Which are the top cryptocurrency exchanges out there?
One of the major reasons many crypto investors lose money is investing or trading on risky exchanges. Cryptocurrency exchanges are platforms where one can easily buy and sell bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
There are currently over 300 cryptocurrency exchanges; how do you evaluate all of them to know which one will be safer for you to trade on?
You don’t have to; we have separated the chaff from the wheat for you and condensed the option to just 9 that are definitely worth trusting with your hard-earned money.
Here are the top 9 major cryptocurrency exchanges for you to buy bitcoin and trade the cryptocurrency market peacefully and profitably.
1. Binance: Top Cryptocurrency Exchange
Binance is the world’s leading and biggest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume and a voracious proponent of the cryptocurrency and blockchain technology. Lead by the co-founder and CEO –Changpeng Zhao, popularly known as CZ the Binance exchange is one of the most sophisticated and liquid cryptocurrency trading platforms in the market for new, experienced and institutional investors to buy bitcoin and trade the cryptocurrency market.
Binance offers Spot, Derivatives, and Peer-to-Peer (P2P) fiat-based crypto trading solutions in other to cater to the different set of crypto traders and investors.
More interestingly, Binance is the first exchange to introduce the insurance funds where the exchange allocates 10% of its monthly profits to cover for any future losses arising from a hack or other natural disasters that may affect investors’ funds.
Funds are always SAFU (safe) on Binance. Binance has suffered a single hack so far in 2019 but investors were not affected and we hope that necessary measures have been implemented to prevent any major hack in the future.
You can trade any amount of funds with a significantly high level of confidence on the Binance Exchange.
2. Coinbase: Top Cryptocurrency Exchange
Coinbase is a digital currency wallet and cryptocurrency exchange founded in June 2012 where both individual and institutional investors can buy bitcoin and trade the cryptocurrency market.
Coinbase is unsurprisingly one of the most heavily regulated cryptocurrency exchanges in the world given that it’s originated and based in the United States.
Unlike Binance and other crypto-to-crypto exchanges; Coinbase is the easiest place for the first time crypto investors to buy bitcoin and trade other cryptocurrencies directly with fiat (cash) and manage your portfolio.
Easily swap fiat for crypto and vice versa on Coinbase; withdraw directly to your bank account or card and earn free cryptocurrencies by participating in the Coinbase Earn and other programs. If you are new to cryptocurrency and want an easier and less confusing way to buy and sell your bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies then Coinbase will be a good place to get started today.
3. Poloniex: Top Cryptocurrency Exchange
Poloniex is a US-based cryptocurrency exchange that offers maximum security and advanced trading features. The exchange was established in 2014 and has been dedicated to giving traders and HODLers (holders) a safe place to buy bitcoin and trade other top cryptocurrencies in the market.
The exchange claim to have insurance coverage for all cryptocurrency assets deposited on their platform. This is a proactive measure to curb any future losses to the investors in the event of a hack or other disasters; investors’ funds will be returned.
Similar to other top exchanges, Poloniex offers a wide range of trading solutions from spot to margin and futures trading and other passive income opportunities such as crypto lending to maximize investors’ returns.
It is important to note that Poloniex is no longer available for U.S. customers, effective from November 1, 2019. According to the exchange, this is a necessary sacrifice in order for it to focus on the needs of global crypto traders with new features, assets, and services to boost its competitiveness in the market. This goes to show how the U.S. stiff laws are crippling the operations of the exchange.
4. LocalBitcoins: Top Cryptocurrency Exchange
LocalBitcoins is your local cryptocurrency market place. It’s a place where different individuals from around the world converge to buy or sell bitcoin directly to and from each other and get paid in your local currency or fiat.
Trading on LocalBitcoins is similar to how you buy and sell in a regular local market –where you simply you’re your goods to the market and place them on display waiting for a buyer to come by or if you’re a buyer, you walk through the market checking all the products on display, negotiating with the seller and agreeing on a price and closing the deal by paying cash.
That is how simple it is on LocalBitcoins, users post advertisements stating their preferred exchange rates and payment methods for buying or selling bitcoin.
You reply to these advertisements and agree to meet the person to buy bitcoin with cash, or trade directly on the website and pay through online banking, mobile money, or wire transfers as the case may be.
The exchange is both a wallet and a trading system, thus coins to be traded are stored on the LocalBitcoins account wallet and get released to the buyer upon the seller’s confirmation of receipt of payment.
LocalBitcoins is suited for first-time bitcoin investors or those looking to convert bitcoin to cash or buy bitcoin with cash.
LocalBitcoins makes it easy for traders from the same locality or country to find themselves and trade.
5. BTCC: Top Cryptocurrency Exchange
Founded on Jun 1, 2011, by Founder and CEO Bobby Lee BTCC is one of the oldest, most reliable, secure, and sophisticated cryptocurrency exchanges in the world.
If you’re looking for a highly liquid and reliable exchange to trade, BTCC will be a perfect choice.
BTCC is not just a cryptocurrency exchange; the Company also operates the mining pool which accounts for about 3% of the global recorded hashing power; a cryptocurrency wallet called Ballet –a physical card-based wallet shaped like an ATM card; a payment processing platform, and blockchain engraving.
BTCC delivers highly on security, risk mitigation, credibility, and technological innovation to its global customers and is headquartered in Hong Kong, China.
6. Bittrex: Top Cryptocurrency Exchange
If you’re looking for an institutional-grade trading experience on a secure platform; then look no further than Bittrex.
Bittrex is a US-based cryptocurrency exchange that was established in 2014 most suited for both new and experienced crypto trading professionals; and intuitional investors.
Security will always come first in your decision of a cryptocurrency exchange to buy bitcoin and trade cryptocurrencies. Bittrex incorporates multiple layers of protection, deploying the most effective and reliable technologies available to keep users funds SAFU and secure.
Also interesting is the fact that the exchange runs on a custom-built trading engine based on elastic computing and is designed to handle the increased workload, scalable, and supporting real-time order execution without lag.
More so, the exchange supports third-party trading platforms and custom algorithms through their extensive APIs.
Bittrex Global is based in Liechtenstein, right in the heart of Europe’s financial system, and operates within the framework of the proposed Transaction Systems Based on Trustworthy Technologies Act (“The Blockchain Act”), a pioneering regulatory system which is currently awaiting approval.
More importantly, is that Bittrex maintains its own compliance team that ensures high levels of Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering law compliance.
7. Kucoin: Top Cryptocurrency Exchange
Join over 5 million global users on KuCoin Exchange.
KuCoin is a global cryptocurrency exchange based in Singapore; with offices in China, Thailand, Philippines, Bulgaria, and according to the Company with plans to expand into emerging markets like Vietnam, India, and Indonesia.
KuCoin is the most advanced and secure cryptocurrency exchange to buy bitcoin and trade the cryptocurrency market for both beginners and experienced professionals.
The KuCoin exchange is one of the very few exchanges that’s never been hacked or suffered any security breach since inception till date.
Considering the high rate of reported exchange hacks leading to loss of investors’ funds especially in the past 2 years, this is a significant feat for a relatively new exchange that was launched during the crypto boom in 2017.
More so, of all the exchanges listed KuCoin offers one of the lowest trading and withdrawal fees on both the spot and derivatives platforms; the best support system; and a wide array of crypto investment solutions that are aimed to maximize investors’ potential returns from crypto staking, lending to mining pools.
Interestingly, with a single KuCoin account, you have unlimited access to all of KuCoin services and platforms; eliminating the trouble of managing multiple accounts.
Transfer within KuCoin accounts and related platforms are free –no hidden charges.
KuCoin was launched in September 2017 and services over 5 million global users from 200 countries and regions.
Over 200 different cryptocurrencies are listed on the exchange under over 400 trading pairs –giving you an extensive trading option.
You can stake your crypto to earn staking rewards, mine on Pool-X, or lend your cryptocurrency to earn daily interest in the margin trading market.
I wouldn’t forget to mention that by holding at least 6 KuCoin Shares (KCS) in your KuCoin account you automatically qualify to enjoy the KCS daily bonus and take your share of the 50% of the exchange’s daily profits they share with their token holders.
The more of the KCS token you hold the more your share of the daily bonus.
Finally, KYC (Know Your Customer) on KuCoin Exchange is not mandatory: users that have not completed KYC will be restricted to a daily withdrawal limit of 2 BTC or less; their doors and wide open to the U.S. market.
Read more about this exchange in our complete KuCoin Review.
8. Bitfinex: Top Cryptocurrency Exchange
Bitfinex was founded in 2012 and is one of the few oldest cryptocurrency exchanges still in operation today.
The exchange is comprised of four (4) core areas of operation:
- Cryptocurrency Exchange: Maximize your trading strategy with a wide array of quality cryptocurrencies and the most extensive order types in an advanced trading environment.
- Margin Trading: Trade with up to 5x leverage in both long and short positions and draw or borrow funds for trading in the Bitfinex peer-to-peer finance platform. Enjoy unmatched liquidity and sophisticated trading experienced ion the Bitfinex margin trading platform.
- Margin Funding (P2P Financing): Crypto lending in margin markets allows you to earn returns on your funds without the risk associated with trading. If you’re the risk-averse type and want to have a share of the cryptocurrency money, then this product is for you. The Margin Funding (P2P) market gives users (lenders) a way to earn interest on their digital assets by allowing them to lend their funds to users (borrowers) who wish to trade with margin. Enjoy compounding interest by activating the Bitfinex auto-renew (auto-lend) feature to auto-related your crypto automatically while you get busy enjoying your life in some distant island and monitoring your returns.
- Over The Counter (OTC) Market: OTC is the big boys market where you can perform large trades directly with a counterparty, bypassing the public order books. OTC Market Trades provide access to large liquidity, without affecting the exchange market price.
Bitfinex is one of the very few exchanges that have implemented a customizable user interface. Bitfinex allows setting up your preferences and organizing the workspace according to your needs; set up in-browser notifications and custom sounds alerts to keep you tuned on preset market events and movements.
9. Kraken: Top Cryptocurrency Exchange
Now when we mention Kraken we are not talking about the legendary sea monster call Kraken (ha-ha).
Kraken is a top exchange and the most highly rated and reputable crypto exchanges in the market.
Kraken is a highly rated cryptocurrency exchange that was founded in 2011. Kraken is one of the world’s largest and oldest bitcoin exchanges with the widest selection of cryptocurrencies tradable against national currencies or fiat.
Kraken Digital Asset Exchange is based in San Francisco with several offices around the world and is consistently rated the best and most secure digital asset exchange by major independent media organizations.
Trusted by hundreds of thousands of traders, institutions, and authorities, including Germany’s BaFin regulated Fidor Bank, Kraken is the first exchange to display its market data on the Bloomberg Terminal, pass a cryptographically verifiable proof-of-reserves audit, and one of the first to offer leveraged margin trading.
Kraken investors include Blockchain Capital, Digital Currency Group, Hummingbird Ventures, Money Partners Group, and SBI Investment.
The exchange has got lots of credentials backed with years of experience in the cryptocurrency exchange market that speaks of its unrivaled depth and reliability.
Finally
The cryptocurrency exchange market is filled with a wide variety of choices that can make it really hard and even confusing knowing which to trust with your money.
One factor that will determine whether you’re going to be a successful crypto investor is your choice of cryptocurrency exchange to trade and invest in.
Exchanges have come and gone and many more will be closing their doors now or tomorrow either due to hack or they’re outright scam, and there’s very little ordinary people can do to protect themselves other than knowing to trade.
With the over 300 currently active cryptocurrency exchanges as per CoinMarketCap data, these nine (9) are definitely not the only good exchanges out there that can offer you safety and a sound trading experience but they’re among the best of the best for you choose from.
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