Best Digital Currency Exchanger of 2009

Ecommerce Journal presented awards in two categories for Digital Currency Exchangers on February 2, 2010:

In the category of Best Exchanger, the award went to Goldexpay which received a very convincing 62% of the votes. The other services Trainex service, Swapgold, and London Gold Exchange received 16%, 13%, and 9% respectively.

In the category of Best AutoExchanger, the award again went to Intexchange with 40% of the votes. The other services Onlychange, Superchange, and Autoconverter received 34%, 15%, and 11% respectively.

Digital currency exchangers (DCEs, independent exchange providers or e-currency exchangers) are market makers which exchange fiat currency for electronic money, such as digital gold currency (DGC), and/or convert one type of digital currency into another, such as WebMoney into e-gold. Exchangers apply either a commission or bid/offer spread to transactions.

There are no specific financial regulations governing DCEs, so they operate under self-regulation. However the Global Digital Currency Association (GDCA), founded in 2002, are a non-profit association of online currency operators, exchangers, merchants and users. On their website they claim their goal is to "further the interests of the industry as a whole and help with fighting fraud and other illegal activities, arbitrate disputes and act as escrow agent when and where required." It is possible for clients to purchase DGC by credit card, and therefore receive consumer protection from their credit card company. Various exchangers offer this service, although the exchange fees are typically higher than using a wire transfer.