Looking for the best cryptocurrency exchange? Let’s look at crypto exchanges to help you decide which one makes sense for your cryptocurrency needs.
Buying cryptocurrencies starts with finding the best cryptocurrency exchange for you and your specific needs. There are plenty to choose from, with different deposit and withdrawal fees, identity verification requirements, and user experiences. Below, we have listed the best crypto exchanges we recommend, and you can dive into our in-depth reviews of crypto exchanges.
Whether you are an experienced trader or looking to buy cryptocurrency for the first time, we are sure that you will find a cryptocurrency exchange that supports all your digital asset needs.
Table of Contents:
The Best Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Exchanges
eToro
- Great for cryptocurrency beginners
- Solid crypto/general trading platform
- Reliable company with solid trust in the community
- Fully supports credit cards for deposits and withdrawals
FINANCING METHODS e-Transfer & Bank Transfer
CRYPTOCURRENCIES 15+
COUNTRIES 70+
Coinbase
- Intuitive and robust security
- Great customer service
- Earn $5 in free Bitcoins after completing the registration process and making the first trade
- Diversified and constantly updated coin selection
PAYMENT METHODS Debit & Credit Bank, PayPal, ACH, Bank transfer
CRYPTOCURRENCIES 40+
COUNTRIES 100+
Crypto.com exchange
- One-stop shop for cryptocurrencies with integrated exchange, app, lending platform, debit card, and more
- Native CRO token offers users a huge variety of benefits and can be wagered for over 10% APY
- Potential to gain a high level of interest when storing digital assets on Crypto.com
- A long-term goal of building adoption of cryptocurrency as a whole
PAYMENT METHODS Crypto, bank transfer, credit card, debit card
CRYPTOCURRENCIES 200+
COUNTRIES 80+
Binance
- Easy registration process
- The lowest transaction fees of any major exchange
- 175+ different digital resources available
- Free deposits
PAYMENT METHODS Debit and credit card, Bank transfer, ACH
CRYPTOCURRENCIES 175+
COUNTRIES 100+
Kraken
- Reliable exchange
- Supports many different financing options
- Accepts users from all over the world
- High trading volume
FINANCING METHODS Bank transfer, ACH
CRYPTOCURRENCIES 20+
COUNTRIES 150+
What is an exchange?
Cryptocurrency exchanges are similar to those available for traditional fiat currencies such as USD, EUR or CAD.
Just add funds to your exchange account and then you can exchange that currency for a different one. Many people make their first deposits on cryptocurrency exchanges with fiat currency and then exchange it for cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin or Ethereum.
Once you acquire the cryptocurrency, you can also exchange it for a different cryptocurrency. Then you can exchange your Bitcoin for Ethereum or your Ethereum for Litecoin or Polkadot. There are literally thousands of different trading pairs available on different cryptocurrency exchanges around the world.
Your cryptocurrency account can be funded through your bank using ACH in the United States or SEPA in Europe. Most of the best cryptocurrency exchanges also offer you the option to buy the best cryptocurrencies directly with your credit or debit card.
Once you buy cryptocurrency on the exchange, you could transfer it to a secure wallet that you control. If you decide to leave your digital currency on the trading platform, you are free to engage in cryptocurrency trading. The best cryptocurrency exchanges offer competitive trading fees, have high trading volumes, easy-to-use trading platforms, and high-quality customer support.
Most people use cryptocurrency exchanges for three distinct reasons:
- To buy cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin or Ethereum
- To sell cryptocurrency for fiat currency such as USD or EUR
- To exchange one cryptocurrency for another
Why do I need an exchange?
There are other ways to buy cryptocurrencies,
including peer-to-peer trading and ATMs, but exchanges are the easiest way to exchange fiat currencies for cryptocurrencies or simply to buy cryptocurrency from the comfort of your home. With an exchange, you don’t need to meet with someone in person to buy cryptocurrency, and fees are typically much lower than with Bitcoin ATMs.
The best cryptocurrency exchange for you depends on your needs. If you are exchanging Bitcoin for USD or CAD, you may need a cryptocurrency exchange that offers competitive rates for transferring fiat currencies to your bank account. If you are planning cryptocurrency trading or are simply interested in diversifying your portfolio with a few different digital assets, we recommend that you review our crypto exchange reviews for the best cryptocurrency exchange in terms of trading fees, volumes, and transaction fees.
Do all exchanges accept credit card or bank transfer?
Not all cryptocurrency exchanges accept credit card and wire transfer deposits, and some only support these methods through specific financial institutions such as SEPA. Some cryptocurrency exchanges exist only for cryptocurrency trading and therefore only accept deposits and withdrawals in cryptocurrency.
It’s a good idea to pick one of the best crypto exchanges from our crypto exchange reviews that allows you to buy and sell cryptocurrency with fiat currencies like USD, EUR, GBP, or CAD. Each cryptocurrency exchange will offer different fees for the different deposit and withdrawal methods they accept, so you’ll want to figure out how you’d like to fund your account and whether you’re going to trade or hold your digital currency. Once you determine this, you can look through our crypto exchange reviews for the exchange that will make your funds go further.
I bought cryptocurrencies on an exchange. What now?
The cryptocurrency you bought is now on the cryptocurrency exchange and is stored in your exchange wallet. This is considered an unguarded wallet, which means you don’t have complete control over your crypto assets stored in your wallet, the exchange does. Since exchanges handle huge volumes of money and store large amounts of assets in many wallet addresses, they are extremely tempting targets for hackers. The best crypto exchanges recycle assets into cold storage to reduce their exposure in the rare case of a hack. Here’s a look at the top 5 safest crypto exchanges.
The ever-present possibility of a hack is why we recommend transferring it to a wallet that only you control. If you plan to engage in cryptocurrency trading, we simply recommend that you leave only most of your digital assets on the exchange you are willing to lose. While hacks are no longer very common, they can happen. If you are thinking of betting your asset that can also be done through an exchange, but there are hardware wallets that allow you to stake directly through their interface. For example, you can bet Tezos through a Ledger hardware wallet.
The safest thing you can do with your cryptocurrency is to store it in a software or hardware wallet that you keep your private keys to. Software wallets are often free and are certainly a step up in security compared to keeping them on your bag. Hardware wallets like the Ledger Nano X or Trezor Model T are some of the safest ways to store your assets in cold storage, meaning your crypto assets are offline, with no internet connection, making the risk of being hacked extremely low. Here are some of the best cryptocurrency wallets on the market today.
What are the benefits of keeping my assets on the stock exchange?
On the contrary, there are some interesting reasons why you can choose to store assets on the exchange instead of transferring them to a wallet:
Staking
Many exchanges offer both hard and soft staking options through their exchange. Hard staking means you don’t have access to those assets for the staking period and earn interest on that amount, while soft staking means you have the flexibility to take assets whenever you want and interest is often added every day. The best crypto exchanges like KuCoin, Coinbase, and Binance offer both of these options.
events
Some exchanges offer trading competitions with prizes, where the best volume traders for an asset have a chance to win crypto or even physical prizes such as cars or electronics. Some of the best exchanges have become very creative with their events.
Crypto.com Exchange has an event they call The Syndicate. By betting a minimum of 10,000 of their native token, CRO, for 180 days, gives users access to these events. During this 24-hour syndicate, users have the option to purchase a cryptocurrency offered at that syndicate at a discount. This discount can be anywhere from 25% to 50% off the market price. Once the event is over, users receive their discounted digital assets. Having these events pushed CRO to the limit of being a top 10 asset.
comfort
While storing your assets on the exchange carries the risk of exposing your assets, having them easily accessible to be exchanged for other cryptocurrencies or exchanged for fiat currencies is very convenient. In addition, every transaction made to and from an exchange incurs a network fee. If you’re likely to trade an asset, it makes more sense to leave it on the stock exchange. This allows you to save on commissions and increase your total revenue.
How do major cryptocurrency exchanges compare?
This is the question that all our reviews strive to answer. We’ve created informative guides to some of the most popular cryptocurrency exchanges and how they compare directly to each other based on attributes like beginner friendliness, fees, customer service, and features.
The best cryptocurrency exchange for you may not be the ideal exchange for a more experienced trader, it all depends on your specific needs.
