A cryptocurrency exchange is a constant companion in every crypto trader’s life. Just like with any other tool, it can take a while to find a perfect match – but once you do, you’ll probably wonder how you’d ever been able to live without it! This Unocoin review won’t give you a definitive answer on which crypto platform to settle on, but hopefully, it can at least give you a nudge in the right direction!
Marketing itself as a beginner-friendly gateway into the world of crypto, the Unocoin exchange promises to help its customers achieve their full potential as traders through a variety of investment programs, earning schemes, and membership clubs. It aims to make the process seamless and easy with its intuitive interface and mobile apps. Among Unocoin’s other selling points are a cold storage wallet and instant BTC withdrawals.
While understandably not on par with global crypto exchanges like Binance, Bybit, or Kraken in terms of scale, this India-based platform is clearly a player to be reckoned with in its own regional sphere. If what you read in this Unocoin review so far sounds like it’s right up your alley – stay with me, and I’ll tell you what Unocoin is all about!
Verdict at a glance: Unocoin offers a lot of investment and trading programs to help users experience all the different ways of investing in crypto. It offers mobile apps, an offline paper wallet, and free-of-charge batch BTC withdrawals. Its main shortcomings are the lack of international coverage, poor customer support, and inadequate security measures.
Pros
- Lots of investment and trading programs
- Membership clubs
- Free optimized BTC withdrawals
Cons
- Narrow geographical availability
- Inadequate documentation and customer support
- Lack of regulation and security
Table of Contents
- 1. What Is Unocoin?
- 2. Unocoin Review: PROS
- 2.1. A Variety of Specialized Trading and Investment Programs
- 2.2. Elite and Crypto Wealth Clubs
- 2.3. Batch BTC Withdrawals With Zero Fees
- 2.4. Mobile-Friendly User Experience
- 2.5. Offline Paper Wallet
- 3. Unocoin Review: CONS
- 3.1. Only Available in India
- 3.2. Poor Documentation and Customer Support
- 3.3. Lack of Regulation and Advanced Security Measures
- 4. Unocoin Fees
- 5. How to Sign Up on Unocoin?
- 6. Conclusions
What Is Unocoin?
It’s becoming increasingly evident that crypto trading is no longer taking place exclusively on the global scene – or, as my Unocoin review is about to show, perhaps it never did! A number of countries have made their debut in the Web3 frontier on their own terms by launching local crypto exchange platforms primarily aimed at their domestic market.
Unocoin is precisely one such case. It was founded in Tumkur, India, back in 2013 when cryptocurrency was only just starting to take off. The founders Sunny Ray, Harish BV, Abhinand Kaseti, and Sathvik Vishwanath claim that their mission was to “bring Bitcoin to the millions”.
What can I say – they definitely succeeded in that regard! Unocoin now boasts over 2.4 million users and is reportedly the most trusted cryptocurrency exchange in India. This might not seem much when measured against the entirety of India’s population of 1.4 billion people, but it’s still nothing to scoff at. The Unocoin exchange volume is currently almost $50,000,000 per day.
Over the years, Unocoin has gained over 45 investors whose backing helped them raise over $1.5 million to fund their expansion plans. The company has since then relocated to Bangalore (the fifth largest city in India by population size).
Foreseeing an unmet need in India’s domestic market, Unocoin tried to position itself as a bridge between traditional and crypto finance for users in India. That’s why the company focused on delivering multiple potential entrance points for crypto beginners by giving them plenty of various investment programs and trading options to choose from, wrapped in a relatively simple and user-friendly interface.
That’s it for the historical context! Now that you know what Unocoin is, it’s time to learn more about the strengths and weaknesses of this platform. Is Unocoin safe? How does it work? Don’t worry – you’ll find out soon enough!
Unocoin Review: PROS
As you’ve no doubt already noticed at some point during this Unocoin review, the company does have some grand ambitions.
A Variety of Specialized Trading and Investment Programs
There’s no surefire, one-size-fits-all approach to making money with crypto. - which is exactly why it can pay off to explore different fields.
The team behind the Unocoin exchange seems to have the same mindset. The platform greets its users with a whole buffet of options. Some are aimed at complete beginners, while others would be more appealing to seasoned crypto investors. Whatever stage you find yourself at right now, there's bound to be something in there that could give you a chance to try something new.
Let’s start off with Unocoin’s Systematic Buying Plans (SBP). If you’ve been in the crypto circles long enough, you’ve probably seen the advice to make regular investments so that market volatility works for you, not against you. This is exactly where this program comes into the picture! It makes following the aforementioned strategy much easier by automating the whole process so that you don’t need to remember to invest on a regular basis.
With SBP, you can choose to invest a set sum of money (as low as 10 INR) at regular daily, weekly or monthly intervals. All you need to do is pick a cryptocurrency you want to invest in and your interval of choice, and leave the platform to do all the work! The process is completely automated.
Speaking of common advice – another one you might have heard of is to make sure to diversify your cryptocurrency portfolio to minimize the risk. It’s no good putting all your eggs in one basket, as they say! Curating said basket is the hard part, though. How do you choose which coins to invest in and which ones to avoid?
Fortunately, Unocoin once again offers to take the guesswork out of this decision by letting you choose between seventeen “crypto baskets” containing a package of different coins so that you don’t have to buy them one by one. To borrow a traditional finance analogy, the aforementioned term works a lot like investment funds. Instead of choosing your securities separately, you get the whole package!
Still, even with these helpful programs, crypto trading can seem risky and complicated. Much like in traditional finance, though, you don’t have to figure it out all on your own! Enter another one of Unocoin’s initiatives – the Sub-Broker program. It allows seasoned investors to lend their knowledge and experience to other traders by advising them on crypto trading decisions for a fee. They take responsibility for placing or canceling orders on behalf of their clients.
The last program I’m going to mention in this Unocoin review – the staking program – isn’t anything unique. Quite the contrary, it’s a standard feature found in many top exchanges such as Binance and Kraken. It’s ubiquitous for a good reason – it benefits both the exchange and its users. Staking is an excellent way to earn passive income, and it gives you an incentive to hold on to your coins instead of giving in to the temptation of an impulse trade[1].
And, finally, one more thing: Unocoin has a convenient referral system. If you invite a friend using a referral code, you get to earn a whopping 51% of their transaction fees indefinitely.
There you have it – a whole array of stepping stones to help you along the way of your crypto journey! They might not all be the right choice for you, but it could still be beneficial to at least be aware of the possibilities.
Elite and Crypto Wealth Clubs
A lot of exchanges encourage user retention and active participation by offering some sort of VIP membership. The Unocoin exchange is no exception here. It has two different member clubs: Elite Club and Crypto Wealth Club. Each comes with its own set of perks and benefits.
Elite Club seems closer to a traditional VIP club or a Gold Membership. The members gain access to round-the-clock priority support and personalized assistance, enhanced security (such as advanced authentication options), discounted fees, and early access to new features. They can also participate in invite-only events and workshops.
Crypto Wealth Club goes a step further: according to the Unocoin website, it’s an “exclusive community designed for individuals who are serious about maximizing their crypto wealth”. On top of additional security measures and priority support, it provides members with a broad range of financial services, such as:
- Portfolio management;
- Personalized investment strategies;
- Risk management advice;
- Guidance on tax planning and compliance;
- Reporting and performance tracking;
- Research and market analysis.
Whether or not you’d benefit from joining any of those two membership clubs probably depends on your activity level on the platform or how involved you are in crypto trading in general. Either way, these clubs seem to reflect the essence of what Unocoin is trying to be: a platform that teaches newcomers how to get as much out of crypto trading as possible.
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Batch BTC Withdrawals With Zero Fees
Unexpected deposit and withdrawal delays are a common annoyance for crypto traders. No doubt you and many other readers of this Unocoin review have dealt with this at one point or another. Every transaction that goes in and out of the exchange needs to be confirmed first, and when the network traffic is particularly high, this can result in congestions where the backlog gets so long that a confirmation might take up to several hours to go through!
While the Unocoin exchange volume isn’t nearly as high as that of the most popular exchanges like Binance, Bybit, or Kraken, this platform is still not immune to traffic congestion. To minimize them, the company has come up with a clever solution: an option to group several Bitcoin withdrawals together and process them as one batch.
BYBIT | BINANCE | |
40M | 224M | |
BTC ETH XRP ARB + 1440 more |
BTC ETH LTC XRP + 600 more |
|
USD/EUR + more | USD/EUR + more | |
Visit site
Read review |
Visit site
Read review |
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Table: Comparison of Binance and Bybit stats.
While those batch withdrawals themselves are far from instant – they get processed once every four days – grouping them together still optimizes the network usage and reduces the risk of delays for instant deposits and withdrawals.
That’s not the only benefit, though! Even if you don’t mind having to wait a bit for your transactions to go through, you’ll probably be happy to hear that these batch withdrawals completely eliminate the transaction fee, which would normally be 0.0005 BTC.
The only drawback is that batch withdrawals are only available for Bitcoin transactions. Those who want to buy or trade other cryptocurrencies will have to make do with conventional transfers.
Mobile-Friendly User Experience
Just like that of most other countries, including the USA, Unocoin’s target demographic prefers using a smartphone for crypto trading – in this day and age, there’s virtually no consumer activity that can’t be carried out on a mobile app. Chances are you’re reading this Unocoin review on the small screen, too!
Fortunately, the Unocoin exchange delivers in this area, as well. It has a mobile app for both iOS and Android.
Not only does it include all the basic trading and account management features available on the web app, but it also offers a fun bonus feature called Shake & Earn. Just shake your phone to win crypto prizes! This playful gamification element can be a great entry point for new users - who wouldn’t want to start their crypto adventure with some freebies in their pocket?
Offline Paper Wallet
A crypto exchange wouldn’t be of much use to you if it had no place to store all those coins you’ve purchased, right? I could hardly proceed with this Unocoin review, having neglected to touch on one essential feature all exchange platforms should have: a crypto wallet.
There are several types of crypto wallets out there[2]. Most exchanges, including Binance and Kraken, offer a custodial wallet - a type of personal crypto storage vault where the private key (a cryptographic code used to authorize transactions and prove ownership) is managed by a third party, in this case, the exchange platform itself.
In most cases, the default custodial wallet is sufficient, and many crypto traders never look beyond it. Convenience is often the deciding factor - if you trust the exchange to keep your wallet and coins safe, you won’t need to worry about storing your private key securely or recovering your account if needed.
There’s a catch, however: no crypto exchange is ever 100% immune to hacking or data loss. While I’ll discuss Unocoin’s safety features later in this review, some traders still prefer to keep control of their own wallets.
This can be achieved by simply printing out your private and public keys, turning your wallet into what’s known as a paper wallet. This is precisely the functionality Unocoin offers! When you print out your keys and seed phrases (or generate a barcode, if preferred), they are removed from the exchange network, making you the sole owner of your wallet access. An added benefit is that, this way, you can also use your wallet offline.
Did you know?
All Crypto Exchanges may look similar to you but they're NOT all the same!
Unocoin Review: CONS
I’ve covered all the strong points – now it’s time to shed some light on the platform’s weaknesses. No cryptocurrency exchange is without its flaws; if you’re still reading this Unocoin review, you’re about to find out that this platform isn’t unique in this regard.
As you’ve probably guessed, the aspects I’ve glossed over up until this point will be the ones I’m going to put under the microscope now.
Only Available in India
As I mentioned at the beginning of my Unocoin review, this exchange was created specifically to cater to a single country’s market. It operates exclusively in India, so if you live in any other country, including the USA, Unocoin won’t be accessible to you.
While some might view this as a distinguishing feature rather than a drawback, it’s not ideal from a global perspective. These geographical restrictions not only severely limit Unocoin’s exchange volume and potential user base but also contribute to a more fragmented, domestically confined cryptocurrency market, instead of harnessing the unique possibilities of easier cross-border transactions.
As you’d expect, being limited to India has shaped Unocoin’s fiat currency options accordingly. The only fiat currency you can use for deposits, withdrawals, or trading is the Indian rupee (INR).
Of course, things like this are never set in stone. Will the situation change anytime soon? Could there be a “Unocoin USA” one day? It’s hard to say. The founders have mentioned plans to enter the global market eventually, but, as of this review, nothing is definite yet.
Poor Documentation and Customer Support
Customer support is one of the underappreciated cornerstones of any service. While brick-and-mortar businesses could traditionally get away with a team of workers manning the phone lines, these days, companies in the tech sphere are expected to deliver a much more versatile range of assistance options – including, but not limited to, a functional and informative website with extensive documentation and FAQs, a 24/7 live chat, and social media channels.
Unfortunately, the Unocoin exchange comes a bit short in this regard.
While their website does a good job highlighting the platform’s selling features, each with its own FAQ section, it can be hard to locate some of the basic information, such as a list of all available trading options or information about withdrawals and deposits. The FAQ page and the knowledge base look cluttered, and there’s no search field to quickly find what you’re looking for.
Another glaring flaw is the lack of 24/7 live chat. While the websites of top exchange platforms like Binance and Bybit greet you with a familiar live chat button at the bottom right corner, Unocoin has no such option. The users have to content themselves with submitting a ticket, or reaching out via phone or email. While phone support is a welcome addition, it can’t fully make up for the lack of a live chat or even a chatbot that’s available round the clock.
When it comes to customer support, it’s not only the number of options that determine its quality but the speed and efficiency of the service, too. Sadly, if the other Unocoin reviews I’ve seen are anything to go by, this aspect could definitely use some improvement: many users have complained about slow email response times.
While not directly related to customer support, a number of users have also expressed disappointment at having to wait for a long time until their KYC approval goes through.
Lack of Regulation and Advanced Security Measures
Finally, let’s talk about another component of a crypto exchange platform that is of utmost importance – security. Even the most impressive feature list couldn’t entice users to pick a platform if they weren’t confident they could trust it with their money.
How does this particular crypto exchange fare in this area, then? Is Unocoin safe enough to become your platform of choice?
As usual, it’s hard to give a conclusive verdict on this. I would advise anyone to be very selective when choosing their exchange. Don’t be hasty, and find out everything you can about the platform you’re interested in before you decide to sign up!
Still, the purpose of this Unocoin review is to give you a well-rounded evaluation – so, without further ado, let’s see how the platform fares in this area.
To begin with, it’s important to mention that the Unocoin exchange platform is unregulated. This is because cryptocurrency itself isn’t officially sanctioned by the Indian government as a legitimate payment method; it’s classified as a “virtual digital asset” for taxation purposes (and is subject to a flat 30% income tax rate).
While crypto trading is not illegal, and there’s no indication that a ban is in the works, India could hardly be called a crypto-friendly country at the moment, which means that domestic crypto exchanges – and, by extension, their users – aren’t protected by government regulations.
Of course, the lack of regulation alone isn’t enough to stamp a wholly negative answer to the question “Is Unocoin safe?”. That said, the company doesn’t seem to try and make up for it by implementing top-notch security measures, either.
The platform does, of course, use KYC and two-factor authentication which is a standard package for any centralized crypto exchange these days (including the best-rated ones like Binance, Bybit, and Kraken). Unocoin also reinforces its wallet with the AES-256 encryption.
Nevertheless, the Unocoin exchange has a relatively low TU (Traders Union) score of 2.8 out of 10. According to the TU website, companies that score under 2.99 are generally not recommended.
Unocoin Fees
If I succeeded in giving you a thorough breakdown of this India-based platform in my Unocoin review, hopefully, “What is Unocoin?” no longer sounds like an obscure trivia question nobody could guess the answer to!
There’s still one more thing left to clear up, though. How much does it cost to use the Unocoin exchange?
Unocoin has four different fee types:
- Instant Buy & Sell fees;
- Deposit & Withdrawal fees;
- Exchange fees;
- Lending fees.
The instant buying and selling option has a flat 0.5% fee rate for Bitcoin and a 0.7% flat rate for Ethereum and Tether (those are the only three coins this option is available for). However, every such transaction also includes an extra 18% fee, courtesy of the Indian government’s IGST tax.
What does this look like in practice?
Let’s say you’re buying 20,000 INR worth of BTC. In this case, you would be charged 100 INR for the 0.5% transaction fee and an additional 3,600 INR for the IGST fee.
Internal transfers (sending crypto to an email address of another Unocoin user) are free of charge.
Cryptocurrency deposits are free, just as they are on most other exchanges, including Binance, Bybit, and Kraken. Withdrawals, however, incur a network fee that varies based on transaction speed and blockchain traffic.
Regarding trading fees, Unocoin uses the same maker/taker model as many popular exchanges, like Binance, Bybit, and Kraken. Traders are charged different fees based on whether they buy or sell coins immediately at the current market price or set a specific price and wait for the coin to reach it before transacting. The platform applies a flat 0.2% maker fee and 0.3% taker fee to all coins and trading pairs.
Finally, there are lending fees: Unocoin lets you take a loan of 200 to 70000 USDT at an interest rate of 15%. The processing fee is zero for an equated monthly installment (EMI) type of loan and 2% for a Flexi term loan.
How to Sign Up on Unocoin?
If this Unocoin review made you curious about the platform – don’t just take my word for it! See for yourself if you can. Here’s how to get started with Unocoin:
Step 1: Go to the official Unocoin website.
Step 2: Fill in your mobile phone number again and create a password.
Step 3: Enter a referral code or a coupon code if you have one.
Step 4: Check the “I agree to Terms and Conditions” box and complete the CAPTCHA authentication.
Step 5: Check your phone for a one-time password (OTP) and type it in.
Step 6: Log in to your Unocoin account using your phone number and password.
Step 7: Complete the KYC process. You’ll have to prove your identity by providing a picture of your Aadhaar card and verifying your personal bank account number.
That’s it! You can now deposit funds into your Unocoin account and use it to buy or trade cryptocurrencies.
- Very low trading fees
- Exceptional functionality
- Mobile trading app
- Very competitive trading fees
- An intuitive mobile app
- Up to 100x leverage available
- A very well-known crypto exchange platform
- More than 500 different cryptos available
- Two-factor authentication
- Over 500 different cryptocurrencies available
- Strong security
- Small withdrawal fees
- Fully reserved and transparent
- Multiple tradable asset classes
- Early new token support
- 265 supports cryptocurrencies
- Secure & transparent
- Fully reserved
Conclusions
Let’s wrap up this Unocoin review with a short summary, then!
This India-based platform can help new crypto traders get on board by giving them some guidance through its numerous investment programs, packages, membership clubs, and other neat features designed to make crypto trading as easy and unintimidating as possible. Aside from these perks, users can enjoy regular batch BTC withdrawals free of charge and turn their crypto wallet into a paper wallet.
However, unlike top exchanges like Binance, Bybit, and Kraken, which operate globally, Unocoin is available only in its country of origin. For Indian citizens living in the USA, Unocoin may not be the best choice, as it only accepts Indian rupees, not US dollars, as fiat currency. Additionally, the exchange doesn’t have a strong track record for security and customer support, so if you’re considering using it, be sure to exercise caution.
The content published on this website is not aimed to give any kind of financial, investment, trading, or any other form of advice. BitDegree.org does not endorse or suggest you to buy, sell or hold any kind of cryptocurrency. Before making financial investment decisions, do consult your financial advisor.
Scientific References
1. L. W. Cong, Z. He, K. Tang: ‘The Tokenomics of Staking’;
2. S. Houy, P. Schmid, A. Bartel: ‘Security Aspects of Cryptocurrency Wallets—A Systematic Literature Review’.