Cryptocurrency Exchanges Overview

Straight to the point – exchanges are online platform, where you can exchange, buy and sell both crypto and national currencies. What you should know is that there are different exchanges and then choosing one, you should consider their type.

It’s really not hard to get on board. To successfully accomplish the registration form, you have to provide some personal information. Creating your account is related with providing your ID card or driving license for the purview of proving you’re a truly existing individual. In addition, if you decide to offer also a bank statement or utility bill, this might bring you some extra profits as more effective limits.

• Stage 1: Fill your personal info
• Stage 2: Photo ID confirmation
• Stage 3: Improve account as a Pro

You might be wondering on what’s the criteria to choose the best exchange, which fits your needs. I have summed here all the crucial factors to consider for the purpose of making a top-notch choice:

• Fees and commissions – proceeding a transaction always requires some kind of fees – those might be deposit fees, trading fees and/or withdrawal fees. Before deciding which exchange to go through with, have a look at what they will charge for using them.
• Exchange rates – there are different rates between currencies. Don’t get that confused with the fees and commissions above though. Exchange rates might differ significantly between platforms so it’s worth doing your research.
• Payment mode – if talking about initial purchase of crypto currencies, the mode of payment refers to the way you pay for the coins. Some exchanges may only accept cash, while others accept cash, wire transfer, credit / debit cards and PayPal, so be mindful when selecting your first exchange. What’s more, different exchanges with have different fees for the payment modes i.e. 5% for wire transfers but 2% for credit cards.
• Supported currencies – not all exchanges trade all crypto currencies out there. Some only focus on Bitcoin, some only focus on Ethereum, so before making a final decision, be sure you can trade in the currency you are looking for.
• Verification requirement – some exchanges might require you to verify your identity before allowing you to trade, while others might let you stay anonymous. Whichever your preference, look what the exchanges you are looking at provides.
• Security – there are numerous examples in history of exchanges, being hacked. When choosing one, check if 2-factor authentication is included, are funds stored in an online or offline wallet, is there non-stop security monitoring, do you receive notifications i.e. mails, messages, call on account activity and does the exchange use mail encryption.
• Geographic restrictions – there may be differences in the features of the exchange you chose, depending on your location. Some exchanges are entirely non-operational in some countries while some have limited functions so take that into consideration when you are about to make up your mind.

Keep in mind that crypto is a new industry and there aren’t really some strict regulations, which makes it a tasty bite for hacking attempts and malicious behavior. Although you can never fully protect yourself, there are good practices that can minimize the risks.

• Tick

  Check the URL address of the exchange you plan on using. Make sure the address begins with https rather than http. That small s stands for a security protocol between you and the exchange.

• Tick

  Always check if the exchange you plan on using is registered with a securities authority in your country i.e. for the United States this would be the SEC – securities and exchange commission.

• Cross

  Pay attention to warning signs such as missing information about the legal entity behind the exchange or the headquarters’ address.

• Question

  Last but not least, do some research yourself, look past the marketing smoke and mirrors and if a deal sounds too good to be true – it probably is.

Ultimately, in theory it always sounds easier to consider several criteria and make a choice but when it comes to practice it’s a bit different. That’s why I managed to choose the top three most reputable cryptocurrency exchanges in the table below: