (10/2022). Click Fees in the website footer to access up-to-date rates.
Northcrypto review vs. competition
One important part of this Northcrypto review is looking at the competition. Northcrypto is a relatively new operator in the crypto scene compared to its well-known competitors. It doesn’t make sense to compare such a website to Binance or other “altcoin casinos” like that.
One should compare Northcrypto to similar newbie-friendly fiat on-ramps. In Finland, Northcrypto is competing against Coinmotion, which has traditionally been the leading Scandinavian cryptocurrency service. It is also competing against Coinbase, which is an extremely popular fiat on-ramp globally.
All these services have a clear design and they can be used by people, who are not so familiar with cryptocurrencies. Even if this is the case, Northcrypto is probably the only online service that doesn’t really even need a beginner’s guide. It is so easy to use. Anyone, who can use a browser and internet bank, can use Northcrypto without any issues.
Northcrypto is also cheaper than its main competitors. Both Coinmotion and Coinbase are 50%-100% more expensive depending a bit on your volumes. The fixed 1.0% fee of Northcrypto is an attractive one for sure.
While Coinmotion and Coinbase are more expensive and maybe not that easy to use, they do have more features. Coinmotion has also Ripple XRP and Stellar Lumens – especially XRP is a very popular cryptocurrency. Coinbase has 100+ more cryptocurrencies than Coinmotion.
Coinbase has also staking and other small features, which are available depending on your country. You can also apply for a Coinbase debit card. Coinmotion has a vault service for extra protection and crypto loans, which allow you to get some yearly interest on your deposits.
All these services are reliable and regulated by local authorities. They also support monthly savings.
Northcrypto is a great option for those who want a super easy GUI and want to just invest in the most popular cryptocurrencies. You can also use Northcrypto as your fiat on-ramp for more altcoins: buy bitcoins from here cheaply and then move them to Binance and buy altcoins with those bitcoins.
Northcrypto review and experiences
Northcrypto is a new operator in the market having its doors opened in March 2019. So far it has proven to be a reliable service with no major problems reported. It also seems that the Northcrypto team is listening to its clients when developing its platform further.
No wonder, social media is full of positive Northcrypto experiences. It’s mostly used by Finnish customers.
There is also a native mobile app available for Android and iOS users.
Northcrypto mobile apps follow the same approach as the desktop version. Apps have a clean design and they are easy to use. If you like using a mobile you’d definitely download the app!
We have only positive Northcrypto experiences. There have never been any technical issues, and customer service responds extremely fast. The interface is clean & simple to use. This is a great service for newcomers.
Follow Northcrypto also on Twitter @northcrypto to stay up-to-date with the latest events. We hope you found this Northcrypto review useful!
Photo by Mateus Campos Felipe on Unsplash