About Lakebtc.com
LakeBTC project was started in early 2013 as a virtual bitcoin exchange initially for traders and other financial professionals interested in cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology.The LakeBTC is based in Shanghai, China and it serves the Asian market primarily. Later that year, the exchange was incorporated and operated under the current domain name. Today, LakeBTC stands for Lake Banking Technology Company.
With years of experience trading treasuries, agency bonds, currencies, commodities, interest rates, volatilities and all types of derivatives and structured products, LakeBTC is dedicated to building a bitcoin platform for pricing, liquidity, security, derivatives and indexes. On LakeBTC, individuals, merchants and institutions can easily trade bitcoins, lock down the prices, manage their exposures, and hedge their risks.
The LakeBTC also has an offshoot project called LakeBanker which allows users to “become an exchange of their own” and sell cryptocurrency to people in their local area with increased convenience. LakeTrader is an in-browser (and hence cross-platform) app that allows traders to view order book data, trade history and open orders, along with a number of powerful charting tools that allow both technical analysis and one-click trading. The project has its own token called BAC which can be traded on both LakeBTC and LakeBanker platforms. This feature is suitable for more advanced traders looking to day-trade.
How To Start Trading On LakeBTC
Registration on LakeBTC is a two-step process. The first step to registering is entering an email address and password. Before you can log in, you are required to follow the link emailed to you in order to confirm your address.
As for the verification, trading cryptocurrencies at LakeBTC does not require any sort of identity check. Situation changes when you wish to involve fiat money, like USD or EUR into your trading strategy. The process itself is very simple, as you need to provide personal details (first and last name, as well as ID number, ) as shown in the picture below.
You should also provide your scanned ID in the same application, due to the KYC and AML policies that the firm follows.
Account Verification
To trade digital currencies on LakeBTC traders don’t have to go through any process of verifying their identity, but the verification process is a compulsory one for users who want to trade with fiat currencies.
The Verification process at LakeBTC comprises all the routine steps and needs official documents. In order for users to get verified on LakeBTC, they are required to submit the following:
- Full name and address. You should be advised that giving your full name as it is on your government-issued document is very important, as withdrawals can only be made under the full name used in the account.
- Picture of any government-issued document such as ID, driver’s license, passport. The photograph of the material needs to be taken on both sides.
- Mobile phone number
- Proof of residency, which must have been issued less than three months. If in any case there is no proof of residency to tender, the company allows other government-issued ID photographs.
- If you plan to trade high volumes or is a resident of certain countries, you will be required to take a selfie photo of the documents you submitted.
For those that plan to go ahead with an unverified account, LakeBTC does not impose any trading or withdrawal limits as many other companies do.
LakeBTC Deposit and Withdrawal Options
In terms of payment methods, LakeBTC supports a wide range. They include the following:
- Cash
- Bankwire
- CHATS
- LakePay
- Leupay
- MoneyGram
- Neteller
- PayPal
- OKPAY
- Payza
- Perfect Money
- Western Union
- Skrill
Fee Of LakeBTC
As for the applicable deposit fees, the fee varies according to the methods used. The trader will be shown a fee review before he submits a request to deposit. As mentioned above, LakeBTC also supports bank wire transfer. This is the costliest method as well as being the most time-consuming. The withdrawal time takes as long as 5 business days and the charges vary from $15 to $65. Since the exchange is based in Shanghai, China, there are international transfer fees involved for international traders. For traders who deposit with BTC, Ripple and System Banker, there is no deposit fee involved.
For Takers, the applicable trading fee is 0.2%. For makers, the trading fees are as follows:
- 0% for trading volume exceeding 20,000 BTC per calendar month
- 02% for trading volume exceeding 15,000 BTC per calendar month
- 04% for trading volume exceeding 6,000 BTC per calendar month
- 06% for trading volume exceeding 3,000 BTC per calendar month
- 10% for trading volume exceeding 500 BTC per calendar month
- 15% for trading volume less than 500 BTC per calendar month
Depending on the methods used, withdrawals are subjected to various fees. For withdrawal through the System Banker network, the following charges are applicable:
- Withdrawals with volume less than 6000BTC = 0.3% + $5
- Withdrawals with volume between 6000BTC and 15.000 BTC = 0.2% + $5
- Withdrawals with volume exceeding 15.000 BTC = 0.1% + $5
As for Bitcoin withdrawals, there is no withdrawal fee.
API
The platform’s API has been updated to the second version and can be found on their website.It provides a 4-part overview – Market Data, Trading API, Sample Code (REST), and Sample Code (Web Socket).
LakeBTC Trading conditions
Trading instruments (cryptocurrencies)
LakeBTC currently only supports three of the major cryptocurrencies – BTC, ETH and LTC.
The exchange accepts many different FIAT currencies, including but not limited to – USD, CNY, SEK, EUR, HKD, JPY, GBP, AUD, CAD, SGD, CHF, KRW, ZAR, ARS, BRL, MXN, INR, NZD, IDR, THB, MYR, TRY, RON, VEF, NGN, KES, XAF, XOF.
There’s one rule when it comes to deposits and withdrawals in FIAT currencies – if the account is registered in one FIAT currency, deposits and withdrawals are possible in only that currency. Of course, trading is possible in all available currencies.
The trading platform currently offers only Bitcoin and FIAT pairs. No other cryptocurrencies are available for trading.
Leverage
Margin trading is one of the features not available at LakeBTC. As mentioned above, this is a company primarily oriented towards beginners in the cryptocurrency space. Allowing inexperienced traders to “gear-up” in such a volatile and dynamic market as cryptocurrencies is not a good idea. If you still want to trade with leverage, Binance or Poloniex are potential alternatives.
LakeBTC Supported Countries
In terms of supported countries, LakeBTC currently supports countries in the following regions:
- Africa (South Africa, Nigeria)
- Asia (China, Taiwan, Japan)
- Australia
- Europe (UK, France, Germany)
- USA (excl. state of New York)
Apart from the restriction on the state of New York, LakeBTC also supports users from the U.S.
Trading Platform
LakeBTC’s trading platform has acceptable functionality, looks nice and is easy to navigate. The Lake company gives two separate interfaces for Bitcoin trading. These two interfaces are the standard trading interface and the proprietary “Lake Trader” platform which is more tailored to the experience of the advanced traders.
The LakeTrader is the original trading platform provided by the exchange. Those who are familiar with the cryptocurrency world will not be surprised about the fact that it is a web-based tool. Trading View’s charting package, which is always a nice one, is rendered on the platform.
Compared to other platforms, the website is a bit slower, but it’s reasonably responsive. When it comes to the mobile interface, the platform is utterly user-friendly on mobile, as the entire platform was developed in html5. There are no mobile applications till now, but the website works great when accessed with a mobile device browser.
This exchange does not have quite a high volume, and it only allows Bitcoin trading. LakerBTC’s platform does not support many advanced order types, thereby limiting the traders to:
- Limit order
Primarily used to protect inexperienced users from losing their funds.
- Darkpool
Darkpool carries a higher fee, and it is used in the event of large trades to make the order invisible and thereby lessen the impact on the market.
- Maker only
The ‘Maker only’ can be used in the case when the trader wants to pay only the maker fees, automatically removing the orders if it’s a taker.
LakeBTC currently doesn’t support margin and short trading, but it plans to include these features. It doesn’t support any futures or derivatives either.
Security
As for the safety of your account, you are stuck with good old username, password, and two-factor authentication (2FA) triangle. API keys can also be used but they are quite common now in the market as well, with both Huobi and Cobinhood offering them as well.
Since the firm operates with a good reputation, we deem security lacking in functions, which needs to be changed in near future.
LakeBTC Features
Like all other exchanges, LakeBTC promises to have high security, good liquidity, fairness, and friendly customer service. Here’s a breakdown of the LakeBTC advertised features:
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Liquidity
The company claims to provide excellent liquidity with high trading pairs availability and fast trade matches, even under a lot of volume. While LakeBTC claims to be one of the top four exchanges in the world in volume it is difficult to find data which supports these claims.
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Referral Program
Three-tier referral program! Never seen before! LakeBTC just made the best referral program available to every user, and there’s no upper limit for bonus earned!
3-Tier Referral Program
This generous referral plan brought to you by LakeBTC has never seen before in the industry! You, as an individual, business, forum moderator, or website owner, can make a steady and lucrative income by inviting users to LakeBTC.
- You – any individual or business user with a LakeBTC account.
- Tier-1 Referral – users invited to LakeBTC directly by you.
- Tier-2 Referral – users invited to LakeBTC by Tier-1 referrals.
- Tier-3 Referral – users invited to LakeBTC by Tier-2 referrals.
Referral Bonus
For all referrals, you earn a percentage of the trading commission fees they generated, as below:
- Tier-1 Referral – 30%
- Tier-2 Referral – 10%
- Tier-3 Referral – 5%
This is probably the best referral plans you’ll ever find on this planet! Let’s demonstrate how it works with some numbers.
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Multiple Trading Tools
LakeBTC offers trading APIs for advanced users who prefer arbitrage, market making, or algorithm trading. The platform has a great minimalistic design with two different interfaces for trading Bitcoin – the standard trading interface and the “LakeTrader” interface, which allows advanced users to access various trading options easily.
Still, the website does seem slower than the industry average. The whole platform was developed in html5 and is therefore entirely user-friendly on mobile devices, which supplements the lack of an official trading app.
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Fairness
LakeBTC has a market surveillance program, comprehensive risk management, carefully designed products, and strict internal controls. The exchange claims that they have no co-los, no under-the-table deals, no privileged access, and no back channels, meaning it offers a fair and equal platform to its users.
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Customer support
For the benefit of their customers, LakeBTC has translated their website into 6 different languages. The languages covered included English, Swedish, Japanese, French, Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese. Surprisingly, there is no support for Chinese even though the exchange is based in Shanghai. Customer support is through email or Weibo. However, before contacting customer support, it is advisable to first check out the FAQ section. LakeBTC FAQ is pretty comprehensive and provides a lot of useful information.
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User experience
There are some complaints related to the locking users out of their accounts, and the company’s location (China) raises suspicion, but overall this is a reliable exchange.
Pros and Cons
PROS
⬤ a large number of fiat currencies available
⬤ big volumes can be found at OTC desk
⬤ more than sufficient liquidity rate
⬤ variety of fiat deposit/withdrawal methods
CONS
⬤ verification needed for fiat transactions
⬤ lack of security functions (only 2FA available)
⬤ a small number of cryptocurrencies available for trade
⬤ limited trading functions
Conclusion
LakeBTC offers a solid exchange for novice traders who are looking for their initial foray into the crypto market. Its registration process is easy and the simplified interface is user-friendly. It’s a trustworthy exchange, safe and secure. An important factor to consider could be the lack of “buzz” around the exchange, as both the LakeBTC and LakeTrader official Twitter accounts haven’t tweeted since October 2017 and there is very little info about it in general. However the LakeBTC team does stay in contact with its users through a regularly-updated news section on their website.
It would be good to see some more activity online regarding the exchange which would supplement its status as one of the Big Four exchanges. Also, it is obvious that additional resources need to be allocated to product improvement and enhanced user functionality as the website and its functions seem somewhat dated. Still, LakeBTC remains a top exchange with good fees and excellent liquidity that will be a decent choice for any crypto beginner.
Added links:
- News: https://www.lakebtc.com/p
- Bitcoin News: https://www.lakebtc.com/news
- Bitcointalk
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/LakeBTC
- Weibo: http://weibo.com/LakeBTC
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