Altcoin Trader vs Bigone: Fees, Security, Features & Which to Choose (2025)

Trying to choose between Altcoin Trader and Bigone This side-by-side comparison reveals total cost (fees + spreads), security & licenses, coins/derivatives, deposits/withdrawals, and app quality. In 2 minutes you’ll see who wins for beginners, active traders, and long-term holders. Clear pros/cons, a quick verdict, and safe links to get started.

Last updated on August 16, 2025

Altcoin Trader

Bigone

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Available Countries

United States

Europe

Yes

Latin America

Yes

India

Yes

China

Canada

Yes

United Kingdom

Yes

United States

Yes

Europe

Yes

Latin America

Yes

India

Yes

China

Yes

Canada

Yes

United Kingdom

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Altcoin Trader is ideal if:

Ideal for newcomers seeking simplicity: Its intuitive interface and straightforward trading make onboarding smooth and stress‑free.
Perfect if you want seamless ZAR access: Supports direct South African Rand deposits and withdrawals tied to local banking systems.
Great for those who value passive earnings: Offers an interest‑bearing feature that lets you earn on crypto holdings without lock‑ins.

Bigone is ideal if:

Strong security foundations — BigONE deploys cold wallet reserves, multi-signature storage, and enforced two-factor authentication, making it a solid pick if asset protection is your priority.
Flexible services ecosystem — Offers margin and futures trading, copy trading, staking, lending, and liquidity mining—all within a single platform, ideal for users who want diverse earning and trading options.
Beginner-friendly features — With demo accounts, low minimum deposits, an intuitive interface, and mobile access, it provides a gentle entry point for new traders keen to learn hands-on.

Altcoin Trader isn’t ideal if:

Not for multi-fiats or passive earners: Only accepts South African Rand and lacks earning tools like staking or interest accounts.
Not for advanced traders: Platform design is basic—missing advanced order types, robust charting, or professional trading tools.
Not optimal for large-volume traders: Lower liquidity and trading volume compared to big exchanges may affect execution of bigger trades.

Bigone isn’t ideal if:

Not fully regulated transparency — The exchange doesn’t clearly disclose its regulation structure or provide detailed company background, which could raise trust concerns for users seeking fully licensed platforms.
Fiat limitations affect access — Lacks direct fiat deposit support in many regions and doesn’t allow bank/card funding in most cases, making it inconvenient for users who prefer traditional payment methods.
Security breach history — Recently suffered a significant hack targeting its hot wallet, temporarily halting trading and deposit services—which may deter those prioritizing operational resilience.

Fees & Total Costs

Spot Maker/Take

AltCoinTrader applies a flat fee of 0.10% for both maker and taker spot trades, regardless of your trading volume; there are no volume-based tiers or discounts for using any native token.

BigONE charges a flat 0.2 % for both maker and taker orders on spot trading, and applies discounts through its tiered VIP system—higher levels (Bronze to Challenger) qualify for lower maker/taker fees based on privilege points earned via volume, referrals, or holdings, with fees notably reduced at top tiers

Futures/Derivatives

The platform does not offer any futures or derivatives trading—so there are no associated maker/taker fees or funding costs to consider.

For perpetual futures contracts, BigONE charges 0.02 % maker and 0.06 % taker fees, with funding rate payments exchanged between long and short positions at regular intervals and no additional platform fee for funding itself

Average Spreads on Liquid Pairs

AltCoinTrader does not publicly disclose average spreads for these pairs; given its focus on ZAR-based markets, spreads may vary, and the platform does not advertise this metric prominently.

While BigONE-specific spread data is scarce, the exchange’s BTC/USDT and ETH/USDT pairs are generally expected to align with tight spreads seen across highly liquid platforms—typically well below 0.1 % for such major pairs

Fiat Deposits & Withdrawals

You can deposit and withdraw South African Rand via EFT, bank transfer, Capitec Pay, and similar local methods—with deposit fees around 0.5% (capped at R95), and withdrawal fees set at 0.5% plus a fixed R16 (also capped at R95); deposits are typically credited within one to three days, depending on your bank.

methods, fees, timings

On-chain Withdrawals

Withdrawal fees for cryptocurrencies are network-based and vary by coin—e.g., a BTC withdrawal costs approximately 0.00057 BTC—indicating a fixed fee per network rather than dynamic gas-based pricing.

fixed vs dynamic fees (BTC, ETH, TRX, etc.)

Hidden Costs

Although there are no explicit inactivity or express KYC fees mentioned, non-ZAR conversions may involve indirect conversion costs, and fee transparency for different services (like instant processing) isn’t fully clear—so always check within your account before proceeding.

Implicit costs can include exchange rate conversion within OTC trades, inactivity charges (none publicly indicated), expedited KYC processes (not clearly associated with extra cost), or fallback spreads embedded in peer-to-peer OTC fiat conversions—so while not labeled as fees, these can quietly affect overall costs.

Real-World Cost Example: “€500 BTC

Suppose you purchase the equivalent of €500 in BTC via the market; you’d pay roughly 0.10% in trading fee plus a spread embedded in the quote, and if withdrawing immediately you’d incur the fixed BTC withdrawal fee—altogether reflecting trading, conversion, and withdrawal without outlining exact amounts to keep it evergreen.

Suppose you convert €500 via OTC into USDT or BTC (with a typical provider fee of ~2 %), then place a spot trade paying ~0.2 % spot fee and accept a spread of ~0.05 %; if you then withdraw BTC on-chain (0.0005 BTC fee), your total cost would roughly include

Crypto Offering & Trading Features

Number of Coins & Pairs

AltCoinTrader supports approximately 37 unique cryptocurrencies across around 48 trading pairs, with the top 20 pairs by volume dominated by ZAR-based markets—including notable pairs like XRP/ZAR, BTC/ZAR, USDT/ZAR, and ETH/ZAR.

BigONE supports over 500 cryptocurrencies across more than 170 trading pairs, with its top-20 by volume typically including heavyweights like BTC/USDT, ETH/USDT, XRP/USDT, and SOL/USDT.

Product Range

AltCoinTrader focuses on basic spot trading and includes a passive income product called “Easy Save,” but it does not offer margin or derivatives, crypto ETFs, lending, copy trading, grid bots, or automated DCA tools.

You’ll find a broad suite of offerings—spot, margin trading (up to 10×), perpetual futures (up to 100× leverage), structured products (like dual investment), lending, staking, liquidity-mining, copy-trading, grid-bots, and DCA-style automated tools.

Liquidity

Liquidity is modest, with 24-hour trading volumes in the low-to-mid million-dollar range; although exact order book depth isn’t publicly shown, it’s likely thinner than on major global exchanges, especially for BTC and ETH markets.

The 24-hour trading volume is in the high hundreds of millions of dollars, and for key pairs like BTC and ETH, order book depth is robust enough to ensure smooth execution on sizable trades.

Tools

The platform provides market and limit orders, slightly more advanced charting via TradingView Basic, and API access; however, features such as stop or OCO orders, price alerts, WebSocket data, or advanced charting tools are notably limited or absent.

BigONE supports a full range of order types—including limit, stop, TP/SL, OCO, post-only and reduce-only—along with trading alerts, advanced charting (TradingView integration), and both REST API and WebSocket access for automating or building strategies.

Geographic Restrictions by Product

Being South African-based, AltCoinTrader’s features are tailored mainly to ZAR-speaking regions, with no support for derivatives or advanced instruments—there are no explicit regional blackouts, but advanced products simply aren’t offered anywhere.

Some advanced products—especially derivatives—are not accessible in restricted regions such as the United States and China, limiting access based on user location.

Innovation

AltCoinTrader doesn’t support token launch mechanisms or pools, but it does offer an innovative passive yield feature via Easy Save, which allows flexible, interest-like returns on idle crypto without lock-ins—offering a rare, flexible-earn option among regional exchanges.

The platform includes innovative features like flexible versus fixed staking options, launchpad/launchpool alternatives, and other evolving income opportunities to help users engage with new projects or yield mechanisms.

Security, Regulation & Custody

Operating Entity & Jurisdiction

AltCoinTrader (Pty) Ltd, founded around 2015 and headquartered in South Africa, operates under South African law with a visible company registration—making it a locally regulated and established crypto service provider.

BigONE is operated by One Trading Limited, founded in 2017 and registered in Seychelles; it also operates under the regulated entity BigONE Eurasia based in Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC), which is governed by the Astana Financial Services Authority.

Licenses/Registration

AltCoinTrader is officially licensed by the South African Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) as a Category I/II Crypto Asset Service Provider (CASP), and also registered as a Financial Service Provider (FSP), reflecting compliance with local and FATF-aligned regulatory standards.

The AIFC-based segment of BigONE holds licenses for operating as an investment exchange, clearing house, trading facility, and custodian—indicating formal oversight in that jurisdiction, though global licensing appears limited.

Custody

AltCoinTrader manages its own custody of user assets, employs a statutory audit confirming that client reserves exceed liabilities, and holds a major portion of assets in cold storage—though it doesn’t publicly provide a full-proof of reserves report.

BigONE maintains a mixed custody model with segregated cold and hot wallets, employs multi-signature safeguards, and claims 100 % asset reserves with a mechanism enabling users to track reserves—though external audit or formal Proof of Reserves verification remains unpublished.

Insurance & Protection Funds

There is no publicly detailed insurance policy or external protection fund advertised—such coverage is either not offered or not transparently disclosed on the platform.

The platform holds an internal insurance reserve pool which it drew upon to fully compensate users after a security breach, acting as a form of self-insured protection.

Incident History

There are no known reports of major hacks or regulatory fines, although a small number of users have complained about account issues or fund access delays on review platforms—no confirmed systemic security breaches.

In July 2025, BigONE endured a supply-chain attack targeting its hot wallet, resulting in a $27 million loss—private keys remained intact, the threat was contained, and full user compensation was made from internal reserves.

Risk Controls

The platform enforces standard risk controls like two-factor authentication (2FA) and OTP-based withdrawal verification; more advanced tools such as whitelisting addresses, sub-account management, anti-phishing measures, or granular API permissions are not prominently featured.

Security measures include mandatory two-factor authentication, real-time wallet monitoring, cold-hot wallet separation with multi-signature use, encrypted key management, and a public bug bounty program to surface vulnerabilities.

Transparency

AltCoinTrader does not appear to publish monthly financial or transparency reports, does not offer publicly auditable wallet addresses, nor sets formal SLAs—though it does voluntarily participate in regulatory audits and maintains compliance processes under financial law.

While BigONE communicates openly during incidents and allows reserve tracking, it currently does not publish regular reports, maintain a public wallet address, or offer formal service-level agreements.

Deposits, Withdrawals, KYC & Support

Fiat Deposit Methods

AltCoinTrader accepts fiat deposits via local bank transfers and Ozow instant EFT, requiring a minimum of around R100 (approx. $6), with no stated maximum; processing usually happens within a few hours to one business day, depending on method and bank operations.

BigONE doesn’t support traditional fiat deposits directly through bank transfer, card, or e-wallets; instead, users rely on its OTC desk, where they can use channels like Alipay or WeChat Pay to convert fiat to crypto for trading. No official minimums or maximums are advertised, and timings depend on third-party provider processing.

Supported Fiat Currencies & Conversion

KYC (Verification Levels)

AltCoinTrader uses multi-tiered verification

BigONE features two identity verification tiers

Withdrawals

Crypto withdrawals depend on the chosen network (ERC-20, TRC-20, etc.) and follow standard network protocols; fiat ZAR withdrawals offer a “near-instant” service (R250K max outside banking hours; R5M during) taking 5–15 minutes to process but up to 24 hours to reflect, and must be sent to a personal bank account in your name.

limits, speeds & networks

Customer Support

Support is available via email, tickets, and phone during South African business hours (typically weekdays, 9

The exchange offers 24/7 multilingual assistance via live chat and ticketing/email, though it lacks a direct call center; users can also consult an extensive FAQ and support library through the help center for self-service.

Languages & Localization

The platform is presented in English, displays fees and balances in ZAR, and is fully oriented toward South African regulatory standards, offering smooth localization for users in that region while showing limited adaptability for others.

BigONE’s interface supports over a dozen languages, including English, and displays trading figures in widely used currencies such as USD and EUR, but local regulatory nuances aren’t highlighted or tailored for specific jurisdictions.

App Quality & Stability

AltCoinTrader’s mobile app is generally stable and feature-rich in terms of basic trading, earning a middling performance score; while it supports TradingView charts, APIs, and indicators, there’s no public data on crash rates—user feedback indicates reliable stability but limited advanced features.

The BigONE mobile app—available on iOS and Android—is reported to be stable and smooth, with fast loading times, no significant lags or crashes noted, frequent updates, and a responsive UI that supports real-time trading and charting.

Experience, Performance & Ecosystem

UX/UI

AltCoinTrader features a clean, beginner-friendly interface with a shallow learning curve and no separate Lite or Pro modes—making it simple and consistent for users of all levels.

BigONE delivers a clean and intuitive interface that’s approachable for newcomers yet robust for advanced users; mobile and web platforms provide streamlined default views for quick trades and a more advanced layout (pro-style) for detailed charting and order control.

Performance

The exchange typically handles order submissions quickly and remains solid even during market swings, though occasional slowdowns or verification delays may occur during surges of activity or peak trading periods.

Order execution is generally fast and consistent, with minimal delays under normal conditions; even during high-volatility spikes, the system scales reliably, and KYC processing experience remains responsive without long queue delays—even in peak bull markets.

Education

While the platform offers helpful webinars, detailed FAQs, and guided support, it lacks a built-in demo or simulator and currently doesn’t provide structured educational content in Spanish.

The platform offers educational resources like a learning center and trading guides, though a full demo or simulator isn’t currently available; Spanish content is moderate—translated basic materials exist but in-depth tutorials are primarily in English.

Community

AltCoinTrader does not host public forums or Discord/Telegram channels, but it does run a referral program alongside its support-driven community engagement through its helpdesk and email support.

BigONE nurtures an active community with official channels on Telegram and Discord, maintains a robust referral rewards program offering fee discounts, and engages users through social updates rather than formal forums.

Integrations

The platform includes basic charting with TradingView Lite integration, but it doesn’t yet support external trading bots, tax tools, or accounting package integrations.

There’s a built-in TradingView terminal for advanced technical analysis, supports integration with external trading bots via API, though it doesn’t offer native tax or accounting tools; users typically export data for external bookkeeping.

Who Each One Is Best For

AltCoinTrader is ideal for South African beginners or casual traders seeking secure, straightforward ZAR-based buying and basic earning, but less suitable for advanced traders craving sophisticated tools or broader language and automation support.

This platform suits a wide range—from beginner users who value simplicity and educational support to intermediate traders who want tools like grid bots and copy-trading, but power users seeking full tax or accounting automation may need complementary tools.