Summary

GoCelery is a simple on ramp into the bitcoin network. It offers free ACH transfers to US users and converts dollars to bitcoin automatically. The price of bitcoin is locked in at the time the transfer is made, though large fluctuations may lead to requotes in the interim.  With a low weekly buying limit, Celery is really only for bitcoin beginners looking for no more than a couple hundred worth of coin.  If this does not describe you, check out alternative US bitcoin exchanges.

Opening an Account

There are four verification steps required to verify your account- email verification, phone verification, name and address and date of birth/occupation. Address needn’t actually be verified, but bitcoin may not be bought and sold – though they may be stored – prior to linking your bank account.

The bank account is linked using a service called Yodlee, which exists for the purpose of showing third party service providers, like gocelery, that a bank account does indeed belong to the user. Enter your bank login details, which never actually are present on the exchange server, which allows instant verification that an account belongs to you. Yodlee is used by paypal, mint, Bank of America, and an assortment of other reputable services.

For those unwilling to go through the process, GoCelery offers an alternative “micro-transaction” process, in which they deposit a small amount into your account, the amount of which you must verify.

Security

On the server side, gocelery claims that 98% of funds are held in cold storage; this may be verified from the “transparency” page, which shows with two hour delay the percentage of customer funds actually held in cold storage. However when we checked there were only 86.2% held, which is starting to get into risky territory. Speaking of the transparency page, users may also check the average time it takes to fill an order – 7.8 business days when we looked – though since the price is guaranteed this waiting time is mitigated.

On the client side, 2FA is offered by google authenticator, accessible from your account tab located underneath your profile name on the left-hand side of the site.

The GoCelery Product

Go Celery’s simplicity is their greatest unique service provision. Thought has been put into every step of the user journey, from the initial account opening all the way through to the first bitcoin purchase. The association of a US bank account is considered proof enough of identity, and so no additional documentation is required to open an account. There is no standard deposit and withdrawal function; rather, buying bitcoin initiates the a process of transferring the cash via fee-free ACH transfer with a locked in exchange rate that automatically executed when the cash arrives at gocelery. The same process is executed in reverse on the sell side.

This is extremely convenient for the new buyer, not only due to the elimination of a few steps in the path to purchasing bitcoin, but because it locks in the price available at the time a purchase is executed. However, this does complicate things for GoCelery. The ACH process can be reversed, meaning that users can, if they choose, stop transactions if there have been negative price movements in the interim. This can be a big headache for GoCelery, and requires an appropriate hedging strategy to ensure they are not overexposed. A lap around the internet shows some grumblings from customers who, after having locked in their price, were unable to secure the same after positive price movements. These cases were, most likely, due to improper risk management by GoCelery at the time and, while provided for in the terms of use, are a negative experience for the affected users. However, these incidents are not common, but should be noted as a possibility.

Mobile

Alas, Celery has not yet set up mobile apps on either iOS or Android. The site is responsively designed and thus orders can easily be placed from your mobile device.

Best to look elsewhere if:

You are looking to buy a relatively large amount.

Weekly limits are extremely low.  If you live in the states and are willing to set up ACH transfer, we don’t see very good reason not to set an account with Coinbase.

Bottom Line

Celery strives on simplicity – simple sign up, simple transfer, and simple buying and selling of bitcoin.