Voyager Cryptocurrency Brokerage Review
Cryptocurrency is still confusing for a lot of people. The terminology can be confusing. Centralized
exchange, decentralized exchange, brokerage, wallets, hardware wallets, public keys, private keys,
NFTs. It’s a lot to take in.
Not to mention the sheer number of projects in the crypto space and places one can go to buy their
respective currencies. It can be really overwhelming and difficult to know how to get started and
where to do so. That’s where Voyager really shines.
What Is Voyager?
Voyager is an exchange and transaction platform for cryptocurrency assets. It competes against
companies like Uphold,
Kraken, and
Gemini. The platform is connected to 12+
cryptocurrency exchanges, which provides users the opportunity to acquire crypto assets at
competitive prices, with extremely low, and in some cases free transaction costs, and with
access to deep liquidity pools. Voyager makes it easy to buy and sell cryptocurrencies.
Is Voyager Safe?
Voyager is a fully regulated brokerage for cryptocurrencies provided by a publicly-traded company.
While some people criticize centralization and regulation in cryptocurrency, the reality is that as
a FinCEN registered company, Voyager has been subjected to a higher level of regulatory scrutiny,
which leads to a more stable company, platform, and ultimately end-user experience.
For people with no crypto experience or only limited experience, Voyager can be a great place to
start out.
Voyager Commissions
One of the really good things about Voyager is that it is really low-cost to use. It offers the ability to execute cryptocurrency trades with almost no brokerage commissions. It is able to do this because of the exchange partnerships it has. It’s important to be aware that while Voyager does not charge a commission on trades, it does have an internal spread on transactions where they can make some money. They do this by attempting to obtain better pricing than what they quote a user for a trade. If they are able to get a better execution price they keep a portion of the savings. It’s not clearly stated, but it is important to know. Aside from that the only other fees are a very small fee to transfer crypto to an external wallet. Each cryptocurrency has a different fee to transfer it out but they are all listed on the Voyager support website.
Voyager Crypto Trading App
The company has led with a mobile-first strategy and has deployed an extremely well-made mobile
app that allows users to buy and sell cryptocurrencies, review market news and conditions, and
easily manage a portfolio of crypto assets. It almost seems like the app experience should be
more complicated, but they’ve done a great job at streamlining the app experience for users and
doing so while not shortchanging the app’s functionality.
Once the app is opened on your mobile device, you are greeted with a constantly updating feed of
prices and price changes for major cryptocurrencies, the majority of which are readily available
through Voyager.
You can filter the price changes from 1 hour to 1 year, see a cryptocurrency
Market Capitalization, 52-week high or low, and 24-hour Volume. This allows you to easily get a
feel for what’s going on in the crypto market as a whole and with any specific currency.
Additionally, a scrolling ticker of crypto market news scrolls along the top of the screen,
making accessing information simple and fast.
Voyager does comply with US KYC (Know Your Customer) requirements as part of their account
opening process, and they make it easy to access and update your user profile from within the app
as well. You can review your settings, update your connected bank accounts for funding purchases
and taking distributions, transfer cash or crypto from another platform, set up recurring buys,
see your transaction history, stake your crypto and earn interest, and more. It’s a very robust
and useful set of features.
Buying Crypto-currencies on Voyager
Buying crypto on Voyager is really straightforward. Once your account is verified, fully active,
and you have added a funding account or added funds to your account, you simply tap the currency
you want to buy, enter the amount you want to invest, and slide a button to the right. That's it.
You can make your cryptocurrency investments using Market or Limit orders, which is a very nice option to have.
Inside of the app section for any specific cryptocurrency you can also review price information, Market Capitalization, 24-Hour Volume, and more. You can also access your history with that particular crypto asset, and initiate transfers in or out of Voyager from that screen. It’s fairly straightforward and intuitive.
If you are looking for super speculative tokens or really risky DeFi crypto assets, Voyager is
not the place to get them. The exchanges they partner with, whether they are centralized or
decentralized tend to be more established and reputable. So, they almost exclusively deal in
solid projects with real-world utility that are well managed and growing.
For new investors in cryptocurrency, this provides a level of comfort and security in knowing that
the crypto assets you acquire through the Voyager brokerage are really high-quality and typically
vetted thoroughly.
All investing carries risks of course, and past performance is not a guarantee
of future performance, but Voagers FinCEN registration makes it extremely unlikely that they will
list and make available highly speculative digital assets for sale.
Features
Now that you have some cryptocurrency assets in your portfolio, it is important to be able to
easily monitor them and review their performance. Voyager has 2 main screens; a Market screen,
and a Portfolio screen. They make it easy to access either at any time using a button located in
the lower right corner of the app.
You can review your portfolio as a whole and easily dive into the details of any specific asset
you hold. From inside the asset, you can also initiate transactions simply.
It is a really simple process to initiate a sell order on your crypto assets in Voyager. Most
trades execute near-instantaneously and settle to your account just as fast. Funds settle to USD
Fiat, which can then be withdrawn to any connected bank account for use. It can sometimes take
between 3-5 business days for the funds to settle into your bank account. This is one of the only
things I would say is a potential drawback.
That being said, you can easily transfer most Cryptocurrencies held in your Voyager account to a
private wallet, hardware wallet for cold storage, or even another exchange. It is a very flexible
platform with lots of good options and solid functionality.
Voyager app-centric experience and brokerage model allow for a pretty low barrier to entry. Their
connections with multiple centralized and decentralized exchanges give them the ability to execute
trades at the best price.
The tools and features offered in the app make it convenient to use from
anywhere. A large number of high-quality crypto assets available through Voyager make it a good
one-stop shop so to speak for buying cryptocurrencies.
The quality and timeliness of their data
and market information allow both new investors and experienced traders to make informed decisions
on when to buy and sell their cryptocurrencies.
Account Opening and Support
Because of the level of interest in blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies, and Voyager’s
somewhat unique status as a FinCEN regulated and publicly traded company, it is important to know
that their account opening and verification process can take somewhat longer than is usually
expected. However, they clearly communicate that and move through their backlog of new users’
applications in a timely manner.
Their support is primarily provided via a really detailed series of Frequently Asked Questions
available on their website. For questions and support needs outside of that, they have ticketing
and help desk system set up. They are consistently active on social media and seem to be very
responsive to requests for help. They communicate plans and progress to their users regularly and
are actively growing and developing their platform and company.
Voyager vs Crypto.com
Another option for getting started with Cryptocurrency that is worth considering is Crypto.com.
This company is based out of Hong Kong and boasts more than 10 million customers. They also have
built their experience around a mobile-first, app-centric model.
They have a centralized exchange allowing users to execute transactions as well as a decentralized
wallet. They also have a Visa-branded debit card option which is interesting and also facilitates
staking cryptocurrency for interest.
There are a lot more bells and whistles with the
Crypto.com app and debit card, but the app experience is not quite as intuitive as Voyager. Still,
it can be a very good option for new cryptocurrency investors as well as veteran Crypto traders.
Voyager Exchange Review Summary
No matter what option someone selects for investing in Cryptocurrency or any asset, it’s important
to do your due diligence on the companies you’re doing business with. Make sure they are
legitimate, provide good support and service, and are reputable organizations. Especially in the
cryptocurrency space, it can be like the Wild West out there.
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