Intro
With constant new ways to trade cryptocurrencies, we all have at some point wondered: what are the best crypto exchanges?
Cryptocurrencies have exploded in popularity and numbers since Bitcoin first launched back in the distant past (2009).
It seems like more and more cryptocurrencies hit the market every day, and new crypto exchanges have been popping up at nearly the same rate.
Trading crypto is easier than you might think—especially after you’ve learned and practiced for free right here on Wall Street Survivor — but how do you choose which crypto exchange you want to trust with your money?
Check out this quick list of recommendations for the best crypto exchanges out there in 2022.
Best Crypto Exchange for Beginners
Coinbase
Coinbase is one of the larger and most established crypto exchanges out there.
Their site lists over 10,000 cryptocurrencies you can trade on the exchange, which can obviously be overwhelming to new investors, but their extensive list of tips, tutorials, articles, and newsletters will help guide you every step of the way.
Seriously, the people at Coinbase know how confusing all this crypto talk can be, so they’ve really gone above and beyond with their educational materials.
You can find in-depth articles on everything from the underlying technologies that make cryptocurrencies work, how to spot investment opportunities, and even how to figure out how your crypto holdings will affect your taxes.
And as if that wasn’t enough, Coinbase even has a program that rewards you with free crypto for completing learning modules via their Coinbase Earn program.
It’s not every day you get paid to learn, but Coinbase is just that committed to making sure you know what you’re doing before you start investing…almost like they want their customers to succeed, or something.
Coinbase also comes with a streamlined interface that makes finding, buying, and selling different coins easy as pie, and their transaction and conversion fees are very reasonable compared to some of their competitors.
The one thing Coinbase is missing is a good way to practice investing without using real money, but thankfully you can do that right here for free on Wall Street Survivor.
Best Crypto Exchange for Passive Investors
Looking to buy and hold onto some crypto without making too many trades? Look no further.
Abra is a reasonably large exchange—about $1.5 billion in assets under management, over $7 billion in transaction volumes—that’s available in over 150 countries.
Its roster of over 80 popular cryptocurrencies (Bitcoin, Etherium, Dogecoin, etc) isn’t as impressive as some of the other exchanges out there, but a passive investor probably doesn’t want or need to speculate or trade on smaller coins.
Abra doesn’t charge transaction fees, just a spread fee built into exchange rates, so you can trade to your hearts content, though that probably won’t be as important to passive investors as it would be to day traders.
The real draw for passive investors isn’t Abra’s product offerings or transaction fees, it’s the fact that Abra will pay you up to 10% interest on any crypto you keep on their platform.
Passive investors could do a whole lot worse than making up to 10% interest (compounded daily and paid out every week, no less) just by holding onto their crypto on top of the upside potential from the coins themselves.
Abra also offers low-interest crypto loans to its members that start at 0% APR, which isn’t super helpful for passive investors but is still cool enough to warrant a mention here.
Best Crypto Exchange for Day Traders
Surprise, surprise; Matt Damon might actually know what he’s talking about!
Crypto.com isn’t just one of the biggest, most polished exchanges on the scene, it’s also one of the highest-rated and most-recommended platforms available.
You’ve probably run across crypto.com in your quest to find the best crypto exchange, and it seems there’s a reason for that.
Crypto.com accepts over 20 fiat currencies and lets you trade in over 250 cryptocurrencies, tracks prices in real time, and gives you access to an incredibly liquid market populated by over 50 million other users.
The crypto.com desktop platform has everything you need to find, trade, and keep track of your favorite coins, and the mobile app is just as packed with features and useful information.
Day traders will love the fact that you can pull up charts, track trading volume, and see which coins made the biggest moves in any given day, and day traders on the go will love the fact that all that functionality is available on the crypto.com app, too.
On top of all that, the crypto.com platform also crawls the net to find mentions of specific coins on twitter, reddit, and other social media, which is perfect for the plugged-in trader who wants to take the temperature of the market without setting up a bunch of alerts and doing hours of searching themselves.
Crypto.com also has you covered if you’re looking for a place to trade NFTs, and their one-stop DeFi wallet app (and browser extension) gives you a great place to store, swap, and send your NFTs and crypto.
Best Crypto Exchange for Security-Conscious Traders
Gemini
Gemini is one of the older exchanges that’s still operating today, and its longevity isn’t an accident.
In addition to its semi-famous roots—it was founded by the Winklevoss twins, AKA the guys Mark Zuckerberg screwed over in the Social Network—Gemini is probably most notable for the fact that it’s been working closely with regulators to bring greater security and legitimacy to cryptocurrency since it was founded back in 2014.
Working with regulators might not sound very cool or punk rock or whatever, but it’s hard to argue with the rigorous security measures Gemini has put in place as a result.
Gemini’s security measures start from the second you try to sign up, and are actually rigorous enough to put some users off.
The first thing you’ll notice is that Gemini requires the same, if not more, security measures you’d expect if you were trying to open a bank account or get a mortgage.
They want your full name, your address, your phone number, at least one form of valid ID, your same-sex celebrity crush, all your fingerprints, toe prints, tongue print, eye print, DNA—okay, everything after “valid ID” is a lie, but still.
Two-factor authentication is required to access your account (not recommended, required), new devices are subject to verification if you try to sign on, and they even use machine learning algorithms to catch suspicious activity on your account if you get hacked.
And speaking of hacking, you know how a lot of exchanges are basically big digital bank vaults waiting for hackers to bust in and rob? Yeah, not Gemini.
Instead of leaving their assets on servers connected to the internet, Gemini puts all their (and your) valuables into “cold storage,” which basically means “they turn off the Wi-Fi in the server room,” but sounds a lot cooler.
It’s safe to say that Gemini has the security of your account and your assets at the top of their minds, so you can breathe easy if you’re worried about scams or hackers.
The main downside to trading on Gemini is that it’s not as big or popular as some of its competitors, which means there aren’t as many people to trade with or as much liquidity in the market.
This may or may not be a big deal to you, but it’s certainly something to keep in mind before you sign up.
Best Peer-to-Peer Crypto Exchange (for Bitcoin)
Do you like feeling like an outlaw? Do you like operating off the grid? Do you like exchanging currency for Bitcoin, selling that Bitcoin for a different currency, and using that currency to buy more Bitcoin? You are going to love Bisq.
This decentralized, open-source software runs off a peer-to-peer network of anonymous users located around the world and hidden from prying eyes by a combination of local-only storage and the same obfuscation technology used by the Tor browser.
There’s no identity verification, no strict rules, and no central authority running the show.
Trades are made by simply making or taking offers, transactions are completed and secured by holding deposits in 2-of-2 multisig wallets, and it’s all done between individual users with no moderation or oversight.
In other words: It’s pretty much the opposite of Gemini.
Bisq is great if you want to feel like a hacker while you trade Bitcoin, but all that freedom and anonymity comes at a cost—namely at the expense of literally every other cryptocurrency.
As cool an idea as Bisq may be, being limited to Bitcoin may be a dealbreaker for some people.
That being said, you’d be hard-pressed to find an open-source, decentralized platform that’s as robust or as well-designed as Bisq.
Conclusion
There are a ton of different crypto exchanges vying for your business, but not all of them are worth your time. Make sure you pick an exchange that has the right mix of features, products, fees, and security before you invest your money…and it never hurts to prepare by practicing your crypto investing right here on Wall Street Survivor.
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