This post describes my experience using FreeBitcoins.com/SWAP.
As Poloniex struggles to process CLAM coin deposits & withdrawals, I’ve been searching for alternatives. I’ve been making a CLAM/BTC market for the past few weeks at FreiExchange, and volume is picking up. If you want to buy & CLAMs & Bitcoins, I’ll post more orders as trades keep taking place.
In the meantime, I tried using the swap tool at FreeBitcoins.com. This service is similar to other mixers like ShapeShift and Changelly. The biggest benefit to FreeBitcoins.com is they also deal with CLAM coins. Users can send CLAMs or Bitcoins and receive the opposite pair in exchange. The rate charged for this transaction is related to the current market at Poloniex, plus a small fee. I like how FreeBitcoins.com is explicit about how much they charge.
To make a trade using the swap tool at FreeBitcoins, a user enters a receiving address (the address where they want to receive their funds). If the user is sending CLAMs and receiving Bitcoins, they should enter a bitcoin address and visa versa if they are sending Bitcoins and receiving CLAMs, just like ShapeShift and Changelly. The main difference with FreeBitcoins/swap is users don’t need to specify the amount they are sending. The system will recognize how much is received. Users just need to make sure they send an amount under the limit displayed on the site.
To complete my own transaction, I sent CLAM coins from my Just-Dice account, and it was received by FreeBitcoins/swap almost instantly after the transaction showed up on the CLAM blockchain. A message was then displayed notifying me of my trade details such as the price I received, the blockchain fee, and the fee the site charged me for the transaction. Once the CLAM blockchain processed my transaction, my bitcoins were sent to my receiving address. In my case, there were no delays and the whole process happened seamlessly.
What about the price I received? The market quoted at FreeBitcoins.com/swap is pretty wide. Since there is pretty thin liquidity for CLAM coins, this is understandable. At the time of my transaction, here were the comparable prices:
| Poloniex | 5.98 | 5.99 |
| Freiexchange | 4.30 | 5.37 |
| FreeBitcoins | 5.18 | 6.24 |
As you can see, FreeBitcoins had the widest spreads compared to the market I’m posting at FreiExchange and Poloniex. FreeBitcoins markets up/down the Poloniex price to determine their own price.
Another risk for users considering FreeBitcoins should take into consideration is downtime of this service. As I’m writing this post, the site is not accepting CLAM to BTC trades, presumably because their own inventory has run out?
If you have any suggestions for me, please comment this post. I’d love to hear what other CLAM coin users are doing to keep a path from crypto to fiat (back and forth) alive.
