In Part 5, I covered how to buy altcoins on Binance. Now let's look at some other exchanges.
Part 6: Coin Exchanges
Difficulty: Intermediate
If you find a coin you want to buy that's not on Binance, you're going to have to sign up for another exchange to buy it. Most are organized pretty similarly to Binance, so once you get a hang of how things work there, you should be able to figure out the others, too; and if not, there's Google. :)
Some sites will require you to go through an identity confirmation process similar to Coinbase's, with different levels with fewer limitations. This is especially true for US-based sites. Foreign-based sites may not need anything more than your email and a password.
Trust & reliability are two of the factors to consider when choosing an exchange (in addition to the obvious: which coins it offers). You don't want to leave coins in an exchange you don't trust; and you don't want to buy coins on an exchange that might not let you withdraw them; or worse, just takes your coins. I generally trust US-based exchanges the most (Coinbase/GDAX, Bittrex, Poloniex, Gemini). They follow SEC, CFTC, and IRS related laws and regulations (yeah the IRS wants their cut). After that, it's not always as clear which exchanges to trust. I've outlined my personal thoughts & ratings on some of them below.
Ranked from [1] (awesome) to [5] (terrible):
- Coinbase/GDAX [3]
- Binance [1]
- Bittrex [2]
- Poloniex [2]
- Gemini [1-2]
- HitBTC [3]
- Liqui [3]
- Cryptopia [3]
- C-CEX [5]
- Bleutrade [3]
- LiveCoin [4]
- Kucoin [4]
- Mercatox [5]
- Kraken [💩X]
Coinbase/GDAX [3]
Coinbase.com (referral link – you get $10 when you deposit $100)
While it's the easiest & fastest way to get your fiat into cryptocurrency, it's been extremely unreliable lately. They'll pause trading of BTC or ETH for hours at a time when things are busy, with no notice, and that's not cool. Transfers have also gotten really, really slow lately; And I've seen a lot of complaints about support (or lack thereof), which is probably because they're overwhelmed with new users (but they're still accepting new users. :/). Hopefully they resolve these issues, but in the mean time, I rarely use Coinbase/GDAX for anything but depositing/withdrawing fiat (and then transferring coins to another exchange). I think it's a relatively safe place to store coins (and fiat that you've sold back to), and I store some of mine there, but I'm mostly just holding those coins. They're the exchange I trust the most with my coins/money, but use the least for trading.
Pros:
- Fastest & easiest way to convert fiat into crypto, and vise versa.
- Very trustworthy exchange – they're US-based and work within the constraints of the SEC and IRS. Coins & fiat are insured. More info
- Coinbase has a very nice mobile app, and GDAX works well in a mobile browser.
- GDAX offers Limit and Stop Limit orders.
- All coins offered can be traded directly for USD.
- On GDAX, there are no fees for "maker" orders or transfers in/out of the exchange.
Cons:
- Transfers can be very, very slow when the site gets backed up.
- Trading often gets disabled when there's a lot of activity – which might be right when you want to enter a trade.
- Support is often very slow or non-responsive.
- Only offers a very limited number of coins, although they're supposed to add more this year (2018)
Fees – GDAX Fee Structure
Alternate Link if the other one's down again :(
- Deposit/Withdraw fiat or cryptocurrency: 0%
- Maker orders: 0%
- Taker orders:
- BTC: 0.25%
- ETH & LTC: 0.3%
Want somebody else's opinion? CoinCentral, CryptoCompare
Binance [1] – Shanghai / Hong Kong / S.Korea / Japan / Virgin Islands
Binance.com (referral link – you get 50% off fees!)
You'll notice Binance is my only "1" rating. They've earned it. Excellent up-time & doesn't slow down even when there's a lot of trading activity. They have a lot of altcoins and they can be paired with several base coins. They also have very low trading fees, and recently became the biggest exchange by volume. The site is well designed and works very well, even on mobile. They're based out of Shanghai, which is a little concerning, but they seem to have planted themselves in enough different countries that even a China ban wouldn't effect them (or at least not much).
Pros:
- Excellent up-time & responsiveness
- Offers Limit and Stop Limit orders
- Lots of altcoins
- Lots of base coins and trading pairs
- Very low fees, especially with the BNB fee discount, and referral discount
- "Basic" and "Advanced" trading screen options
- Mobile site is nice, although only offers basic trading functions
Cons:
- Based out of Shanghai & registered in Hong Kong. You never know if China will try to shut them down (if they can), although the CEO reportedly said this: "In response to China’s decisions, we are moving our IP’s from Hong Kong to an offshore location. Now we have our IPs registered in BVI (British Virgin Islands) and other locations. So we are registered in multiple locations and we have people in multiple locations. That way we will never be affected by one regulatory body."
- Offers a mobile app for iOS, but it must be side-loaded, which might be a security risk. (this is Apple's fault, not Binance's)
- Mobile site doesn't allow creation of Limit or Stop-Limit orders
- No fiat deposit/withdrawal
Fees – Binance Fee Structure
- Deposit cryptocurrency: 0%
- Withdraw cryptocurrency: Varies by coin
- Trades: 0.1%, with 50% discount for using BNB (discount decreases over time) | Read more
Want somebody else's opinion? CoinCentral, CryptoCompare
Bittrex [2] – USA
One of the biggest exchanges, Bittrex offers lots of altcoins and has good up-time and responsiveness, although it can get slow sometimes. Only 2 base coins are offered: BTC & USDT, but there are quite a few coins paired with USDT. Bittrex is tied with Poloniex as my 2nd favorite exchange.
Pros:
- Good up-time & responsiveness
- Offers Limit and Stop Limit orders, although they're a little confusing to set up
- Lots of altcoins
- Quite a few coins paired with USDT
- US-Based exchange
- Mobile site is usable, including Limit orders (but it does have some usability issues)
Cons:
- No mobile app
- Can be slow sometimes
- No fiat deposit/withdrawal
Fees – Bittrex Fee Structure
- Deposit cryptocurrency: 0%
- Withdraw cryptocurrency: Varies by coin
- Trades: 0.25%
Want somebody else's opinion? CoinCentral, CryptoCompare
Poloniex [2] – USA
Poloniex is also a big exchange offering lots of altcoins, and has pretty good up-time and responsiveness, although it does go down every so often. BTC, ETH, XMR and USD are offered as base coins, with quite a few coins paired with USDT. The site is set up very similarly to Binance, so it should be a good one to try next. Poloniex is tied with Bittrex as my 2nd favorite exchange.
Pros:
- Pretty good up-time & responsiveness (usually)
- Offers Limit and Stop Limit orders
- Lots of altcoins
- Quite a few coins paired with USDT
- US-Based exchange
- Mobile site works very well, including Limit orders.
Cons:
- No mobile app
- Can be slow sometimes
- No fiat deposit/withdrawal
Fees – Poloniex Fee Structure
- Deposit cryptocurrency: 0%
- Withdraw cryptocurrency: Varies by coin
- Trades:
- Maker: 0.15%
- Taker: 0.25%
Other Reviews: CoinCentral, CryptoCompare
Gemini [2] – USA
I haven't used Gemini myself, but I thought I should mention it as an alternative to Coinbase/GDAX. You can deposit & withdraw fiat currency, similar to Coinbase, so it's another option for getting money into & out of crypto. They're US-based, and only offer BTC & ETH, so again somewhat similar to Coinbase. They're a very reputable site, founded by the Winklevoss twins. I give them a 1-2 rating because I signed up & set up an account, but I have yet to actually use the site for any buying/selling/transferring, but so far it seems like a 1, but the lack of altcoins knocking it to a 2.
Fees: Deposit/Withdraw fiat or crypto: 0% (up to 30/mo) | Trades: 0.25% (less for high-volume traders)
Other Reviews: CoinCentral, CryptoCompare
Exchanges I just use for obscure coins:
These exchanges are all pretty small (except HitBTC – they're pretty big). I don't hold a lot of trust in them, but it might be worth signing up for an account to pick up some small/obscure coins in the off-chance they hit the bigger exchanges later and take off. Think of the unique coins on these exchanges as the true penny-stock coins; Just don't hold very much value in coins on any of these exchanges, in case they get hacked or disappear (with your coins) one day. It's best to transfer the coins to a paper or app wallet as soon as you buy them (or as soon as the exchange lets you – some of these exchanges are notorious for disabling withdrawals on coins for long periods of time).
HitBTC [3] – Unknown Location[!]
HitBTC.com (referral link)
Good up-time and functional on mobile – even limit orders. I use it for little altcoins I can't get anywhere else. Offers BTC, ETH & USDT as a trading pair for lots of coins. One big red flag that knocks it to a 3 is that nobody knows where they're based out of, and they are very secretive, so be careful. Non-transparency at this level is very concerning.
Fees: Deposits: 0% | Withdrawals: Varies by coin | Trades-Maker: 0.09% | Taker: 0.10%
Other Reviews: CryptoCompare
Liqui [3] – Ukraine
The mobile site works fine, but there are no Limit orders (on desktop either). I've seen a number of reports of users having issues with the site – funds not transferring, etc. – but I haven't had any issues myself, and I've been using the site for about 9 months, but be careful and verify all your deposits/withdrawals/trades.
Other Reviews: CryptoCompare
Cryptopia [4] – New Zealand
There are no Limit orders, the interface is "ok" and the mobile site is not usable. Offers BTC, LTC & USDT as a trading pair for lots of coins.
Other Reviews: CryptoCompare
C-CEX [5] – Russia
C-Cex.com (referral link)
Very small exchange. There are no Limit orders, and the interface is pretty terrible. There's no mobile site but you can use the desktop site on mobile & zoom in.
Other Reviews: CoinCentral, CryptoCompare
Bleutrade [3] – Brazil
Small exchange. No limit orders, "ok" interface, and the mobile site works fine.
Other Reviews: CryptoCompare
LiveCoin [4] – Russia / UK
LiveCoin.com (referral link; or use referral code Livecoin-CPSWtGBC)
I haven't used it much yet, but they have lots of base coins & USDT pairs. No limit orders, "ok" interface and no mobile site. It's gone down once in a while for maintenance.
Other Reviews: CryptoCompare
Kucoin [4] – Hong Kong
Kucoin.com (referral link – or use invitation code 1bRHf)
I've only just started using it and it seems to work fine so far. No Limit orders or mobile site, and the interface is "ok" but it's pretty much unusable on mobile. It's based out of Hong Kong, so that might be a reason to be cautious.
Other Reviews: CryptoCompare
Mercatox [5] – Costa Rica / UK
Mercatox.com (referral link)
Another one I just signed up for to get my hands on a "rare" coin. No Limit orders or mobile site, and the interface is just "ok." The site was completely down for almost 2 days, and they've put a few coins on "maintenance" (no deposit/withdrawal) for weeks at a time. Not cool. Also, while the site claims to be based out of London, it's pretty clear the creators are not native English speakers. Only use this exchange if it's the only place you can get a specific coin, and withdraw as soon as you can after.
Other Reviews: Forexbrokerz (One of the only comprehensive reviews of Mercatox I could find. One correction: It's not decentralized so Idk where they got that from)
Exchanges I haven't tried out yet:
- CEX.IO
- Huobi
- Tidex
- YoBit
- Gate.io
- Tidebit
- CoinExchange.io
- Stocks.exchange
- Changelly
- EtherDelta (decentralized exchange for ETH tokens)
- CryptoBridge (decentralized exchange)
- NXT Asset Exchange (decentralized exchange for NXT tokens)
Decentralized exchanges are a bit different from Binance and other "centralized" exchanges; and they're quite a bit more confusing & difficult to use. You can read about the difference here.
Exchanges to avoid:
- Kraken – The site is US-based, but it goes down a lot, and the interface is horribly confusing. They don't have any unique coins, so I'm not even gonna do a review until they redesign the interface & get their shit together.
Exchanges not available to US Customers:
- Bitfinex
- Bithumb
- OkEx
- Coinone
- EXX
- Lbank
- Coinnest
- Coinrail
More Info on Exchanges
CoinMarketCap is a good resource for info on exchanges (in addition to coins). It lists all exchanges ordered by trading volume, and shows which coins (& trading pairs) each exchange offers.
In terms of ranking exchanges, here's an ongoing discussion about ranking exchanges, including many more than are listed here: List of all current exchanges: Review & Safety Ranking
In Part 7 I'll cover how to withdraw coins to a paper wallet or app, or hardware device, where you control the public & private keys, rather than leaving them on an exchange and risking them getting hacked, stolen, or lost.
Note: I did not give any preferential treatment to exchanges that have referral programs, but I did include referral links to the exchanges that offer them. If you found this article helpful, and you're going to sign up for a new exchange, it would be awesome if you use my referral links. Some of them even give you a discount or bonus if you use a referral link when signing up.
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