Opening a cryptocurrency exchange account is a terrific way to get started whether you want to purchase or sell cryptocurrencies.
Crypto exchanges are similar to online brokerage platforms in that they provide you with the facilities to purchase and sell digital currencies and tokens such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Dogecoin.
It's critical to consider variables like supported assets, fees, payment methods, and security when selecting a cryptocurrency exchange.
When compiling this list of the best cryptocurrency exchanges, we took these things into account to help you pick the appropriate one.
Best Crypto Exchanges of 2023
- Best for Beginners and Best Overall: Coinbase
- Crypto.com is the best mobile app.
- Gemini is the best sign for security.
- BitMart is the best for altcoins.
- Kraken is the best for low fees and experienced traders.
- Cash App is the best Bitcoin app.
- Bisq is the best-decentralized exchange.
Before making any financial decisions, seek advice from a certified expert. This article does not constitute an investment recommendation by Investopedia or the author, nor can the accuracy or timeliness of the information be guaranteed.
The Best Cryptocurrency Exchange
Coinbase
Why We Chose It?
Coinbase is the best cryptocurrency exchange worldwide, as well as the major crypto exchange for novices. It has a huge variety of supported coins as well as good security.
Coinbase is a good option for expert traders because it offers a sophisticated trading platform, Coinbase Pro, in addition to becoming a newcomer platform.
Overview
Coinbase was established in 2012 with the hope of creating it easy for anyone to purchase, sell, and store Cryptos. Coinbase has become a publicly traded trading platform with a market capitalization of more than $35 billion.
The crypto exchange, which was founded in San Francisco, is today a geographically decentralized organization with no headquarters and operations in more than 100 countries.
It distinguishes itself by offering a user-friendly trading experience, strong security, and a variety of additional tools for advanced traders. Coinbase has been the go-to exchange for many first-time crypto buyers due to its wide number of supported assets (150+) and user-friendly website.
The platform has the appearance and feel of an online banking tool, which the majority of consumers are already familiar with, making the transfer to crypto investing simple.
To prevent user assets from being lost in the event of a security compromise, Coinbase ensures the digital funds it holds on account of users and stores U.S. currency balances in FDIC-insured bank accounts.
A variety of payment methods, including wire transfer and ACH transfer, are available for funding trading accounts.
Coinbase also provides storage solutions for cryptocurrency. For new investors, the initial choice is to store their coins on the Coinbase.com exchange, which is a custodial option. For experienced cryptocurrency users, the second option is a non-custodial wallet (Coinbase Wallet).
When you keep your cryptocurrency on Coinbase.com, Coinbase owns the private keys and essentially manages the funds on your behalf. Because the user holds the private keys to the Coinbase Wallet, they have full control over their funds.
Coinbase is a decent exchange for both beginner and experienced crypto investors, however trading fees can be hefty, ranging from 0% to 0.60 percent depending on trade volume. Furthermore, Coinbase's user feedback is mostly negative.
Many Tripadvisor users, for example, have complained about service problems. There have also been numerous reports of surprise account closures, which have tarnished the exchange's reputation.
Despite these flaws, Coinbase is still worth considering because of its numerous advantages.
Crypto.com
Crypto.com was chosen as the top mobile crypto exchange app because it offers a comprehensive digital asset trading and investing environment that you can quickly access from your smartphone.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Over 250 cryptocurrencies are supported.
- Provides a number of cryptocurrency-related services.
Cons
- Fees that are relatively high
- Customer service is lacking.
Overview
Crypto.com, which has been launched in 2016, has successfully established itself as one of the world's leading crypto exchanges. It's now available in more than 90 countries and supports more than 250 cryptocurrencies.
Crypto.com offers a vast digital asset ecosystem that includes its own blockchain, Crypto.org Chain; a native token called CRO; a crypto visa card; yield-generating crypto products; and more.
The Crypto.com mobile app, on the other hand, stands out the most. While many crypto exchange mobile apps are a watered-down version of the exchange's web-based platform.
Crypto.com focused on creating an app that offers a diverse set of products and features, allowing customers to make use of the exchange's ecosystem while on the road. Users of the mobile app can purchase, sell, trade, earn interest on their crypto, and pay with crypto.
While Crypto.com has a lot of items and features, according to Trustpilot complaints from past and current consumers who have left negative evaluations, customer service is insufficient.
Furthermore, unless you trade in large volumes, you will be charged significant trading fees of up to 0.40 percent.
Crypto.com is likely the greatest option for a great mobile crypto trading experience, given its wide range of goods and features, as well as its big number of supported assets.
BitMart
Why Did We Pick It?
Because it allows customers in 180+ countries to purchase and sell over 1,000 cryptocurrencies, BitMart is our top pick in the best for altcoins category.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- It accepts a huge variety of different coins.
- Provides possibilities to earn cryptocurrency
- Provides an easy way to buy and trade cryptocurrencies.
Cons
- In 2021, there was a large-scale hack.
- Customer response has been negative.
Overview
BitMart is a global cryptocurrency exchange that operates in over 180 countries and was founded in 2017. Users can buy, sell, and store over 1,000 digital currencies and tokens on the platform.
BitMart, which is based in the Cayman Islands, has established itself as a major cryptocurrency trading platform for small and mid-cap cryptocurrencies.
Investors wishing to add newly launched or obscure crypto assets to their portfolios will certainly find what they are searching for on BitMart since it offers more assets and trading pairings than its market-leading counterparts.
Customers can also utilize BitMart's Earn option to collect interest on crypto assets they have on the exchange. When owning the exchange's native cryptocurrency, BMX, users can get trading fee savings.
While BitMart has a lot to offer experienced crypto traders, the exchange has gotten some bad press over the years. Several Trustpilot users, for example, complained about withdrawal troubles, bad customer service, and a lack of transparency. There are, however, some positive reviews as well.
Furthermore, in December 2021, BitMart experienced a security breach that resulted in the loss of $196 million in customer cash.
2 While BitMart has offered to refund users, the attack has damaged the exchange's image significantly.
Despite these flaws, crypto fans wishing to trade a variety of lesser-known coins may find BitMart to be a useful resource.
Kraken
Because it costs some of the lowest fees in the crypto exchange environment, Kraken's professional-grade trading platform, Kraken Pro, is our pick for the best low-fee exchange. It's also our top pick for experienced traders, as it allows leverage and futures trading and offers complex order types.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- A large variety of cryptocurrencies are supported.
- Kraken Pro has low fees.
- The exchange is extremely liquid.
Cons
- Not all states in the United States have it.
- Account funding possibilities are limited.
Overview
Kraken is one of the most respected cryptocurrency exchanges in the world, having been founded in 2011 and being available in almost every country.
On its professional-grade trading platform, Kraken Pro, the San Francisco-based exchange allows investors to buy, sell, and hold over 120 cryptocurrencies while incurring modest fees.
In the early days of the crypto industry, this feature-rich crypto exchange established itself as the go-to platform for experienced investors, and it has retained its image as a trustworthy and professional trading venue.
Kraken has two platforms: its primary trading platform and Kraken Pro, which is designed for professionals.
The Professional interface on the marketplace offers highly customizable chart analysis capabilities, deep visibility into the order books, 14 different transaction types, and high-speed execution.
Kraken members can exchange currency on margin and execute crypto commodity futures methods in addition to spot trading.
While immediate buy fees on Kraken's standard platform might be rather costly (up to 1.5%), fees on Kraken Pro are quite minimal. Kraken Pro is a tiered cost structure that helps high-volume traders to save money on commissions.
Kraken Pro's maker costs start at 0.16 percent and taker fees start at 0.26 percent for traders with 30-day volumes of less than $50,000. Producer fees, on either hand, can be as low as 0%, and taker fees as low as 0.10 percent (for traders with 30-day rotating transactions of more than $9 million).
Furthermore, Kraken's funding choices are limited, with wire transfers being the primary mode of payment for Kraken users. The use of ACH transfers is not permitted.
Cash App
We chose Cash App as our top pick amongst Btc exchanges because it allows you to purchase, sell, and keep Bitcoins from your phone in a simple and secure manner.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- An interface that is simple to utilize.
- Withdraw money from your crypto wallet.
- The Bitcoin Lightning Network is supported.
Cons
- Bitcoin is the only currency supported.
- Wallet in Custody.
- Limits on deposits, sales, and other items.
Overview
Cash App is a mobile app that allows people in the United States and the United Kingdom to send, spend, deposit, and invest money.
It was launched in 2013 by Block, Inc. (previously Square, Inc.). It's a mobile banking app that focuses on peer-to-peer payments but also has an investment component. Cash App allows users to invest in stocks, ETFs, and Bitcoin.
Cash App, unlike its competitors Robinhood and Venmo, allows users to withdraw Bitcoin to third-party wallets, which sets it apart from the competition.
Cash App's CEO, Jack Dorsey, revealed in early 2023 that the firm had begun to roll out support for the Bitcoin Lightning Network, which allows for near-instant Bitcoin transfers at nearly no cost.
The main disadvantage of using the Cash App to buy and store Bitcoin is that the in-app wallet is custodial, meaning it is held on your behalf by the company.
Custodial wallets are handier than non-custodial wallets, but they are also less safe. Since you may withdraw your Bitcoin from Cash App, you can transfer it to a personal wallet where you control the private keys.
The Bitcoin trading costs charged by Cash App vary, and they are only displayed when you are requested to complete your purchase or sell transaction. Cash App uses the mid-price and charges a spread fee while trading bitcoin.
Bisq
Bisq is our choice for the best-decentralized exchange because it lets users purchase and sells cryptocurrencies securely and confidentially from anywhere in the world.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Available all throughout the world.
- Provides a high level of privacy and does not require ID verification.
- There are over 45 different payment options available.
Cons
- The speed of transactions can be slow.
- Low trading volumes are possible.
- It is not intended for active trading.
Overview
Bisq is an open-source cryptocurrency trading platform that was launched in 2014 that allows anyone from all over the world to trade a variety of digital currencies and tokens on a peer-to-peer basis. Over 100 digital assets are now supported.
Customers are not required to complete a Know Your Customer (KYC) identity verification process, and the trading program is not restricted to users in specific jurisdictions.
Users can buy and sell Bitcoins on Bisq using a variety of payment options such as bank transfers, ACH transfers, and cash deposits.
Bisq is popular among early cryptocurrency adopters because it adheres to many of the ideas that Bitcoin was founded on, such as decentralization, privacy, and sovereignty, but it is not a user-friendly exchange.
The escrow method employed in peer-to-peer trading may be difficult for new users to understand, and the relatively delayed deal execution may hinder first-time users and aggressive traders.
Furthermore, because trading volumes are lower than on centralized worldwide exchanges, the exchange is better suited to making smaller trades.
Bisq, on the other hand, provides everything you need to purchase and sell cryptocurrencies on a decentralized, KYC-free platform for experienced crypto investors.
Final Verdict
If you want to get started trading or investing in cryptocurrencies, finding the appropriate exchange for your needs is critical.
There is a solid alternative for you whether you want a big number of digital assets to trade, the lowest possible costs, or the most beginner-friendly user experience.
If you're looking for a user-friendly site that offers a big variety of cryptocurrencies, Coinbase, our top pick, might be the correct exchange for you.
Kraken Pro may be a decent solution if cheap fees are crucial to you. Consider your objectives and priorities before selecting the exchange that best meets your requirements.