Crypto exchanges are the heart and soul of crypto — essential for its existence.
In this review, we shall examine the top cryptocurrency exchanges for you. Let’s go!
It’s pretty simple: without a cryptocurrency exchange platform, it would simply be impossible to buy, resell, and trade digital assets. These marketplaces act as an intermediary between the price of a token and potential buyers — guaranteeing the tokens’ availability, validity, and security. Many digital asset trading platforms are available, and they tend to gain popularity as interest in cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology grows.
- Over 100 cryptocurrencies
- Over 20 trading pairs
- Highly reputable app
The top 10 crypto exchanges
We shall highlight a crypto exchange list detailing the top crypto exchanges:
Binance
Binance is the world’s largest crypto exchange by volume, with an incredible $76 billion daily trading volume as of 2022 and 90 million customers worldwide. Co-founded in 2017 by Changpeng Zhao and Yi He, it is a tested and trusted trading platform designed for experienced crypto investors. It offers somewhat low trading fees, with more than 350 cryptocurrencies listed and thousands of trading pairs. It is by far the biggest crypto exchange.
Coinbase
Coinbase was co-founded by Brian Armstrong and Fred Ehrsam in 2012 as a crypto trading and investment platform. It is intuitive and beginner-friendly, supporting basic transactions and providing a safe digital wallet. Arguably the best U.S. crypto exchange, or at least among the best crypto exchanges in the USA, it supports an extensive list of crypto tokens, with passive earning opportunities on 100+ assets, but has relatively high transaction fees.
Kraken
Kraken has existed since 2011, established by Jesse Powell, and supports over 200 coins to buy, sell, and trade with competitive exchange fees. It offers various products and services – spot trading, margin trading, futures, indices, stakings, over-the-counter (OTC), and an NFT marketplace.
KuCoin
KuCoin was co-founded in 2017 by Michael Gan, Eric Don, Top Lan, Kent Li, John Lee, Jack Zhu, and Linda Lin and supports futures trading, a P2P exchange that offers 700+ different cryptos for trade. On it, you can earn interest on crypto by staking or lending, plus it offers relatively low trading fees.
Bybit
Bybit was established in 2018 by Ben Zhou as a crypto centralized exchange (CEX) that serves more than 10 million users, offering access to 100+ assets and contracts across spot and crypto derivatives like Futures and Options, earn products, an NFT marketplace, etc.
Bitstamp
Btstamp was co-founded in 2011 by Damian Merlak and Nejc Kodric as a CEX serving more than 4 million users, with its customers having access to up to 80 digital assets. It is an easy-to-use platform that offers competitive fees but a limited list of supported cryptocurrencies.
OKX
OKX was founded by Mingxing Xu in 2013 and lists over 350 cryptos supporting more than 500 trading pairs. It offers basic trading, spot and simple options, and derivatives, including margin, futures, and perpetual swaps. It has high-interest staking opportunities with low trading fees and supports Web3, offering a crypto hot wallet, DEX, DApps, and an NFT marketplace.
Bitfinex
Bitfinex was co-founded in 2012 by Raphael Nicolle and Giancarlo. The CEX was designed for professional traders, allowing users to engage in margin lending, margin funding, paired trading, and OTC with low trading fees.
HTX
HTX was founded in 2013 and provides trading and investment services, handling more than $4 billion in daily trading volume. It offers an extensive list of cryptos with over 400 assets and 300 trading pairs, including provision for spot trading, margin trading, futures trading, derivatives trading, staking, crypto loans, and more.
Gemini
Gemini was co-founded in 2014 by the brothers Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss. It offers over 100 assets for trading, albeit with relatively high fees. It is a good option for beginners and experienced traders, as it has robust security features and a hot wallet.
These decentralized crypto exchanges represent the safest and best crypto trading platforms. Yet, we can’t precisely say one is the best crypto exchange, as each crypto platform plays different roles and caters to different needs. Also, some of these crypto platforms are only functional in certain places. In the U.S., crypto exchanges fall under increased scrutiny from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
- Comprehensive platform
- Enhanced security
- Suitable for experienced traders
Everything You Need to Know about Exchange Platforms
Here, we shall explain everything you need to know about cryptocurrency exchange.
What is a Crypto Exchange?
A crypto exchange is a marketplace allowing users or investors to buy, resell, store, and stake their digital assets. Ultimately, the role of the crypto trading platform is straightforward and geared towards the success of the crypto ecosystem.
Crypto exchanges serve as an intermediary between buyers and sellers, allowing them to trade with each other at a mutually agreed-upon price. They are the best platform for crypto trading. Depending on the popularity of an exchange platform, you will find more or fewer tokens for sale. Generally speaking, they all offer the most significant projects on the market, such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Cardano, and Ripple, as well as stablecoins, such as USDT and USDC.
Without Exchange platforms, no trading
A cryptocurrency trading platform, therefore, has a central role. Indeed, without these exchanges, it would be much more difficult to find buyers and sellers willing to exchange cryptocurrencies with each other, whether for reasons of price, trust, or even security, since a trading platform provides a stable framework.
Security
Security is also one of the factors of interest for an exchange platform. Whether on Binance, Crypto.com, or Kraken, platforms typically require users to go through a verification process to trade on their platform, which helps prevent fraud and protect user assets. This process is KYC (Know Your Customer)
KYC and 2FA
Additionally, many cryptocurrency trading platforms offer features such as two-factor authentication. They also allow users to access a wide variety of different cryptocurrencies easily. Many exchanges list different cryptocurrencies, making it easy for users to explore other options and find the one that best suits their needs.
Advanced Features for the Most Experienced
In many cases, trading platforms offer advanced features, meeting the needs of experienced traders who cannot be satisfied with essential tools:
- Margin trading and leverage;
- Stop-loss order;
- CFDs;
- Staking and farming
Exchanges are essential to the cryptocurrency ecosystem, providing users with a convenient, secure, and accessible way to buy, sell, and trade cryptocurrencies.
- Great customer support
- Secure exchange
- Lower fees with Kraken Pro
The Advantages of Exchange Platforms
Cryptocurrency exchange platforms have many advantages. In addition to opening the cryptocurrency mode to the general public, they allow you to trade in complete security. Naturally, not all are equal. The most well-known platforms, such as Binance, Coinbase, or Kraken, are much more interesting than second-rate platforms, which even seem slightly doubtful regarding their security and general interest.
Here are some of the main benefits of using a cryptocurrency exchange:
- Simplicity: Rather than wasting a lot of time finding a buyer, convincing them, and carrying out a transaction, crypto platforms allow you to connect and complete your transaction in a few seconds. Whether buying or selling, investing in cryptocurrencies is now very easy and quick.
- Security: Another significant advantage of using a cryptocurrency exchange is security. First, these platforms require individuals to register by passing KYC, certifying their identity. Connections, then, are allowed thanks to 2FA (double-factor) authentication. Finally, some platforms use cold storage to keep investors’ funds.
- Variety of currencies: A cryptocurrency trading platform offers a wide range of digital assets, so users can explore different options and find the one that best suits their needs. This helps diversify investment portfolios and makes experimenting with new currencies easier.
- Advanced trading tools: In some, usually the most advanced cryptocurrency trading platforms, advanced features are offered to more experienced traders. We think of margin trading with leverage. You can also benefit from staking, stop-loss orders, etc.
- Liquidity: Crypto exchanges provide liquidity to the market because they allow buyers and sellers to trade with each other at a mutually agreed price. This helps ensure that the market remains stable and that buyers and sellers can always trade. Please note not all trading platforms are liquid. By investing in specific trading platforms, you take the risk of seeing your orders blocked. You won’t be able to sell because no one is interested.
- Regulation: Most reputable exchanges are regulated and compliant with the laws of the country they operate in, which gives added confidence to users to trade without worrying about the status of their assets afterward.
- Free crypto card
- Reputable exchange
- Competitive fees
It is clear to see, therefore, that using a crypto exchange is absolutely essential. Indeed, without them, it is difficult to imagine how it could be possible to position yourself on a crypto trading platform and invest your funds in projects and digital assets that interest you.
Yet, this is not a piece of investment advice as the trading market is highly volatile. Trading is risky, and you can quickly lose everything on crypto platforms. We recommend that you only position yourself if you can invest and lose.
Frequently Asked Questions
