Best Crypto Exchanges, Ranked for April 2024

With an extensive list of cryptocurrencies of up to 1500 and over 2000 pairings, MEXC is among the top crypto exchanges for those who are interested in exploring altcoins. Its biggest downside is that it doesn’t support fiat exchange or withdrawals despite being a centralized exchange; traders may only buy coins with US dollars and may exchange in a P2P network to cash out.

Besides the number of coins available, the platform is fairly versatile in its services, with trading instruments including margins trading, EFT indices, and a futures market. The exchange also supports a variety of fan tokens and regularly runs sports betting campaigns.

Combining more than 600 cryptocurrencies and 700 trading pairs with low trading fees, BitMart is among the top crypto exchanges to explore altcoin trading. Besides featuring lesser-known currencies at a low-cost trade, it is possible to receive further discounts by holding its native token, BMX. The platform is easy to use and straightforward and supports a simple buy/sell crypto feature for beginners and spot and futures trading for more advanced users.

While its inclusion of lesser-known coins and low trading fees still appeals to many, the platform has received complaints regarding issues in withdrawing and depositing. Additionally, it suffered a major breach in 2021 that resulted in the loss of over USD 190 million in user funds.

While the primary service offers a variety of trading options from spot and margin trading to crypto lending, its Prime solution is specifically designed for institutions to manage large scale trades and manage multiple subaccounts. Prime users can access aggregated levels of liquidity and are assigned a crypto exchange account manager to help manage their portfolio and navigate the trading platform.

Besides advanced options, CEX.io also offers beginner-friendly features like simple buy/sell crypto and allows staking to 12 networks.

A leading non-custodial decentralized exchange, dYdX specializes in margins and perpetual trading. In 2021, the platform launched its governance token DYDX with which users can influence its protocol. dYdX is also taking steps to rectify blockchains’ scalability problem by employing a layer 2 solution StarkEx. As a DEX, it ensures the decentralization of security and allows traders to have total control over their funds while staying completely anonymous.

Despite being extremely limited in spot trading with only 3 digital assets to choose from, and partially limited for perpetual with 10 coins supported, dYdX attracts many as it imposes no gas fees on any crypto transactions.

There are many types of crypto exchanges for trading cryptocurrencies, so your first decision should be to select one that aligns with your goals and requirements. Here are the types of crypto exchanges you should know about:

Centralized Exchange: A centralized crypto exchange is a single organization that facilitates the trading of cryptocurrencies on a large scale, which is a similar business model to stock exchanges. Examples of high-quality exchanges include Binance, Coinbase, and Kraken.

Decentralized exchange: A decentralized crypto exchange directly connects the crypto buyers and sellers with each other to facilitate trading in a non-custodial manner. Since there is no central authority in this arrangement, the users are not required to submit their personal details or complete the KYC process, hence providing anonymity to the traders.

To start the registration process of the provider where you would like to trade cryptocurrencies, you’ll need to navigate to the homepage and look for the sign-up button. Usually above the fold and often in the top right-hand corner.

Typically, you’ll be taken to a screen where you need to provide basic details such as your email and name, and you’ll be required to create a password. You’ll be sent an email to your inbox with a verification link to activate your account.

Note: Account registration and fulfilment of the KYC verification are not required when trading cryptocurrencies on a DEX.

KYC verification is required during the last step in the process of creating your account on a centralized crypto exchange or when you log into the platform for the first time. In any case, you will be asked for more details, which include why you want to trade, your experience, and the amount you want to trade. You will also need to submit a photo ID proof and proof of residence.

You will need to deposit funds or top up your account balance before you can buy cryptocurrency, and how you complete this step depends on the platform where you wish to trade. Here is a summary of the most commonly used options:

Brokers: on broker platforms, you can simply deposit fiat currencies (for example, using PayPal or and use them to buy cryptocurrencies. This is one of the reasons why brokers are perfect for beginners getting into the world of cryptocurrency trading.

Centralized Exchange: You can deposit fiat currency to your centralized exchange (CEX) and then use the balance to buy cryptocurrency. Some of the most common methods of buying crypto on a CEX are debit/credit card, PayPal, and bank transfer.

Decentralized Exchanges: To trade on a DEX, you must fund your decentralized wallet with the tokens you want to exchange.

Once you have funded your account, you can navigate to the trade section of the platform and search for the cryptocurrency you want to buy. Typically, there is a search bar where you can quickly locate the cryptocurrency you want to buy.

After finding the desired cryptocurrency, you can view the details of the purchase price and select the amount you want to trade.

Once you have bought the cryptocurrency, it’s time to consider how it will be stored. Most providers allow you to store the cryptocurrency on their platform. This is known as hot storage and is vulnerable to potential hacking events. You can also transfer your crypto to software and DeFi wallets like MetaMask, Trust Wallet, Coinbase Wallet, etc.

Alternatively, you can transfer the cryptocurrency to a hardware wallet, also known as cold storage. This is a physical device that can be connected via USB ports and is arguably the safest method of storing cryptocurrency.

Crypto exchanges work similarly to standard brokerage services, where users can deposit fiat currencies, such as US dollars, to purchase. Every platform has its own mix of cryptocurrencies listed, although most usually have the major coins like BTC or ETH, meaning that you may need to sign up for multiple exchanges to diversify your portfolio in the long run.

You can also move coins around different exchanges by copying the deposit address on the crypto exchange you wish to make the transfer to.

Cryptocurrency exchanges work around the clock and have to maintain a level of liquidity to ensure a smooth transaction of digital assets. Liquidity refers to how easy it is to buy and sell a specific coin. You can assess this by looking at the trading volume of an exchange, which usually indicates the ease at which you can buy or sell — the higher the trading volume, the higher the liquidity.

While exchanges are marketplaces where you can buy and sell cryptocurrencies, crypto wallets refer to software that allows you to store, receive, and transfer coins. Exchanges always generate wallets for traders to store their coins, whereas you can sign up for a wallet without using an exchange to engage in blockchain activities. You can also check the best crypto exchanges that we have compiled for you.

CEX like Coinbase or Binance allow you to exchange fiat currencies for cryptocurrencies and manage the custody of funds, maintenance of the platform, and transaction processing. Traders would need to submit KYC information to sign up due to the involvement of government-issued currencies.

DEX, like Uniswap, are built on a blockchain network and are governed by hard-coded pieces of algorithm called smart contracts rather than a central entity. Unlike CEX, DEX don’t require any personally identifying information and allow traders to swap cryptocurrencies only — it’s not possible to purchase cryptocurrency using your dollars using a decentralized exchange.

Hybrid platforms like Quarrex or Eidoo combine centralized and decentralized properties and typically offer anonymity, decentralized security, higher liquidity, improved usability, or even fiat integration.

Peer-to-peer exchanges allow users to trade cryptocurrencies with one another directly without the need for a third-party to process crypto transactions or retain the funds. While P2P exchanges have much lower trading fees in comparison, they lack in terms of speed and ease of use.

Cryptocurrency pairs allow you to understand the relative worth of each coin, like how much BTC equals LTC or vice versa. Exchanges typically feature several pairs and allow traders to crypto exchange one coin for another without purchasing them with fiat currencies.

While most exchanges feature BTC and ETH as base currencies to obtain other coins, it may make sense to opt for an exchange with more versatile pairing options to crypto exchange altcoins to save on trading fees.

Finding an exchange that aligns with your level knowledge of crypto trading is essential to not to be overwhelmed from the get-go. And similarly, you wouldn’t want to be limited in exploring various forms of trading with limited features in the long haul.

Top Crypto Exchanges for Beginners

Trading any asset goes far beyond simply buying and selling, and with so many moving parts, it’s easy to get lost and lose lots. Many platforms offer a simplified version of their services, allowing beginner traders to turn off more advanced features. Besides the ability to simplify the platform, you should also prioritize getting low trading fees and solid customer service.

Best Crypto Exchanges for Advanced Traders

Once you make your way down the rabbit hole and put more money at stake, advanced features like market, limit, or spot limit orders, trading analytics, or automated trading, allowing crypto traders to never miss a desired price or get analytics when assessing their portfolio and see which markets are working for them, or how growth happens.

You can, and should, leverage cryptocurrency platforms depending on your specific plans. Some exchanges are geared more towards trading and feature advanced features, while others support extensive staking features.

If you wish to simply invest in a crypto asset and keep it rather than do something with it, it’s advisable to move your assets to a crypto wallet where you will have total control of your private keys. This is especially crucial for larger amounts, this way you will have full responsibility and control of your digital assets rather than handing them over.

Top Crypto Exchanges for Trading

Crypto trading closely mimics traditional stock trading; there’s a variety of strategies and different types of crypto-related assets crypto traders can take advantage of. Here are the most common types of crypto trading:

• Best exchange to trade crypto ETFs: ETFs refer to exchange-traded funds, which are pooled investment securities that track the index of an asset, like cryptocurrencies, and they can be traded as an asset. Crypto ETFs are traded on traditional brokerages rather than crypto exchanges. Charles Schwab typically offers an extensive ETF collection.

• Best crypto margin trading exchanges: Margin trading refers to borrowing from the broker to increase trading power, and paying with interest. With up to 20x leverage both for spot and derivative trading, Binance is the best exchange for margin trading.

• Best crypto exchanges for day trading: Day traders take advantage of price fluctuations throughout the day with quick buy/sells. With low trading fees and a variety of supported altcoins, BitMart is fairly suitable to day trade.

• Top crypto exchanges for arbitrage: Arbitrage strategy involves buying and selling crypto assets in different exchanges and taking advantage of the price differences to make a profit. Today it is extremely difficult to conduct this manually — bots are the best option to do so. With a straightforward interface and free-of-charge service, Multitrader is among the best arbitrage bots for crypto.

• Best exchanges to short crypto: Shorting refers to selling an asset at a high price and buying much more at a lower price after it falls in value. This practice requires margins as it involves selling stocks borrowed rather than owned. Kraken offers over 100 margin-enabled markets allowing shorting.

• Best exchanges to trade crypto with leverage: Leverage trading involves borrowing capital to improve investment positions and increase returns. For those who’d like to go big, ByBit offers up to 100x leverage on BTC and 50x on other supported coins.

• Best exchanges for crypto futures trading: Future trading involves contracts that trigger purchasing or selling an asset in the future at a predetermined price. With over perpetual future trading options (future contracts without an expiry date) for over 100 cryptocurrencies, MEXC is among the best exchanges for this type of trading.

Best Exchanges to Stake Crypto

Staking refers to locking a number of coins to earn interest or obtain rewards.

Understanding every fee involved while trading cryptocurrencies is crucial to develop strategies so that they won’t eat away your profits. They are usually considered under two main categories:

• Crypto Exchange fees: Much like traditional brokerages, cryptocurrency exchanges also impose trading fees on all processes they offer to charge for their services. They include trading, withdrawal and liquidation, loan, or deposit fees.

• Network fees: Blockchain networks rely on community members to record crypto transactions to keep cryptocurrencies self-governing entities. They are awarded a small sum for their contributions, which means that every transaction includes a small fee to compensate them for their work.

While exchange trading fees constantly fluctuate, Binance.US is outstanding in providing low-fee services. Here is a list of various exchange fees and how major platforms stack up against one another for an order value of USD 1,000 for BTC.

Cryptocurrency exchanges need to be licensed in the US but are not fully regulated and come with varying degrees of security. Here are a few points to assess an exchange’s security;

• Background check: While monitoring the online sentiment surrounding the exchange is a start, you can also find information about the team behind the product.

• Insuring client funds: Major platforms like Gemini or Binance ensure the client funds against the company going under or various scams like rug pulls or hacks.

• Trading volume and liquidity: Scam exchanges tend to have smaller bases, asset pools, and infrequent trading.

• Security practices: Many platforms have security measures in place to prevent that from happening, most notably two-factor authentication and biometric logins.

While it’s not always the case, exchanges that have been around for a while and cast trust among their user base are the safest options. Here’s a list of major platforms offering common security features.

As unregulated digital assets, cryptocurrencies are extremely vulnerable to malicious attacks — but there are ways to store coins safely, depending on your plans on how to use them.

If you have a large number of coins, you may want to transfer the bulk you don’t wish to trade to a wallet rather than keeping them in exchange for extra security. Hardware wallets, where you can store your assets offline, are considered the safest option to do so.

It makes the most sense to only keep the amount you wish to trade in an cryptocurrency exchange platform. That way, you may save on holding fees if it applies, and keep most of your assets safe against online attacks.

Best Crypto Exchanges With a Wallet

Exchanges usually have their own set of payment and deposit options available, all of which cater to varying needs. The most common ones include ACH, wire transfers, and debit card payments.

The major platforms usually have strict KYC practices in place, which intensify (including a photo of yourself, for example) if you wish to trade higher volumes. In this case, privacy is usually sacrificed for the sake of convenience.

If you are willing to go the extra mile, you can find exchanges that do not require KYC verification, like P2P or DEX. This way, you may remain anonymous while trading cryptocurrencies and avoid the risk of exposing your data or being a victim of identity theft.

Best Crypto Exchanges Without Verification and Registration

Here’s a list of crypto exchanges that don’t require KYC verification.

The federal government treats cryptocurrencies as “property”, meaning that they are subject to capital gain taxes, similar to how stocks are treated. Some select activities, however, incur income taxes. Here’s a breakdown of two categories:

Capital gain taxes are applicable when:

• Selling coins for fiat currencies,

• Sending coins worth over USD 15,000 as a gift,

• Purchasing goods with coins,

• Swapping one digital asset for another.

Note that the taxes are paid on the profit you make, which is the difference between the price you bought and the price you sold at.

Income taxes apply when:

• Receiving cryptocurrency via airdrop,

• Receiving interest from DeFi lending,

• Receiving mining income,

• Earning crypto from liquidity pools,

• Receiving coins in exchange for work.

You may track your trades yourself and categorize them while doing your returns or consult a service that may do it for you. Once you are ready, you need to fill in Form 8949 and add it to Form Schedule D for your capital gain taxes. For assets earned as income, they need to be added to Schedule 1 Form 1040, while self-employed earnings go to Schedule C.

Unfortunately, crypto exchanges are notorious for awful customer support, with some even being taken to court.

The most common forms of communication include phone calls (it is, though, near impossible to reach anyone while using major platforms), emails, support tickets (where users can initiate a question, and if its deemed worthy, a rep would answer via email or phone call), or through their social media accounts (most of which are the most active on Twitter).

A cryptocurrency exchange tracker, like 3commas or Pionex, allows crypto traders to monitor their portfolio across different exchanges, wallets, and trading platforms in real-time, depending on the permission. Crypto traders with extensive portfolios tend to have different assets stored in different trading platforms, and trackers as such may come in handy to get a holistic view of all assets.