I heard about this No-KYC exchange yesterday, and since we don't have a discussion about it, I will briefly introduce it here. For the record, I am in no way associated with the service and I haven't used it. This is for informational purposes only.
The exchange is called SpikeToSpike. It operates out of Georgia but they are most popular for their services rendered to the Brazilian market.
It's a no-KYC custodial service that uses a Telegram bot to make crypto to fiat exchanges. The liquidity is provided by Spike liquidity providers, so you aren't looking for peers to trade with on your own. The swap process begins on the official website. After you enter the details for your swap, the service generates a unique link that takes you to Telegram where the exchange itself takes place.
This is still in the early stages and SpikeToSpike is supposed to release a mobile app in the future.
Supported Cryptocurrencies
You can only buy and sell bitcoin and tether.
The service supports on-chain BTC, the Lightning Network, and Liquid.
Supported Fiat Currencies
- USD
- GBP
- EUR
- BRL
Supported Fiat Payment Methods
- Wise
- Revolut
- Transferencia Bancaria (only Brazil)
- Boleto Bancaria (only Brazil)
- DePix (only Brazil)
Fees
The fees are the first reason I don't recommend using SpikeToSpike at the moment. They are way too high in my opinion.
- 5% for swaps above $1000
- 10% for swaps below $1000
You can get 20% off your trading fees by entering a referral code. I don't want to mention them here, but if you are interested, you can find one in the description of the YouTube video under sources. I have also found similar codes on Twitter.
- There is no clear information on the minimum trade amounts, but the fees page mentions $/€/£/R$500. However, it seems you can start trading from $/€/£/$200.
Terms
The terms of service are the second reason I don't recommend using SpikeToSpike in its current form and unless the following changes.
- An exchange can take from 30 minutes to 72 hours depending on bank processing times, network congestion, the speed of the liquidity providers etc.
- In case of disputes, users are encouraged to contact @SpikeHelper on Telegram to resolve the issues. This can take 7-30 days. Dishonest providers will be financially penalized. Users who report unfounded disputes will have to pay a penalty of 10% of the trade value.
Here comes the worst part. The service has financial penalties based on your conduct before and during disputes.
- 10% financial penalty for defamation on social media prior to trying to resolve the matter.
- 20% financial penalty for defamation during the trade resolution period.
- 100% financial penalty for (attempted) fraud and chargebacks.
- 100% financial penalty for using funds from illegal origins (no further information what the service considers illegal).
- 125% financial penalty for the liquidity provider if they act in bad faith during the exchange.
- 125% financial penalty for the liquidity provider who doesn't send funds to the user after receiving payment and proof of it during the arbitration period.
Considering the above information, I wouldn't recommend using SpikeToSpike. There are better, faster, and cheaper alternatives. We can keep an eye on the project, maybe the service will improve in the future. They should add more fiat payment methods, not just Revolut and Wise. The fees of 5% or 10% are too high. They should also lower their minimum trading amounts if the information about $/€/£/R$500 is correct. I don't know of any other exchanges that issue financial penalties for defamation, but I can understand them to some degree. I completely disagree with the penalties for illegal sources of funds because there is no information about what they consider illegal. Besides, if they don't like it, they should just reject the swap and not confiscate the user's funds.
Let's see if any of this will change in the future.
Has anyone heard of or tried SpikeToSpike?
Sources
https://spiketospike.com/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hzcDvKyWYA
