Announcement
Bitcoil is down for maintenance. We are working on building the legal, financial, technical and operational infrastructure required to handle the greatly increased demand.
We hope to resume full operations in a few months.
In the meantime you can visit our partners
Bits of Gold to buy or sell bitcoins for Israeli shekels.
What is Bitcoin?
Bitcoin is the world's first decentralized digital currency. It empowers people everywhere with autonomy over their finances and the ability to transact freely and easily.
You can learn more about it at the
Israel Bitcoin community homepage.
Before placing an order with us you should create a Bitcoin wallet, for example using
blockchain.info My Wallet. Place the Bitcoin address displayed on your wallet in our order form.
Make sure you understand how to properly secure your Bitcoin wallet before buying a large amount of bitcoins!
How are your exchange rates calculated?
We take the
exchange rates from Mt. Gox and translate them to ILS based on the USD/ILS exchange rate available from Google. For buying from us we use the Mt. Gox lowest ask and add 6% fee. For selling to us we use the Mt. Gox highest bid and subtract 1% fee. Fees are updated occasionally based on supply and demand.
In addition we subtract a 5 ILS fee from the ILS amounts we send or receive.
Note: If you placed an order and received approvale for it when the fee was lower, the lower fee will be honored.
Example: Suppose that you are buying bitcoins and you transferred ₪1000; and that when we receive it, the Mtgox lowest ask is $10/BTC and the USD rate is ₪4/$. Then our rate for buying will be
($10/BTC)*(₪4/$)*1.06 = ₪42.4/BTC.
A ₪5 fee will be deducted from the amount you sent, so we will send you
(1000-5)/42.4 = 995/42.4 = 23.467 bitcoins.
How do I buy bitcoins from you?
- Fill the Buy Bitcoins form, specifying your contact details, the amount of ILS you wish to pay, and the Bitcoin address to which you wish to receive payment.
- We will send you our bank account details. Make a bank transfer of the desired amount to this account. Your bank should have an online option for this; If you haven't used it before, you may have to contact them about enabling it.
- We will manually complete the order (determine the exchange rate and send the bitcoins) when we receive your payment, which is usually on the next business day (if you made the transfer at night, it will be the day after the next).
How do I sell bitcoins to you?
- Fill the Sell Bitcoins form, specifying your contact details, the number of bitcoins you wish to sell, and the details of the bank account to which you wish to receive payment. The full name entered must be in Hebrew and match the name on the bank account.
- We will send you a Bitcoin address. Send the desired amount to this address.
- When we see that we received your payment, we will calculate the ILS payment based on the current rate and transfer it to your account (this is done manually and subject to our availability).
When do you set the exchange rate to be used in determining the amount I receive?
The exchange rate is determined at the time we receive your payment, as detailed above. This means that we cannot tell you in advance how much you will receive, we can only estimate it.
Are the exchange rates displayed on the site up-to-date?
The rates are updated once per minute. To receive the most recent rates,
click here.
Can I buy and sell fractions of a bitcoin?
Yes. We round bitcoins up to an mBTC (0.001 bitcoin) and ILS up to an agora, so there's no problem working with fractional amounts.
What payment methods are available?
The standard method is bank transfers within Israel (which these days cost up to 2 ILS, rather than the much higher fees from years ago). It is also possible to deposit cash directly to our account in any branch of
FIBI ("Habeinleumi" bank).
Where can I check your reputation?
Bitcoil is an Israeli registered business operated by Meni Rosenfeld since August 2011. I take the reputation I've built over the years very seriously.
You can look at
my vanity thread on the Bitcoin forum to learn more about me, my track record and my activity in the Bitcoin world.
Why should I use Bitcoil rather than the big international exchanges?
When considering using one of the international exchanges such as Mt. Gox, you should take into account the following costs (described for the case of buying bitcoins, but selling bitcoins is similar):
- Currency conversion from ILS to USD: Costs about 1%.
- International wire transfer: Can cost about $20-$60, depending on your bank, the need for an intermediate bank, and so on.
- Mtgox fees: The exchange itself takes a fee, which is up to 0.6%.
- Slippage: Our rates are based on the Mtgox lowest ask. When actually buying on Mtgox, the price will be higher due to slippage. Even for small amounts the slippage is sometimes about 0.4%.
As well as the following:
- The big exchanges have various verification requirements, which may include, for example, sending a notarized translation of proof of residence, which entails some trouble and cost.
- International wires involve more overhead, both in the paperwork for requesting them and in the time for them to complete - which could be only a day but could also be a week or more.
Where else can I exchange bitcoins?
We think you'll find that our service provides the perfect mix of convenience and affordable pricing. If you want to examine alternatives, here are some suggestions: