Bitso Review

Fees explained

Bitso prices each order book against its own currency, so what you pay depends on which market you trade. The entry-tier rates below apply as of September 2026, at 30-day volume under 20,000 MXN on the peso books and under 1,000 USD on the dollar books (source: Bitso fee schedule). Dollar-denominated books are the cheapest way in.

Every book uses the same maker taker fee structure and the same 30-day volume ladder, so the discount you earn on one market applies to that market only. Deposit and withdrawal costs are published separately, on Bitso's transactions fee page, and are covered below.

History and ownership

Bitso has been operating since 2014 and is the largest crypto exchange built around Latin American currencies rather than around the US dollar. The exchange platform is operated by Bitso International, which Bitso names on every fee table as the entity providing the service to buy, sell, and store virtual currencies (source: Bitso deposits and withdrawals fee page, read September 2026). A separate Bitso Business arm serves companies and is priced differently.

The company does not publish audited group accounts, and RampAtlas could not retrieve a corporate page naming its shareholders in September 2026. What is verifiable is the shape of the business: four local currencies with their own order books, local payment rails in each, and a stablecoin strategy built around the peso-denominated MXNB token alongside USDC and USDT.

Products and markets

Bitso's public API returned 63 order books in September 2026 (source: Bitso public API, available books endpoint). The split is what makes this exchange distinctive: 26 books quoted in US dollars, 16 in Mexican pesos, 7 in Brazilian reais, 5 in Tether, 4 in Argentine pesos, 2 in Colombian pesos, 2 in Bitcoin, and one in USDS.

That is a short list next to a global venue, and deliberately so. What you get instead is a genuine local-currency order book in four countries, which is rare. Buying bitcoin with pesos on a peso book avoids the hidden currency conversion you pay when a dollar-denominated exchange converts your deposit for you, and that conversion is often larger than the trading fee.

The asset list runs from the majors through to a long tail that includes fan tokens, PAX Gold, and several stablecoins, including PayPal USD and Ripple USD. Anyone shopping specifically in Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, or Colombia should start from Buy Bitcoin in Mexico or Buy Tether in Brazil to see how the local options compare.

Security record and custody

Bitso holds customer assets in the standard custodial exchange model: the platform controls the keys, and your balance is a claim on the company rather than coins you can move without its cooperation. RampAtlas could not retrieve a proof-of-reserves page, a published cold storage policy, an insurance disclosure, or a security certification from a primary Bitso source in September 2026.

We also found no hack, insolvency, or regulatory enforcement action against a Bitso entity in any primary, court, or regulator source we checked. As with any venue, absence of a public incident is not the same as a demonstrated control environment, and the gap here is disclosure rather than a known failure.

If you are holding a meaningful balance rather than trading it, moving coins to self custody removes the counterparty question entirely, at the cost of taking responsibility for a seed phrase you cannot lose.

Deposits and withdrawals

This is where Bitso is unusually strong, and the fees are published in full. The local rails are free in every country Bitso serves, and the clearing times are published alongside them (source: Bitso deposits and withdrawals fee page).

Crypto deposits are free across every network listed. Crypto withdrawals carry fixed per-network fees rather than a floating estimate, which makes them easy to plan around, and several assets are free (source: same page).

Free local-currency rails in four countries is the single best reason to use this exchange.

Support and usability

The app is built for someone who thinks in pesos or reais, not in dollars, and that shows in the details: local payment methods first, local currency balances, and a Bitso Transfer feature that moves money instantly between Bitso accounts at no cost. Support runs through a help centre in Spanish, Portuguese, and English.

The main usability trap is the fee difference between books. A peso book costs 0.780% at the entry tier while a dollar book costs 0.360% and a Bitcoin-quoted book costs 0.098%. If you are converting pesos to dollars anyway, the route you take through the order books changes what you pay by a factor of several, and the app will not point that out.

Verdict

Bitso fits a buyer in Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, or Colombia who wants to fund and withdraw in local currency for free and trade against a real local order book. Free SPEI, PIX, and COELSA rails in both directions, plus fixed and published crypto withdrawal fees, make the total cost easy to work out in advance.

Look elsewhere if you want a long altcoin list, derivatives, or published proof of reserves and custody disclosure, none of which Bitso offers. Peso-book trading fees are also high at the entry tier, so higher-volume traders should check the ladder before committing. Compare alternatives at Compare and Mexico.