TradeStation Crypto Review

TradeStation Crypto is a cryptocurrency brokerage from a well-known name in investing. But is it legit? Read on to find out.

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	Overall Score	4.1
	Cryptocurrency Trading	4.0
	Mobile App	4.0
	Commissions and Fees	4.5
	Ease of Use	3.0
	Research	5.0
	Safety	4.0

5-point scale (the higher, the better)

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Pros and Cons

• Low Fees
• Liquidity Aggregation
• Analytical Tools

• Limited Coin Selection
• Not Beginner-Friendly
• Restricted Withdrawal Hours

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Bottom Line

Cost-effective crypto brokerage with advanced analytical and trading tools for experts

When you're buying cryptocurrency, your experience depends a lot on where you buy it.

Coming from a big name in professional trading, TradeStation Crypto is a strong contender. They offer an advanced crypto trading platform with features normally used in traditional investing.

Is TradeStation Crypto right for you? Read our detailed review to find out. Plus, see how it compares to big names in crypto, like Coinbase.

What is TradeStation Crypto?

TradeStation has gone through a series of evolutions to become the powerful trading platform it is today.

It was founded in 1982 by Bill and Ralph Cruz as Omega Research, Inc., a trading software company. They are now owned by the Monex Group, a large financial services provider from Japan.

Their original goal was to help traders without a programming background implement their own trading strategies.

After the release of several new software products, they released TradeStation, their flagship product, in 1991, and would ultimately change from a software company to an online securities brokerage in 2001, under the name TradeStation.

Since then, they have grown to offer online trading of a wide range of securities, with an electronic trading platform aimed at professional traders.

TradeStation Crypto was launched in 2019, and added support for trading a variety of cryptocurrencies.

Pros and Cons

Want a quick run-down of TradeStation Crypto's pros and cons? Review these points below before diving into the details further down.

Pros

• Liquidity Aggregation: TradeStation Crypto grants access to a range of exchanges, market makers, OTC desks, and other liquidity providers, thereby able to lower prices that more broadly reflect the market, rather than the closed ecosystems of a singular exchange.

• Advanced Order Control: Take advantage of a variety of order types with deep customization options.

• Analytical Tools: Bringing with them their expertise from the securities trading world, TradeStation offers useful analytical tools not provided by many exchanges.

• Free Crypto Deposits & Withdrawals: There are currently no fees to deposit or withdraw crypto.

Cons

• Limited Coin Selection: TradeStation Crypto offers a quite limited selection of only 5 of the most popular cryptocurrencies and stablecoins.

• Withdrawal Restrictions: Crypto withdrawals are limited to the hours of 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time, except on banking holidays.

• Not Beginner-Friendly: While there are many advantages to using TradeStation Crypto, user-friendliness is not one of them. It's best to steer clear if you're a beginner.

What Cryptocurrencies Do They Offer?

Compared to other popular exchanges and brokers, TradeStation Crypto offers a fairly limited number of cryptocurrencies, currently including only the most widely traded coins.

• Bitcoin (BTC)
  
• Litecoin (LTC)
  
• Ethereum (ETH)
  
• Bitcoin Cash (BCH)
  
• Ripple (XRP)

Where are They Available?

TradeStation caters primarily to residents of the U.S. While they do offer some services internationally, users outside the United States may be subject to extra or higher fees.

For the full list of states where cryptocurrency trading is offered and any relevant license or regulatory disclosures, review the document here.

TradeStation Features

TradeStation Crypto offers a range of useful features for cryptocurrency traders. Let's take a look at them in detail.

1. Crypto Trading

TradeStation Crypto is a brokerage, rather than an exchange. While securities traders may be used to uniform pricing across the market, the cryptocurrency market is fragmented and therefore not entirely consistent.

To mitigate this problem, TradeStation Crypto aggregates liquidity from several different providers, including exchanges, market makers, OTC desks, as well as other electronic liquidity pools.

That means when you trade on their platform, they can offer you the best bid and best ask prices from whichever source offers them.

The TradeStation Crypto interface offers a range of analytical tools and functionality that seasoned traders will appreciate, though it may not be ideal for beginners.

Users have real-time access to the order book for each trading pair so that they can keep track of open orders and the current bid/ask spread. You're able to execute a variety of order types including:

• Market Orders
  
• Maker Limit Orders
  
• Taker Limit Orders

There are several options for executing orders including a Quick Trade Bar, One-Click orders, or the detailed order form, where you can specify important details like order type, quantity, duration, price, and expiration.

Their useful tracker shows how much your investments are worth in both native coins (0.5 Bitcoin, 25 Litecoin, and so on), as well as the aggregate price in USD based on current market value.

You can also keep track of open orders and past events, profit and loss, and take advantage of advanced charting capabilities.

TradeStation offers an all-in-one mobile app that allows you to trade crypto, stocks, ETFs, options, and futures, as well.

2. Learn

TradeStation has put together a range of helpful guides to help you learn the ropes of investing cryptocurrency.

They have detailed articles about the nature of crypto, its history, the basics of trading, the blockchain, and what differentiates between specific cryptocurrencies and stablecoins.

It's useful information for those looking to expand their crypto knowledge when they're just getting started.

TradeStation Fees

TradeStation Crypto has its own Maker-Taker fee schedule that changes based on account balance. It's separate from the fees they charge on their main platform.

• USDC Transactions are free
  
• Deposits and withdrawals are both free
  
• There are no minimum deposits

TradeStation Security

TradeStation has taken several security measures to ensure the safety of your money, your data, and your coins.

First, they employ BitGo as their primary custodian. BitGo is a dedicated cryptocurrency custody company, and TradeStation feels it's safer to trust the protection of your digital assets to a specialist.

BitGo provides the following:

• Multi-signature Wallet Structure
  
• Dual-System Controls
  
• Address Whitelisting
  
• Spending Limits
  
• Multiple Wallets

TradeStation Crypto also employs Two-Factor Authentication for account logins.

How It Compares

TradeStation Crypto vs Coinbase:
If you're at all into crypto trading, you've likely heard of Coinbase, which is currently one of the most popular platforms for cryptocurrency traders.

TradeStation Crypto and Coinbase lie at the opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to trading cryptocurrency. TradeStation Crypto is a brokerage, and Coinbase is an exchange.

As a Brokerage, TradeStation Crypto can access potentially better rates than Coinbase can, and that on top of its low fees will make TradeStation Crypto a far cheaper platform to trade on.

However, TradeStation Crypto only offers access to a very limited number of coins, while Coinbase users can trade from over 60, and that number grows regularly. Additionally, newer users will almost certainly be overwhelmed by TradeStation Crypto's user interface, while Coinbase's is famously user-friendly.

If you're only interested in trading the most popular coins, and have enough experience to take full advantage of TradeStation Crypto's services, by all means go with them. But if you want variety, or are just getting started, Coinbase is the way to go.

Bottom Line

TradeStation Crypto is a very solid platform that isn't for everyone.

Those who would get the most out of it are experienced traders, used to taking advantage of analytical tools, algorithms, and apps to improve their returns. Its offerings are limited, but its prices are quite reasonable.

Beginners and those seeking a large selection of altcoins would probably find better results on a different trading platform.