So what’s the best cryptocurrency exchange 2019?
You’re about to find out in this comprehensive guide.
You’ll discover the best cryptocurrency exchanges to use, the reasons why and get a comparison of each.
It’s important to note that some cryptocurrency exchanges might not be right for you, so that’s why I’ve covered a variety of factors in each overview.
Let’s get going…
How To Choose The Best Cryptocurrency Exchange 2019?
Let’s be honest:
Not all cryptocurrency exchanges were created equal…
The problem most traders have when it comes to starting out trading cryptocurrency is finding the right one.
So what’s the difference between each exchange?
Here’s some of the top key factors when choosing the best cryptocurrency exchange:
Fees: Different exchanges charge different fees, depending on their service terms. What this means is that with each trade you make, the exchange will take a small commission. It’s the same as when you trade stocks or Forex.
Obviously, the cheaper the fees are, the higher your potential profit margins.
Regulations: Cryptocurrency exchanges are scattered around the globe.
With the deregulated nature of the industry, there are corners of the world where cryptocurrency exchanges can be created by almost anyone.
So be careful where you choose to put your money.
If the exchange is based in the US, as a company they’re going to be prone to stricter regulations and audits – which is good for you as a trader because it means it’s more likely to be a secure exchange.
Choice: Cryptocurrency exchanges don’t list every coin on the market.
With thousands of cryptocurrencies to choose between, some have a bigger selection of cryptocurrencies to trade across than others.
For example, Coinbase has a very small selection of tradable coins – whereas Binance has hundreds.
Deposits: Quite often, a cryptocurrency exchange won’t let you make a deposit in traditional fiat currency like Dollars or Pounds.
Usually, you need to deposit existing cryptocurrency.
Customer Service: If you get locked out your account, or you stumble across any technical issues, you want to be confident that your investment is safe.
That’s a biggie.
So it’s important to know what the customer service is like before you sign up for a cryptocurrency exchange.
1. Coinbase
Coinbase is one of the most popular and beginner friendly cryptocurrency exchanges in the world. They even offer new traders a free $10 in Bitcoin just for signing up and making a deposit.
I will say that their fees are a little high…
But that’s the price you pay for a more secure platform which protects your investment.
Coinbase have a very minimal selection of coins that they launch on the platform.
They tend to only host coins they consider in the top 10 – so they don’t host low quality, unproven or untested coins that could potentially disappear in a year or two.
Fees: Coinbase fees are 1.49% per trade
Choice: You can trade Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, Ethereum Classic and Litecoin
Deposits: You can deposit fiat currencies into Coinbase. Previously, if you were from Europe you could only trade in Euros on Coinbase but now they’ve now added GBP functionality too.
Customer Service: Coinbase has really bad reviews on TrustPilot!
Personally, I’ve never had any problems with Coinbase and I’ve withdrawn/deposited money many times without any problems. But this is something to check yourself.
2. Binance
Binance are one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world, but are still relatively new. In fact, they only launched in 2017.
One of the great things about Binance is BNB coin. Basically if you make trades using BNB coin, you save money on the exchange fees – meaning more profits for you.
They have a huge selection of coins to trade, and they have a beginner/expert version of the marketplace so you pick the user interface you want – depending on how many metrics you want to see.
They’ve also never been hacked since their launch, which is obviously a good sign of their security.
With offices all over the world too, they have a strong foundation and backing.
If you’re a beginner trader of cryptocurrency, Coinbase and Binance are my top 2 picks for trading.
Fees: Compared to fees on Coinbase, trading fees on Binance are very low. In fact, it’s just 0.1%.
And iff you trade with BNB coin, you’ll save 25% on your fees.
Choice: You can trade
Deposits: Binance has a huge amount of coins to trade form, as you can here. You can trade across several different markets – so you can trade with Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum and others.
Customer Service: Trustpilot gives it 3 stars out of 5. I’ve actually found their customer service very fast and they’ve always answered my questions quickly, especially compared to other exchanges like Coinbase. For me, I trust Binance and it’s my personal pick for the best cryptocurrency exchange in 2019.
But let’s look at some alternatives too…
3. Kraken
Kraken is one of the few cryptocurrency exchanges that lets you short Bitcoin. That’s quite unusual in the cryptocurrency world.
So what else?
Well, I’d say this exchange is definitely not user friendly. It’s seriously confusing.
I actually stopped using Kraken because of the bugs on their platform.
Sometimes your balance would go missing for hours or I’d just find it crashes, for no reason. Either way, I switched to Binance and Coinbase because Kraken wasn’t very reliable.
They are based in the US, meaning they have more stringent regulations.
Fees: Krane’s fee structure is quite complicated and they have a trader/maker tiered system, depending on which market you’re trading across.
To check out all the applicable fees for the market you’re trading across, see their guide here.
Choice: Kraken have listed over 70+ coins available for trade.
Deposits: You can deposit both Fiat and cryptocurrency into Kraken. Check out their tutorial here on how to do that.
Customer Service: Kraken has really bad reviews on Trustpilot!
Wire transfers can take a long time, which is worrying is you’re sending large amounts of money to Kraken.
Not just that but as a trader, trading is all about the timing. If transfers are slow, you’re going to miss out on valuable market opportunities.
4. Coinbase Pro
So if you’ve been trading cryptocurrency for a while now, you might have heard of GDAX. But now they’ve actually rebranded to Coinbase Pro.
What do I like about Coinbase Pro?
- In case of hacks or other technical issues, Coinbase Pro is covered by insurance protection of up to $250,000 per customer
- This platform is 0% fees – ranging from 0.3% to 0.1% fees depending on how much you’re trading
Again, it’s not the easiest platform to use. The user interface and trading charts are a little confusing (hence the name Coinbase Pro I guess.)
Because Coinbase is such a big brand now, they decided to switch GDAX to Coinbase Pro, as it was confusing users and they wanted to grow one brand.
Whilst Coinbase is a very basic cryptocurrency trading exchange, Coinbase Pro comes with much more advanced features.
This includes price chart, trade history, order book, open order and order forms on the User Interface.
Compared to Coinbase, the Coinbase Pro exchange offers much more choice in terms of what you can trade.
Fees: Fees vary from 0.30%to 0.10% per trade
Choice: Coinbase Pro still has a relatively small set of coins and markets you can trade across. You can find a list of them here.
Deposits: You can deposit money into Coinbase Pro in Fiat and cryptocurrency, including Euros, USD, GBP and AU/CA/SG.
Customer Service: There’s not many reviews online about Coinbase Pro, but it’s brand – Coinbase – has a great reputation.
5. Hit-BTC
Promoting itself as the ‘most advanced cryptocurrency exchange’, this exchange isn’t really for beginners.
So what are some of the key features?
- Low fees
- 2 factor authentication for more security
- Advanced technology for experienced traders
- No limit restraints on withdrawals and deposits
- Over 400 coins to trade from, so you get plenty of choice
However, whilst HitBTC might sound good, a lot of people online are claiming it’s a scam.
Why?
Because of a lot of people claim that once they’ve signed up and deposited their money, they’ve found it very difficult to withdraw from. Personally, with so many exchanges around, I wouldn’t risk my money with them.
Even if they’re a legit exchange, and that their previous errors have been fixed, you don’t need to take the risk.
A big part of trading cryptocurrency is trust.
And in such a deregulated industry, it’s better to go with an exchange that has a credible reputation.
That’s why I personally would never use HitBTC.
Fees: Trades come with a 0.1% fee per trade.
Choice: Hit-BTC offer a huge choice of cryptocurrencies to trade including 820 altcoins. I’d expect this to continue to grow over 2019 too.
Deposits: They charge a flat fee of 0.0006 per deposit in Bitcoin. Fiat deposits are not supported.
Customer Service: Despite the claims of Hit-BTC being a scam on so many online posts/YouTube videos, they’ve received 3 out of 5 stars on Trustpilot for customer service. The biggest complaint is that user’s often get their withdrawals blocked.
6. Huobi
Huobi is another one of the world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchanges, serving millions of users around the world across 130 different countries.
They also have 24/7 customer service, so if you have any problems you can get them fixed pretty quickly.
They also have an Investor Protection Fund (IPF).
This protects users against hacks or other troublesome problems users often face.
Let’s say a customer’s balance was hacked on the system.
With the IPF, users would receive the USD equivalent of their lost investment – paid for in US Tether.
This adds an extra layer of security, and reduces some of the uncertainty and security problems cryptocurrency exchanges are often infamous for.
This could protect Huobi in the case of:
- Bankruptcy
- Hacks
- Internal problems – such as unexpected fees
So whilst the exchange is centralized with one single point of failure, users are still protected by the IPF.
Fees: 0.2% for maker fees, and 0.7% for taker fees.
Choice: Huobi has over 280 coins listed on their exchange.
Deposits: You can deposit on Huobi with both fiat and cryptocurrency.
Customer Service: I couldn’t find a profile on Trustpilot for Huobi but they scored 8.4/10 on Blockonomi for overall satisfaction.
What Is The Best Cryptocurrency Exchange 2019?
So what’s the best cryptocurrency exchange 2019?
Personally, I’d say it depends on your experience as a trader.
Why? Mainly because:
- User interfaces vary greatly and if you don’t know what you’re doing, it’s easy to get confused
- Beginner traders will find it easier to make deposits with fiat
- Advanced traders will require better functionality
- If you’re an advanced trader, you’re probably going to be trading more frequently, in which case you’ll want a different fee structure from your crypto exchange
So here’s my top 3 best cryptocurrency exchanges for 2019 ranked by trader experience…
Beginner Traders
Coinbase wins hands down for beginner traders.
It’s easy to use, comes with a basic interface and you can make deposits with fiat.
They don’t have a big selection of coins, but if you’re just looking to dip your toes into the cryptocurrency market then it’s usually better to invest in a smaller selection of coins anyway.
Plus the free $10 when you sign up is a nice bonus!
Intermediate Traders
Binance is a great choice here.
You can switch between a basic and advanced trading interface, depending on how much detail you want to see whilst trading.
They are constantly growing their selection of coins and in 2019, I think they’ll add more coins, more functionality and an better UI to improve your experience whilst trading.
Advanced Traders
Even for advanced traders, Binance is still the best option.
With its advanced trading view, you have all the functionality you need to trade. Plus if you’re looking for new and interesting altcoins to trade, you’ll discover plenty on Binance.
Their User Interface is very smooth, so that charting is easy and hassle free. Definitely worth checking out!
