Euro to Bitcoin exchange rates aren't all the same.
The total cost you are charged by your bank or foreign exchange provider consists of a margin from the interbank mid-rate plus fees.
These margins and fees vary significantly for International Money Transfers and Travel Money transactions as shown below.
When determining the best time to make a foreign exchange transaction, in this case the EUR vs BTC, you should pay attention to the recent market trends for both currencies.
Euro (EUR)
Euro sentiment dipped in mid-June after the ECB, like other major central banks of the world, ramped up its dovish rhetoric. It said that there was “considerable room” for further quantitative easing and that it would consider negative interest rates. Ordinarily, this would spark an extended euro decline but since other major currencies are also wrestling with easier central bank policies, euro depreciation may be contained.
In spite of Brexit, a slowdown in economic growth, Italian risks and persistently weak inflation — an important measure of inflation expectations fell in June to a record low — the euro did fantastically well against the Australian dollar, New Zealand dollar and British pound between mid-April and mid-June. Due to a stronger US dollar, EUR/USD was down 2 percent on the year at $1.12, close to long-term lows.
Sentiment towards cryptocurrencies has really picked up in 2019 and bitcoin is thriving. Rates just shy of $11,000 on June-22 (the day of this report) marked a spectacular recovery from rates closer to $3,000 earlier this year. Between mid-February and June-21, bitcoin gained value in 15 weeks from 18.
Cryptocurrency experts suggested in June that the imminent arrival of Facebook’s own coin, Libra, added legitimacy to the crypto space, thereby assisting widespread acceptance and adoption of cryptos as payment vehicles and boosting market sentiment.
Rather than disappear, as some prominent financial experts had predicted, Libra’s arrival confirmed that “[bitcoin] will remain an ever-important asset that hundreds of millions of people will hold,” one analyst said, before adding: “You can bet bitcoin is going to break 15k!”
Why can't I just get the EUR/BTC market rate I see online or in the media?
The mid-rate is the rate you will see quoted online or the news. It is actually just the half-way point (hence mid-rate) between
the last rate at which the EUR / BTC was traded (bought or sold) in the international markets.
All foreign exchange providers charge a fee for providing their service and this fee is usually contained within the exchange rate margin (or difference to the mid-rate).
Some providers such as Transferwise will quote you the mid-rate (or close to) and charge a separate percentage fee.
Getting a good market rate is mainly about timing however the transaction margin
you end up being charged can be considerably reduced by around a few percent (of total amount being exchanged) for
travel money and possibly over 5% to 6% when sending money.
The exact potential savings depends on the currencies being exchanged and the amount you are transferring and if you are willing to shop around.
