Updated: October 07,2022
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Looking for the top crypto exchanges so you can buy and trade digital currencies easily? We’ve narrowed our search down to the top solutions. To make the cut, the best crypto exchanges had to rank high in:
And, much more.
With our reviews and guides, you should easily be able to find the best crypto exchange for you.
Wallet insurance and cold storage
Easy fiat to crypto
Advanced tools for traders
One of the leading top crypto exchanges, Coinbase started humbly in California in 2012. Nowadays, it has grown into a billion-dollar business with over 13 million users.
With the ability to trade fiat currencies of over 32 countries with crypto, Coinbase is one of the most accessible cryptocurrency exchanges on the web. Looking to get trading? Here are some of its key features:
Coinbase supports over 40 cryptocurrencies including:
| Bitcoin | Monero (XMR) |
| Bitcoin Cash (created after a fork in BTC) | Dash |
| Ethereum | Zcash |
| XRP | Chainlink |
| Litecoin | Tezos (proof of stake) |
| Tether | USD Coin (USDC) |
| Cardano | Cosmos (ATOM) |
| Polkadot | Auroracoin |
| Steller Lumens | Gridcoin |
| EOS |
And, many more. You can check the current Bitcoin marketplace prices among other top cryptos immediately at the homepage without registration. You can see the top gainers and losers over the last 24 hours, and any newly listed cryptocurrencies that are seeing growth.
If you are not a Coinbase Pro user you can be stung by fees, including:
| Bank Account | 1.49% |
| USD Wallet | 1.49% |
| Debit/Credit Card | 3.99% |
| Wire Transfer | $10 in / $25 out |
| Crypto Conversion | 2% |
There’s also a 0.5% fee for buying and selling cryptocurrency of any kind.
| Less than $10 | = $0.99 |
| Between £10 and £25 | = $1.49 |
| Between $25 and $50 | = $1.99 |
| Between $50 and $200 | = $2.99 |
Coinbase is legally regulated by and supports a wide range of countries including:
| United States | Majority of Europe |
| United Kingdom | Mexico |
| Canada | Panama |
| Chile | Nicaragua |
| Singapore | Costa Rica |
And many more in North America.
Coinbase is one of the largest and most trusted cryptocurrency trading sites, with two-step verification, biometric fingerprint logins, and insurance if it suffers a security breach. It also uses all the standard SSL and web-based encryption technology.
All of this managed to help it thwart a zero-day attack in 2019 that exploited employees using Firefox.
For your own security and to save on fees it is best to secure your crypto using your own wallet on your PC or an offline wallet device. Before you can trade you may be asked to prove your identity in a number of ways, including scanning documents and now even taking a photo of yourself.
You’ll also need to verify your email and phone numbers before they can be used properly.
Furthermore, it operates in a decentralized manner where trades have no intermediate monitoring which reduces the risk of data being stolen. And, it has a BitLicense for trading in New York.
Coinbase has an extensive knowledge base for those new to cryptocurrency trading sites to help you learn about crypto and how to get started. Meanwhile, support staff can be contacted by email, but you have to answer a series of questions before gaining access. We find it excessive but understandable considering the number of newcomers to crypto with basic questions to ask.
An aggregate of user reviews puts Coinbase somewhere in the middle, with good performance and ease of use but criticizes high fees and slow customer support. It also lacks the number of altcoins as other exchanges.
Coinbase is a competent exchange, especially for US and UK users with high limits. However, unless you get upgraded to a pro account some of the fees can be quite ridiculous, skimming off the top when funding your account, trading, and withdrawing.
Nonetheless, it certainly isn’t difficult to get started and the help pages are useful for beginners. And, while some of the security and ID measures are annoying, ultimately it keeps you and everyone else safe.
Easily buy crypto with card
Safe and secure
Powerful trading tools
A newer addition to the world of cryptocurrency trading sites, Binance is a secure and easy to use service that now caters to hundreds of thousands of people a day.
In terms of trading volume, Binance is now one of the largest crypto exchanges in the world, supporting over 180 cryptocurrencies. It’s great for beginners with an easy straight-buy process, while advanced users can enjoy a complex and robust trading platform.
With over 180 cryptocurrencies to choose from, we cannot list them all, but it’s safe to say if you’ve heard of it it’s there, including:
| Its own BNB currency | Basic Attention Token |
| Bitcoin | MATICMATIC |
| Bitcoin Gold | VETVeChain |
| Ethereum | Compound |
| Ripple | Chiliz |
| Bitcoin Cash | Dodge Coin |
| Litecoin | Tomo Chain |
| Monero (XMR) | Zcoin |
Binance is one of the best crypto exchanges for its fee structure. Firstly, it is entirely free to deposit, and then it takes just 0.1% of every trade, whether spot or margin. You can get discounts by using their own BNB cryptocurrency and referring friends like an affiliate program.
Binance Futures cost 0.02% in makers fees and 0.04% takers fees.
Deposit and withdrawal fees vary depending on the currency, but these are very competitive. For Bitcoin you must withdraw at least 0.001 and no matter how much you do, the fee will be 0.0004 BTC.
Unverified users can withdraw up to 2 BTC a day, while verified users - up to 100 BTC. Anyone can deposit an unlimited amount, which is a bit shady if they then have trouble getting it back out. However, if you don’t deposit more than your withdrawal limit you will be ok.
The exact payment methods will vary depending on your region but generally, it accepts fiat currency purchases and deposits using:
Binance accepts one of the widest ranges of countries in the world of any cryptocurrency trading platform including the US and UK, most of Europe, as well as:
| Japan | Zambia |
| Argentina | Egypt |
| Russia | Monaco |
| Brazil | Iraq |
| Canada | Thailand |
| Sri Lanka | Iran |
| Peru | Venezuela |
| Cuba |
And, up to 200 more from across the world, with varying degrees of support. You will soon know on signup whether it will let you trade or support your fiat currency for purchases or deposits.
Binance is considered a very safe platform requiring most users to verify their identity early on with a scan of their documents (passport/ driver’s license etc), phone and email verification, a full-faced photo, and other methods.
Once signed up, to login you will need to accept a code to your phone or email address. The same is true to complete a purchase or withdrawal on the digital currency exchanges.
It uses SSL throughout the site and also monitors ‘suspicious activity’.
Using a new device or IP will require you to re-verify your identity.
Customer support is available by email and live chat which is fast and helpful. We waited in a queue for about 20 minutes to ask about a pending transaction, which was answered adequately.
It also has a strong social media presence where you can bring up queries to put a bit of public shaming into action.
Binance has a medium to high rating when aggregating user reviews from across the web, praising its versatility, accepted currencies and countries, and ease of use. However, there’s a lot of advanced trading features newcomers might fall foul of. For example, trying to sell their crypto at a value higher than the market by accident and wondering why the transaction failed.
There isn’t much bad to say about Binance. It’s incredibly accessible and anyone with a card can buy Bitcoin and other cryptos almost instantly.
Having to take a photo of myself holding my driver’s license for security purposes while sleepy and looking disheveled was a bit annoying but they had no issue with it and if it improves security, so be it. Security is one of the site’s strong points with two-factor authentication for almost any action.
Trading rather than straight-up buying may be a bit overwhelming for beginners, with all the graphs and data, but that’s no different than any other site.
Perhaps one downside is that there are no fiat-to-crypto trading pairs, though it does support fiat-to-crypto using third-party integrations.
Overall, Binance is one of the best crypto exchanges we’ve used in terms of setting things up and getting trading quickly and securely.
Beginner-friendly
Lots of supported countries
Fast verification
One of the smaller but not less functional digital currency exchange sites is Coinmama, which now serves upwards of 200 countries.
Coinmama has quickly become one of the top crypto exchanges, with most of the major cryptocurrencies ready to trade, high levels of security, 188 countries able to sign up, easy buying with credit and debit cards, and good customer support.
Some of the key features to expect include:
One downside is Coinmama does not provide any wallets to store your crypto purchases, instead it goes straight to your supplied wallet address, so make sure it’s accurate.
The site is also not a full-blown exchange as it does not facilitate trades between people, only between itself and its users.
Compared to some of the biggest crypto exchanges the number of cryptocurrencies available is quite limited, but it makes up for that with almost instant buying and selling at market value. Supported cryptos include:
| Bitcoin (“BTC”) | Ethereum Classic (“ETC”) |
| Bitcoin Cash (“BCH”) | Litecoin (“LTC”) |
| Cardano’s ADA (“ADA”) | Qtum (“QTUM”) |
| EOS (“EOS”)Ethereum (“ETH”) | Ripple’s XRP (“XRP”) |
| Ethereum (“ETH”) | Tezos (“XTZ”) |
The prices shown on Coinmama include a 2% TradeBlock XBX fee and Coinmama’s own 3.9% fee. These can lower the higher you move up their loyalty program.
Locked credit/debit card fees incur a 5% momentum fee, but bank transfers skip this entirely.
Selling fees are between 0.1% and 0.9% plus the XBX Index average of 2%, all of which again can be lowered for loyal customers.
Despite these high fees, you will not be charged for withdrawal.
Coinmama is among the highest daily spending limits of all our crypto exchange reviews, with a USD buying limit of $15,000 per day by wire transfer and $5,000 by card. However, limits vary by region and spending method.
You can also make no more than 20 total orders regardless of spending about per month on a card and 50 by wire transfer.
These limits increase with the loyalty program.
Close to 200 countries can use Coinmama, which is essentially all the countries where buying and selling cryptocurrency is legal. Because of this, it’s easier to list those that are restricted. So, if you’re NOT on this list you are OK to sign up:
| Bangladesh | Nigeria |
| Brazil | Romania |
| Egypt | Serbia |
| Hungary | Somalia |
| India | Zimbabwe |
| Mexico |
US States:
| Alabama | Nevada |
| Arkansas | New Mexico |
| Connecticut | Oregon |
| Delaware | Rhode Island |
| Georgia | South Dakota |
| Florida | Washington |
| Iowa | Vermont |
| Louisiana |
However, all of these countries can still get the job done via third parties.
Locations completely restricted from the cryptocurrency trading platform are:
| Cuba | Syria |
| Crimea | Hawaii |
| Iran | New York |
| Israel | American Samoa |
| Lebanon | Guam |
| North Korea | Northern Mariana Islands |
| Palestinian Territories | Puerto Rico |
| South Sudan | United States Minor Outlying Islands |
| Sudan | Virgin Islands |
The best crypto exchanges are safe. Coinmama uses SSL security and is registered in the US by FINCEN which opens it up to some transparency. It is naturally more secure than a lot of exchanges because it doesn’t hold any user coins, immediately transferring them to their designated third-party wallet.
It also does not store any credit card or bank details within its cryptocurrency exchange platform.
One downside is there is no two-factor authentication, so if you want this you will have to use your own app.
Signing up is familiar, in that you’ll be asked to provide documents to verify your identity and, in some cases, even take a photo. This ensures your personal account is secure and recoverable if there’s a breach.
Which brings us to 2019 when Coinmama did experience a breach, so we’re going to have to knock off half a star.
Customer support is adequate and can be reached between 7 am and 12 am GMT by direct email, online support ticket, and live chat. You can also send queries via Facebook Messenger and Twitter queries will usually prompt a personal response, so they don’t look bad publicly.
Most users praise Coinmama’s ease of use and simple ability to make a purchase on your card right away, but the fees are always a point of contention. There is also the issue of not facilitating person to person trades, which can keep prices high and prevent revenue making.
Despite past security breaches, it has a high trust score thanks to such good customer support.
Coinmama is not the best crypto trading platform due to its limited available coins, lack of a true trading marketplace, and those extra 5% card fees certainly sting. However, if your primary reason for using an exchange is to quickly and efficiently buy crypto without worrying about trading or making profits, Coinmama is one of the best.
High-security measures
Reasonable fees
Good features for experienced traders
As a cryptocurrency exchange platform, Kraken was one of the earliest to pull it all together securely. It’s now available in most US states, over 176 countries, and offers 40 cryptocurrencies to trade, including to and from normal fiat currency.
Launching in 2011 Kraken now runs as a full-blown crypto marketplace allowing spot exchange, futures, and margin trading methods.
Based out of San Francisco, it’s also known for its low fees, large user-base, high liquidity, and overall top level of security.
Kraken has all the features you need to buy, sell, and trade cryptocurrencies quickly and easily within most legal jurisdictions. Features include:
Kraken does not provide the largest range of cryptocurrencies on its digital currency exchange, but it has all the major ones, including:
| Bitcoin | Qtum |
| Ether | XRP |
| Augur | Tether |
| Bitcoin Cash | Tezos |
| Bitcoin SV | Zcash |
| Cardano | Dash |
| Dogecoin | Litecoin |
| EOS | USDT |
| Ethereum Classic | ERC-20 |
| Monero |
You can also deposit and trade directly using the following fiat currencies:
| US Dollars (USD) |
| Japanese Yen (JPY) |
| Canadian Dollars (CAD) |
| British Pounds (GBP) |
| Euros (EUR) |
| Australian Dollars (AUD) |
| Swiss Franc (CHF) |
Kraken makes its money by taking a fee for every transaction, though these are relatively low. Traders with a monthly volume of less than $50,000 pay a 0.16% maker fee and a 0.26% taker fee. These get lower the more you’re buying and selling cryptocurrency.
There are also small crypto withdrawal fees, the highest applying to BTC at 0.0005 and 0.005 fees for Ethereum.
For USD withdrawals, Kraken charges a $5 fee, though other countries and currencies get off with no fee at all.
Without going through the ‘Know Your Customer’ and Anti Money Laundering (AML) identity checks, buying and selling cryptocurrency is extremely limited and may eventually be blocked altogether. You also cannot use fiat currencies.
Once verified you can make unlimited crypto deposits, while withdrawals are limited to crypto valued at 5,000 USD.
Meanwhile, deposits and withdrawals of 2,000 USD in fiat currency itself are allowed each day.
Tier 3 and 4 identification has higher limits and requires a copy of a government-issued ID or utility bill, or even financial statements.
However, you can then trade in millions of crypto and fiat, helping to make it one of the largest crypto exchanges.
Funding and payment methods in fiat depend on your country but include:
Bank transfers in the following forms:
| Afghanistan | Tajikistan |
| Cuba | Congo-Brazzaville |
| Iran | Congo-Kinshasa |
| Iraq | Libya |
| Japan | Syria |
| North Korea |
| Central African Republic | Namibia |
| Eritrea | Somalia |
| Guinea-Bissau | South Sudan |
| Lebanon | Sudan |
| Mali | Yemen |
Kraken is one of the safer crypto trading platform options. It openly signs up to the ‘Proof of Reserves’ system, whereby they prove they have all of the cryptos they say they have in their own and user accounts.
Generally, it uses the latest SSL encryption technology and does not store user financial information like bank account details or card information.
Verification is also stringent, requiring you to verify your email and phone, and identity in different tiers. The top tier includes providing a copy of a government-issued ID, proof of residence, a photo of yourself, your occupation, and a financial statement.
Kraken does not offer a phone line and is fairly slow in responding to support requests. You can reach them via webchat, but first, you must click through various topics and common queries before being able to talk to a member of staff. This can still be useful if you’re new to trading cryptocurrency.
If you do reach support, they are helpful and knowledgeable, but it seems a bit like an uphill battle at times.
Kraken has a medium to good review score from across the web with ratings from 2/5 to 9.1 out of 10. It is mostly praised for its support of fiat currencies, low fees, and security/identification procedures. It is mostly criticized for lack of customer support and somewhat difficult learning curve for newcomers wanting to trade rather than just buy.
Overall, we found Kraken to be competent, though perhaps not the best cryptocurrency trading platform. It’s very easy to sign up and get verified, then buy some crypto by card. Trading cryptocurrencies is a bit more complex but not significantly more than any of the other top crypto exchanges.
While we never enjoy the scanning of documents and taking of photos, it does give peace of mind regarding security and the fact that they have proof of reserves adds a welcomed level of protection.
Trading is never hindered by liquidity because it’s such a popular platform and for the experienced, the interface is actually very intuitive.
We rate it as the best crypto exchange for security.
Huge selection of crypto
Copy trading technology
Trade in stocks and commodities
Not just a cryptocurrency trading app, eToro is a multi-asset brokerage company offering financial and copy trading services.
eToro is a different entry on our list in that it is not a cryptocurrency exchange app. Rather it’s a ‘social trading’ and investment platform that just happens to include leading cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum in its portfolios.
Disclaimer: Cryptoassets are highly volatile and unregulated in the UK. No consumer protection. Tax on profits may apply.
eToro supports a good range of leading cryptocurrencies and more obscure coins; 120 in total. These include:
| Bitcoin |
| Bitcoin Cash |
| XRP |
| Ethereum |
| Litecoin |
| Cardano |
| Stellar |
Since it is primarily a CFD and forex broker, you can also get involved in stocks and ETFs, CFD trading, and do it all with your chosen fiat currency.
There are also sorts of fees associated with a large cryptocurrency trading platform like eToro, but with regard to crypto, you will be charged a transfer fee and a blockchain fee.
Converting ‘crypto-to-crypto’ costs 0.1%.
Other cryptocurrencies incur the following transfer fees:
| BTC | 0.0005 |
| ETH | 0.006 |
| XRP | 0.25 |
| BCH | 0.001 |
| LTC | 0.001 |
| XLM | 0.01 |
All cryptocurrencies have a $50,000 equivalent maximum sending transaction limit and $200,000 per day.
Converting limits (crypto-crypto) are limited to $20 minimum and $10,000 maximum.
eToro has a wide selection of deposit methods which can then go on to be used for crypto. These include:
eToro serves one of the widest user-bases of any cryptocurrency exchange platform but because of its legal status to exclude the following US states and territories:
| American Samoa | Nevada |
| Delaware | New Hampshire |
| Guam | New York |
| Hawaii | Minnesota |
| Northern Marianas | Puerto Rico |
| US Armed Forces - Americas | Tennessee |
| US Armed Forces - Europe | U.S. Virgin Islands West Virginia |
The following countries are also among the excluded:
| Canada |
| Japan |
| North Korea |
| Sudan |
| Syria |
| Venezuela |
You can see the entire list of blocked countries on eToro's website.
eToro is considered a safe and secure service with head offices in London, Tel Aviv, Israel, and Cyprus. That means it’s also regulated by the CySEC in Cyprus and the FCA in the UK.
The site is fully SSL secure and requires you to verify your identity before you do any real brokering. There’s also a two-step login process so your account is unlikely to be breached via a spear-fishing attack or hacking.
eToro’s customer support is hit and miss, with no 24/7 or weekend options and the live chat can often be found offline for no reason. Still, if you do get through live chat staff are knowledgeable and fast-acting. Where it stands out is with support for 21 different languages.
Their FAQ section is quite helpful for the basics and their demo account is useful to get to grips with both the platform and the whole concept of digital currency exchange and other trading.
Users tend to praise eToro’s platform as a whole but bemoan its relatively small number of supported cryptocurrencies. The company says it is working on growing these. The main issue seems to be with slow customer support and a lengthy identification process, though this is the norm in the financial world and helps with security.
eToro is not one of the best cryptocurrency exchanges because it isn’t one - it just has that as one of its features. To that end, it only supports the leading cryptocurrencies. However, if you’re into broader trading and financial investment it is a good way to include crypto within that world, without a separate platform.
Its standout feature is CopyTrader which allows you to mimic the habits of successful traders, giving you full control over who to follow and what your financial limits are.
Spot and Margin trading
Crypto-backed loans
Good support channels
A highly regarded London based crypto exchange and one of the best places to buy bitcoin in the UK.
CEX.IO was and is the UK’s crypto savior, allowing you to buy Bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies easily by credit and debit card, as well as bank transfer, with relatively low fees. It is known as a trusted and secure exchange, with great 24/7 support.
Serving over 3 million customers, CEX.IO is a modern and feature-rich solution if you’re looking for where to buy cryptocurrency. Let’s take a closer look:
CEX.IO fully supports the following cryptocurrencies:
| Bitcoin | Neo |
| Bitcoin Cash | Ontology |
| Ethereum | Ripple |
| DASH | Stellar Lumens |
| Cosmos | Tezos |
| Litecoin | Tron |
All payment methods come with reasonable purchasing fees, with credit cards charging 2.99%, Skrill 3.99%, while bank transfer is free.
If you sell your crypto to credit or debit card buyers, you’ll incur up to 3% in fees plus £5, $5, €5, while again, bank transfer is free.
When trading, transaction fees are in the range of 0.1% to 0.25% for the Taker and 0% to 0.16% for the Maker, depending on the value of the trade/volume.
Limitations are based on how verified your account is and how much you trade. E.g. you cannot buy Bitcoin with a credit card anonymously.
CEX.IO supports most countries other than those on the lists below.
These countries cannot use credit cards:
| Angola | Fiji | Pitcairn |
| Antarctica | French Guiana | Puerto Rico |
| Bhutan | French Southern Territories | Rwanda |
| Botswana | Guatemala | Samoa |
| Bouvet Island | Guinea | Sao Tome and Principe |
| Burkina Faso | Guinea-Bissau | Saint Pierre and Miquelon |
| Cape Verde | Haiti | Saint Helena |
| Chad | Heard and McDonald Islands | Sierra Leone |
| Christmas Island | Indonesia | Solomon Islands |
| Colombia | Liberia | South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands |
| Cocos Island | Mali | Swaziland |
| Comoros | Mayotte | East Timor |
| Republic of the Congo | Montserrat | Tokelau |
| Cook Islands | Myanmar | Tonga |
| Cote d’Ivoire | Nauru | Tunisia |
| Djibouti | Nigeria | Tuvalu |
| Egypt | Niue | Kosovo (UNMIK) |
| Eritrea | Norfolk Island | Western Sahara |
| Equatorial Guinea | Northern Mariana Islands | Wallis and Futuna |
| Falkland Islands | Palestine |
These countries cannot use bank transfers:
| Afghanistan | Kenya | Tanzania |
| Democratic Republic of the Congo | Liberia | Tunisia |
| Côte d’Ivoire, Eritrea | Libya | Turkey |
| Ethiopia | Guinea | Vietnam |
| Guinea-Bissau | São Tomé and Príncipe | Yemen |
| Haiti | Somalia | Zimbabwe |
| Iran | Sudan | |
| Iraq | Syria |
If you’re looking for a safe crypto trading platform, CEX uses a number of security measures on top of the typical SSL and secure transaction protocols. For example, it keeps deposits in hardware cold storage locked in vaults that are guarded by security systems.
Users themselves can opt-in for two-factor authentication when logging in, where you’ll get an SMS code to enter even when you’ve used the correct password.
Before you can get access to the full set of features and lift the limits, you’ll need to verify your email address, identity, and address. This can involve uploading copies of government-issued IDs and utility documents, as well as taking a photo of yourself holding one of these.
Overall, CEX is used by millions of users and considered a safe and secure platform.
CEX.IO offers support 24/7 via email and live chat, though during busy times you could be waiting in a queue. There’s also a phone like you can ring during regular UK work hours.
Customer support isn’t the best in the world but works when you get to speak to a member of staff.
CEX.IO has a high average rating among many sites on the web including a 4.6 out of 5 Trustpilot score. Most negative reviews tend to be poor experiences with customer support. People praise the ease of deposits and withdrawals and the intuitive interface compared to other cryptocurrency trading sites.
Overall, CEX.IO has a good and straightforward fee structure, great security features, and a user-friendly interface, even if it’s a little dated compared to others.
The limits are reasonable enough to protect security without putting off new users, while high volume traders are not unnecessarily hindered.
It stands out for having the highest limits for credit card purchases out of any of the best crypto exchanges.
Unlimited withdrawal
Margin funding and Trading
Customizable interface
Based out of Hong Kong and registered in the British Virgin Islands, Bitfinex makes any best cryptocurrency exchange list thanks to its large trader community and liquidity.
Bitfinex is one of the longest-running and leading sites for buying and selling cryptocurrency. It launched in 2012 and now serves 52 countries. It supports all of the leading cryptocurrencies as well as the lesser-known Tether which it has a stake in. The site allows trading, lending, and token selling. However, it is not without its controversies, including an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service.
Bitfinex has all the features traders expect from a cryptocurrency exchange as well as some other areas of interest. Firstly, the main features include:
Bitfinex also supports the sale of tokens, which are novel cryptocurrencies issued to help fund finance technology startups. Like initial public offerings on the stock exchange (IPO), these are called an initial coin offering (ICO).
We discovered during our Bitfinex review that Tether, a cryptocurrency which you can trade on Bitfinex has been criticized because of a crossover in management and shareholders. It was originally claimed that each initial token was backed by one US dollar, but this was later altered to include loans and affiliate companies, causing some controversy.
In 2015 and 2016 the exchange suffered breaches in which millions worth of crypto was stolen, and in 2019 New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a lawsuit against the company regarding missing funds. However, the consensus among the crypto community generally feels Bitfinex has upped its security and remains a leading trading platform even if some Bitfinex US customers are skeptical.
The exchange supports a list of cryptocurrencies of over 150 including:
| Bitcoin | Tezos |
| Bitcoin Cash | Zcash |
| Ethereum | Monero |
| Litecoin | Chainlink |
| Ripple | Cardano |
| NEO | Filecoin |
| Tether | Cosmos |
| Stellar | Algorand |
| OMG | IOTA |
| Verge |
The exchange supports many more obscure or alt coins, which you can find on the site.
Compared to other cryptocurrency exchanges the Bitfinex fees are quite good. If you take an offer, you’ll be charged 0.2% of the transaction, while the maker is charged just 0.1%.
Depending on the methods and amounts, withdrawal and deposit fees range from zero to 1%.
If you decide to fund others via margin lending, you’ll be charged up to 15% of your income made from this.
Bitfinex is a very lapse exchange with few limitations in terms of the amount you can deposit, withdraw, and trade at any given time.
The only glaring limit is that you may only put 30% of your balance into margin orders.
On the flip side, they’re not after small-time traders and require you to deposit at least $10,000 to get started with a trading account.
Buyers on the other hand can spend a minimum of $25 on card purchases.
Bitfinex supports the most countries of any top crypto exchanges, though some of these may be in a legal gray area on the user’s end.
This includes most US states and countries in North America, South America, Europe, Australia, North Africa. It even covers those typically on the banned list like Libya, Sudan, Venezuela, Cuba, Japan, Afghanistan, Iran, and Iraq.
There were times Bitfinex was not safe and lost crypto to thieves and questionable practices and is still embroiled in some legal issues with the IRS. However, changes have been made and the crypto community considers it to be as secure as most other platforms currently.
The company now stores the majority of trader funds as reserves in cold storage rather than ‘hot wallets’ on the web that are easier to breach. 0.5% is kept live to keep the markets liquid. This is a huge step in protecting people’s money while maintaining an active exchange.
It is also one of the few to use the Lightning Network, which adds speed and security to transactions.
Users are now also forced to go through a two-factor login system to verify it is really them trying to access their account.
In terms of verifying the identity of new users is now following the anti-money laundering (AML), Know Your Customer (KYC), and counter-terrorism financing (CTF) laws and regulations. This means before you can use your account for trading cryptocurrency you must:
Simply put, as of now, Bitfinex is a safe and secure site that follows all of the industry-standard regulations and some extras.
Customer support is a bit hit and miss because although staff is knowledgeable and helpful, they aren’t fast and can only be reached by email. They guarantee a response within 12 hours and our test email was dealt with in less than half of that.
They also make you jump through their knowledge base before allowing you to email directly, which can be annoying if you know your question is quite complex.
Despite its rocky past, an aggregate of other Bitfinex reviews put it above average and higher than a lot of exchanges we’ve reviewed. It’s a variety of services, number of lesser-known coins, and easy to use interface is praised, while there has been the odd support issue.
It’s been a long road for Bitfinex that is far from over, but from a pure user experience standpoint in 2021, it is one of the best, with lots of unique trading features, lots of cryptocurrencies, and now security and verification systems that go above and beyond. Its only downfall is that it’s aimed at serious high-ticket traders, not the average beginner.
However, you can easily buy small sums of crypto with your card if you’re not a master trader, so there’s not much to complain about.
Buy from homepage instantly
Very user-friendly
Aggregates from other exchanges
Changelly has been around since 2015 and operates as a decentralized exchange where no funds remain with it. It acts as an intermediary for other exchanges in a seamless manner.
Changelly is a unique decentralized cryptocurrency exchange from the Czech Republic that brings multiple exchanges together so straight buyers, sellers, and traders get the best price via a simple interface. It’s more like a Bitcoin brokers than an exchange itself.
It stores no crypto itself, passing it on to your designated wallet, which aids security. It has a great app, supports 50+ markets, and serves over 2 million customers.
Changelly supports all the leading and lesser-known cryptocurrencies, with over 150 available including but not limited to:
| Bitcoin | Aragon V2 |
| Ethereum | Synereo |
| XRP | ATLANT |
| FirstBlood | Cosmos |
| The Abyss | Travala |
| Cardano | BAT |
| ADK | Bitcoin Diamond |
| AdEx | Bitcoin Cash |
| Aeon | Bytecoin |
| Aion | BNB |
| Algorand | Monero |
| Ardor | Civic |
| Ark | Dentacoin |
And, many others. Simply choose from their dropdown box, search box, or go to the currencies page for market info as well.
Any trade made on Changelly is charged a flat 0.25% service fee, not including any network fee from the blockchain for that particular currency. I.e. The bitcoin marketplace miner’s fee.
Crypto to fiat currency exchanges are also charged a 5% fee, which is one of the lowest of any exchange or crypto service.
Generally, Changelly is a limitless crypto trading platform, but in some circumstances involving fiat currencies there are limitations:
Changelly mainly targets users in the United States, United Kingdom, and Europe, but the full list that can use the digital currency exchange includes:
| Austria – AT | Finland – FI |
| Italy – IT | Romania – RO |
| Belgium – BE | France – FR |
| Latvia – LV | Slovakia – SK |
| Bulgaria – BG | Germany – DE |
| Lithuania – LT | Slovenia – SI |
| Croatia – HR | Greece – GR |
| Luxembourg – LU | Spain – ES |
| Cyprus – CY | Hungary – HU |
| Malta – MT | Sweden – SE |
| Czechia – CZ | Ireland – IE |
| Netherlands – NL | Liechtenstein – LI |
| Denmark – DK | United Kingdom – GB |
| Poland – PL | Norway – NO |
| Estonia – EE | Israel – IL |
| Portugal – PT |
There’s less to be concerned about with Changelly because it does not hold any of the funds itself, rather facilitates transactions to your own wallet, which is secure as you make it. If a transaction fails for whatever reason nobody loses their money. Nonetheless, it requires two-factor authentication when you log in.
You are not immediately required to prove your identity like other exchanges but if you wish to make a purchase with fiat you will have to go through the process of uploading a government-issued ID document. So, you cannot buy bitcoin with no verification.
Currently, Changelly offers support via direct email and live chat (though this isn’t always online, and you may have to deal with a bot before getting through to a real member of staff). There is also an extensive FAQ page to answer common queries.
An aggregate of user reviews from around the web are generally favorable, praising the somewhat anonymous and secure process of holding no crypto at the exchange. Users find the interface easy to navigate and like that high and almost unlimited crypto limits. While there will always be the odd negative Changelly review, it has high trust ratings and there are no horror stories regarding data breaches or customer support errors.
Changelly is an exceptionally easy to use platform that beginners can get running in minutes thanks to the simple buy/sell/trade box on the homepage. However, it doesn’t lack in complexity for those who are experienced, as the Pro platform gives you all the graphs and trading methods of a regular exchange.
We found the fees low and easy to understand but do wish there were more fiat currency options.
However, you can’t go wrong with over 140 cryptocurrencies and over 50 connected markets/exchanges.
Changelly is a unique decentralized concept that works well, is growing in popularity, and arguably has the best app to buy the cryptocurrency at market value.
Growing partner network
No signup
No miscellaneous fees
A relatively new kid on the block, this crypto swapping platform has turned heads and grown tremendously since its rollout.
Swapzone aggregates crypto-to-crypto offers from third-party bitcoin and altcoin exchanges to reduce fees and eliminate the need for registration.
Swapzone is simple, yet powerful. With this browser-based crypto swapping platform, you can:
With Swapzone, you can gain exposure to 600+ coins and tokens, including:
Unlike the top bitcoin and altcoin exchanges, Swapzone doesn’t list digital assets. But that’s because it doesn’t have to.
So far, Swapzone has teamed up with 15+ crypto exchange service providers. ChangeNOW, Exolix, and fox.exchange are some of them. And its system can instantly fetch offers from its partners through their APIs.
That’s why using this swapping service is like being in 15+ spot crypto markets all at once.
At the rate the global crypto economy is growing, Swapzone’s network is bound to keep expanding. Since it entered the scene in 2019, its partners have increased by over 200%.
With this bitcoin and altcoin swapping platform, you can pair assets from scratch. You’re free to do whatever combination of quote and base currencies you prefer.
There’s no guarantee that you’ll be able to exchange one crypto for another, though. If none of Swapzone’s partners support your swapping pair, you can’t push through the transaction.
For guaranteed results, use a large-cap asset like BTC or ETH as your quote currency.
Fees
Swapzone won’t charge you a dime for using its service. The fee you have to pay for every swap goes to the third party that actually handles your transaction.
Generally, the rates it displays already include the network fee. So, there’s no need to add more to the crypto amount you’re willing to take part with.
If the rate doesn’t factor in the fee, you’ll see a note about it below the offer.
Apart from obligatory transaction fees, there are no other charges you have to worry about. You’ll learn why there are no deposit and withdrawal fees on Swapzone in a few.
Limits
Unlike the best exchanges for cryptocurrency, the majority of Swapzone’s partners don’t cap transactions.
However, every swap requires a minimum amount to make sure that your order covers the necessary network fee. It normally ranges $5–$10, but some exchanges allow as low as $2.
Payment Methods
This platform is for crypto swaps only. It has no option to convert fiat to crypto. So, you can’t transfer funds from your bank account or use your credit card here. It doesn’t hold investors’ cryptocurrencies either.
That’s why Swapzone has no deposit and withdrawal fees.
To initiate a swap, you’ll have to copy-paste your base currency’s crypto destination wallet address. To pay for it, send your quote currency to the wallet address Swapzone will provide. Some third-party exchanges require a wallet address to refund the crypto you want to send.
Therefore, you must have a sufficient amount of quote currency stored on an external cryptocurrency wallet to swap.
Contrary to what best bitcoin exchanges do, Swapzone doesn’t keep a blacklist of unsupported jurisdictions. But you should be able to access it in any cryptocurrency-friendly country or territory.
This platform may be available in your location, but you should know and abide by your local crypto-related laws. Designed for personal use only, Swapzone expects you to stay compliant at all times. Otherwise, it will ban you from using its service if you get reported.
Swapzone is as safe as they come.
As a non-custodial service, it doesn’t put your funds at risk of hacking. It’s headquartered in Tbilisi, Georgia, which is one of the most crypto-friendly cities on the planet.
To assess the legitimacy of its partner exchanges and to maintain the integrity of its network, it implements a Know-Your-Business policy.
Periodically, its team checks international sanction lists. It goes the extra mile to distance itself from unscrupulous BTC exchange service providers and disreputable states.
Swapzone won’t ask you for documents to verify your identity. But it does log browsing data to help prevent fraud and to promote ads, among others.
No thanks to Swapzone’s clunky chat service, you can primarily reach its team through email. But it’s also on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Discord. Plus, it has communities on Telegram and Reddit.
In terms of self-service options, you can consult Swapzone’s diverse knowledge base.It has an impressive FAQ section, insightful Medium and Publish0x blogs, and YouTube video tutorials.
Lastly, Swapzone has claimed its Trustpilot and G2 profiles, indicating that it’s willing to go back-and-forth with reviewers.
About four-fifths of the 83 testimonials Swapzone has received across Trustpilot and G2 were glowing. Scoring an average of 4.4–5 stars is strong evidence that most users love its flexibility and cost effectiveness.
Judging by its stellar track record, Swapzone is the real deal. Arguably, it’s the best place to buy bitcoin and altcoins with no Know-Your-Customer requirement. But its support capability slightly needs some work, though. And its lack of mobile versions hurts its usability a little bit.
Verification
Fast
Debit Card
Custom
High-security measures
Yes
It is one of the largest crypto exchanges in the EU with over 1.2 million users. It is well regulated under EU law and provides its services to more than 100 countries.
Unlike some of the cryptocurrency trading sites, SpectroCoin doesn’t offer margin trading. However, it supports most of the main features of a digital currency exchange company:
As one of the best exchanges for cryptocurrency, SpectroCoin supports more than 40+ cryptocurrencies.
You can trade:
And many more.
You can see their current price, as well as their 24hr gain or loss, without registering on the company’s website.
As for fiat currencies, SpectroCoin accepts GBP, USD, and Euros.
For cryptocurrency deposits, there are no fees except for XLM, XRP, LTC - 0.15%.
However, crypto withdrawal fees are charged depending on the current network workload, which is standard for all cryptocurrency exchanges. This applies to conversion as well.
For deposits made with fiat currencies, the digital currency exchange company charges the highest for Skrill and Netteller - 5.50%. However, it’s free for bank transfers and it charges a fee of 2.99% for cards (Visa, Maestro, Mastercard).
The fee for non-EEA (European Economic Area) residents is 3.99%, and for USD deposits, it is 8.5%.
Withdrawal fees are as little as 0.10% for international bank wires. There is a 2.00% fee for e-wallets (Skrill, Payeer), and it’s free for SEPA bank transfers.
From all our crypto exchange reviews, SpectroCoin has the most strict policies when it comes to limits.
Unlike some competitors that have unlimited deposits, the company allows €2000 to €4000 per deposit. Except for bank transfers, where the maximum is €100.000. Some methods have a yearly max of €15.000-€30.000, and cards have a limit of €180.000 per year.
As for withdrawals, the firm applies a limit of €100.000 via bank transfer and €3000 for Skrill. However, e-wallets have daily limits ranging from €3000 to €6000.
Keep in mind that the payment method depends on your country of residence. However, here’s the full list:
As one of the largest and most well-known cryptocurrency exchanges, SpectroCoin is fully regulated by the Estonian authorities. It also complies with EU regulations and its services are compliant with the AML (anti-money laundering) requirements.
Also, this cryptocurrency exchange platform uses SSL technology to ensure a secure connection with its clients. That’s because Bitcoin is an unregulated currency and trading it hides its risks. Therefore, SpectroCoin takes security measures very seriously.
Even more, users state in their crypto exchange reviews that they are completely satisfied with the company’s policies.
The KYC verification process is quite simple. You have to send a photo of your ID or international passport (for non-European countries). However, a selfie might be required later for security measures.
Also, if you have a card linked to your profile, you must send a photo of it with the CVV code hidden. That’s also for security measures.
Worry not, though! Everything is encrypted with high-level security technology, so your data is safe!
You can reach the support team 24/7 and they will reply in under a minute via their live chat. Very polite and adequate is what describes them best. They also provide support through email, landline, and even Facebook Messenger!
However, if you don’t fancy talking to people, their FAQ section will walk you through the most common problems.
Most users leave positive comments in their SpectroCoin reviews. It is no coincidence that it is one of the top bitcoin exchanges, either.
However, unlike its competitors, it charges quite high fees. That’s the reason a lot of users choose other cryptocurrency trading sites.
Despite the fees, it still has a high trust score thanks to its simplicity and amazing customer support.
Despite the lack of margin trading, SpectroCoin is still one of the most promising cryptocurrency exchanges.
From a user’s point of view, the company is one of the go-to crypto exchanges when it comes to simplicity. That’s because you can easily buy and sell digital assets and even store them in the built-in cryptocurrency wallet.
However, despite its simplicity, the company can satisfy even the best on Wall Street with its cryptocurrency exchange platform, SpectroCoin Pro. So, no matter your experience level, the platform could turn out to be one of the best places to buy bitcoin.
Regulated brokerage firm
Includes forex and Commodities
No deposit or withdrawal limits
Prime XBT is a relatively new company but provides full exchange services for crypto, forex, and commodities across 150 countries. Though it does not support US traders.
Prime XBT is a full trading platform based out of Seychelles and St Vincent & The Grenadines, with their infrastructure itself, secured in Switzerland. It now serves 150 of the most common crypto accepted countries, minus Canada, the US, and its territoriesл It allows full trading functionality across crypto, forex, commodities, and stock indices.
It might be considered one of the top bitcoin exchanges but Prime XBT has features for many cryptocurrencies and other forms of trading. It has:
Since crypto is not it's only market, XBT sticks to the most popular currencies, including:
These can be traded between each other and in USD/US dollars.
You can also buy crypto instantly with a credit or debit card via a partnership with Changelly.
Prime XBT uses a straightforward fee structure, charging all straight crypto/USD trades 0.05%, and shorts and longs 0.083% (XRP/USD is 0.194%).
High-volume Bitcoin users also get a discount if you move between 300 and 600 BTC, which will get you 25% off their rates. If you move over 600 BTC you’ll get a whopping 50% discount on the current fee offer, making it a great bitcoin trading platform for high rollers.
There are no deposit fees and the only withdrawal fee will depend on the cryptocurrency and its mining fee.
There are numerous limits associated with your trading account that are fairly standard. For example, you cannot make a single trade of BTC higher than 300 or lower than 0.01. In context, as of writing, that’s a maximum of around $5 million and a minimum of $168.
If leveraged for BTC/USD there is a margin requirement of 1% from 0-50, 2% from 50-200, and 10% from 200+
The maximum leverage for Covesting accounts is 1:50 (2%).
Margin requirements vary between pairs, so check the site for the full list.
Prime XBT is limited in its funding options which is why it so lapses on verification. You can only start trading without crypto by depositing Bitcoin first. If you want to use USD directly, you’ll have to use the built-in buy feature from Changelly.
Prime XBT supports around 150 countries across the world, but unfortunately, it directly excludes Canada, the United States and its territories from the Bitcoin platform and wider exchange service. Accepted countries include:
| United Kingdom | Norway |
| Ireland | Sweden |
| Australia | Italy |
| Thailand | Denmark |
| South Africa | United Arab Emirates |
| Singapore | Saudi Arabia |
| Hong Kong | Kuwait |
| India | Luxembourg |
| France | Qatar |
| Germany |
And, many others. Those specifically banned from BTC trade and other coin exchange features include:
| United States | Iran |
| Japan | Syria |
| Saint Vincent and Grenadines | Korea |
| Canada | Sudan |
| Algeria | American Samoa |
| Ecuador | Russian Federation |
Prime XBT is one of the few fully anonymous trading platforms that require no identification verification (KYC or AML) for traders, so you don’t have to upload documents or take photos. You can literally buy Bitcoin with a credit card with no verification.
Their argument is that this is for the privacy of their users. While there have been no major reports of fraud or security breaches, it is up to you if you want to deal with others who have not been checked. This may be one of the reasons why it does not support the United States and its territories.
Nonetheless, the site is secured by SSL and requires two-factor authentication to log in. Furthermore, it uses Bitcoin address whitelisting, and cold storage of digital assets so they are not accessible from the web.
Customer support is available 24/7 from Prime XBT, via direct email address or live chat. There’s currently no phone number to call.
Our test email question took several hours for a response, while the live chat was responsive in minutes.
It also has an FAQ section for commonly asked questions and lots of help and about pages to fill you in on their policies and procedures.
Naturally, the online crypto community is not pleased that the US is on the excluded list, but it has a high average rating among other reviewers, crypto sites, and trust score sites. It’s sophisticated trading platforms are praised by experienced users, as are its quick registration process and responsive customer support.
If you are a United States citizen, you’re not going to be happy because you’re banned from Prime XBT. For most other countries it is an extremely feature-rich and hassle-free service that allows advanced trading, the exchange of digital assets, and simple BTC exchange funded by credit and debit card via Changelly.
Experienced traders will get the most out of it thanks to its multiple and customizable platforms. Think full range of trading options, leverage and margins, and additional non-crypto products like the money markets, forex, and commodities.
Customer support is also responsive if you go directly to the live chat route.
High liquidity
High leverage trading
Very secure
BitMex is a popular yet controversial derivative and crypto trading platform whose founders are currently embroiled in legal problems in the US.
BitMex is a cryptocurrency trading service with a strong focus on Bitcoin but has also catered to other virtual currency and derivative traders. Its founders Arthur Hayes, Ben Delo, and Samuel Reed are involved in legal troubles for not implementing anti-money laundering measures for US users. However, it’s still considered one of the best bitcoin exchanges and it remains a popular and functional site.
It is aimed more at experienced traders who use the live trading platform that opens the global markets using Bitcoin as the base currency for leveraged and derivatives trading. There are no fees to deposit or withdraw in Bitcoin and you cannot deposit any other currency or use fiat currency methods to buy Bitcoin.
It is important to understand that Bitcoin is the base currency used at BitMex and the only currency that can be directly deposited or withdrawn from your account. But, for the purpose of pairing and trading the exchange supports all the leading cryptocurrencies and values in USD including:
| Bitcoin Cash | Zcash |
| Cardano | Polkadot |
| Dash | Binance Coin |
| Ethereum | EOS Token |
| Litecoin | Chainlink |
| Monero | Tron |
| Ripple | Tezos |
BitMex does not charge any fees to deposit or withdraw your Bitcoin. However, the minimum mining fee will be automatically applied on withdrawal to make sure you don’t experience delays in the bitcoin marketplace.
Trading fees depend on whether you are trading perpetual contracts, traditional futures, and Quanto futures. The currency you’re trading also determines the fee.
Overall, these are low trading fees compared to other platforms.
The minimum amount you must have available in Bitcoin to trade is dependent on the product and margin, so you must check the markets. However, there is no minimum amount of Bitcoin you can deposit or withdraw each day or month, making it ideal for high rollers.
The only direct payment method supported by BitMex is to send Bitcoin to one of your trading account’s wallets. You cannot purchase Bitcoin directly on the site with fiat currency like other bitcoin trading sites.
Because of its controversies and lack of following regulations you are not permitted to use the site if you are residing in:
| US and its territories | Crimea and Sevastopol |
| Quebec or Ontario, Canada | Iran |
| Hong Kong | Syria |
| Republic of Seychelles | North Korea |
| Bermuda | Sudan |
| Cuba |
Almost any other country with access to Bitcoin can open an account and begin trading, although UK citizens are warned that BitMex is not authorized or regulated by the UK Financial Conduct Authority.
There’s no denying that BitMex has had some bad press regarding regulations but in terms of raw security. However, it’s still widely considered a safe site and is actually frequented most by high rollers – the type of traders that aren’t going to part with large sums of money if they feel the platform is not secure.
As well as the typical SSL encryption on the site itself, it runs a multi-signature deposit and withdrawal scheme.
The trading platform is built on kdb+, which is the standard within the banking and financial industry and works well to trade bitcoin.
Most funds that are held by BitMex are also kept in cold storage, which means hardware separate from the site and the internet that is physically protected.
BitMex has extensive help pages and an FAQ section explaining all of its trading methods and fees. If you require to talk to support staff, they are available only via email support ticket, which can take several hours for a meaningful response.
There is a process for traders to talk to each other which might help solve some issues, but we honestly expected more from a site that allows such high volume and risky trading.
Despite the controversies, BitMex has medium to high user reviews, and most praise its low trading fees and the large volume which you can trade unimpeded. It also has high leverage and liquidity. However, US citizens are not so happy about being barred from the site and there are concerns over the exchange’s overall management. Regardless, some still consider it the best bitcoin trading platform.
Overall, BitMex does what it does well but lacks a lot of features for the average user. Not only are US traders barred but you can only deposit and withdraw in Bitcoin. Those looking to buy cryptocurrency via fiat currency methods like credit card or bank transfer will have to look elsewhere.
For the serious trade, however, it has everything you need including low fees and no fees or limits for deposits and withdrawals.
There’s a full selection of different order types, a lot of different cryptocurrencies to trade, and there’s ample access to leverage or to provide leverage to others.
In spite of the controversies, it’s also fairly secure, with cold storage and user anonymity, which you can further with a cryptocurrency tumbler system.
Have you ever asked yourself ‘Where can I buy bitcoin?’ A cryptocurrency exchange is the best place.
This a website that allows users to buy and sell (trade) in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin – sometimes called digital currencies. It is, for the most part, like any other currency exchange in that you can buy and sell a single currency to play the market fluctuations to make a profit or trade between currencies, i.e. sell x amount of Bitcoin for x amount of Litecoin.
Of course, like traditional currency exchanges, there are also a lot of people that simply want to buy a cryptocurrency for the purpose of using it to purchase goods - no different than getting Euros when going abroad to Europe. For them, the immediate price is not such a concern if it isn’t going to drastically change in a short amount of time.
Because cryptocurrencies are not as widely circulated, normal ones (aka fiat currencies) can be used to purchase cryptocurrencies. This may be done directly by credit or debit card, or some form of bank transfer, or by first depositing the funds into a fiat currency account on the exchange. In that sense, fiat and crypto are very much part of the exchange process and both can be used by professional traders to make profits.
Cryptocurrency exchanges vary in complexity and who they target, with many offering simple buy processes for those that don’t want to look at price fluctuations and graphs. These simple purchases may be linked to the underlying exchange market value and other individual traders that the buyer doesn’t see. The website itself may have a reserve of crypto for the purpose of selling at a bit higher than market value for these non-traders.
Cryptocurrency exchanges make money from numerous fees, including deposits, withdrawals, conversions, and trade transactions.
If you want to know where to buy cryptocurrency at the best price, it will be on an exchange, rather than an individual seller found on another non-crypto marketplace or a website that sells crypto but isn’t open to trades. These are usually individuals or companies simply overcharging for making it easier for newcomers to buy cryptocurrency.
Cryptocurrency exchanges will either store your digital currencies in secure e-wallets on their websites that only you have access to. You will be encouraged to withdraw to your own personal hardware wallet or other online wallet services. Alternatively, it may be decentralized and bypass storing any user currency themselves, sending it straight to your designated wallet address for security purposes.
Crypto exchanges are regulated in many countries, including most US states, the European Union, and many countries in Asia. In other parts of the world, exchanges are either unregulated or deemed illegal.
Still, looking for the best crypto exchanges? We cut through the jargon to explain how to choose an exchange and the important factors you need to consider before parting with your hard-earned money.
Your location, or equally, their location is going to determine how accessible a crypto exchange will be for you. Fortunately, if you are in most US states, Europe, and some big players in Asia, cryptocurrencies and exchanges are either legal, regulated, or just overlooked. If you’re in a turbulent country like Syria or even a stable nation like Japan various political reasons make it difficult for you to access an exchange.
The best cryptocurrency app and website is the one that has the biggest variety of cryptocurrencies or at least the one you want to buy. If it doesn’t - it’s useless to you. Likewise, you’re going to need an exchange that can accept your own country’s fiat currency to deposit, convert, or otherwise metamorphosize into crypto. Else it’s going to make buying and trading a lot more difficult.
Regardless of the crypto available, most coins now use the SHA-256 algorithm which is safer than the previous version.
Likewise, your choice of exchange needs to be one that accepts your desired form of initial payment. If you already have crypto, that’s great. That usually means you can just send it to a personal wallet created for you by the exchange to then use to trade for other cryptocurrencies. If not, you’re going to need them to accept credit and debit card or some mode of bank transfer. Cheques are typically out the window, but you may find some payment processors that will also accept Apple Pay, Google Pay, various e-wallets, and even cash if done through an intermediary service linked to a digital payment gateway.
You wouldn’t do your banking with a man named bill out the back of his 2002 sedan, and you wouldn’t trade crypto on a poorly designed, unknown, or badly rated website. Fortunately, pages like ours and a cursory Google search will let you know if the crypto exchange you have stumbled across has a good reputation or not.
Of course, with every new technology there are growing pains and many early Bitcoin exchanges never made it. Regardless, even some sites that got off to a rocky start or had security breaches in the past have built their trust back up, so try to look for 2021 reviews like ours for the latest information.
Is the site secure? As a regular web pleb, that can be hard to tell, but at the very least the exchange should have an SSL certificate. This means there’s a little padlock in the address bar and an https rather than just http or www protocol before the domain name.
Furthermore, does it enforce having strong passwords? What about two-factor verification login where you need to enter an email or SMS code even after a successful login? These are all common signs we can look for.
More advanced security measures include:
If you’re making small purchases and trades and don’t want the hassle of wallet management, you will want to choose an exchange that will automatically create wallets for your various crypto balances for you.
This, however, is riskier from a security standpoint and some exchanges either encourage you to withdraw to your own wallet asap, charge you fees for wallet storage (to make money but also encourage you to withdraw), or are completely decentralized. This means it won’t store your currency at all and any purchased crypto will automatically go to your designated hardware or third-party online wallet.
This is another convenience vs security debate that you must have with yourself when you choose a crypto trading platform. The vast majority of reputable sites will require you to confirm your identity in some way to prevent fraud and to meet regulations. Some go as far as getting you to take a photo of yourself holding your driver’s license, or asking you to upload a bank statement. This is known as Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML)
For some people, the info they request is too far and actually a breach of privacy and security (if not handled correctly). Others seek out such levels of verification because it makes them trust those they’re trading with aren’t criminals or con artists.
Your level of verification is often linked to limits put on to how much you can deposit, trade, and withdraw. Low volume traders won’t have much of an issue here. But if you’re going to be playing the market with the equivalent of thousands of dollars on a Bitcoin trading platform, you need to closely check what the limits are before proceeding.
There’s nothing worse than depositing a lot than not being able to withdraw it in fiat. Or, simply not being able to trade at the level you desire.
Seasoned traders will want to know whether the exchange offers leveraged trading, a form of borrowing that lets them make trades with the exchange’s funds if they’ve proven themselves.
Leverage is important for traders that trade shorts, i.e. large sums on relatively short fluctuations.
Speed impacts several elements that make a crypto exchange perform well. General site speed is one thing, but how fast does it guarantee deposits and withdrawals? What happens if you commit to a price, but it takes so long for the process to complete that the market changes and the order is canceled? Is your fiat stuck in the dreaded ‘pending’ on your bank statement or do they only put a hold on it if the order definitely goes through?
Every cryptocurrency exchange platform will charge some kind of fee, whether it’s for deposits, withdrawals, currency conversions, trades and transactions, wallet storage, or all of the above. You’ll want to choose the exchange whose fees best suit your behavior. Maybe you mainly just buy and don’t trade so high trade fees don’t mean much to you. Maybe you don’t like using your own wallets so need an exchange that doesn’t charge any kind of wallet fee.
All good sites need to be easy to navigate and understand, especially those that involve you trading money. Whether you’re a beginner or a veteran trader, how user-friendly the site is should be a strong factor in your decision to use it or not. Can you just logon, hit ‘buy crypto’ and key in your card details or is there a long and convoluted process before you can even get to the buying stage? How about selling? Does the site do a good job of easily letting you jump between the market value and what you’re willing to sell for?
Even if most of the other boxes are ticked, if a cryptocurrency exchange doesn’t have a large community of traders it can cause all sorts of problems, from artificially inflated prices catching out the newbies to simply not having anyone to sell to. If the exchange itself doesn’t have anything in reserves to keep things moving too, then it’s time to look elsewhere.
Whether you’ve been looking to get into cryptocurrencies or are a seasoned trader, our crypto exchange reviews took a deep dive into the 10 best-trading sites. You can see what features they provide, and which suit your requirements. From simply looking for the cheapest place to buy Bitcoin to the overall best cryptocurrency trading platform that does it all, there’s something for everyone.
If you are looking for more detailed reviews you can find them in this section.
However, if you still aren’t sure about the best crypto exchanges, we’ve answered some of your commonly asked questions below:
When getting into trading cryptocurrency it’s difficult to know how to choose the right exchange. The top crypto exchanges above generally suit everybody but there are a few things to consider.
Fee structures vary from exchange to exchange and can be applied to deposits, withdrawals, and individual transitions.
That being said, the overall best crypto exchange for low fees is currently Binance, which charges only 0.1% on any regular trade, 0.02% in makers fees and 0.04% takers fees, and 0.0004 to withdraw BTC. There are equally good rates to withdraw other cryptos, while deposits are free.
Though we’d all like something for nothing, fees are the main way the top crypto exchanges make their money, and doing away with them would make it impossible to buy and trade at reasonable prices.
In theory, you could use numerous methods of connecting with individuals and trade crypto P2P with them without fees. However, this would be both low volume and high risk in terms of them doing a runner with your crypto or fiat.
Some cryptocurrency exchanges like to promote that they offer no fees, but then charge an overall membership fee or offer free trading fees but charge fees for deposits or withdrawals.
Binance is currently the best crypto exchange when it comes to overall low fees.
Even some of the best crypto exchanges have experienced security breaches over the years or had currency stolen but all those currently on our list have proven to meet high standards of security as of 2021 and things have moved on considerably since the days of the Mt Gox scandal.
A number of exchanges stick out for their security protocols. CEX.IO for example uses cold storage, which means user funds are locked away on hardware often protected by guards, rather than sitting in some weak web-based wallet.
Coinmama is also a safe option as long as you yourself have a secure wallet because it does not store cryptocurrency that is traded. Instead, it goes straight to your designated wallet.
Coinbase is decentralized, allowing trades between users with no intermediate monitoring which reduces risk of data being stolen. It also has insurance in case of a security breach.
Meanwhile, Kraken has pledged to a ‘Proof of Reserves’ system whereby it can openly demonstrate that all of its users’ digital currency is accounted for and not missing.
Despite these extra measures, all 10 will require you to provide some form of identity proof to trade in order to protect the overall market.
The price of cryptocurrency is set by its market value and although sellers can charge higher than market prices, exchanges only charge fees to make their money. Binance is currently the cheapest place to buy Bitcoin and other leading cryptocurrencies. It charges just 0.1% per trade, 0.02% in makers fees, and 0.04% takers fees.
While we do not directly rank the entries in our crypto exchange reviews, we did start out with many more than just 10, narrowing them down to the top crypto exchanges currently on the web. Each one excels in different areas which you can see in our best crypto trading platforms for the 2021 list above.
Therefore, the best crypto exchange for you will depend on your own requirements and how they measure up against our top picks in certain categories.
Needless to say, if you’re looking for the best place to buy bitcoin or the overall top crypto exchanges, you’ll find it in our quick table or more detailed reviews above.
Keelan Balderson
A qualified journalist and longtime web content writer, Keelan has a passion for exploring information and learning new things. If he's not writing or pushing his own brands, you'll find him watching pro wrestling or trying not to rant about politics online.
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