These days it seems that everybody and their grandma are talking about and investing in cryptocurrency. And it isn’t just happening on the internet, as people manage to slip crypto talk in everyday conversations, even at work.
The trouble with this is that they rarely, if ever, talk about how to start and beginners can be easily overwhelmed with all the information they hear. How does one buy crypto? Is there some magical place that transforms money into Bitcoin? How does one find it? Read on to find out the answers to all these questions.
>>>Visit the Best Crypto Exchange<<<
Cryptoassets are a highly volatile unregulated investment product. No UK or EU investor protection.
Selecting the Best Crypto Exchange
The obvious first step is choosing the crypto exchange, so we decided to help with that. Here is our list of the crypto trading platforms to help you choose the best crypto exchange for you.
- eToro – Our Best Overall Crypto Exchange
- Coinbase – Our Best Crypto Exchange for Beginners
- Binance – Our Best Crypto Exchange for Low Fees
- Crypto.com – Our Best Crypto Exchange for Security
- Kraken – One of The Oldest Crypto Exchanges
eToro – Our Best Overall Crypto Exchange
Pros
- Low deposit minimum
- Low transaction fees
- Excellent copy trading feature
- Easy to use and intuitive interface
- Provides indemnity insurance of up to €1 million per client in the EU, the UK and Australia
- Excellent mobile app
Cons
- Forex trading fees are steep
- Mandatory stop-loss and take-profit measures can impede certain trading strategies
eToro is one of the biggest crypto exchanges on the market, with more than 75 million registered users. The platform features a 10-dollar minimum deposit, low transaction fees, and a huge selection of coins to buy and sell.
eToro was among the first online brokers that embraced cryptocurrency, starting with Bitcoin in 2014, and later expanding their offer with Ethereum and Ripple. Today, it lists over 40 of them, enabling trading in all major crypto assets, including Solana, Litecoin, Dogecoin, Stellar Lumens, and many more. One of the most notable features eToro offers is social copy trading. Experienced traders get incentives for sharing their trading patterns, which beginners can then copy. This works as a teaching tool that lets newcomers follow seasoned investors and learn how they operate by emulating their moves.
eToro provides a free crypto wallet to its users, called eToro Money. Just like the eToro app, the wallet is available on both Android and iOS devices. Users are free to use other wallets as well. One thing to note is that eToro allows you to transfer cryptos freely to your wallet. Sending it back, however, is not an option. The wallet features a minimum transaction of $125 and a maximum of $10,000.
eToro is regulated by the FCA or Financial Conduct Authority, the biggest regulatory body in the UK.
Cryptoassets are a highly volatile unregulated investment product. No UK or EU investor protection.
Coinbase – Our Best Crypto Exchange for Beginners
Pros
- User-friendly interface
- Plenty of educational materials on all relevant topics
- Excellent selection of crypto coins
- Reputable and secure trading platform
Cons
- High transaction fees
- Slow verification process for new cryptocurrencies
- Complex fee structure
Every conversation about the best crypto exchanges must include Coinbase. It is one of the most reputable and recognizable crypto trading platforms on the market today. Many experts agree that Coinbase has done more to legitimize crypto trading than all other players put together, especially after its successful appearance on the public market.
Coinbase features an intuitive and user-friendly interface that is incredibly easy to use, which is just one of the reasons why we would recommend it for absolute beginners. The other is that its site is filled with educational materials on all things crypto. You would be hard-press to find a topic relating to cryptocurrency that isn’t covered in their extensive library, a feature that can help novice traders immensely in their search for crypto knowledge. To stimulate its users to take advantage of such a vast trove of know-how, Coinbase has introduced a simple reward system that gives our free crypto to all who participate in the Coinbase Earn program.
Lauded for its ease of access, Coinbase has done wonders for the democratization of the crypto market, allowing ordinary people to take part in the process. And with more than 100 cryptocurrencies on board, it offers everyone a chance to easily find the best assets for them to trade.
One thing we could take issue with is the fees and their complexity, which are higher than what the competition charges. The way around them is to use Coinbase Pro, a premium service designed for high-rollers and serious investors. Of course, there are those who claim that, when compared to what Coinbase offers, these fees are completely reasonable.
Cryptoassets are a highly volatile unregulated investment product. No UK or EU investor protection.
Binance – Our Best Crypto Exchange for Low Fees
Pros
- Very affordable transaction and trading fees
- Excellent data presentation in form of graphs and charts
- Fast transactions and trade execution
Cons
- Not available in all markets
- A limited selection of coins for the US market
If your main concern is transaction fees, then Binance could be the best crypto exchange for you. Ranking by trading volume, it is the biggest crypto exchange on the planet, and it got there by not charging users high fees. Instead, they went for quantity and the results are self-evident. The average daily volume of trading on Binance exceeds $16 billion. For comparison’s sake, that is significantly more than all other crypto exchanges on our list put together. As it turns out, it is hard to resist that flat 0.1% fee.
Don’t let Binance’s cheap fees fool you into thinking that it is only for casual traders. The crypto exchange offers many advanced features when it comes to margin trading, order types (like limit orders, market orders, and stop limit orders), and many more. In fact, it is the preferred crypto exchange of many seasoned investors that trade massive amounts of crypto daily.
All in all, Binance lists more than 360 cryptocurrencies in total, but the selection varies from country to country. For instance, US users will only have access to 65, due to stricter American regulations concerning crypto trading. Even with those limitations in place, that is more than many other crypto exchanges are offering. Recently, Binance has run into several regulatory issues with authorities in the United States, even some concerning money-laundering allegations. For now, it has managed to stay on top of its legal troubles, but it may be a source of concern for some users.
Binance offers a comprehensive learning platform for its less experienced users, where they can learn the ropes and discover all secrets of crypto trading.
Cryptoassets are a highly volatile unregulated investment product. No UK or EU investor protection.
Crypto.com – Our Best Crypto Exchange for Security
Pros
- Excellent security measures in place
- Low fees under certain conditions
- Plenty of cryptocurrencies listed
Cons
- Complicated fees
- No web version, only works in an app
Based in Hong Kong, Crypto.com is one of the largest crypto exchanges in the world. The platform boasts some of the most robust security measures on the market, with a multi-factor identification in place. It requires from its users proofs of identity in the form of a passport, email, phone, and even biometric data. With added two-factor authentication, the process of signing up can be somewhat tedious, but in this day and age, you can’t really complain about security measures. This is especially true for financial institutions.
To prevent any unauthorized access and theft, Crypto.com employs cold storage for all cryptos, with offline wallets. Its software solutions are regularly reviewed and updated when needed. Penetration tests are conducted regularly and so far, the platform has passed all of them. In short, if you are worried about hackers, Crypto.com is the best crypto exchange for you. They take security extremely seriously and leave nothing to chance. That is why it is often ranked first by security parameters among all crypto exchanges.
Crypto.com boasts over 250 cryptocurrencies on its listings, but the actual selection depends on the country of origin and its regulation. United States citizens will only have access to around 60 of them. It offers several advanced features, like crypto loans, prepaid visa cards, margin trading, and several others.
The fee structure on Crypto.com is complex and often baffling, making it hard to calculate transaction costs beforehand. The exchange offers lower fees for users that fund their deposits by direct cash transfers. For others, fees can be as high as 2.99% per transaction.
Cryptoassets are a highly volatile unregulated investment product. No UK or EU investor protection.
Kraken – One of The Oldest Crypto Exchanges
Pros
- Advanced features
- Moderate Fees
- Excellent security
Cons
- Not recommended for beginners
- Slow customer support
When it comes to crypto exchanges, Kraken is OG. It was founded in 2011 when most people hadn’t even heard about cryptocurrencies, and those few that did dismissed them as a momentary fad that would quickly blow over.
Kraken was always focused on security, even in the early days, when risks involved with crypto trading weren’t fully understood. The fact that it hasn’t been hacked once in its entire history speaks volumes about its cyber security team. One of their most significant security measures is keeping at least 95% of their crypto in cold offline storage, inaccessible from the Internet. With 90 different cryptocurrencies listed and more than 130 tradeable pairs, Kraken offers a fine selection of crypto assets for trade. Each transaction will cost you 1.5% unless you are trading stablecoins, in which case it is just 0.9%.
On the other hand, traders with significant trading volume have access to a more favorable package that features fees as low as 0.26%, scaling down as the volume increases. For those with a trading volume of over $10 million in the last 30 days, the fees are 0%. Kraken features a full web service, plus apps for both Android and iOS, with an average rating of 4.2. Customer service phones are limited to 6 AM to 6 PM Eastern time, but the chat is operational 24 hours.
>>>Visit the Best Crypto Exchange<<<
Cryptoassets are a highly volatile unregulated investment product. No UK or EU investor protection.
How to Use a Crypto Exchange
Selecting the best crypto exchange is just the beginning. You also need to know how to use it. We have created a simple step-by-step guide using eToro as an example to help you understand the basics. The process is fairly similar on all crypto exchanges, so you won’t have any issues regardless of which one you choose.
Step 1: Create an eToro account
Visit the eToro site and click on the “Start Investing” button. This will open a new screen where you can create an account by entering your username, email, and password. Alternatively, you can sign in with your Facebook or Google credentials.
Step 2: Verify your eToro account
Got to your inbox and look for the verification email from eToro. Open it and click on the link. This will confirm your email. Provide a valid ID or driver’s license and you can start using your account.
Step 3: Deposit Funds
You can deposit funds on your eToro account via several methods. You can use bank transfers, credit or debit cards, or online payment processors like PayPal or Skrill. The minimum deposit for online banking or card transfers is $10 and your funds will be available immediately. Wire transfer will take four to seven days to complete and the minimum is $500.
Step 4: Buy Crypto
Type the name of the crypto you want to buy in the search bar and click on the first result. A new screen will open, containing all the information about it, including price, history, and analysis. Click on “Trade” and select how many you want to buy.
Step 5: Transfer Crypto to Your Wallet or Keep It in Your Account
You can either keep your crypto in your eToro account for further trades or transfer it to your wallet for safekeeping.
>>>Visit the Best Crypto Exchange<<<
Cryptoassets are a highly volatile unregulated investment product. No UK or EU investor protection.
Conclusion
As we already mentioned, finding the best crypto exchange is just the first step toward being a successful crypto investor and trader, but that doesn’t make it any less important.
