ChangeNOW Review 2023: More Than Just Crypto Swapping

If you’ve heard of crypto swapping platforms then you’ve probably aware of ChangeNOW. ChangeNOW is a non-custodial platform that is best known for its fast and efficient crypto swapping service. Exchanging one crypto to another crypto is still the primary service but it has expanded its products and services to cater to a wider audience. ChangeNOW is one of the best crypto swapping platforms on the market.

Here’s what you need to know about buying, swapping, and loaning cryptocurrencies on ChangeNOW.

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Our Takeaways

ChangeNOW is a popular and reliable platform where you can easily swap one crypto for another. The quality and speed of the service are exemplary and the returns on swapping are competitive compared to other platforms. ChangeNOW has added additional features including a fiat gateway to purchase over 380+ assets, however, the fees (6%) are excessive and should be avoided.

ChangeNOW is best suited for traders who want a no-fuss way of discretely and quickly balancing out their crypto portfolios.

Name	ChangeNOW
Core Services	Crypto-to-crypto conversions
Available Cryptocurrencies	380+
Fiat Currencies	USD, EUR
Deposit Options	Visa/MasterCard, cryptocurrency transfer
Fiat-To-Crypto Fees	6%
Crypto-To-Crypto Fees	Estimated to be between 0.1% and 1.2%
Crypto Loans	Yes
Mobile App	Yes (iOS and Android)

What Is ChangeNOW?

ChangeNOW is a non-custodial digital asset trading platform that is best known for its easy-to-use crypto-to-crypto service. The non-custodial nature of ChangeNOW means that you can buy or swap over 380+ cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum without having to sign up. ChangeNOW does not store your funds and cryptocurrencies are sent directly to your external wallet.

In recent years, ChangeNOW has expanded its service offerings beyond crypto swapping. The Seychelles registered platform now offers more products and services including crypto loans and a fiat gateway that allows you to buy cryptocurrencies with Visa or Mastercard.

The products and services that ChangeNOW offers are a result of the platform’s strategic partnerships with players in the crypto industry, including Binance, Huobi, Guarda, Trezor, and Simplex.

How Does ChangeNOW Work?

ChangeNOW is not a traditional crypto exchange and instead works similarly to a broker. When you perform a crypto-to-crypto swap, ChangeNOW will search and aggregate the best market rates from its global partners which include Binance, Bitfinex, Huobi Global, OKEx, and KuCoin. When you complete the transaction, the price is locked in at the time is it confirmed on the blockchain.

Since ChangeNow is a non-custodial trading platform, you don’t need to create an account to conduct crypto-to-crypto swaps or to purchase crypto. Swapped or purchased crypto are sent straight to your external hardware wallet.

ChangeNOW Pros & Cons

ChangeNOW Compared

This comparison table lists other top crypto swapping platforms like ChangeNOW that offer world-class features.

How To Swap Crypto On ChangeNOW

ChangeNOW provides you with a simple interface that allows for quick crypto swapping transactions to be made. As shown in the video above, crypto-to-crypto transactions can be completed in the following steps:

1. Select the asset pair from the drop-down menus to swap and receive (e.g. BTC to ETH) and enter the amount to be swapped. ChangeNOW will automatically quote the amount of the returned asset (inclusive of trading and network fees).
2. Provide your external wallet address.
3. Review the transaction quotation details.
4. Confirm the transaction and receive funds in your personal hardware wallet.

Before transaction completion, ChangeNOW will present a summary of information relating to the crypto exchange. This will include the amount swapped, the amount received, transaction ID, and your wallet address. It is important to note that the crypto amount returned will include trading fees.

ChangeNOW indicates that transaction processing speeds will depend on network congestion with times ranging from 2 to 20 minutes. Based on customer feedback on TrustPilot, we found that most transactions were completed between 3 and 5 minutes which is quite fast.

Top ChangeNOW Features You Should Know

A Wide Range Of Crypto & Trading Pairs

ChangeNOW supports a comprehensive list of over 380 digital assets that can be purchased with fiat currencies or swapped for another crypto. The platform supports all the major cryptocurrencies including BitCoin (BTC), several stablecoins such as Tether (USDT) and USD Coin (USDC), and a multitude of popular and exotic altcoins.

The vast asset list that ChangeNOW supports translates into over 10,000 trading pairs. Simply put, if you’ve thought of a digital asset that you need then ChangeNOW will more than likely have it available for you. Combine this with the convenience and quick transactions that ChangeNOW provides, and you have an excellent method for managing your altcoin portfolio.

Purchase Crypto Using A Bankcard

ChangeNOW has partnered with Guardarian and Simplex, third-party payment services providers, to allow you to buy cryptocurrencies using Visa, MasterCard, or SEPA. Wire transfers, American Express, and Discover cards are not supported.

ChangeNOW supports a large range of fiat currencies to buy crypto such as USD, AUD, EUR, MYR, JPY, CAD, GBP, and many more. Alternatively, ChangeNOW also gives you the option of selling your crypto to one of the supported fiat currencies.

Although the addition of a fiat gateway to directly buy crypto provides you with a great deal of convenience, the fees are high (6%) are should be avoided. In our opinion, it would be better to purchase digital currencies from a top crypto exchange and use ChangeNOW solely for swapping purposes.

NOWLoans

ChangeNOW allows you to deposit your crypto as collateral so you can take out a crypto loan with another digital asset. Currently, ChangeNOW supports up to 24 cryptocurrencies including BTC and ETH that can be used as collateral, however, it depends on your chosen option, either Bull or Bear.

ITEM	BULL (RISING MARKET)	BEAR (FALLING MARKET)
Supported Collateral	BTC, SHIB, DGB, DOGE, NANO, XRP, FIRO, ETH, RVN, BCH, FTM, LINK, MKR, CHZ, SNX, COMP, ENJ, BAT, GRT, SUSHI, YFI, ZRX, UNI, BNT	USDT (TRX), USDT (ETH), USDC
Crypto Loaned	USDT (TRX), USDT (ETH), USDC	BTC, ETH, DOGE, DGB

ChangeNOW operates with a Loan To Value (LVR) ratio of 50%. This means that if you deposit $10,000 worth of BTC as collateral, then you will be loaned $5,000 worth of your selected crypto. Although you will need to deposit more collateral to obtain your desired loaned amount, the 50% LVR assists to mitigate the potential for liquidation if the price of the collateral falls. It is worthy to note that an LVR of 50% is relatively common among crypto lending platforms.

Your collateral will be returned once you repay the loan, that is, the amount loaned plus the interest that had accumulated during the loan period. On this note, interest is not paid during the loan and is instead paid out to ChangeNOW in full at the cessation of the loan. Loans can be closed at any time. Loans that are closed within 30 days will incur a $100 fee.

In terms of loan interest rates, ChangeNOW offers a 10% annual rate of interest (APR) which is calculated monthly and included in the repayment amount. In comparison to popular crypto lending platforms such as BlockFi, ChangeNOW’s 10% APR is relatively high. However, with no minimum amounts or restrictions on loan durations, you have more flexibility and freedom in taking out a NOWLoan with ChangeNOW.

NOW Wallet

The non-custodial NOW Wallet allows you to store your digital assets discretely and securely. Rather than storing your digital assets within an exchange’s wallet, you can store your crypto on your mobile device.

Some of the features of the NOW Wallet include:

• Exchange crypto using fiat (via Visa and MasterCard) or other cryptocurrencies.
• Supports storage of 500+ digital assets including NFTs.
• Compatibility with iOS and Android mobile devices.
• Acts as a medium to send and receive cryptocurrencies.

ChangeNOW has partnered with other wallet service providers such as Atomic Wallet, Guarda, Edge, and Cake Wallet. Ledger and Trezor will provide the best security and hold a larger number of cryptos given their cold-storage nature.

NOWPayments

NOWPayments is a non-custodial payment service that lets you receive payments in over 100 digital currencies. You can choose to accept payments to your external wallet or your linked bank account as fiat conversions are also supported. Automatic conversion of crypto is supported which means that you can choose the asset you want to be paid for regardless of what you’re paid with.

After you sign up, you can select which cryptocurrencies or fiat currencies to receive as payment for your business. Currently, there are over 100 assets to select including 7 stablecoins such as USDT, DAI, and USDC. Alternatively, there are 20 supported fiat currencies such as AUD, GBP, JPY, USD, and CAD. Keeping track of your payments, invoices, and balances is easy using the provided interface.

Overall, it is easy to see how NOWPayments would be appealing to business owners who allow their customers to pay in crypto. The tools and widgets are easy to integrate, and with over 100 assets and 20 fiat currencies to choose from, you have a great deal of flexibility and choice at your fingertips.

A downside to the NOWPayment interface was that there was no obvious way to export payment and balance information. Being able to export data or integrate a crypto tax tool would be a nice addition for users.

NOWTracker

NOWTracker is a free mobile app that automatically tracks your crypto portfolio. A holistic overview of your portfolio can be better understood by utilizing the suite of graphs.

NOWTracker is compatible with iOS and Android mobile devices. The benefit of the app is questionable since crypto exchanges such as Swyftx and others provide modern dashboards and customizable widgets that provide a good breakdown of your portfolio. With only 1,000+ downloads, the app does not seem to be very popular.

Is ChangeNOW Legit?

ChangeNOW is a legitimate and reliable crypto platform that operates under the company CHN Group Limited. The company is based in Ile Du Port, Mahe, Seychelles with the company’s postal address in the Netherlands.

ChangeNOW is a popular crypto exchanging platform that is integrated into several reliable and trusted exchanges such as Binance, KuCoin, Bitfinex, and Huobi. Since its establishment in 2017, ChangeNOW provided high-quality crypto services to over 1 million users.

Is ChangeNOW Secure?

Since ChangeNOW is a non-custodial platform, it is more secure than most centralized cryptocurrency exchanges. ChangeNOW does not require you to sign up and submit any personal information, nor does it store or hold any of your crypto assets. Crypto that you purchase or swap is directly sent to an external wallet of your choosing.

If you don’t have an external wallet yet, you can use the NOW Wallet to store your crypto assets and NFTs. The same non-custodial approach applies here where any crypto you receive can be sent to the NOW Wallet where you are in full control.

How To Get Started With ChangeNOW

If swapping your crypto for another crypto is all you want to do then you don’t need to create a ChangeNOW account. All you will need is the address of your external wallet.

However, if you use ChangeNOW to buy crypto with fiat currencies then an ID verification process will need to be completed to satisfy Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Know Your Customer (KYC) requirements. To verify your ID, an international passport, national ID card, or driver’s license can be uploaded.

ChangeNOW Fees & Charges

Deposit & Withdrawal Fees

Since ChangeNOW is a non-custodial platform, it does not store or hold cryptocurrencies that you buy or convert. Therefore, there are no deposit or withdrawal fees.

Converting Your Crypto

ChangeNOW has partnered with liquidity providers including Binance, Bitfinex, Huobi Global, OKEx, and KuCoin. When you start a crypto swap, ChangeNOW will search these exchanges for the best rate to execute the transaction. The aggregated results will include the possible fees for each option.

The trading fees to convert one digital asset to another depend on the individual asset and the amount that was exchanged. this is because the trading fee incurred by ChangeNOW from the liquidity provider is passed onto you. At the time of writing, and based on ChangeNOW’s liquidity providers, we estimate that trading fees may range between 0.1% and 1.2%.

Blockchain network fees will also apply in the following circumstances:

• Transferring crypto from your external wallet.
• Transferring crypto to ChangeNOW’s liquidity providers.
• Receiving crypto from the liquidity provider to your external wallet.

Crypto Swapping Rates Versus Other Platforms

We compared the amount of Changelly swapped crypto received against other crypto-to-crypto conversion platforms including Exolix, Changelly, SwapSpace, and SimpleSwap. At the time of writing, and based on the BTC-ETH trading pair example below, ChangeNOW provided a competitive quoted return but was not the best.

CRYPTO SWAPPING PLATFORM	AMOUNT SWAPPED	AMOUNT RECEIVED (QUOTED)
ChangeNOW	0.1 BTC	1.4305354
Changelly	0.1 BTC	1.4358594
Exolix	0.1 BTC	1.4281326
SwapSpace	0.1 BTC	1.4418354
SimpleSwap	0.1 BTC	1.4336634

Buying Crypto With Fiat

ChangeNOW has partnered with Simplex to provide a fiat gateway and allow customers to purchase cryptocurrencies using a Visa or MasterCard. For each transaction, you will incur a 5% fee from Simplex (minimum of $10) and a 1% fee from ChangeNOW. Network fees are not included and are added on top.

Trading fees to buy digital currencies are excessively high and should be avoided. This is not uncommon on platforms that have third parties that provide fiat gateways. You may want to consider purchasing cryptocurrency on another exchange where the trading fees are much lower, and only using ChangeNOW for crypto swapping purposes.

NOWPayments Fees

NOWPayment fees follow a tiered structure that depends on the volume paid to you every quarter. Fees start at a flat 0.6% (not including blockchain network fees) for every payment made and decrease to 0.3% of your quarterly payment volume exceeding 1,000 BTC.

QUARTERLY PAYMENTS	FEE
< 100 BTC	0.6% per transaction (excluding network fees)
100 – 500 BTC	0.5% per transaction (excluding network fees)
500 -1,000 BTC	0.4% per transaction (excluding network fees)
1,000+ BTC	0.3% per transaction (excluding network fees)

Who Can Use ChangeNOW?

Creating a ChangeNOW account and verifying your identity is not required and crypto exchanging transactions can be completed anonymously. Because of this, ChangeNOW can be used in any country.

Ease Of Use

The ease of use for crypto swapping platforms is typically excellent and ChangeNOW is no exception. Converting your crypto and buying crypto with fiat can easily be achieved in a few minutes by using the relevant panels on the homepage.

ChangeNOW Customer Support

ChangeNOW provides you with a list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) that address commonly observed issues or help to explain aspects of their products and services. The vast majority of FAQs are related to the crypto exchanging process as well as buying crypto with fiat.

If you’re having trouble with the platform or have questions regarding ChangeNOW’s features, then you can get in touch with the customer service by submitting an email, using the online contact form, or via live chat.

ChangeNOW Customer Feedback & Reviews

Based on nearly 7,000 customer reviews on Trustpilot, ChangeNOW has an overall rating of 4.8/5.0. An impressive 94% of reviews were rated as “great” or “excellent”. Positive feedback primarily related to the speed of transactions and how easy it was for customers, including those who admitted to being skeptical, to use the features.

Is There A ChangeNOW Mobile App?

ChangeNOW offers iOS and Android mobile apps that allow you to quickly perform crypto swaps or buy crypto using your Visa or MasterCard details. However, you’re better off using the mobile compatible NOW Wallet app since it provides extra functionality.

The NOW Wallet lets you buy or convert crypto but also allows you to store your crypto and NFTs. We found the app to be cleanly designed and responsive.

Upon downloading the app, you will be prompted to set up a PIN code and asked if you want to set up biometric login as an extra layer of security. The app has an excellent overall rating of 4.7/5.0 on Google Play and has been downloaded over 100,000 times.

ChangeNOW Alternatives

ChangeNOW is a reliable and secure crypto swapping platform that is trusted by over 1 million users. The platform allows you to quickly and discretely conduct crypto-to-crypto transactions with over 380 supported digital assets. Like other crypto exchanging platforms, ChangeNOW has evolved with the market and offers a wide range of products and services.

• Changelly is a globally renowned digital asset swapping platform that is used to anonymously exchange crypto. Its swapping service is one of the best in the market given the low fees and corresponding higher returns. Over the years, Changelly has increased the number of services on offer including Changelly Pro which is a full-featured crypto exchange.
• Exolix provides a similar crypto swapping service where transactions are quick and you remain anonymous. There are no trading fees (spreads only) and it offers a wider range of digital assets (over 500) compared to ChangeNOW.
• StealthEX has been providing a quick and reliable crypto swapping service since its establishment in 2018. It supports over 400+ digital currencies to swap, however, only 9 crypto to buy using fiat (via Visa/MasterCard).

Frequently Asked Questions

Is ChangeNOW A Wallet?

ChangeNOW provides you with a non-custodial wallet called the NOW Wallet. NOW Wallet can be downloaded onto your iOS or Android mobile device and lets you store over 500+ digital currencies including NFTs. As an added benefit, NOW Wallet also allows to you buy crypto with fiat currencies or exchange one digital asset for another.

Is ChangeNOW A Trustworthy Platform?

ChangeNOW is a secure and safe crypto swapping platform to use due to its non-custodial nature. Registering an account and verifying your identity is not required. Further, ChangeNOW does not store or hold your digital assets, and assets that you receive from buying or swapping are transferred directly into your external wallet. ChangeNOW is trusted by over 1 million customers.

Does ChangeNOW Need KYC?

Submitting personal information to complete KYC is not required with ChangeNOW if you’re only exchanging crypto for crypto. However, any purchases of crypto with fiat will require you to verify your ID by uploading an international passport, national ID card, or driver’s license. ChangeNOW has partnered with Sumsub to provide streamlined KYC services.

Our Verdict

Since its establishment in 2017, ChangeNOW has provided reliable crypto swapping services to over 1 million traders around the world. ChangeNOW has partnered with various third parties to provide its customers with additional features such as a fiat gateway to purchase cryptocurrencies and crypto storage solutions. The platform has received excellent customer feedback and reviews.

ChangeNOW’s crypto conversion service remains the flagship feature. In terms of returns, ChangeNOW is competitive compared to other crypto swapping platforms. However, the trading fees of 6% to buy crypto is excessive and should be avoided. Overall, ChangeNOW is best for traders who want to balance out their crypto portfolios quickly and straightforwardly.