Cryptocurrency is the fuel of Blockchain and it has gained so much attraction nowadays. In fact, the analysis depicts that the popularity of blockchain is a bit down as compared to cryptocurrency.
However, there is always confusion among beginners about buying and selling cryptocurrency and whom to trust on the websites. In this article, we’ll go through the details of different platforms where you can buy or sell cryptocurrency and the things you need to keep in mind before choosing any exchange.
This article introduces you to some of the cryptocurrency exchanges; this is not advisable to invest in cryptocurrency anyway, as it’s perilous. So, proceed wisely!
What are Cryptocurrency Exchanges?
Cryptocurrency Exchanges are the online platforms that allow people to buy and sell cryptocurrencies for other currencies. Exchanges can be decentralized, peer-to-peer, or centralized. Also, their fees can vary. Once you open an account with an exchange, you’ll get a virtual address; using that address, you can trade cryptocurrency. Further, you can transfer funds from the exchange account to your wallet account or to a bank.
Before using any exchange, check the following things.
Reputation
To check if the exchange is trustworthy or not, review the reputation of it from the other user reviews or well-known companies that use a particular exchange. You can also study online forums like Reddit, Bitcointalk, Medium, or social media sites like Twitter.
Fees
Usually, you can find fee-related information on the Exchange's website. Before going to jump into an Exchange, make sure you understand the fee structure including deposit, transaction, and withdrawal fees. There could be a variable fee by location and payment methods.
Payment Methods
Different Exchanges provide different payment methods, so figure out which is a convenient payment method for you. Remember that purchasing cryptocurrencies with credit/debit card requires ID verification, and it comes with higher prices than usual.
Verifications
The majority of Exchanges from the US & the UK require ID verification to trade. Some Exchanges require only minimal information as an email while others require all your personal information - your photo, passport's xerox copy, bank account information, etc. This verification may take a longer time, in days or even in weeks.
Country Restrictions
Many Exchanges have restricted their services in a group of countries or they would offer specific functions to the particular country. Government regulations impact the restrictions, so make sure that the Exchange you are opting for is fully functional to your location.
Customer Support
Customer support response time is also an important factor to be considered. Faster response time helps new users to solve their queries. Perhaps, long response time increases the amount of theft and risk sometimes.
Here is the list of some of the Exchanges from which you can buy or sell cryptocurrency.
Coinbase
Coinbase is one of the popular (and one of the most beginner-friendly) Exchanges with 20M+ customers and with a very clear interface. It requires email id and bank account linking to start with it. Coinbase provides the ability to trade with 9 different cryptocurrencies. Instead of buying coins from another individual, you can directly buy it from Coinbase, which makes Coinbase a broker. Apart from the exchange services, they also have products called Coinbase Pro and Coinbase Prime. Coinbase Pro is a trading platform for individual traders and crypto enthusiasts whereas Coinbase Prime has designed for institutional clients.
Features of Coinbase are as below.
- Beginner-friendly
- Pay via credit card, debit card, and bank transfer
- Supported 9 cryptocurrencies
- Supported provided 42 countries
- Member of the Blockchain Alliance
- Monitoring Suspicious activities
- Quick customer support
Learn more: https://www.coinbase.com/
Binance
Binance is a global cryptocurrency exchange, providing support for 100 cryptocurrencies, and is considered as the biggest cryptocurrency exchange in terms of trading volume. However, it supports none of the fiat currency (USD, EURO, etc.) trades; only cryptocurrencies can be deposited and traded. Also, Binance has its own cryptocurrency called BNB (Binance Coin); with a total supply of 200 million BNB tokens. You can register your own token with Binance for trading to the market.
Features of Binance are mentioned below.
- Lower trading fees
- Available worldwide
- Get discount if you pay fees in BNB tokens
- The highest trading volumes
- SAFU (Secure Asset Fund for Users) that offer protection to the Binance users and their funds in extreme cases
Changelly
Changelly is a cryptocurrency exchange that instantly allows the users to buy cryptocurrencies with best crypto-to-crypto and fiat-to-crypto rates. It supports over 200 cryptocurrencies to trade. Here, Changelly has a different approach to trading. Changelly’s algorithm is integrated with other different exchanges, such as Binance, Poloniex, Bittrex etc. In a fraction of time, Changelly bids on integrated exchanges, then picks up the best available rates and suggests that to the user.
Features of Changelly are mentioned below.
- Best rates in the market
- Transparent reasonable fees
- Faster transaction time
- High exchange limits
- Available worldwide
- Good customer support
Coinmama
Coinmama is another beginner-friendly and trusted exchange which supports 7 different cryptocurrencies. Also, you can always purchase digital currency with any credit/debit card you own as long as it’s a Visa or MasterCard. Unlike other exchanges, Coinmama doesn't provide any online wallet; you have to specify your wallet address at the time of registration, in which you would like to trade. Currently, CoinMama provides support in over 200+ countries worldwide, however, there are a number of US states which have been restricted. You can find the related information on the company's website. Also, note that Coinmama has higher rates in terms of transaction fee than other exchanges.
Features of Coinmama -
- Buy with a credit card
- High spending limits
- Fast-track verification
- Buy Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, and other popular cryptocurrencies
- Instant delivery
- Good customer support
Bittrex
Bittrex is a secure and robust trading platform. It provides a multi-stage wallet strategy; they have categorized it into three different levels of verification, including New or Unverified account, Basic accounts, and Enhanced accounts. With a different level wallet, account limit of a wallet may differ. They also allow users to deposit fiat currency into their exchange from specific geo-locations.
Features of Bittrex are listed below.
- All trades are charged 0.25%
- No fees for deposits
- No charges for USD deposits and withdrawals
- Slack channel support can solve common error and other troubleshooting
Gemini
Gemini is a US-based asset exchange and custodian; regulated by New York State Department of Financial Services (NYSDFS). Gemini has its own cryptocurrency called the Gemini dollar that is world’s first regulated stable coin. 1 Gemini dollar is equally proportional to 1 USD. Gemini trades currencies in 16 different pairs, such as BTC/USD, ETH/USD, BCH/ETH etc.
Features of Gemini are given below.
- Intuitive platform
- Regulated and Stable
- Operate in all U.S. states except Hawaii. Also operational in Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, and the U.K
- It stores Majority deposits of digital assets in offline cold storage
- Secure exchange with lower fees
- A quicker way to buy cryptocurrency just like an email
- Gemini dollar (GUSD) listed for trading on many other exchanges
Bitpanda
Bitpanda is Europe’s leading retail broker for buying and selling cryptocurrency. They support 20+ cryptocurrencies to trade. Additionally, it supports several payment methods, such as bank transfers, credit/debit cards, NETELLER, Skrill, SOFORT Transfer, GIROPAY, Sepa, Amazon and many more. Bitpanda is easy, fast, and secure exchange to start with.
Features of Bitpanda are as below.
- Easy and Convenient
- Buy & Sell Securely
- Fast and Reliable
- Multiple Payment Options
LocalBitcoins
LocalBitcoins is a peer-to-peer (P2P) exchange to buy and sell Bitcoin in over 248 countries. It allows users to trade individually, there is no server in between, and they would consider an individual user as a node. A user can post advertisements regarding trade, other users can see and respond and any payment method can complete the transaction. However, LocalBitcoins faced issues with a few of the countries and they have banned it there; as it reveals the user’s information publicly. LocalBitcoins takes 1% from sellers who set their own exchange rates.
Features of LocalBitcoins are mentioned below.
- Peer To Peer Exchange
- You can use cash to buy cryptocurrency
- Private way to purchase cryptocurrency
- Provides an escrow service
Coinsquare
Coinsquare is a Canadian cryptocurrency exchange. Coinsquare’s QuickTrade feature instantly makes trades between any two currencies, whether it’s XRP to Ethereum or Litecoin to EUR. It has 95% cold storage policy on all digital currencies, which makes it a more secure platform. Coinsquare has a customized fee structure with different currencies; that you can find on the exchange website.
Features of Coinsquare are -
- Beginner friendly
- 95% cold storage policy
- Stress tested and DDoS tested
Kraken
Kraken is one of the leading Bitcoin exchanges for fast execution and security. Kraken offers over 15 cryptocurrency pairs to trades with low fees. It also offers high liquidity, fast funding, and margin trading.
Features of Kraken can be seen below.
- Trade cryptocurrency with crypto pairs
- Low transaction fees
- Good user support
- For expert users
Well, there are many more exchanges available in the market but I have covered only a few of them on the basis of user ratings and reviews!
In this article, we have learned about different cryptocurrency exchanges. You can trade cryptocurrencies by using any of these. But make sure that before choosing any exchange, you read all the information carefully as we have discussed in this article.
References
- Wikipedia
- Individual Exchange websites.
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