Top Cryptocurrency Exchanges in 2018 Reviews

Your  first step into the cryptocurrency world will most likely occur through  an exchange. There are two main types of exchanges that we will discuss  in this guide.The first type of exchange is what most people call a fiat exchange.  This an exchange that allows the direct transfer of US Dollars, Euros,  and most government-backed currencies to be traded for cryptocurrency.The second type of exchange are cryptocurrency to cryptocurrency exchanges,  that allow cryptocurrencies to be traded with each other. The most  common pairings on these exchanges are Bitcoin and Ethereum. Crypto to  crypto exchanges will be covered more in-depth on the second half of  this page. 

 Depending  on what cryptocurrency you are trying to obtain, you will need to use  certain exchanges. To get most cryptocurrencies, you will need to use  both types of exchanges. This is because laws and regulations around  certain cryptocurrencies make it difficult for fiat exchanges to sell  them.Each exchange has different pros and cons, so the best exchange for one person, might not be the best for another.You should consider a number of things when determining the best Bitcoin/cryptocurrency exchange for you: 

• How safe is the website and server? Secure exchanges are better.
• How is the liquidity? The higher the exchange’s volume, the better.
• What are the exchanges fees? The lower the better.
• How is the exchanges customer support?
• What trading pairs are available?
• How many different payment options does it have?
• Is the exchange beginner friendly?

 Here’s some information on some of the most popular crypto to crypto exchanges. 

Binance

 Binance  is one of the newer exchanges but has impressed its customers on  several occasions. They have some of the highest trading volumes on  several of their trading pairs, and an enormous amount of coins  available for purchase.It is based in Hong Kong, with offices located in several other countries such as Japan and China. It is available to all countries and US states.Recently,  Binance has introduced SAFU (Secure Asset Fund for Users), that takes  10% of all trading fees the exchanges earns, to give back to the users  in the event of a hack.

Kucoin

 Kucoin  is also a relatively new cryptocurrency exchange based in Korea, that  has a wide variety of cryptocurrencies for sale. It has its own token  similar to Binance known as Kucoin shares, that award its holders a percentage of the exchanges total trading fees. Kucoin’s trading fee is .1%.Kucoin holds contests and other promotions similar to Binance  making it a great exchange to have an account on. Kucoin is an  interesting exchange as many of the altcoins listed on the exchange are  exclusive or on a small amount of exchanges.

Changelly

 Changelly  takes a different approach to being an exchange. Instead of letting  users store their cryptocurrency on their exchange, they set up  conversion transactions. Users select an input and output currency and  an amount.In  the above example, I selected .1 BTC and an opposing amount of ETH is  automatically determined at the going rate. Then, Changelly provides an  address to send the Bitcoin to, and asks for an address to send their  Ethereum to.This  effectively cuts out one step and swaps currencies in real-time. In  exchange for their services, Changelly charges .5% on transactions. Fiat  currencies such as the US Dollar and Euro can be used, but have  slightly higher fees. Pretty cool!

Bittrex

 Bittrex  is a Seattle, U.S. based and regulated exchange. It offers several  trading pairs and supports more than 190 cryptocurrencies. It offers  speedy transactions, high stability, and follows some risk management  practices. Bittrex’s fees are .25%, which are somewhat high compared to  their competition. Bittrex’s customer support is pretty good and uses  Slack, Twitter and Email.They  recently allowed certain customers to deposit fiat currency into their  exchange, which is pretty rare for an exchange with the amount of coins  Bittrex offers.

Cryptopia

 Cryptopia  is a New Zealand based exchange that has an enormous amount of  cryptocurrencies available. It features Bitcoin, Litecoin, and Tether  trading pairs. Cryptopia’s serves all countries and has trading fees  of .2%.In  addition to their cryptocurrency trading pairs, Cryptopia offers a  marketplace where nearly any item or service can be purchased with  cryptocurrency.

Bitfinex

 BitFinex  is one of the larger cryptocurrency in terms of volume and users. It is  based in Hong Kong and has trading fees of .1% for makers, and .2% for  takers. It is important to note that BitFinex does not allow US users to  sign up for their exchange.Please note that Bitfinex is limited in the countries they serve and do not accept US signups.

Poloniex

 Poloniex  is a U.S. based exchange available in all countries and states. It was  recently purchased by Circle and has a great selection of  cryptocurrencies. Poloniex has .15% fees for makers and .25% fees for  takers.Poloniex has lost a lot of their volume as competitors have been able to add more coins and features to their exchange.

Aiodex

 Aiodex’s Referral Program  will give you 20% -80% commission from their transaction fee for 7  years. The value will be calculated starting from the date the member  you invite sign up. Starting from the first year is 20%, after each year  increased to 10% from the first day of next year. For the 300K members  who are enjoying the transaction fee refund policy, if they are one of  your invited members, you will receive a commission until the system  start charging their transaction fees. For example, if the new system  start charging from 2020–01–01, you will start receiving commissions and  since it is the second year then you will receive 30%. 

 Sign up now to claim your reward ☞ https://aiodex.com/?ref=5b45a599c7165734d36bb3fc

Security:  Use of HTTPS, Google 2FA verification, SMS verification, cold wallet,  personal account security and other five major security plans to ensure  users trade their assets with security.

Privacy: All our traders’ information is fully secure and kept undisclosed.

Free Listing:  We will be listing coins that are voted by the community and in the  future we aim to have most cryptocurrencies listed so you can trade all  in one place.

Low Fees & No Hidden Fees:  All our fees are transparent, upfront and listed when you make a  purchase. The trading and withdrawal fees will be held as low as  possible.

High Performance: To ensure stability we will take Bank-level standardized servers to operate flawlessly even when experiencing huge traffic.

Ease of use: User-friendly interface allows Aiodex to provide users with convenient transaction services, including automatic deposit and transfer.

Limited Verification:  To create an account and begin trading you will only be asked to  provide your email address. Verification is only required for large  withdrawals over the daily limit.

Advanced Trading Tools: Our platform provide statistical analysis tools when you make trading plan.

Referral System: With each member invited, you will receive an additional one month free trading fee.

Follow Aiodex at:

https://discord.gg/RvhvdZq
https://fb.me/aiodexofficial
https://twitter.com/aiodex_official
https://t.me/aiodex_official

Here’s some information on some of the most popular fiat cryptocurrency exchanges.

Coinbase

 Headquartered in San Francisco, California, Coinbase  is considered by many to be the most beginner friendly exchange. It  accomplishes this through its beautiful yet simple user interface.Instead  of buying Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies from other users, you are  buying directly from Coinbase. Technically, this makes Coinbase is a  brokerage. Coinbase has recently rebranded GDAX (Global Digital Asset  Exchange) to Coinbase Pro. This rebranding has come up with an updated user interface, and new features.Coinbase  charges 1.49% fees on bank purchases and 3.99% fees on credit and debit  purchases. These fees are on the lower end compared to other  brokerages. It’s recommended to use your bank account when making large  purchases. Coinbase allows its users to make recurring purchases when  investing in various cryptocurrencies.The  exchange has recently expressed interest in adding several other  cryptocurrencies, such as Ethereum Classic, Stellar Lumens, Cardano and  more. Coinbase’s lack of altcoins have hurt them in the past but will  start seeing more variety soon.

Coinmama

 Coinmama  is also pretty beginner friendly and focuses on credit and debit card  purchases. They have instant delivery and are able to sell Bitcoin,  Ethereum, Ripple, Litecoin, BCash, Cardano, Qtum and Ethereum Classic to  almost all US States, and most countries. Coinmama’s fees are a bit on  the higher end at 5.5% when a credit or debit card is used.Coinmama  doesn’t provide its users with a wallet on the exchange. Instead, users  are asked to provide a wallet address to send the purchased  cryptocurrency to. As long as you have your own wallet, this shouldn’t  be an issue!Please  note that Coinmama doesn’t let you sell cryptocurrency back to fiat  currency. This can be done on other mentioned exchanges after  purchasing.

Bitpanda

 Bitpanda  is a European based exchange that sells Bitcoin, BCash, Dash, Ethereum,  Litecoin, IOTA, Komodo and Ripple for US Dollars, Euros, British  Pounds, and Swiss Francs. It has several payment methods such as bank  transfers, credit cards, debit cards, Skrill, Neteller and more.  Bitpanda has 3.98% fees on credit and debit card purchases.Recently,  Bitpanda has made it so it’s users do not pay any transaction or  blockchain fees for sending cryptocurrency between accounts on the  exchange, making it convenient for sending lower amounts of  cryptocurrency.Bitpanda has a very simple user interface, making it easy for beginners to successfully invest in cryptocurrency.

Luno

 Luno  is a fantastic exchange that allows for the trading of Bitcoin and  Ethereum against several fiat currencies. It is important to note, that Luno currently only supports Europe, South Africa, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Nigeria.For  payment methods, Luno allows for bank transfers (SEPA, GIRO, IBFT, GT,  EFT) as well as card deposits. Their trading fees are very low starting  at .25% and vary on the trading pair. For limits, fully verified  accounts are able to trade over $100,000 EUR monthly.Luno also has an app on the Android and iOS App Store making it easy to buy, trade, and store cryptocurrency.

CEX.IO

 CEX.IO  offers security, high liquidity, and cross-platform trading. It has  somewhat high fees, margin trading, almost 100% uptime, etc. It is  headquartered in London, UK.It  was affected by a small hack long back but has had no issues for a  while. It has over 2 million accounts and a wide variety of  cryptocurrencies for sale.CEX.io  appears to have little no fees at first glance. They are able to do  this by charging a premium on the Bitcoin price. When a user buys  cryptocurrency on their exchange, they are paying more for the actual  currency compared to the other exchanges prices. This doesn’t matter too  much as it is basically the same thing as a service fee.

Kraken

 Kraken  is also one of the better cryptocurrency exchanges. It provides  reliability, high-security environment, some legal compliance, and  advanced order types like stop-loss orders. In addition to Bitcoin,  Kraken offers over 15 cryptocurrency pairs including Monero, ZCash,  Ripple and more.Kraken  also offers high liquidity, low fees, fast funding, margin trading,  etc. It has uptime problems occasionally. It was founded in 2011. It is  headquartered in San Francisco, California.

LocalBitcoins

 LocalBitcoins  offers a peer-to-peer (P2P) exchange. It allows users to trade among  themselves individually. It offers lower fees. It also offers a  resolution system, a rating system for traders, etc. It allows users to  post a quick buy or quick sell ad on the exchange platform. It is one of  the best cryptocurrency exchanges for peer to peer trading.LocalBitcoins  is one of the better exchanges for users concerned with their privacy.  Bitcoin can be purchased in person without linking an identity to an  exchange.

Bitstamp

 Bitstamp  is a Bitcoin/cryptocurrency exchange with very high trading volume  which gives you more liquidity. It was founded in 2011 and has its  headquarters in Luxembourg. Expect .25% when buying and trading on  Bitstamp.They  have a wide variety of trading pairs and cryptocurrencies available  such as Bitcoin, Ripple, Litecoin, Ethereum and more. Although it is  based in Europe, users from the United States and other countries can  send international transfers for a very low fee.

Gemini

 Gemini  Exchange is an exchange based in New York, US. It only trades three  currencies: US dollars, Bitcoin and Ethereum. It has low fees of 1%. It  offers high security and compliance, top of the line cold storage system  that stores information offline, access controls, and multi-factor  authentication.Gemini  recently added support for more cryptocurrencies such as Zcash. This  was a huge addition as Zcash is a privacy-focused currency and very few  exchanges allow direct purchases of privacy cryptocurrency.

Conclusions

Most  cryptocurrency exchanges will serve their intended purpose in letting  users buy cryptocurrency listed on the exchange. The main differences  are the exchanges fees, customer support, the number of supported coins,  and supported countries. To ensure you have access to as many  cryptocurrencies as possible, it may be wise to sign up for each  exchange.The important things to take away from this page is the difference between the two main types of exchanges.The  first set is commonly referred to as fiat exchanges, and allow users to  use credit cards, debit cards, and bank transfers to purchase  cryptocurrency. The most popular fiat exchange is Coinbase.The  other type of exchange is known as a crypto to crypto exchange and only  allows cryptocurrencies to be exchanged with each other. No fiat  currencies or debit/credit or bank transfers are used on these  exchanges.