What is BTCBox? How does it compare to its competitors in the industry? Is it one that you should turn to? Does it have unique elements to it that you should not miss out on using? Welcome to today’s review in which I will be answering the above questions and more. To cover a wider ground, the review will take the following structure:
- What is BTCBox?
- Which cryptocurrencies and fiat currencies are supported by BTCBox?
- Countries this platform is available in
- Fees charged
- The deposit and withdrawal options
- Is BTCBox Legit or is it a Scam?
- Pros and Cons
Name of the Platform: BTCBox
Official website URL: https://www.btcbox.co.jp/
Overall Rating: 
Recommended: Yes (for Japanese customers)
P.S:
See my Recommended Alternative to BTCBox
What is BTCBox?
BTCBox is a well-established Japan-based cryptocurrency exchange platform that was created back in 2014, by a company known as BTC Box Co. Ltd, which is a member of the well-known Japan Cryptocurrency Business Association (JCBA). JCBA, for those who do not know, is an association that exists for the sole purpose of helping those who need support as they launch their business entities that have underlying crypto projects. BTCBox also seems to be currently operating under a license that’s provided by the Japan Financial Services Agency (JFSA), which is one of Japan’s financial regulatory agencies.
This platform offers its support services in English, Japanese, and Chinese, which means that it’s mainly interested in serving customers who can communicate in any of these languages. Let’s dive deeper to see how this platform’s services look like.
Which cryptocurrencies and fiat currencies are supported by BTCBox?
As of now, BTCBox seems to be mainly allowing customers to trade in Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, and Ethereum. Originally, this platform served as a fiat-to-crypto exchange platform that only supported BTC/JPY exchanges. Today, customers can exchange any of the listed cryptos with Japanese Yen. Exchanges based on other fiat currencies and fiat currencies are not possible, hence one should check to see what other competitors have to offer instead (if they’re looking for a wider variety of currency offerings).
Countries this platform is available in
From the look of things, BTCBox is mainly concerned with the provision of its services to customers based in Japan. This does not necessarily mean that customers in other countries cannot access and use BTCBox-the only thing is that they have to be ready to prove that they are legit customers. As already introduced, this platform also offers its support in English and Chinese, to mean that it has customers from English and Chinese-speaking regions.
Fees charged
We have seen from time to time in our reviews that knowing the fees charges by a platform is quite crucial since the costs add up very quickly and can eat into one’s funds. Some of the top platforms in this industry do not charge varying taker/maker fees, hence offering what we can refer to as “flat fees”. BTCBox is one of such exchanges that charge flat trading fees to those using its trading services. The flat fee is 0.05%.
The industry average has for many years been 0.25%, though we are seeing more companies move towards lower trading fees. The emerging industry seems to be 0.10%, hence you can weigh your options to see if you’re getting a better deal with the platform you’re currently using. BTCBox’s fees of 0.05% are quite competitive though.
The deposit and withdrawal options
BTCBox allows its customers to make deposits via a wire transfer/bank transfer. Credit cards are unfortunately not accepted here, so you’ll have to look elsewhere if this is an option that you’d want to be included in your list of accepted payment methods.
Since BTCBox does not offer crypto-to-crypto trading, you cannot make a transfer of funds from a pre-existing cryptocurrency wallet to your BTCBox offline wallet. BTCBox is well-supported by Japanese banks, so you have to know that most such transactions will involve your BTCBox wallet and a Japanese bank account.
P.S: do not forget to check the fees that you’ll incur for these transactions, to avoid getting the shock of your life when you look at your bank statement later on. There are many alternatives that you can use out here, so don’t tie yourself to a platform that’s out to charge you exorbitant fees for any of the transactions that you initiate.
Is BTCBox Legit or is it a Scam?
BTCBox is a legit platform, in as far as I can tell. We have already seen that it’s one that is heavily regulated and one which gets support from numerous banks. It’s hard for BTCBox to, therefore, get off the radar and start harassing customers. Having been around 2014, the platform would have already been shut down if it was operating illegally.
I looked for customer reviews for this platform to establish whether it has been serving its customers in the right manner but didn’t come across many of them. Besides those I found on Revian, there are not many other customer reviews that can give you information about this company’s nature of custom delivery. BTCBox has a rating of (3.7/5) stars on Revian, which isn’t a bad rating, but the industry standards. If you’d like to see what other platforms are offering before settling wholly on BTCBox, you can try out my recommended alternative below for a start (best for a wide variety of options).
====>My #1 Recommended alternative to BTCBox
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Great support from Japanese banks
- Trades in BTC
- Doesn’t necessarily lockout customers from other countries (provided they can meet the desired requirements).
- Decent trading fees
Cons
- Not best suited for foreigners.
- Doesn’t offer crypto-to-crypto trading
- Doesn’t accept credit card deposits
Do you own or represent BTCBox?
If you are a representative or associate of BTCBox have found something not to be correct in this review please, feel free to tell us and I will make sure to update the info on this post. The easiest way to do it is in the comment section below or simply by sending us an e-mail to contact@goldretired.com.
Final Words and Verdict
Verdict: Legit
Overall Rating:
BTCBox is a Japanese-based exchange that I can say has been around for long enough to prove its worth to a wide range of customers. The lack of many customer reviews is, however, not pleasing, since a good number of its competitors are quite big on providing social proof. From my analysis, BTCBox is legit, but it’s one that is quite limited (in terms of the transaction options).
If you feel that this platform is constraining you, then you should check out what other alternatives are offering their customers. You also can decide to invest in cryptos for the long-term horizon (for your retirement years). Check out my number one recommendations if you decide to go the alternative route.
Full Review of my #1 Recommended alternative to BTCBox
or
Recommended Crypto IRAs to use as you invest for your retirement years
Thank you for making it to the end of this review about what BTCBox is about and what it has to offer. I hope you found it helpful, and that you’ll now make an informed decision about whether you’ll rely on it, or not. Let me know what your thoughts are about it, or any experiences that you’d had with its customer support staff so far.
I wish you well,
Eric, investor, and team member on Gold Retired!
