With the Bitvavo wallet you have a huge amount of possibilities! Bitvavo, the crypto exchange from Amsterdam, offers all its users a hosted wallet service for all the crypto currencies offered on the trading platform. Hosted means that the exchange manages your wallet, both for your funds in (€) euros and crypto, and that you have access to it at all times. Offering a hosted wallet is not common, as not all crypto providers do so. The moment you create an account, a Bitvavo wallet is immediately created for you. So you don’t have to create an individual wallet for each crypto currency when you buy or want to deposit it. With a hosted wallet you retain the overview and ease of use to deposit money, quickly buy, store and sell crypto coins and tokens when it suits you.
The Bitvavo wallet is versatile in options and features. Finding your way around and understanding how it works along the way is nicer if you are guided in that. That’s what this page is for. When you have read through this page you will know how the wallet works and what you can do with it, as well as the following topics:
Whether you are a beginner or a seasoned trader, using the Bitvavo wallet is for anyone who wants to take advantage of it. Depending on your trading strategy, you will either benefit from the advantages or run into the limitations. When you buy crypto on the trading platform you have the option to store them in your own wallet in your account. The exchange also offers its users the freedom to indicate during a buy order if you want to send the crypto to an external wallet. The hosted wallet service is secure and easy to use, but take some time to become familiar with it before you deposit money. Storing crypto in the hosted wallet is standard, but risky if you plan to leave your crypto for the long term (HODL). If you plan to sell your purchases in the short term, it is more practical to use Bitvavo’s own wallet.
| Wallet verification: | Yes |
|---|---|
| Wallet insured: | Yes |
| Crypto deposit: | Yes |
| Crypto withdraw: | Yes |
| Deposit via iDEAL: | Yes |
| Withdraw via: | SEPA |
| Cooldown: | Yes |
| Private keys: | No |
What is described here about the Bitvavo wallet is mainly focused on the web browser application. For app specific information and descriptions please refer to our dedicated app page of Bitvavo.
When you want to start trading in the crypto market, it depends on how often you trade whether you want to use Bitvavo’s hosted wallet or your own external wallet. There is no right or wrong, as both ways have their advantages and disadvantages. Bitvavo’s hosted wallet is not the most comprehensive of all brokers and exchanges, but certainly more comprehensive than those of its Dutch competitors. With the hosted wallet you have the flexibility to use the following options:
In addition to knowing what can be done, it is also good to know what cannot be done.
We mentioned earlier that Bitvavo supports hosted wallets and offers them to all its users. Using them is fine if you only plan to use Bitvavo as a trading platform. However, if you are more interested in freedom and spreading over other providers, you might run into Bitvavo wallet restrictions. As we are using the platform and checking the feedback from users, we have compiled a top three of the most common restrictions:
On May 21, 2020, Bitvavo came under the supervision of De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) due to the introduction of the Fifth Anti-Money Laundering Amendment. Because of the regulation and supervision, crypto providers with a hosted wallet are bound by the rules imposed by the DNB. One of those rules is that crypto can only be sent to verified wallet addresses. All in the context of connecting wallet addresses and monitoring them to check and trace transactions. If you have not yet verified a wallet address with Bitvavo and you are not aware of this, then it is annoying that you run into this when you want to quickly initiate a transaction.
Perhaps you have heard or seen the following statement pass by: “Not your keys, not your coins“. A famous quote from bitcoin and blockchain expert Andreas M. Antonopoulos. It means that if you do not have access to the private keys of the Bitvavo wallet, you are not in control of your crypto. Private keys are provided with every wallet and can be seen as the PUK code of the SIM card for your mobile phone. Since Bitvavo supports hosted wallets, they cannot provide private keys. If security is your number one priority and you want to manage it yourself, we recommend using a hard wallet.
Many major exchanges like Binance and KuCoin support cross-chain transactions. Cross-chain transactions allow you to send your crypto through a different blockchain than what the crypto coin or token primarily uses. Using cross-chain transactions can help you send e.g. Tether (USDT) faster and cheaper via the Tron blockchain instead of the Ethereum blockchain. In vain, the Bitvavo wallet does not support cross-chain transactions and you will always need to use the primary blockchains and networks.
Security and safety, perhaps the most important part of this Bitvavo wallet info page. Trading crypto comes with a lot of risk. Not only financially, but also think about hackers, malfunctions at the exchange or broker, or traders with too little experience. Risks are therefore not only for the trader, but also for the provider. Please note that Bitvavo is doing everything in their power to protect your data and assets. In addition to a number of measures to protect your account and data, they also employ a number of specific measures to keep the Bitvavo wallet safe:
Despite the fact that it is better to store crypto externally, we can say with certainty that with all the above measures, Bitvavo’s hosted wallet is very secure.
Keep in mind that you, the user, are ultimately the best defense against account breach and theft! Therefore, CoinCompare always recommends using a hard wallet (external) to be completely independent from online (hosted) wallets.
Your funds and assets are insured in two different ways at Bitvavo. The money you deposit in your wallet is not held by Bitvavo B.V., but by Stichting Bitvavo Payments. If Bitvavo B.V. goes bankrupt, you can be sure that your euro money is safe. Your crypto coins and tokens, on the other hand, are stored in cold wallets that are insured against hacks through Coinbase Custody International and Copper Custody. If your crypto are stolen by a hack, Bitvavo is insured for that up to 200 million euros.
When you want to buy crypto such as Cardano (ADA) or Shiba Inu (SHIB), for example, you must first deposit money to your Bitvavo wallet. After all, you are exchanging your credit in (€) euros for the crypto you want. Depending on where you live and therefore where you bank, you can use different payment methods at the exchange. To deposit, Bitvavo supports iDEAL, SEPA, Bancontact, EPS and Giropay. Each payment method has its own specifications regarding limit per transaction, speed and additional transaction fees. Below is a schematic overview of the specifications:
| Payment method | Limit | Speed | Fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| iDEAL | € 10,000 | Direct | 0% |
| SEPA | € 1,000,000 | 1 business day | 0% |
| Bancontact | € 10,000 | Direct | 0% |
| EPS | € 10,000 | Direct | 1.75% |
| Giropay | € 10,000 | Direct | 1.75% |
In the Netherlands, iDEAL is the most widely used payment method to top up the (€) euro balances in your account. Depositing money as credit at Bitvavo via iDEAL goes as follows:
1. Go to Bitvavo.
2. Login your account. Read more about logging in here.
3. In your dashboard, click on the green ‘Deposit Credits’ button.
4. Enter in ‘Amount:’ the number of euros you want to deposit.
5. Select ‘iDeal’ and press ‘Continue’.
6. Check the details, select your bank and press ‘Continue’.
7. Complete the payment through your bank and your funds will be deposited into your Bitvavo wallet the same day. You will also receive a confirmation email. Deposit timing may differ depending on the payment method.
Depositing money via the Bitvavo app? Read our extensive info page about the app.
The moment you have made a profit from your sales you can leave it, reinvest or withdraw it. Depending on your goal, reinvesting a portion of it is a good choice. If you are not planning to do so, you can also withdraw your money (credit) from your Bitvavo wallet at any time. Please note that you can only withdraw to the bank account in your name which is known to the exchange. How to withdraw from your account goes as follows:
1. Go to Bitvavo.
2. Login your account. Read more about logging in here.
3. In your dashboard, click on the grey ‘Withdraw Credits’ button.
4. Enter the amount to be withdrawn or press ‘(max)’ if you want to withdraw all.
5. Select your IBAN and press ‘Continue’.
6. Check the withdrawal and confirm it if you have a two-factor authentication (2FA) code.
7. If everything is correct and your 2FA code is entered, press ‘Confirm’.
8. The withdraw has been processed. You will also receive a confirmation of this via e-mail. Normally you will receive the withdrawn amount within 1 business day.
Withdraw money via the Bitvavo app? Read our extensive info page about the app.
It is also possible to deposit and withdraw crypto via the Bitvavo wallet, in addition to depositing and withdrawing money. Depositing and withdrawing crypto can only be done through the browser application and not through the mobile app! If you have crypto, which supports Bitvavo, at another provider or on an external wallet, then you have the option to deposit that crypto to your Bitvavo account. Or if you want to send crypto to another exchange or external wallet, you also have the option to withdraw it. Depositing and withdrawing crypto can be done to start staking the crypto in question. Read more about staking at Bitvavo on our dedicated staking info page.
When you want to deposit or withdraw crypto there are the so-called miner fees applicable. These fees can be seen as transaction fees (or often called blockchain fees) that you pay to miners who make sure your transaction is verified on the blockchain. Depending on the congestion on the network of the crypto in question, the transaction fees may vary. When depositing crypto, Bitvavo does not charge any fees. However, it does charge for crypto withdrawals. Bitvavo doesn’t do this to gain extra income, but to make sure your withdrawal can be processed by paying the transaction costs to the miners.
Before you have made the decision to deposit or withdraw crypto, please check if Bitvavo supports it. Unfortunately it is not yet possible to deposit or withdraw all crypto coins and tokens from your Bitvavo wallet. This is partly due to maintenance at the exchange or the blockchain, or that the trading platform is not yet linked to the blockchain of the newly offered crypto. The Bitvavo wallet of the newly offered crypto must first be synchronized with the blockchain, so that transactions can be displayed. Which crypto coins and tokens you can deposit and withdraw can be found in the overview below.
When depositing crypto, the process starts at another exchange, broker or external wallet from where you want to send the crypto to Bitvavo. Generally, a transaction on the blockchain takes a few minutes to a few hours. The duration of the transaction depends on how quickly your transaction is confirmed in the network. The time frame differs for each crypto.
Transactions are irreversible 99% of the time and in case of a mistake it results in loss of your crypto. Bitvavo cannot help you with this. Therefore, with transactions, always stay vigilant! Check the addresses several times, if the needed tag has been added and also check if you have selected the right network, if cross-chain is supported.
Deposit crypto to your Bitvavo wallet is done as follows:
1. Go to Bitvavo.
2. Login your account. Read more about logging in here.
3. In your dashboard, click on the crypto to be deposited. You can also look it up using the search bar.
4. Then click on ‘Deposit’ at the top.
5. Depending on the crypto, you may receive a message that you understand its terms and want to continue.
6. On the left you will see the address of your Bitvavo wallet. Copy this address from the crypto using the clipboard icon and paste it into the input field from where you want to transfer.
7. Also add the tag or memo, if it is needed for the transaction. This applies to XRP, XLM and NEM, among others. You will be notified of this.
Through your Bitvavo wallet you can quickly and easily withdraw the crypto and send it to another wallet. Unfortunately it is not possible to do this through the app and you will always have to initiate the withdrawal through the desktop browser application. Due to the regulation of crypto in the Netherlands, it is only possible to send the crypto to be withdrawn to verified wallet addresses. Before you withdraw the crypto, you must first add it to your address book and have it verified. This process will be described later.
Follow the steps below to withdraw your crypto:
1. Go to Bitvavo.
2. Login your account. Read more about logging in here.
3. In your dashboard, click on the crypto to be withdrawn. You can also look it up using the search bar.
4. Then click on ‘Withdraw’ at the top.
5. Enter the receiving address, check it several times and press ‘Continue’.
6. Also add the tag or memo, if it is required for the transaction. This applies to XRP, XLM and NEM, among others. You will be notified of this.
7. Under ‘Amount:’ enter the amount you want to withdraw. Check the withdrawal and press ‘Continue’. Amounts in the image below have been left out as they are variable and do not match your transaction.
8. Confirm the transaction in your email or with two-factor authentication (2FA).
You can find the withdrawal fees per crypto in this overview.
As stated earlier, you must perform a wallet verification before you can withdraw your crypto. Regardless of the crypto or the address you want to send to, any new wallet address must be verified. Follow the steps in the video below to verify a wallet address. The compliance team will review your request. Depending on the time of verification, it will be reviewed the same day. If you are using Safari or Firefox and are not getting a notification to allow browser access for a screen recording, please check your browser settings to give screen recording access. If you have done this and it still does not work, try another browser such as Chrome. It is wise to add some addresses to your address book in advance and have them verified for when you want to execute transactions quickly.
To find out how to start a screen recording and have the address verified click on this explanation.
Once you have created an account and linked your bank account, a cooldown is immediately in effect. This cooldown period is for 24 hours and ensures that it is not possible to withdraw your crypto coins or tokens after purchase. The cooldown is set to recognize any suspicious accounts. The cooldown is a common application, as Bitvavo is not the only provider to apply a cooldown. If your account is flagged the cooldown may be extended to 72 hours. It is not possible to shorten the cooldown period.
Depending on your trading strategy, you will experience the pros and cons of the Bitvavo wallet. This is different for everyone. Before you start trading at the exchange from Amsterdam, it’s good to know what to look out for and what you can make use of. Here are the pros and cons of the Bitvavo’s hosted wallet:
If you create an account today, you can immediately make use of the welcome discount. In the first week after registration and linking your bank account, you don’t have to pay any transaction fee when trading up to € 1000.-.
The crypto exchange from Amsterdam offers every user the possibility to store crypto in a hosted wallet. This wallet is automatically provided when creating an account. The use of the hosted wallet depends on your trading strategy.
Bitvavo uses hosted wallets for all crypto coins and tokens you can buy on the trading platform. You can choose when purchasing crypto whether you want to store it in the hosted wallet or send it to an external wallet.
A hosted wallet is nothing more than the exchange managing your crypto coins and tokens for free. Bitvavo takes care of the fact that you don’t need to create an external wallet or buy a hard wallet for storing your crypto.
Safety and security of the hosted wallet is priority number one at the exchange. With all the implemented measures like cold wallet with insurance, multi-signature, IP management, user confirmation steps, etc, we can ensure that the Bitvavo wallet is safe to store your crypto.
If you plan to deposit crypto to Bitvavo’s hosted wallet, you will find the Bitvavo wallet address in the menu of the crypto in question. Go to your dashboard, find the crypto that you want to deposit, click on ‘Deposit’ at the top and then an overview with the wallet address will appear on the left.
Every user on the trading platform of the Amsterdam-based exchange has the option to stake crypto coins and tokens through the Bitvavo wallet. This can be done via on-chain staking and off-chain staking. Currently, there are 17 crypto coins and tokens where you can earn interest on.
Bitvavo uses the Coinbase Custody International and Copper Custody depositories where your crypto is stored. This enables Bitvavo to insure your crypto up to hundreds of millions of Euros should they be stolen by a hack.
It is not possible to make cross-chain transactions via the Bitvavo wallet. For example, if you want to send Ethereum (ETH), you can only do so over Ethereum’s blockchain.
Due to all the imposed guidelines against fraud and money laundering, Bitvavo applies a cooldown of 24 hours after creating an account. During this time, it is not possible to withdraw crypto coins and tokens after purchase.
Because Bitvavo supports hosted wallets, it is not possible to provide private keys for every user. If you prefer to have full control over your crypto and wallet, you will need to manage an external wallet.
