2021 has been an amazing year for the crypto space, from El Salvador accepting Bitcoin as legal tender to Singapore approving a Bitcoin fund.
In January alone, the number of global crypto users passed the 100 million mark.
This surge of interest in crypto drove prices to hit new all-time highs (ATH), and also begs the question — Should I take profit or HODL?
Back in 2017, there were only a small amount of centralised exchanges (CEXs) that allowed investors to on and off-ramp.
They also charged an exorbitant amount in fees and investors could lose as much as 10% of their capital. Other alternatives like P2P exchanges also ran the risk of getting scammed.
As the landscape matured, more and more exchanges started popping up. A common question in everyone’s mind is, is there a platform that offers fiat withdrawal at little to no fees?
TLDR:
| Exchange | Supported Fiat | Withdrawal Fee |
| Gemini | 7 (USD, AUD, CAD, EUR, GBP, SGD & HKD) | Free |
| Crypto.com | 7 (AUD, CAD, EUR, GBP, USD, USDC & BRL) | 0.4% (StraitsX) 0 (USD) |
| FTX | 10 (USD, EUR, GBP, AUD, HKD, SGD, ZAR, CAD, CHF & BRL) | US$75 Admin fee on withdrawal below US$10,000 |
Here I present to you the top 3 exchanges to off-ramp:
Gemini
At the top of the list is Gemini. The beauty of Gemini is the ease of on and off ramp. Users can easily deposit and withdraw from a choice of seven different supported fiat currencies.
Singapore users can use the FAST transfer to do an SGD bank wire to their Gemini account. The free deposit and withdrawal using FAST is just the icing on the cake.
Do note that opting for Gemini Active Trader platform to trade would incur lower trading fees compared to just using the simple UI. Gemini also offers users 10 free cryptocurrency withdrawals every month.
Gemini is one of the MAS approved centralized exchanges with majority of its assets stored in cold storage for safekeeping.
The downside of Gemini is the limited number of cryptocurrencies. Compared to the other two exchanges featured here, Gemini only offers over 55 different cryptocurrencies while the others offer at least over 150 different cryptocurrencies.
Crypto.com
Crypto.com is famed for its visa card and the many benefits along with owning one.
Users can on and off-ramp crypto.com through Singapore-based payment processing gateway StraitsX. Users would just have to connect their StraitsX account to Crypto.com to purchase and withdraw via XSGD.
Also Read: Still Looking For A Crypto Exchange? Here’s A Singaporean’s Guide To Crypto.com
There are no charges for purchasing crypto with StraitsX but there is a 0.4% charge when selling. Alternatively, users can evade the fee by using USD bank transfer via Automated Clearing House (ACH).
One downside of Crypto.com is that users would have to hold or stake CRO to enjoy the many benefits like discounts on trading fees.
FTX
FTX is one of the centralised largest exchange with US$13 billion in trading volume. This makes it one of the best platforms for traders due to liquidity and narrower spread.
While FTX allows users to trade over 160 cryptocurrencies on its spot exchange, the downside is that any withdrawal below US$10,000 is subjected to a hefty admin fee of US$75.
In order to withdraw fiat from FTX, user must be at least level 2 KYF verified.
Also Read: Here’s How I Carried Out An Overseas Transfer From DBS To FTX In Less Than 20 Minutes
Here’s a tip on how to withdrawal >US$10,000 from FTX without incurring an admin fee
- Transfer crypto from FTX to Gemini (Free crypto transfer but will incur gas fee)
- Sell crypto on Gemini for fiat
- Withdrawal SGD through FAST bank transfer
Do note that some bank charges an admin fee for deposit/withdrawal.
Binance and Huobi Global were excluded as they are stopping services in Singapore.
Featured Image: Adapted from TopTal
Also Read: Market Cycles In Crypto: How To Identify Tops and Take Profits
