Choosing the right exchange
Kraken? Gdax? Bifinex? Cryptopia? There are a plethora of exchanges out there and when introducing cryptocurrencies into your life, choosing what exchanges to use can be a difficult task. Let’s start off by deducing what makes an exchange good and what makes one work better for you as a buyer. When I look at exchanges there are five main criterias that I asses.
Security and authenticity
This may be the most important aspect of choosing an exchange. Always begin with looking at the exchange’s track record and how it dealt with its issues. I believe that openness and transparency is essential for any exchange.
Offered cryptocurrencies
This is where you as a buyer need to think about what you are looking to trade. Personally I want to have a variety of options hence are exchanges like GDAX not sufficient enough since they only offer 4 coins compared to exchanges like Cryptopia that offer almost 500 different cryptocurrencies.
User interface and website
This may seem strange but I think having a clean and easy-to-use website is essential. You should be able to learn how to use the exchanges easily and feel comfortable navigating their websites.
Fees and pricing
If you are going to be buying and selling fairly often like me, it’s important that the exchanges you choose to use have low transaction fees. These prices range widely and can make a huge difference in the long-run.
Payment method
What payment methods are offered? Credit & debit card? Wire transfer? Or maybe nothing at all? For some this is a very important aspect. A lot of the big exchanges don’t offer any fiat-to-crypto options such as Binance.
The matter of truth is that choosing an exchange depends on personal taste. Everyone finds that different exchanges work the best for them and the only way to see which one is the best for you is to throw yourself out there and try as many as you can.
Intermediate & Advanced users: Binance
I have hopped between almost 10 exchanges and have now settled on Binance. I personally feel that Binance follows all my criterias and does so very well. They are very open and transparent about their success and features but also their mistakes and faults. They offer a wide variety of coins and tokens with low buying/selling fees whilst persevering a strong and fast system. Their website offers two appearances of their exchange so that both beginners and more experienced buyers can use their service. It is important to note that Binance does not offer fiat-to-crypto but rather you will have to transfer your current cryptocurrency holdings to their exchange in order to use their services.
Beginners: Coinbase
For people that are new to cryptocurrency I would suggest choosing a more “simple” exchange such as Coinbase which offers a simple way of purchasing Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin & Bitcoin Cash using fiat. Coinbase has a strong reputation and is very beginner friendly. It also offers high security and all holdings are covered by Coinbase insurance. It does however come with the price of having fairly high transaction fees and a very limited coin offering.
Don’t limit your options!
Whilst Binance is the exchange I use the most I also hop onto other exchanges like Cryptopia from time to time. Cryptopia is great since it offers such a wide variety of coins and tokens with very reasonable fees. It also has a forum and a news-section making it a great all around cryptocurrency website.
List of good exchanges I can personally recommend for you to look into:
• Coinbase (Beginner friendly)
• CEX.IO (Beginner friendly)
• CoinMama (Beginner friendly)
• Bitstamp
• Kraken
• BitFinex
• Kucoin
• Poloniex
If you have an exchange that works well for you, comment down below and tell us why!
Legal disclaimer: This is only my personal opinion, make of it what you wish. What does this mean? It means it’s not advice nor recommendation to either buy or sell anything! It’s only meant for informative & entertainment purposes.
Best regards,
NIcholas Stael von Holstein
Starflow
