Cryptocurrencies have become far more accessible for African enthusiasts with the recent rise in popularity and hype, thanks to the rise of several native cryptocurrency exchanges with user-friendly platforms. Some of them include Quidax, Bitmama, GIGXPad, TradeFada.
Cryptocurrency trading apps are convenient tools for buying, selling and storing digital assets. Mobile trading apps are the most popular but desktop apps are available for advanced traders. However, there are many options available, with different apps with their own set of pros and cons.
Good crypto trading apps possess appealing, easy-to-navigate designs/interfaces and allow users to deposit crypto/fiat in various methods with little or no fee and withdraw in the same way. Also, they allow traders to track prices in real-time, set real-time alerts, and do advanced charting to aid trading decisions for increased profitability.
With all these in mind, we have reviewed and compared two leading African crypto exchanges, Bitmama and Tradefada.
Bitmama
The Bitmama app, available for Android and iOS, is designed to facilitate crypto transfer between several African countries. Owning an account is quite a simple process.
With an automated set of sequential instructions, any user can register and login in within 5 minutes. Users must complete a Know Your Customer (KYC) requirement to access all the services offered. This improves the security of users and their funds as they trade on the platform.
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The app’s user interface is simple and intuitive, with a colour blend that matches the country you are operating in. Interacting with the app is not difficult, and newbies in the crypto space can grasp it easily. It also shows a daily forecast of the prices of major cryptos and other features you can use the app for.
The platform helps swap one crypto for another easily – Bitcoins can be converted to Ethereum, Tether or a few other digital assets instantly with a 0.15% transaction fee.
Interestingly, the platform skillfully navigates the CBN ban by depositing fiats through bank transfers to a third-party/neutral account, with a warning not to include any crypto-related term in the transaction description.
The platform supports purchases of bitcoins and other cryptos with fiat currencies on its P2P feature. That is, the app allows its users to buy, sell and trade bitcoins and other cryptos with fiat currencies with other users anytime on the P2P section. Another DeFi feature to escape the CBN restriction.
Perhaps, the most ingenious product on the app is the USD Stablecoin Virtual Card.
Recently, making international payments in Nigeria has been like the proverbial camel going through the eye of the needle. One cannot pay for products charged in USD or any other foreign currency with local Naira cards due to restrictions by Nigeria’s financial system.
Bitmama’s USD virtual card works well for all local and international transactions. It has a $20k monthly maximum spend limit, higher than most other fintechs. However, its transaction fee per funding/usage range between $1 – $5.
TradeFada
Launched in May 2021, the TradeFada app is available for Android and iOS devices. The registration process is simple: just input an email address and click the confirmation link sent to your mailbox.
However, it gets tedious and confusing when you have to link a third-party authenticator app like Google Authenticator to complete registration on the platform. However, this helps the security of users’ accounts with two-factor authentication.
The platform allows users to buy, sell and trade over 100 trading pairs, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, USDT, Dogecoin, PAX, Polkadot, Unobtanium, Ethereum Classic, Litecoin, Ripple, Cardano, AAVE.
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Apart from the spot trading feature, TradeFada offers advanced mobile crypto trading charts, which makes it one of the best platforms for experienced traders.
However, apart from the robust technical analysis tools for traders to make informed investment decisions, TradeFada has no feature to deposit fiat via bank transfer or p2p.
Conclusion
Both apps are native African crypto trading platforms. They both have a simple-to-use interface but differ in many aspects. TradeFada is best suited to advanced crypto traders, with over 50 cryptocurrencies available and its candlesticks charts that help make informed investment decisions and follow every market move. On the other hand, Bitmama has a swap option for only ten cryptos.
Also, after the trading features, TradeFada seems not to offer any other utility-driven product at the moment, unlike Bitmama, where fiat deposits can be made through bank transfers and trusted transactions can be made through its p2p channel. Furthermore, Bitmama offers many more benefits with its virtual and physical crypto cards.
If you’re a crypto trader looking for a wide array of cryptocurrencies to trade with sophisticated tools with no other use case, such as paying for goods/services, TradeFada is for you. But for those faced with the dilemma of the CBN crypto ban and driven by the utility part of crypto, Bitmama is the better option.
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