Blockchain.com Review 2022: Wallet, Security & Privacy

Blockchain.com is a grizzled veteran in terms of crypto services. It was founded in 2011 by Ben Reeves under the name Blockchain.info and was initially designed for bitcoin analysis.

In 2012 Reeves collaborated with Coinbase founder Brian Armstrong in famed tech startup Y Combinator. Both were working on a payment platform for bitcoin where users could make payments in bitcoin and exchange bitcoin for other currencies.

Reeves and Armstrong parted ways over differing opinions on custodial wallets. Armstrong believed that exchanges should control users’ cryptocurrency, while Reeves believed that users should retain their private keys.

Armstrong went on to co-found Coinbase, which is one of the most successful custodial wallets on the market. Reeves had his own success; by 2014, Blockchain.com was the most popular bitcoin wallet. As of 2021, there are 65 million Blockchain.com wallets, and 28% of bitcoin transactions since 2012 were initiated or received by a Blockchain.com wallet.

It’s not a surprise that the Blockchain.com wallet is such a success. It’s open-source and non-custodial. In terms of wallets for popular exchanges, it’s a unicorn. Blockchain.com offers access to sophisticated APIs that come with a community of 25,000+ developers.

Pros / Cons

Cons

• Only 11 cryptocurrencies and 4 fiat currencies supported
• Limited financial services

Pros

• Non-custodial, open source wallet
• Extensive blockchain analytics tools
• Advanced educational resources and research

Open a Blockchain.com account

Security

Blockchain.com is one of the select few crypto exchanges that has yet to be hacked.

Users are strongly encouraged to use two-factor authentication, which can be set up with SMS, Yubikey, or Google Authenticator. There is a comprehensive security overview page on the Blockchain.com support section which goes over best practices for different tokens.

There are also other user-side security measures offered under the Advanced Security Settings in the Blockchain.com wallet. Users can set up an IP whitelist, block wallet access via anonymous browser Tor, and use PBKDF2 password stretching.

While their security overview is a little vague, Blockchain.com appears to conform to industry standard security practice. They use standardized cryptography to encrypt user information. Funds are mostly held in cold storage, unconnected to the Internet and protected from potential theft. The exchange offers an ongoing bug bounty on HackerOne that encourages security researchers to alert the team to potential exploits, and uses internal monitoring.

Regulation

Information on Blockchain’s regulatory status isn’t easy to come by. The company is temporarily registered with the UK Financial Conduct Authority. According to the Terms and Services, Blockchain.com does cooperate with law enforcement. They also appear to conform to Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Know Your Customer (KYC) legislation.

Privacy

Blockchain.com has one of the least terrible crypto exchange privacy policies we’ve ever read. Yes, just like every other exchange, Blockchain.com collects your personal data. However, the exchange is headquartered in Luxembourg and is subject to the European Commission’s strict data laws. This is excellent news for the privacy-oriented, as it means that user data is under express legal protection.

Blockchain.com does collect extensive user data such as ID, full name, financial details, transaction information, residential address etc. They also collect user data from third party services such as cookies, banks, and analytics providers.

Personal data is used to deliver services, develop new products, prevent theft, and meet legal requirements. Data can be disclosed to cloud service providers, fraud detection services, and spam detectors.

As per GDPR, personal data is heavily safeguarded against loss and misuse. Data protection procedures are also regularly audited, and servers use TLS (Transport Layer Security) to encrypt data in transit.

Due to anti-money laundering regulations, personal data is kept for a period of five years. Once that period is passed, Blockchain.com is required by law to destroy or thoroughly anonymize data.

Users can request and receive copies of their personal data within 30 days, correct their data, or request that personal data be deleted. Complaints and questions should be emailed to [email protected].

The user experience is smooth, with plenty of thoughtful touches that make using Blockchain.com straightforward. In the wallet app, the interface is clean and easy to navigate, with all options clearly labeled. Blockchain.com is simple to use, whether you’re an experienced broker or total crypto newcomer.

When opening an exchange account, users are given the flexible option to have a tour of the interface. This is incredibly helpful, particularly since many Blockchain.com users aren’t familiar with the standard trading view.

Users can choose between different themes for the wallet in settings, under Account Preferences. This includes DarkMode, which is a blessing for those of us who like to get things done at night. All in all, Blockchain.com has a pleasant, consistent user interface that makes trading easy.

How does Blockchain.com compare?

Blockchain.com is a perfect fit for security-oriented users who care about privacy and total ownership. Compared to other crypto exchanges, Blockchain.com has far fewer fin3 mancial services like futures. It also only supports 11 cryptocurrencies. If you want to do extensive financial services like futures and access to up and coming altcoins, try Kraken or Crypto.com. Blockchain.com scores highly compared to our other ratings, but every exchange has its perks and drawbacks. It also doesn’t offer DeFi services like staking – try Gate.io for that.

Customer Support

If anyone’s been able to locate customer support for Blockchain.com, please let us know. Seriously, it’s not easy to try to find a human to talk to. The only available ways to contact the company are via their support Twitter @AskBlockchain,  submitting a request in their Help Center, or asking a question on the Exchange chat.

Users on the r/Bitcoin subreddit have reported poor experiences with Blockchain customer care, and reviews on the App Store also mention lackluster service. Overall, it seems like customer support is not one of Blockchain.com’s strong points.

Opening an Account and Trading

Blockchain.com has made it relatively easy to open an account. To get started, follow the instructions below:

Trading

Once you’ve opened and verified your Blockchain.com account, it’s easy to start trading. Users can fund a wallet with fiat or crypto. To fund a wallet with fiat, click the “Buy/Sell Crypto” button on the top right of the screen. Once there, you can choose from 11 cryptocurrencies and the amount you want to buy.

From there, you’ll confirm the amount of crypto you’re buying, enter your card details, and voila! You have a funded account.

Once you’ve set up your wallet, you can connect it to the Blockchain.com exchange. To do that, click the “Exchange” button on the left hand menu. Click the “Connect Wallet” button on the next page, and then the purple “Connect Now” button. You’ll be taken to the Blockchain.com exchange in a new window and asked to create another account.

Once you’ve created an exchange account, you’re good to start trading.

Blockchain.com Fees

Transaction fees are an integral part of most blockchain technology, especially Bitcoin. On the Bitcoin network, transaction fees incentivize miners to expend computing power to confirm transactions and bundle them into a new block.

When choosing the fee amount, users need too consider that rational miners will choose to validate transactions with higher fees. Blockchain.com uses a fee recommendation algorithm. Deposit and withdrawal fees are dependent on network conditions. You won’t need to pay a huge premium, but expect to pony up for transactions. Blockchain.com does offer an affiliate program where users can earn rewards.

When withdrawing crypto from your Blockchain Exchange account, your transaction will automatically calculate the best network fee to make sure that your transaction is confirmed as soon as possible.  Withdrawals are also subject to a fee charged by Blockchain.com

Fiat deposits to Blockchain Exchange are free, while fiat withdrawals are generally around 1%.

Every cryptocurrency that Blockchain.com offers is also subject to a minimum withdrawal – see above for specifics.

Exchange fees are calculated on a Maker-Taker basis. If you’re placing an order that provides market liquidity, you’re considered a ‘maker’ and charged a lower fee. If your order takes liquidity away, you are considered a ‘taker’ and charged a slightly higher fee. The current fee schedule is based on a 30-day trading volume, with high volume traders getting discounts. And hey, if you’re placing a maker order of over a billion dollars, you don’t pay any maker fees!

Blockchain.com is a grizzled veteran in terms of crypto services. It was founded in 2011 by Ben Reeves under the name Blockchain.info and was initially designed for bitcoin analysis.

In 2012 Reeves collaborated with Coinbase founder Brian Armstrong in famed tech startup Y Combinator. Both were working on a payment platform for bitcoin where users could make payments in bitcoin and exchange bitcoin for other currencies.

Reeves and Armstrong parted ways over differing opinions on custodial wallets. Armstrong believed that exchanges should control users’ cryptocurrency, while Reeves believed that users should retain their private keys.

Armstrong went on to co-found Coinbase, which is one of the most successful custodial wallets on the market. Reeves had his own success; by 2014, Blockchain.com was the most popular bitcoin wallet. As of 2021, there are 65 million Blockchain.com wallets, and 28% of bitcoin transactions since 2012 were initiated or received by a Blockchain.com wallet.

It’s not a surprise that the Blockchain.com wallet is such a success. It’s open-source and non-custodial. In terms of wallets for popular exchanges, it’s a unicorn. Blockchain.com offers access to sophisticated APIs that come with a community of 25,000+ developers.

News

The folks over at Blockchain.com have been keeping busy. The company recently moved its headquarters from sunny Miami to financial hub New York. The move is expected to coincide with the creation of over 300 jobs. They’ve joined other firms in hiring New York lobbyists to target American lawmakers. The firm recently started offering services in Washington State, with a resulting 60% spike in active users.

The company also acquired London-based AI firm AiX, which is currently the developer of a chatbot that negotiates OTC trading.

Scotland based asset manager Bailie Gifford has invested $100 million in Blockchain.com, the largest single investment in the company to date. This news comes shortly after the company raised $300 million and was valued at $5.2 billion.

FAQs

Supported Countries

Blockchain.com’s exchange service is supported in more than 230 countries across the world. See below for the full list to find your country:

Africa

Algeria, Angola, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Saint Helena, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania (United Republic of), Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

Americas

Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Brazil, Canada, Cayman Islands, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haití, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Montserrat, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Martin (French), Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands, United States*, Uruguay, Venezuela

*United States: Arkansas, California, Colorado, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington DC, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming.

Asia

Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, China, Georgia, Hong Kong, India, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Korea (Republic of), Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Lebanon, Macao, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Oman, Palestine (State of), Qatar, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Turkey, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Yemen

Europe

Åland Islands, Albania, Andorra, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Holy See (Vatican City State), Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Kosovo, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia ( the Former Yugoslav Republic of), Malta, Moldova (Republic of), Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, United Kingdom.

Oceania

Australia, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia (Federated States of), Nauru, New Zealand, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu.

Blockchain.com Currencies and Payment Methods

Blockchain.com currently supports 4 fiat currencies: USD, EUR, GBP, and TRY.

Accounts can be funded via credit or debit order with Visa or MasterCard or bank transfer.

Users can use GBP and EUR to purchase crypto via Open Banking.

US users can buy crypto via ACH.

Blockchain Wallet

Our Blockchain wallet review is very positive. With over 73 million wallets created, Blockchain.com’s non custodial wallet is clearly popular. Unlike other exchanges like Coinbase, Blockchain.com users control their own private keys. The wallet is also open source, and can be publicly audited. Users also have the option to earn up to 13.5% interest annually with an Interest Account. The Blockchain.com wallet supports popular cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other top coins, netting it a positive review.  The Blockchain.com wallet is available on Apple and Android.

Blockchain.com Institutional Markets

Blockchain.com offers a full-stack crypto services platform for businesses looking for bespoke financial services. Run by the Blockchain.com markets team, services include institutional scale custody, execution, lending, options, derivatives, and customized storage solutions for commerce.

Explorer

Blockchain.com started its life as a block explorer that allowed bitcoin users to track transactions. They’ve stayed true to their origins, and currently have explorers for Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Bitcoin Cash that allow users access to huge amounts of historical transaction data. There is also a DeFi tracker and a Bitcoin testnet for developers.

Blockchain.com is a grizzled veteran in terms of crypto services. It was founded in 2011 by Ben Reeves under the name Blockchain.info and was initially designed for bitcoin analysis.

In 2012 Reeves collaborated with Coinbase founder Brian Armstrong in famed tech startup Y Combinator. Both were working on a payment platform for bitcoin where users could make payments in bitcoin and exchange bitcoin for other currencies.

Reeves and Armstrong parted ways over differing opinions on custodial wallets. Armstrong believed that exchanges should control users’ cryptocurrency, while Reeves believed that users should retain their private keys.

Armstrong went on to co-found Coinbase, which is one of the most successful custodial wallets on the market. Reeves had his own success; by 2014, Blockchain.com was the most popular bitcoin wallet. As of 2021, there are 65 million Blockchain.com wallets, and 28% of bitcoin transactions since 2012 were initiated or received by a Blockchain.com wallet.

It’s not a surprise that the Blockchain.com wallet is such a success. It’s open-source and non-custodial. In terms of wallets for popular exchanges, it’s a unicorn. Blockchain.com offers access to sophisticated APIs that come with a community of 25,000+ developers.