BTC-Alpha is not some parody on MasterCard‘s logo; it is a boutique-ish cryptocurrency exchange, specialising in assets which other exchanges frown upon overlook.
BTC-Alpha gained popularity during the U.Cash craze, as it was one of the few exchanges which has accepted the listing of the asset.
Read our U.CASH article, describing the drama surrounding the story:
PREVIOUSLY ON…: While stocks last… 100% free, ready to trade: Universal Cash (U.CASH) tokens.
Since we got fucking tired posting random shit about Cointiply’s Mining Game were in need of funds for another project, always had doubts about BTC-Alpha‘s longevity and wanted to test the Doge-free life, we recalled that we had some currency left from the successful sale of U.Cash to USD on BTC-Alpha. Question was – how do we circumvent the fees?
Problem: BTC-Alpha does not list Dogecoin. Why is that tragic? Read our Basic Knowledge: Dogecoin article for further details.
READ MORE: General Knowledge: DOGECOIN
Well, when there’s a will, there is a way…
Browsing through BTC-Alpha‘s listings, we stumbled upon TRON. Perhaps, if we’d spend more time researching, the search would yield a more economically viable transfer method (any ideas, dear readers?), but, hey, we were not speaking hundreds, thousands, or millions, so purchasing some TRX on BTC-Alpha to transfer it to EXMO (which, thank Ho Lee Fuk, supports Doge) seemed good enough.
Suffering a trade commission, a withdrawal commission of 5 TRX ($0.13), we successfully deposited the remaining TRX to a newly-created EXMO TRX wallet.
The transaction took about an hour (timezone-related figures aside), which is not bad at all.
Pros:
BTC-Alpha is a shady operation. It still works with CCRB. Nuff said. Withdrawing funds was a relief.
READ MORE: CCRB Giveaway Scam: “Refer and Get Zero”.
1. EXMO is a legit operation. 0% deposit fees – great.
2. Although we missed the U.Cash pump-and-dump, we still salvaged something.
3. (for those unfamiliar with TRON) An encouragement to learn more about a new currency.
4. Proof that the world will survive without Doge.
Cons:
1. No Doge? Really?
2. 5 TRX is a steep fee.
3. Unless the plans are HODLing, the next question is converting the TRX to a wider-used currency. Since EXMO offers only the following TRX pairs:..
…a user is bound to pay trading fees upon trading fees. Plus withdrawal fees.
Madness… Madness? This is Crypto!
Lessons to be learned:
– Every exchange has its own system of fees. Some charge deposit (!) fees. Others charge high withdrawal fees (“for the miners” – bullshit – for their pockets). Earned some DASH or Litecoin on MoonDash or MoonLitecoin? Feel like going to conquer Binance? Hold your horses. At best, you will sell some currency and be left with “dust” (amounts insufficient for making a trade or withdrawal). We can only imagine the number of inactive accounts full of dust. As keep believers in the goodness of human nature, we assume Binance will want to refund every user…
Dogecoin solved a lot of problems; converted to Doge, fees were ridiculously low (1 Doge per transaction). Doge was (and still is) so cheap, even dust can be traded for Doge. Oh well, in BTC-Alpha’s eyes, the system was too socialist.
Conclusion:
* In the cryptocurrency market, one should always have an exit strategy at all times. Ideally, a number of exit strategies.
* The route “from a balance on a wallet of an exchange to cash in hand” should be pre-planned, tested out and regularly stress-tested.
* Avoid the gathering of “dust“.
* Worth with exchanges you trust. Know which exchanges to trust. Strike that. Do not trust anyone. Binance was still trading a currency while the currency’s creators were already in handcuffs, arrested for fraud.
* Create and maintain an “investment” portfolio! We previously recommended CryptoCompare; although it is a wonderful resource, it is not without its flaws. One can create a much simpler-looking portfolio with all necessary functions on resources such as ChasingCoins.
* Coinpot, a faucet aggregator for the seven Moon Faucets offers an internal converter between the seven currencies it represents, as well as a fee-free withdrawal (above a certain number). Although it is not a proper wallet and the fairness of the exchange rates is questionable, the 0% withdrawal fees is cryptocommunism.
