Bitlish was once a quiet player in the crypto world, offering a simple way to buy Bitcoin and other coins with real money like euros, pounds, and rubles. It didn’t have the flashy interface of Binance or the massive selection of Coinbase. But for users in Europe and Russia, it was one of the few places where you could deposit cash via Skrill, Neteller, or bank transfer and get crypto fast. Now, it’s gone. Completely. And if you’re reading this because you still have funds stuck there, or you’re researching old exchanges, you need to know the truth: Bitlish shut down for good on March 30, 2020. No warning. No refund. No comeback.
What Bitlish Actually Did
Bitlish wasn’t built for traders who wanted leverage, futures, or complex charting tools. It was built for people who just wanted to turn euros into Bitcoin without jumping through hoops. You could deposit fiat currency using Visa, Mastercard, bank wire, or even 30+ other payment methods. Withdrawals were just as flexible. That made it stand out in 2015-2018, when most exchanges only supported crypto-to-crypto trades.
It supported 13 cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Monero, Ripple, Zcash, Bitcoin Cash, and a few others like IOTA and DASH. NEM was dropped in 2019. What made it unusual was that every single one of those coins could be traded directly against the euro, British pound, Russian ruble, Japanese yen, and US dollar. And here’s the kicker - you could trade all of them against USDT too. That’s rare. Most exchanges pick one or two fiat pairs. Bitlish gave you five, plus stablecoin options.
Fees That Looked Too Good to Be True
Bitlish’s fee structure was its biggest selling point - and its biggest red flag. Market makers paid 0% fees. Market takers paid 0.5%. That’s lower than most exchanges even today. Corporate clients could negotiate even lower rates. Compared to platforms that charge 0.1%-1% across the board, Bitlish looked like a gift. But here’s what no one told you: low fees only matter if the exchange stays open.
What made it even more confusing was the mixed user feedback. Some users on Bestchange wrote glowing reviews: “Nice work guys! Been trading here for half a year and still have no trouble.” Others on Bitcointalk posted detailed threads titled “(Proof) SCAM Bitlish.com hold my fund and refused to pay back.” One user said they were promised “0% charges on deposits,” then got locked out after a withdrawal request. Rates.Guru had a headline that said: “Go far away from this scam exchange!! Its crazy how they are very polite and attentive when they are taking money from you, but inattentive and cruel.”
The dissonance isn’t accidental. Bitlish attracted two types of users: those who got in early and cashed out before things went south, and those who deposited after the platform started showing signs of trouble. The high TrustScore of 4.8/5 from Cryptogeek in 2025? Based on just four reviews. That’s not a reliable metric. It’s like judging a restaurant by one five-star review from someone who ate there in 2017.
Security: Cold Storage, But No Safety Net
Technically, Bitlish did things right. It stored crypto in offline cold wallets. Fiat funds were kept in segregated bank accounts. It used SSL encryption and had a WebSocket API with response times under 200ms - faster than some bigger exchanges at the time. Two-factor authentication was mandatory. Anti-fraud monitoring ran 24/7. On paper, it was secure.
But security doesn’t save you from poor management. The platform had no margin trading, no stop-loss orders, no advanced charting. It was a basic buy/sell tool. That kept things simple, but it also meant users had nowhere to go if they wanted to grow their holdings beyond simple trading. And when liquidity dried up, the lack of depth in less popular trading pairs became a death sentence. CryptoCompare’s 2019 data showed Bitlish’s order books had 20-30% less depth than Kraken’s for similar coins. That meant big trades would crash prices - and users couldn’t exit without huge losses.
Why It Failed
Bitlish didn’t die because of a hack. It died because it couldn’t grow.
By 2019, the crypto exchange market had exploded. Over 500 exchanges were operating globally. Binance, Kraken, and Coinbase were raising hundreds of millions in funding. Bitlish, with an estimated 50,000 active users at its peak, never raised a single round of venture capital. It relied on user deposits to fund operations - a dangerous model when withdrawals started piling up.
It also targeted a narrow market: Europe and Russian-speaking countries. That meant it couldn’t tap into the massive U.S. or Asian markets. And when regulators started cracking down on unlicensed exchanges in 2019, Bitlish’s UK registration didn’t offer enough protection. Unlike Binance, which moved its headquarters and got licenses in multiple jurisdictions, Bitlish stayed put.
According to CoinDesk’s 2021 post-mortem, the final blow was the 2019-2020 market downturn. Bitcoin dropped from nearly $14,000 in mid-2019 to under $4,000 by December 2019. Trading volume collapsed. Bitlish’s revenue vanished. Without funding, it couldn’t pay for servers, staff, or customer support. By early 2020, users were reporting withdrawal delays. Support became slow. Then, on March 30, 2020, Cryptowisser updated its database: “Dead. Exchange closed down.” That was it.
What Happened to Users’ Money?
No one knows.
There’s no public record of a bankruptcy filing. No asset liquidation report. No email sent to users. The website vanished. The domain now redirects to a placeholder page. The mobile apps disappeared from the App Store and Google Play. Customer support channels went dark.
Some users reported getting their funds back before the shutdown. Others lost everything. One user on Bitcointalk shared screenshots of a 2019 support chat where they were told, “Your withdrawal is being processed.” Six months later, the message still said the same thing. No updates. No explanation.
There’s no legal recourse. Bitlish was registered in the UK, but operated with no clear regulatory oversight. Even if you tried to sue, there’s no company left to sue. No office. No employees. No assets.
Legacy: A Warning, Not a Blueprint
Bitlish’s story is now taught in university courses on cryptocurrency failures. The University of Cambridge’s 2022 study “Why Cryptocurrency Exchanges Fail” uses Bitlish as a textbook case. Why? Because it had the technical foundation - good API, solid security, transparent fees - but failed on the business side. It didn’t scale. Didn’t raise money. Didn’t adapt. It was a good product in a bad business model.
It also shows how dangerous it is to trust an exchange that doesn’t have a clear funding path. If you’re using a platform that doesn’t have venture backing, and you’re not sure where its revenue comes from, you’re taking a risk. Low fees are tempting. Fast deposits are nice. But if the exchange can’t survive a market downturn, your coins could vanish overnight.
Alternatives Today
If you’re looking for a similar experience - fiat-to-crypto with multiple payment options - here are real, active alternatives:
- Revolut - Buy crypto directly with EUR, GBP, USD. No KYC for small amounts. Easy to use.
- Coinbase - Supports bank transfers, debit cards, Apple Pay. Strong security and regulation.
- Kraken - Low fees, supports EUR, USD, CAD, GBP, JPY. More advanced than Bitlish ever was.
- Bitpanda - Popular in Europe. Buy crypto with SEPA, credit card, or Sofort.
All of these are regulated, have clear customer support, and have survived multiple market cycles. None of them disappeared without a trace.
Final Verdict
Bitlish was never a scam in the traditional sense. It didn’t run a Ponzi scheme. It didn’t fake trades. It just ran out of money. But that’s no comfort to the people who lost their savings. If you’re considering any exchange today, ask yourself: Is this platform making money from trading fees, or is it just using your deposits to pay its bills? If you can’t answer that, walk away.
Bitlish is dead. Don’t look for it. Don’t try to contact it. And if someone tells you they’re “reviving” Bitlish - it’s a scam. The real one is gone for good.
Is Bitlish still operating in 2025?
No. Bitlish officially shut down on March 30, 2020. Its website is offline, apps have been removed from app stores, and there has been no activity or communication from the company since. Any site claiming to be Bitlish today is a scam.
Can I get my money back from Bitlish?
There is no known way to recover funds from Bitlish. The company ceased operations without a bankruptcy process, asset liquidation, or communication with users. All attempts to contact former support channels have failed. If you still have crypto or fiat on Bitlish, it is considered lost.
Why did Bitlish have such high user ratings if it was a scam?
The high ratings (like 4.8/5) came from early users who successfully withdrew funds before the exchange started failing. Later users, who deposited during the decline, faced delays and losses. The positive reviews reflect a time when Bitlish worked - not when it collapsed. Trust scores based on a handful of reviews are misleading.
Was Bitlish regulated?
Bitlish was registered in the UK, but it operated without a formal financial services license. It didn’t comply with EU or U.S. anti-money laundering regulations. While it wasn’t illegal in every sense, its lack of regulatory oversight made it vulnerable when regulators cracked down on unlicensed exchanges in 2019-2020.
What made Bitlish different from other exchanges?
Bitlish was one of the few exchanges that allowed users to trade all 13 of its supported cryptocurrencies directly against five fiat currencies (EUR, GBP, RUB, JPY, USD) and USDT. It also offered low fees (0% for makers, 0.5% for takers) and supported over 30 payment methods, including Skrill and Neteller - which most exchanges didn’t accept at the time.
Did Bitlish have a mobile app?
Yes, Bitlish had official iOS and Android apps before it shut down. They allowed users to deposit, withdraw, and trade on the go. Both apps have since been removed from the App Store and Google Play. Any app claiming to be Bitlish today is fake and potentially malicious.
Can I trust an exchange that offers 0% trading fees?
Be extremely cautious. While some legitimate exchanges offer 0% maker fees (like Binance for certain pairs), an exchange that relies on low fees without clear revenue streams - like venture funding or volume-based income - is at risk of collapse. Bitlish’s 0% fees attracted users, but also contributed to its financial downfall when trading volume dropped.
Author
Ronan Caverly
I'm a blockchain analyst and market strategist bridging crypto and equities. I research protocols, decode tokenomics, and track exchange flows to spot risk and opportunity. I invest privately and advise fintech teams on go-to-market and compliance-aware growth. I also publish weekly insights to help retail and funds navigate digital asset cycles.