Cryptocurrency Trading Platform - Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency Exchange
From financial institutions to everyday investors, more and more people are taking an interest in cryptocurrencies these days. To participate in the promotion, you need a cryptocurrency exchange account that allows you to buy and sell digital currencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Dogecoin.
Best Cryptocurrency Exchange
To help you choose an account that suits your needs, Forbes Advisors combed through the leading platforms to determine the best cryptocurrency exchanges available today.
1. Binance.US
Binance.US is a domestic exchange operated by global cryptocurrency giant Binance, offering many of its parent company's benefits, including industry-low fees and a wide range of cryptocurrencies available for trading.
For the casual cryptocurrency fanatic, Binance.US offers a simple form-based platform (under the Buy Cryptocurrency tab) designed for transactions under $10,000, allowing you to buy, sell, and Exchange your tradable cryptocurrencies.
However, advanced users can benefit from a variety of trading order types, including limit, market, and stop-limit, as well as two powerful trading dashboards with spot prices and key 24-hour high, low, and volume data. Luckily, new users don't know what a candlestick chart is (let alone how to read one), they may feel overwhelmed and should stick to the cryptocurrency tab until they get to know the country better.
The 50+ cryptocurrencies offered by Binance.US will likely satisfy most crypto investors, but enthusiasts may miss out on the 300+ cryptocurrencies this domestic version doesn’t offer. Also, not all U.S. citizens currently have access to the platform: those living in Connecticut, Hawaii, Idaho, Louisiana, New York, Texas, and Vermont cannot hold a Binance.US account .
Unfortunately, Binance.US' educational resources are not as good as those provided by Binance's original Binance Academy, or our newbie picks, more beginner-friendly exchanges like Coinbase.
2. Coin Base
Coinbase is the highlight of the 2021 IPO ball, and the cryptocurrency exchange you're probably most familiar with if you're new to cryptocurrency. And for good reason: Coinbase Pro, the powerful exchange that powers Coinbase, is one of the largest and most secure platforms out there. (In fact, Coinbase Pro is a strong contender for our best overall cryptocurrency exchange.)
Coinbase's 100+ tradable cryptocurrencies should satisfy most people looking to get into crypto, like those looking to pegg their vans to Bitcoin and Ethereum, but unfortunately you have to look elsewhere to invest Unforgettable Dogecoin. (Not necessarily a bad thing for your long-term wealth.)
Coinbase stands out for its user-friendly interface that makes one-time or recurring crypto investments a breeze. But this convenience comes at a price.
Its confusing fee structure will cost you more than you would make the same purchase on the company's less beginner-friendly Coinbase Pro platform, which is also free to use.
However, if you're willing to upgrade and move to Pro, you'll likely find lower fees on most other major cryptocurrency exchanges, unless you trade more than a million a month.
3. Kraken
Like its international industry-leading peers, Binance.US offers a still wide range of cryptocurrencies, from mainstream currencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum to the platform’s proprietary stablecoin BNB. The latter is important because frequent traders can reduce transaction costs by 25% by converting their invested USD into BNB.
Like most exchanges, Binance.US rewards a large number of cryptocurrency traders with gradually decreasing transaction fees, although this only happens if you trade at least $50,000 in cryptocurrency within a 30-day period. (Keep in mind that even before you hit that volume, the base transaction fee may be lower than the competition.)
Binance.US offers two comprehensive market dashboards named "Simple" and "Advanced" containing real-time market data.
As stated in its "best overall" description, Binance.US allows multiple order types, including limit, market, and stop-limit, which should satisfy most cryptocurrency traders as well as over-the-counter (OTC) trades demand.
You can use USD, USDT (a USD-denominated stablecoin) and Bitcoin for these transactions. However, it is important to note that Binance.US does not currently support margin trading – a risky practice that allows traders to use borrowed funds to increase returns while increasing the amount they can lose. Therefore, it is generally not recommended for beginners or even advanced investors.
U.S. regulators are currently investigating how crypto margin trading is handled, with big names like Coinbase Pro recently shutting down margin trading in the U.S. for retail investors. Those who decide to trade cryptocurrencies on margin can turn to Kraken, which has slightly higher transaction fees, which are also lower for high volume traders.
Binance.US does not currently offer futures trading either; this feature still needs to be approved by Kraken regulators in the US even.