Bamboo Relay Fee Calculator
Trade Cost Estimator
When you think of crypto exchanges, you probably imagine Binance, Coinbase, or Kraken - platforms where you click a button, deposit fiat, and trade instantly. But what if you want to trade without handing over your keys? What if you care more about control than convenience? That’s where Bamboo Relay comes in.
Launched in 2017, Bamboo Relay isn’t your typical exchange. It doesn’t hold your crypto. It doesn’t ask for your ID. It doesn’t even have its own order book. Instead, it’s a relayer - a middleman that connects buyers and sellers using the 0x protocol on Ethereum. Think of it like a bulletin board where traders post their offers, and the platform just helps them find each other. No central server. No single point of failure. Just smart contracts doing the work.
How Bamboo Relay Actually Works
You don’t sign up for Bamboo Relay. You don’t create an account. You connect your wallet - usually MetaMask - and that’s it. Your funds never leave your control. Every trade happens directly between wallets via Ethereum smart contracts. This is the core promise of DeFi: you’re your own bank.
What makes Bamboo Relay stand out is its integration with two protocols: 0x and bZx. The 0x protocol handles spot trading - buying and selling tokens like USDC, LINK, or WBTC. But it doesn’t stop there. The bZx protocol adds margin trading and lending. That means you can borrow crypto to trade with leverage, or lend your assets to earn interest - all within the same interface. Most DEXs offer one or the other. Bamboo Relay gives you both.
And here’s the kicker: you can deposit fiat using a credit card. That’s rare for a DEX. Bamboo Relay partners with Carbon, a payment processor, to let you buy crypto directly with Visa or Mastercard. No bank transfer. No waiting days. Just plug in your card, buy USDC, and start trading. For users tired of jumping through hoops to get crypto onto a DEX, this is a real time-saver.
Fees: Competitive, But Not Always Cheaper
Bamboo Relay uses a maker-taker fee model:
- Makers (those who add liquidity to the order book): 0.1%
- Takers (those who fill existing orders): 0.2%
That’s lower than most centralized exchanges, which often charge 0.1% to 0.5% flat fees. On Binance, you can get down to 0.02% if you hold BNB and trade at high volume. But if you’re not a high-volume trader, Bamboo Relay’s fees are solid. The catch? You still pay Ethereum gas fees on top. During network congestion, those can spike to $10 or more per trade. So while the exchange fee is low, your total cost might not be.
What You Can Trade
Bamboo Relay supports only Ethereum-based tokens. That means ERC-20 coins like:
- USD Coin (USDC)
- Chainlink (LINK)
- Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC)
That’s it. No Solana tokens. No Polygon. No BSC. No altcoins outside Ethereum. If you’re holding anything else, you’ll need to swap it first on another platform. This limits its usefulness for anyone diversifying across chains. But if you’re deep in the Ethereum ecosystem - staking ETH, using Uniswap, or holding DeFi tokens - it fits right in.
Security: No Hacks, But You’re on Your Own
Bamboo Relay has never been hacked. That’s not because it’s bulletproof - it’s because it doesn’t hold your money. The platform is just code. If your MetaMask gets compromised, your funds are gone. No customer support can recover them. No chargebacks. No insurance. This is DeFi: total control, total responsibility.
Smart contracts have been audited (as part of the 0x and bZx protocols), and no major exploits have been reported. But audits aren’t magic. Bugs can still slip through. And if you send crypto to the wrong address? Too bad. There’s no undo button.
Performance and Liquidity: The Big Weak Spot
Here’s the truth: Bamboo Relay has low liquidity. Very low.
On centralized exchanges, you can trade $10,000 of ETH in seconds without moving the price. On Bamboo Relay? You might get partial fills. Or your order might sit for minutes. Or you might pay a huge slippage fee because there aren’t enough buyers or sellers.
Why? Because most traders go where the volume is. Uniswap, SushiSwap, and dYdX have billions in daily volume. Bamboo Relay? Not even a fraction of that. The platform hasn’t seen major updates since 2022. CryptoRival still lists its review as “Coming Soon!” - a red flag for any active project. No new tokens added. No UI improvements. No marketing. No community buzz.
There are only 8 reviews on Revain.org, and one of them is incomplete. No Reddit threads. No Twitter trends. No YouTube tutorials. That’s not a sign of a thriving platform. It’s a sign of stagnation.
Who Is This For?
Bamboo Relay isn’t for beginners. If you don’t know what a wallet is, or why gas fees exist, you’ll get lost. You need to understand how to approve token allowances, how to check slippage, and how to interpret transaction failures.
It’s also not for high-frequency traders. You need speed and depth. Bamboo Relay doesn’t deliver that.
But if you’re an intermediate DeFi user who:
- Wants to trade without KYC
- Needs margin trading on Ethereum
- Wants to use a credit card to fund trades
- Doesn’t mind low liquidity for the sake of control
…then Bamboo Relay still has a place. It’s one of the few DEXs that combines spot trading, margin, and fiat on-ramps - all without custodial risk.
Is It Still Relevant in 2025?
That’s the real question.
Bamboo Relay was ahead of its time in 2017. But the DeFi world has moved fast. Today, you’ve got:
- Uniswap v4 - with custom fee tiers and concentrated liquidity
- dYdX - a standalone DEX with deep order books and perpetuals
- Curve - optimized for stablecoin swaps
- 1inch - aggregators that pull liquidity from 15+ DEXs at once
Bamboo Relay doesn’t compete with these. It’s more like a museum piece - technically sound, historically important, but no longer the best tool for the job.
And yet… it still works. If you’re okay with slow trades and limited options, and you value privacy and self-custody above all else, it’s still a viable option. Just don’t expect miracles.
Final Verdict
Bamboo Relay is a niche platform for a niche audience. It’s not dead. But it’s not growing, either. It’s a quiet, stubborn holdout in a world that’s moved on.
If you’re an Ethereum purist who hates KYC, wants margin trading, and doesn’t mind waiting for trades to fill - give it a try. Connect your MetaMask, fund it with a card via Carbon, and see how it feels to trade without a middleman.
But if you want speed, depth, or new tokens? Go elsewhere. The DeFi landscape has better options now. Bamboo Relay is a reminder of where we started - not where we’re going.
Can I use Bamboo Relay if I’m in the US?
Yes, US residents can use Bamboo Relay. The platform doesn’t require KYC and doesn’t restrict access based on location. However, you still need to comply with your local tax laws when trading crypto.
Do I need to download anything to use Bamboo Relay?
No. You only need a compatible Ethereum wallet like MetaMask, which is available as a browser extension or mobile app. You connect your wallet to the Bamboo Relay website - no downloads or installations required beyond your wallet.
Can I trade Bitcoin on Bamboo Relay?
You can’t trade native Bitcoin. But you can trade Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC), which is an ERC-20 token backed 1:1 by Bitcoin. WBTC lets you use Bitcoin in Ethereum-based DeFi apps like Bamboo Relay.
Is Bamboo Relay safer than Binance or Coinbase?
It’s safer in one way: your funds are never held by the exchange. On centralized platforms, if Binance gets hacked, your money could be at risk. On Bamboo Relay, only your wallet is at risk - and that’s under your control. But if you lose your private key or fall for a phishing scam, you lose everything. There’s no customer support to help you recover it.
Why does Bamboo Relay have low liquidity?
Because most traders go where the volume is. Bamboo Relay hasn’t updated its platform or marketing since 2022. Meanwhile, competitors like Uniswap and dYdX have grown massively in users, liquidity, and features. Without active promotion or development, Bamboo Relay has been left behind by the market.
Can I use Bamboo Relay on my phone?
Yes, if you use a mobile wallet like MetaMask or Trust Wallet. Open the Bamboo Relay website in your phone’s browser, connect your wallet, and trade as usual. The interface is responsive and works on mobile, though the experience is still better on desktop due to easier wallet management.
What happens if the Bamboo Relay website goes down?
Your funds are still safe. Bamboo Relay is just a front-end interface. Your trades happen on the Ethereum blockchain via smart contracts. Even if the website is down, you can still interact with the same contracts using other tools like Etherscan or third-party DEX aggregators that support 0x protocol.
Does Bamboo Relay support staking or yield farming?
No. Bamboo Relay is a trading platform only. It doesn’t offer staking, liquidity pools, or yield farming features. If you want to earn interest on your crypto, you’ll need to use separate DeFi protocols like Aave or Compound.
Scot Henry
Bamboo Relay is one of those quiet heroes of DeFi-no flashy ads, no influencer hype, just clean smart contracts doing their thing. I’ve used it for months now to trade USDC and WBTC, and yeah, the liquidity’s thin, but that’s the price of true self-custody. I’d rather wait 30 seconds for a fill than hand my keys to a centralized exchange that could freeze my account tomorrow.
Sunidhi Arakere
I am from India. I use Bamboo Relay because I do not need KYC. It works fine for me. I trade only small amounts. Gas fees are high sometimes, but I wait for quiet hours. No problems.
Vivian Efthimiopoulou
Let us not mistake nostalgia for utility. Bamboo Relay is not merely outdated-it is a philosophical artifact of DeFi’s early idealism. In 2017, the notion that ‘you are your own bank’ was revolutionary. Today, it is a quaint relic, like a rotary phone in a smartphone era. We no longer worship at the altar of decentralization for its own sake; we demand efficiency, scalability, and user experience. Bamboo Relay honors the spirit of the revolution-but the revolution has moved on to bigger, faster, smarter temples.
Angie Martin-Schwarze
i just tried it again after 2 years… and i swear the UI looks like it’s stuck in 2019?? i clicked ‘trade’ and it just… did nothing. no error, no loading, just silence. i reconnected my wallet 5 times. i think my soul left my body during that process. 😭
Fred Kärblane
Look, if you’re still using Bamboo Relay in 2025, you’re either a DeFi purist or you’re stuck in a 0x rabbit hole. The real win here is the fiat on-ramp via Carbon-that’s the only thing keeping this thing alive. But if you’re not stacking WBTC or doing margin on ETH, you’re wasting your time. Go use 1inch or KyberSwap-they aggregate liquidity from 20+ sources. Bamboo Relay? It’s a single lane highway in a world of 10-lane freeways.
Janna Preston
Does anyone else find it weird that the site still says ‘Coming Soon!’ on CryptoRival? That’s not just outdated-that’s a red flag. If they can’t even update their own listing, how can we trust they’re maintaining the smart contracts?
Meagan Wristen
I really appreciate how Bamboo Relay respects your privacy. I’m a mom who just wants to trade a little crypto without handing over my driver’s license to some corporation. I know it’s slow, and I know the liquidity is low-but I’d rather trade slowly and safely than quickly and exposed. This platform gives me peace of mind, and that’s worth something.
Becca Robins
so bamboo relay is basically the crypto version of a flip phone? 🤡
Alexa Huffman
For those wondering about mobile use: yes, it works on Trust Wallet. Just open the site in your browser, connect, and go. It’s not pretty, but it’s functional. I use it on my iPad when I’m traveling and don’t want to risk my Binance account. Small wins, right?
gerald buddiman
Can we talk about how insane it is that this thing still exists? No updates since 2022? No community? No devs posting? And yet… it still works. The smart contracts are immutable, so even if the website vanishes tomorrow, your trades still execute. That’s the beauty of blockchain-code is law. Bamboo Relay doesn’t need to be ‘cool’ to be useful. It just needs to be correct. And so far, it has been.
Arjun Ullas
The argument that Bamboo Relay is obsolete ignores the fundamental principle of permissionless finance. While centralized exchanges and high-volume DEXs cater to the masses, Bamboo Relay preserves the original ethos of DeFi: autonomy, censorship-resistance, and non-custodial control. To abandon it because of low liquidity is to abandon the soul of cryptocurrency itself. One must not measure the value of a tool solely by its popularity, but by its fidelity to principle.
Sierra Rustami
US users should avoid this. It’s a relic. Use Kraken or Coinbase. They’re legal, fast, and actually care about your money.
Glen Meyer
Why are we still talking about this? It’s 2025. The only reason this site is still up is because someone’s old server is still running in a basement in Brooklyn. I’ve seen more active community engagement on a MySpace profile.
Christopher Evans
While Bamboo Relay may lack modern features, its operational integrity remains uncompromised. The absence of a central point of failure, the audited 0x protocol, and the non-custodial nature of transactions constitute a robust security model. One must weigh convenience against resilience. For certain use cases, resilience is paramount.
Ryan McCarthy
I get why people write this off as dead-but I still use it every month. I don’t need speed. I need to know my funds are mine. I’m not here to day trade. I’m here to move small amounts of ETH and WBTC without jumping through hoops. It’s not perfect, but it’s honest. And in crypto? That’s rare.
Abelard Rocker
Let me tell you something about Bamboo Relay-it’s not just a DEX, it’s a metaphor. It’s the ghost in the machine, the last priest chanting in an abandoned cathedral. While Uniswap throws glitter and neon lights and NFT avatars, Bamboo Relay sits in the corner, whispering: ‘You don’t need permission to be free.’ And maybe… maybe that’s the real crypto dream. Not the 1000x gains. Not the meme coins. But the quiet, stubborn refusal to be controlled. So yes, it’s slow. Yes, it’s lonely. But it’s still here. And that, my friends, is the most radical thing left in this industry.
Hope Aubrey
I used Bamboo Relay for margin trading last week and got rekt because of slippage… but I didn’t lose my keys. That’s the trade-off. I cried for 20 minutes. Then I made a new wallet. And I’m back. No one’s coming to save you here. But that’s the point, right? 😭💸
andrew seeby
lol i tried to trade on this last night and the gas fee was $14 for a $20 trade. i was like… y’all really? 😂 but hey, at least i didn’t give my SSN to anyone.
John Doe
Anyone else think Bamboo Relay is a honeypot? I mean, why would a team abandon a platform with fiat on-ramps and margin trading? It’s too convenient. Too clean. I’ve seen this before. They get the code audited, launch it, let it sit… then quietly drain the liquidity pools from the backend. The 0x protocol is fine-but what if the relayer is a fake? Who’s monitoring the relayer? No one. That’s the trap.