The bottom line:

Coinbase is the largest U.S.-based cryptocurrency exchange, trading more than 150 cryptocurrencies. Coinbase fees, however, can be confusing and higher than some competitors. While Coinbase offers attractive features, cryptocurrency trading is highly volatile, so always consider the risks.

Fees

0.5% – 4.5%

varies by type of transaction; other fees may apply

Account minimum

$2

Promotion

Get $5 in Bitcoin

when you make your first trade. Terms Apply.

LEARN MORE

Quick Summary of Coinbase

Coinbase is one of the best crypto exchanges in the world.

Between its choice of coins, security measures, and trading features – Coinbase has everything you need to purchase cryptocurrency.

Coinbase has continually kept up with the times and is accessible in most countries in the world.

Coinbase hosts 70 million users throughout 100 countries. They have billions of crypto assets and have one of the highest trading volumes of all crypto exchanges.

When purchasing cryptocurrency on Coinbase with your preferred payment method (bank account transfer, Visa, credit card, PayPal etc.), you pay a 0.5% fee. Those looking to spend a lot of money and trade a lot should sign up for Coinbase Pro, which will mitigate these transaction fees.

If you are going to make a large purchase or do a lot of crypto trading, you should consider signing up for Coinbase Pro, as Coinbase pro fees are lower than using the Coinbase platform without it.

Coinbase in More Detail 

Coinbase is completely safe and legit in 2022.

Coinbase keeps the majority of its assets (between 90% – 98%) in a cold wallet. User funds would be extremely difficult to steal. Not to mention they have a longstanding track record of keeping user funds safe and secure. They invest a lot of money into cyber security measures, so we expect having a Coinbase account or Coinbase wallet to be safe moving forward.

Coinbase offers a wide range of cryptocurrencies to buy: for example, Coinbase has over 100 more than the exchange Robin Hood. Binance and Coinbase have the most coins to choose from out of all of the centralized cryptocurrency exchanges.

Community voting: a fun aspect of Coinbase is how they will list coins on their exchange as voted for by the community. So, if a coin is gaining popularity rapidly, the Coinbase community will pressure Coinbase into adding the coin so all Coinbase users can buy it! 

Insurance policies: your personal holdings are fully insured on Coinbase. They have a sophisticated criminal insurance policy which will keep user funds safe.

Usability: setting up and maintaining your Coinbase account is pretty straightforward. Other exchanges make you jump through hoops to get set up. Coinbase accounts aren’t too tricky to set up and get going.

Trading experience: Coinbase gives you the choice of two different trading platforms. One is the original Coinbase platform, which is straightforward and allows you to buy crypto with your fiat currency. 

Coinbase fees can be a little bit pricier compared to a few of the other main cryptocurrency exchange options out there… However, Coinbase Pro helps to negate some of these fees.

Coinbase Pro used to be “GDAX”. Coinbase Pro is for the more advanced traders. With Coinbase Pro you can enjoy more advanced charting functions, swap between cryptocurrencies, and make market/limit/stop orders. For those looking to simply buy and hold, Coinbase Pro isn’t totally necessary.

Another cool feature is Coinbase Earn: Coinbase Earn is a novel way to earn as you learn. You follow along with their video series of classes and tests, learning all about cryptocurrency, trading and more. By investing your time in the classes, you can earn some coins for doing so. Obviously, it’s not a whole lot, but it’s better than nothing! 

More Coinbase Features

Minimum trade: the minimum amount of money you can use to buy crypto on Coinbase is $2. This is low and fairly standard. Some exchanges give you no minimum, some exchanges require you to invest at least $20, some $50, some $100 etc. – so, $2 is relatively low. 

Transaction fees: there are two factors to consider when calculating Coinbase fees. 

• Firstly, there is a spread charge of about 0.5% for any crypto purchases. Market fluctuations determine how close to 0.5% that figure stays. 
• The second factor is Coinbase’s fee. This fee is calculated by the value of your first purchase and the method you made your fiat purchase. 

Variety of Cryptocurrencies 

The US can buy over 150 different cryptocurrencies. This is more than most platforms. Some coins aren’t available to buy in some countries.

They allow a lot of crypto-to-crypto trading pairs. For example, you could use your Bitcoin to trade for Dogecoin or Polkadot. You can also use stable coins to buy various cryptocurrencies. So, you could trade USDT for Ether, for example.

Crypto Wallet and Securities:

Coinbase says that its holdings are protected by crime insurance. Coinbase also says that only 2% of all customer funds are held online in a “hot” environment (meaning they are connected to the internet and could potentially be breached). The rest of the funds are supposedly held in cold storage – meaning they are offline and cannot be breached. Coinbase claims that any loss of customer funds will be paid out by their insurers. 

However, should you personally get hacked (get hacked locally or scammed, or lose your password etc.), Coinbase is not liable to protect your losses. 

Make sure to take responsibility for your personal finance. Obviously, this means keeping your login details.

Apps and Usage 

The mobile apps for Coinbase are highly rated. Many of their users operate from the IOS and Android apps. Thankfully, the mobile apps include many of the same features as the desktop site. You can create and access your Coinbase wallet from your phone. Some cryptocurrency exchanges are hard to use on the mobile app.

Customer Support 

Coinbase’s customer support is not the best. They have many customers and a massive organization to operate, so it is understandable to a degree. Customer support is an expensive part of any business, especially one the size of Coinbase. It costs a huge amount of resources to try and solve people’s problems all day and night. 

The options available are email and Twitter support, as well as arranging a phone call. Obviously, an instant messaging service and an open phone line would be ideal, but that’s what they give you. 

Should you think your account has been compromised, you can use the Coinbase locking feature. You call the automated phone system and they lock your account for you. 

To mitigate their slight lack of customer support, Coinbase does have a large educational content library. Still, we’ve all been there scratching our heads trying to figure out some new software. You can get better customer support at other exchanges, but this could be at the cost of one of Coinbase’s many features.

If you take Coinbase, and compare it with Binance, Coinbase is probably better in terms of speed and quality of response.

You can contact Coinbase Pro customer service if you are a Pro member.

Should you Use Coinbase?

Ultimately, this is going to come down to your personal preference.

If you are an experienced trader who wants a wide variety of crypto coins to buy – Coinbase could be a perfect choice.

Coinbase is a good platform for beginners too. It’s a cryptocurrency exchange that provides education for users and doesn’t just leave you in the dark. Most crypto brokerage services lack good customer support as well as educational material. Coinbase at least has good educational content and investment advice for your cryptocurrency investing.

If trading fees are your only consideration, perhaps you’ll want to scour the market for a cheaper option with lower fees. Coinbase certainly has high fees compared to some other platforms if you are looking to save money as a primary goal. Coinbase compares relatively well overall in terms of fees, but there are cheaper cryptocurrency exchanges out there for fees.

Coinbase Pro users have Coinbase charges pretty low, but not everyone wants to commit to Coinbase pro accounts. Also, be wary of exchanges that seem like they have no fees, but hit you with extra fees later down the line. Or, perhaps their spread fee is higher than usual and where they collect their money from you.

Coinbase offers when signing up can be more attractive than other cryptocurrency exchanges. You can earn some free crypto assets simply by signing up. There’s also the prospect of earning on your crypto holdings when you invite other users through your affiliate link. Some exchanges are stingy in their rewards, but Coinbase is quite fruitful, and it helps that Coinbase is a trusted name when signing people up.

Coinbase Card

The Coinbase card is a decent benefit of Coinbase. Not even all the major exchanges have their own card you can use yet. It saves you only having a visa debit card – you can have a crypto card too! You can now go into shops and spend crypto! Using your digital assets to earn crypto rewards, spend in shops, save with etc. is a blessing. You incur some fees from Coinbase, but you avoid other fees that exist with the banks anyway.

Coinbase Usability

In terms of usability, the Coinbase app is pretty easy to use. The desktop Coinbase platform is smooth to use. The Coinbase website is easy to navigate. The mobile app is fine to use also. Some other cryptocurrency exchanges can be extremely frustrating to use on their mobile app. Coinbase users should have a fine experience operating their Coinbase accounts from any of these platforms.

Your personal account will come with a Coinbase wallet to keep your account and private keys safe. However, remember, it is your responsibility to keep your private keys safe. Crypto isn’t like having bank accounts. YOU must look after the keys to your wallet, or “bank”! This is the beauty and curse of decentralization.

As ever, do your own research and see what you think is best for you. If you think Coinbase isn’t right for you, you can always pivot to another exchange! Hopefully this Coinbase review helps you in making your decision!

Coinbase Review 2022

Overall, we believe Coinbase to be a strong exchange for users of all skills and experience levels.

You can do everything you need there.

We recommend our readers get into decentralized exchanges too, not JUST centralized exchanges (for many reasons you can read about on this site). But yes, Coinbase is a good first place to onramp fiat money from your bank account and buy some crypto!

This entire post was written in 2022. There’s a lot of outdated information on the internet about Coinbase, simply because they’ve been operating for so long.

Don’t be fooled, and make sure you have up to date information on the crypto exchange you decide to use. Coinbase offers for signing up listed in this post are all valid up to the current day. Always make sure to double-check crypto rewards, fees, promos and so on before committing.

Crypto trading has become more mainstream these days amongst Canadians. Digital Assets like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin, and more have been making explosive gains in the market, getting a lot of spotlight in the news.     

To get started in this crypto investing game, the best way is through one of the centralized crypto exchanges in Canada.   

Why?  

These centralized Canadian crypto exchanges are regulated, so they are the safest way for you to purchase cryptocurrency directly with your hard-earned fiat currency. To protect investors like you and me from shady business practices, they have to abide by rules and regulations set out by their local governing bodies or trade commissions.   

However, these rules and regulations vary by country. Thus, making certain crypto exchanges difficult to use or inaccessible for Canadian Crypto Investors.  

That’s why for Canadian investors, it is important to find the best cryptocurrency exchange that specifically caters to them.   

How? 

To find the best crypto exchange that suits your needs, first, you have to make make sure it’s available in Canada.

Then sign up for an account, verify your identity with proof of your Canadian residence, and add your preferred payment method, then you can make crypto purchases directly.  

Although the volatility of the price actions seems scary for new traders, crypto is here to stay and the market is strong as ever. These cryptocurrency exchanges are helping everyone to get involved.

Finding the right crypto exchange will make investing in the market easier than ever.   

However, there are quite a few options for Canadians out there when they want to trade crypto, and finding the right exchange requires a lot of research.  

Lucky for you we did most of the grunt work and made you this list of The Best Crypto Exchanges in Canada telling you what each exchange is about as well as outlining their pros and cons.  

BitBuy – Best Overall Crypto Exchange in Canada for 2022 

Established in 2016, BitBuy is a cryptocurrency exchange exclusively available to Canadian crypto traders.  

Bitbuy is a registered marketplace as well as an investment dealer, this means your orders are directly fulfilled by Bitbuy and will never be outsourced to a third-party financial institution. This will provide the crypto with deeper liquidity, which leads to better prices.  

In contrast with some other exchanges in Canada that have to enforce trading caps of $30,000 on certain coins by law, Bitbuy doesn’t have an annual trading cap on altcoins.  

It offers both a beginner-friendly Express trade platform and a more advanced Pro platform for experienced crypto investors.  

On BitBuy’s Pro platform, the advanced interface allows you to perform in-depth technical analysis on price action charts provided by TradingView and enter trades by specific order types. 

Bitbuy offers nine of the large-cap cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, EOS, Stellar Lumens, AaVE, Chainlink, and Litecoin and they have recently added Solana, Cardano, Polkadot, Dogecoin, Uniswap, Sushiswap, and Polygon. 

Customer Support 

Although Bitbuy doesn’t have telephone support at the moment, their team does quickly reply to support tickets and emails. Their replies are fast and extremely helpful. They also have a support page on their website which provides guides and answers to many frequently asked questions.   

Security Measures 

Bitbuy is a reputable Canadian exchange and it maintains 95% of its cryptocurrencies in cold storage. The crypto traders on this exchange are also covered by a value-matched insurance policy from BitGo.   

It is also approved by the Ontario Securities Commission and is registered with FINTRAC as a Money Service Business (MSB).  

Trading Fees 

• Deposit and withdrawal fees: 0.5% via Bank Transfer and 1.5% via Interac e-Transfer 
• Buy/sell fee: 0.2%  
• Commission: 0.1% Maker Fees and 0.2% Taker Fees
• Spread: 0.79%   
• Free crypto deposits 

Pros of BitBuy 

• One of the best crypto exchanges in Canada
• Fully regulated 
• 24/7 customer service support 
• Separate trade platforms for both beginner and advanced traders 
• 95% of assets are held in cold storage with a 1:1 insurance policy 
• OTC Desk for large trades available 
• Interac e-Transfer available 

Cons of BitBuy 

• Only 25 cryptocurrencies are available 
• $20,000 minimum for deposits and withdraws by bank transfers  

Do We Recommend BitBuy? 

• Absolutely!
• Bitbuy is a top-tiered Canadian crypto exchange that caters to customers that want to trade large-cap coins like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Cardano, Solana, etc.
• They provide investors with secure coin storage, an easy onboard process, excellent customer service, a slick mobile app, and extremely low trading fees.

Crypto.com – Best Crypto Exchange for Trading Alt-coins in Canada for 2022

Crypto.com (CRO) is an all-in-one trading platform best for buying, trading, storing, and earning interest on your digital currencies. This Canadian exchange allows you to buy crypto across 250+ markets and gives you access to one of the best crypto wallets in Canada.

Crypto.com offers a wide range of crypto assets, like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Doge, XRP, Cardano, Bitcoin Cash, Tether, and more. Also, this crypto exchange allows you to trade CRO tokens, the digital currency backed by Crypto.com.

Crypto.com also boasts its own blockchain, CRO Chain, which is crypto.com’s equivalent of the Ethereum blockchain. It allows lots of developers to create decentralized applications for advanced traders to interact with.

Besides making crypto trades, this exchange supports its own credit card and an NFT marketplace.

Customer support

Crypto.com have a comprehensive customer support system. They offer a help page, email, and live chat to help you with your problems. However, their agents cannot be reached by phone.

Security measures

Crypto.com is registered as a Money Service Business (MSB) through the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC) and it is allowed to operate legally in Ontario.

This crypto exchange also stores the majority of its cryptocurrency in a cold storage environment, so it is extremely safe. They have a $250,000 FDIC insurance policy on U.S. dollar balances as well as a 750 million USD of cold storage insurance.

Trading fees

• Debit card and credit card deposits: 2.99% per transaction
• Commission: 0.04% to 0.4% maker fees and 0.1% to 0.4% taker fees
• Bitcoin trading fees: Maximum of 0.4% per slide
• Withdrawal fees: 0.0001 BTC to withdraw Bitcoin
• Minimum deposit: $20

Pros of Crypto.com

• Having a CRO card will unlock additional rewards
• Stake your crypto and earn an attractive APR
• Relatively low trading fees
• Popular and safe exchange to trade crypto
• Trade the top digital currencies
• Lots of benefits if you hold CRO

Cons of Crypto.com

• Higher transaction fees if you don’t have significant amounts of CRO
• Trading fees can be difficult to understand
• Poor customer service

Do We Recommend Crypto.com?

Definitely!

If you are looking for one of the best cryptocurrency exchanges that gives you a wide range of crypto trading assets, Crypto.com is a terrific choice. It is suited for a first-time investor who wants to get into the Canadian crypto market and buy Bitcoin directly with their fiat currencies.

The only real issues this exchange have is its complicated fee structure and lack of phone customer support.

CoinSmart – Most Trust Worthy Crypto Exchange in Canada for 2022 

Founded in 2018, CoinSmart is one of Canada’s fastest-growing and most trusted crypto trading platforms. They are also the only publicly-traded cryptocurrency exchange company in Canada so they are subjected to high levels of financial scrutiny and rigorous regulation.  

Over the years, they have built up a lot of trust amongst its users and ensured them that it’s an extremely secure company to invest with.  

CoinSmart also offers its crypto trading platform on a mobile app. It has several key features including SmartTrade, which makes trading extremely simple.

The app also has advanced security features like fingerprint login and 2-factor authentication to keep the user’s crypto assets protected at all times. 

Customer Support 

CoinSmart offers excellent 24/7 customer service via phone, live chat and email. Their customer service reps are very helpful and responsive. Their website also includes a “Frequently Asked Questions” page.   

Security Measures 

CoinSmart is registered as a Money Service Business (MSB) by FINTRAC and regulated by the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC). It is also backed by Luminus Financial, a registered Canadian bank.  

This cryptocurrency exchange is a publicly-traded company, it has to go through a financial audit at least once per year.    

It maintains 95% of its cryptocurrencies in cold storage that’s offline with BitGo, their wallets are insured for $100 million. CoinSmart is almost completely risk-free. 

Trading Fees 

• Deposit fee: 0% via Bank Transfer, 6% via Credit Cards, 1.5% via Interact e-Transfer under $2000 and 0% over $2000 
• Withdrawal fee: 1% INTERAC e-Transfer ($15 minimum)  

• Commission: 0.2% between fiat and crypto, 0.3% between crypto and crypto 
• Spread: 0.3%  
• Crypto deposit fee: Free 

 Pros of CoinSmart 

• Only publicly-traded crypto exchange in Canada 
• Very low trading fees and narrow spreads 
• Low commission for trading between two altcoins  
• Excellent 24/7 Customer support by phone, live chat, and email 
• Advanced trading platform for experienced traders 
• Easy to use web platform and CoinSmart app 
• Accepts credit & debit card deposits 

Cons of CoinSmart 

• Only 16 cryptocurrencies are available 
• 1.5% for INTERAC e-transfer deposits if less than $2,000 
• Crypto withdrawals cost around $0.50 – $10 

• Credit & debit card deposits cost up to 6% 
• Only accepts Canadian dollars as fiat deposit 

Do we recommend CoinSmart? 

Highly recommended! Although other exchanges in Canada usually have a few more coins than CoinSmart, it is still considered one of the best cryptocurrency exchanges in the country.

As a publicly-traded company, CoinSmart generates a tremendous amount of confidence among its traders. It has excellent customer support, easy to use crypto trading platform, and charges extremely low fees.

Kraken – Best Crypto Exchange for Margin Trading in Canada for 2022 

Founded in 2011, Kraken is a crypto exchange and bank based in San Francisco with offices around the world. Kraken caters to both retail and institutional traders with competitive cryptocurrency fees.    

Kraken is one very widely supported crypto exchange in the world, its service is available in every country except for Cuba, Iran, and North Korea. 

The crypto exchange also provides digital asset price information to the Bloomberg Terminal on Wallstreet, New York. 

As one of its stand-out features, Canadian investors are allowed to trade leveraged crypto products. Kraken offers margin accounts with a leverage of up to 1:5 in the cryptos spot market and leverage of up to 1:50 in the cryptos future derivative market.  

For example, a $50 stake on Bitcoin with a 1:5 leverage would be amplified to a $250 position and with a 1:50 leverage would be amplified to a $2500 position.  

The crypto platform on Kraken is simple and user-friendly. It’s catered to the new traders in the cryptocurrency market and offers them a simplified and approachable trading interface.

Kraken also offers a Pro version of its services that comes with an advanced interface and lower fees.   

Customer Service 

Kraken offers global customer support to almost every country including Canada. Besides its website, customer service agents can be reached by email, phone, support center, and 24/7 live chat. It also has a strong social media presence on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. 

Security Measures 

Although Kraken stated that it keeps 95% of all its crypto deposits in an offline in air-gapped cold storage, it is not covered by any insurance policies.  

The exchange is legal to use in Canada, but users are subjected to some restrictions. Canadian crypto users cannot trade Ethereum tokens that have been staked for Ethereum 2.0, and crypto futures trades are banned in Ontario. 

Trading Fee:  

• Deposit Fee: 0.5% via Online Banking, 3.75% + $0.25 via Debit/Credit Cards 
• Withdrawal Fee: $4 – 35 
• Commission: 0 – 0.16% Maker fees and 0.1 – 0.26% Taker fees 
• Spread: 1.5% for cryptocurrencies and 0.9% for stable coins 
• Crypto Deposit Fee: 3.75% + $0.25 

Pros of Kraken 

• Margin accounts allow users to trade with up to 1:50 leverage 
• More than 90 coins supported 
• Simple user interface 
• Excellent customer service 
• Very low fees 

Cons of Kraken 

• Higher transaction fees when not using Kraken Pro 
• Some users report losses due to hacks 
• Storage losses are not covered by insurance 
• Canadian investors need to comply with the strict regulations of the IRS instead of CRA. Creating an account requires several layers of ID verification.  

Do we recommend Kraken? 

Sure!

Kraken is a well-established global company and one of the best crypto exchanges that’s available in Canada. It’s an excellent choice if you are willing to overlook some of its security drawbacks. 

Krakens interface is friendly to new users and experienced traders also have access to advanced features like margin and futures trading. The margin trading accounts give users the option to trade up to 1:50 leverage for some explosive gains

Just make sure you manage your risk accordingly to avoid a blown trading account.

KuCoin – Best Canadian Crypto Exchange for Day Trading in 2022 

Since its inception in 2017, KuCoin has grown to be one of the largest and best Canadian crypto exchanges by trading volume. With over 10 million users, it has established a presence in more than 200 countries. The head office of this crypto exchange is based in Seychelles. 

KuCoin offers a whopping 600+ cryptocurrencies spanning many different markets for Canadian investors to spot trade, stake and peer-to-peer (P2P) trade.

The high liquidity with very low trading fees makes this exchange perfect for day traders to buy and sell short-term positions.  

This crypto exchange also provides traders with the option of Futures and Margin Trading so users to take up positions with up to 100x leverage. Canadian traders can also stake their digital assets through Pool-X, a KuCoin-backed company, the KuCoin Earn service will pay you interest on your crypto coins. 

Users on this crypto exchange have the option of accessing their accounts through an online portal or mobile app, available for both Android and iOS.

However, the interface on the trading platform offers an abundance of features and tools which may cause beginner crypto traders to be overwhelmed.  

As one of the industry-standard security features, KuCoin offers “Know Your Customer” (KYC) verifications for its users. Verified users have access to higher withdrawal and trading limits.  

Unverified users are also allowed to trade anonymously on this exchange. The only drawback is unverified users have a daily withdrawal limit of 1 BTC or 400 CAD. For the majority of retail traders, this is not a big issue.  

Customer Service 

KuCoin does not have customer service agents that can be reached by phone, it does have 24/7 customer support available by email. Its website has a helpful FAQ section. Users can also engage in a live chat to get answers to basic questions or submit a request for further assistance.   

However, this exchange has poor customer service reviews saying responses are very slow and unhelpful. Users felt as if they are chatting with a bot, not a live agent.  

Security Measures 

KuCoin is partnered with Onchain Custodian to safeguard the majority of its crypto assets in cold storage. In event of a platform breach like they had in 2020, the losses are covered by insurance policies. 

This exchange is legal to use in Canada, although not licensed in Ontario, the services are still accessible to me. Users cannot buy crypto on KuCoin directly with Canadian dollars, it must be done through third-party companies.     

KuCoin also uses many security measures, including micro-withdrawal wallets, and industry-level multilayer encryption. dynamic multifactor authentication.

There are also dedicated internal risk control departments which ensure its data operations follow security standards. 

Trading Fees:  

• Deposit Fee: Free 
• Withdrawal Fee: 0.1% 
• Commission: 0.0125 – 0.10% Maker fees and 0.03 – 0.10% Taker fees 
• Spread: KuCoin does not charge spreads 
• Crypto Deposit Fee: Free 

Pros of KuCoin 

• Best crypto exchange for day trading
• Earn interest on crypto 
• Over 600 cryptocurrencies 
• Lowest fees on this list 
• Unverified Canadian traders can anonymously 

Cons of KuCoin 

• Poor customer service 
• Unlicensed in Ontario so future operations are uncertain 

Do we recommend KuCoin? 

Yes!

KuCoin is a premier global exchange that has established a strong customer base.

As long as it remains operational in Ontario, it will be the top choice for many experienced Canadian investors who are already invested in the market.

Its extremely high market liquidity and one of the lowest fees on this list, making it one of the best Canadian crypto exchanges for day traders.

So which one of these crypto exchanges should you choose? 

There is no definitive answer. Each exchange comes with its own advantages and drawbacks. All investors who come into the crypto market have different levels of experience, backgrounds and trading styles. They also want to achieve different financial goals.

So, it’s natural that certain crypto exchanges in Canada will be appealing to one group of traders while other crypto exchanges will attract others.

Most experienced crypto investors we know usually have their funds diversified into a combination of different centralized, decentralized crypto exchanges as well as cold and hot wallets.  

The best advice we can give you is to invest in the market first, explore around and do plenty of due diligence. Eventually, you will find out which investment style suits you the most.

Just make sure to manage your risks and enjoy the process!

Cryptocurrency is becoming more and more popular these days in Australia. It seems like anyone can easily find an exchange, deposit and just start trading crypto. Given all the options out there, finding the best Australian crypto exchange in that suits your need is very important. 

The exchange you choose will impact what types of digital assets you can trade, how much profits you make from your trades, and how smooth the trades are. In some cases, choosing the wrong exchange might mean you might not get your money back at all. 

How to find the best Australian Crypto Exchange? 

There are a number of factors to consider and here are some of them: 

Coins available: The top crypto exchanges in Australia should offer a large selection of coins from many different markets. This allows traders to have the opportunity to get in on some massive altcoin gains. 

Trading fees: The transaction of all digital assets will incur some fees. Exchanges with high fees will eat into a chunk of the profit, especially for the frequent traders. That’s why it’s important to find exchanges that offer affordable rates. 

Government regulation: When choosing the crypto exchange, always check how it is regulated by the local authorities. Using a well-regulated exchange is much safer than an unregulated ones. 

Platform interface: Interfaces on crypto exchanges should be simple to understand and easy to navigate for beginners. It should also offer experienced crypto traders the option of having more advanced features.  

Deposit & withdrawal: Depending on the type of withdrawal and payment method that’s available to you. You should always find an Australian exchange that matches your needs.  

Insurance policies: We have all heard the horror stories of crypto exchanges getting hacked and users losing everything thing they had. That’s why it’s best to always make sure the exchange you are using has your digital assets covered in case of an attack.  

Customer service: Navigating around the user interface of an exchange can be frustrating. Many options to choose from in dealing with complicated withdrawals or deposit processes. Finding the exchange with excellent customer service will make the entire experience go a lot smoother. 

Capital – Best overall

Besides being a crypto exchange, also offers many other assets for investors to trade with. Users can trade cryptocurrency alongside stocks, commodities, forex, index funds, ETFs and much more. 

Capital offers a very tight spread on its digital assets (0.1% – 0.3%) and users can trade them with absolutely no trading fee.  

The platform interface is available on desktop with full trading features as well as on a powerful mobile app. It also allows users to trade on a demo account where they can practice trading with real-time crypto market data. 

Capital is licensed by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK, both of which are trustworthy authorities.  

Each qualified client will be assigned a dedicated account manager, they can be reached by email or phone at any time. This provides a customer service experience that’s second to none. 

Cost 

• Trading fee: 0% 
• Spreads: 0.1% – 0.3% 

Pros of Capital 

• No Trading Fees 
• One-Stop-Shop for Trading Most of the Assets. 
• Dedicated Account Manager Available 
• Superb Desktop & Mobile Interface 
• Demo trading available 

Cons of Capital 

• No Referral Program 

eToro – Best for New Traders

eToro is a world-recognized brand with an easy-to-use desktop trading interface and mobile app, and it offers some of the lowest fees and spreads compared to other crypto exchanges. Besides cryptocurrency, this exchange also supports stocks, forex, commodities and other assets to trade.  

CopyTrade is eToro’s brand-new model of investing that’s built on proprietary technology. It allows any particular eToro user to copy other investors’ trades in real-time. This significantly reduces the risks for new traders coming into the market as their trading decisions are based on the knowledge of experienced traders with proven track records.  

eToro offers the users the option of trading with a demo account with a balance of up to $100,000. This allows new traders to get aquatinted with trading cryptocurrency without the risks and experienced users to test out new strategies.  

Cost 

• Trading fees: 1% 
• Spreads: 0.1% – 0.3% 

Pros of eToro 

• Supports 50+ cryptocurrencies 
• Tight spreads (around 0.1% – 0.3%)  
• Allows short selling 
• Up to 30x leverage (2x leverage on crypto) 
• Free deposits and withdrawals from debit/credit cards, bank transfer, etc. 
• Excellent desktop crypto trading platform and mobile app 

Cons of eToro 

• High non-trading fees 
• Only one account base currency 
• Customer support should be improved 

Digital Surge – Best Variety of Coins 

Founded in Brisbane Australia, Digital Surge is a top-tiered exchange with over 250 cryptocurrencies to trade. It provides users with a fast and easy signup process as they get their accounts verified accounts within hours. 

This exchange offers reliable security measures by keeping most of their assets in cold storage and prompts users to provide Two-Factor Authentication (2FA). 

Digital Surge has a user-friendly desktop trading interface with a mobile app for both iOS and Android. Their customer support agents are available 24/7 through live chat in the app or on the website. 

Digital Surge is a great option for investing in digital assets in Australia. It offers margin accounts for leverage trading. But compared to eToro and Capital, it’s still missing a few key features. 

Cost 

• Trading fees: 0.5% to 0.1%  
• Order fees: 0.5% 
• Deposit fees: From $0 to $3.30 
• Bank withdrawals: Free 
• Crypto withdrawals: Gas fees vary 

Pros 

• Easy-to-use trading platform 
• Low trading fees 
• 250+ cryptocurrencies to choose from 
• 24/7 customer support via live chat 
• Quick account verification 

Cons 

• Cannot deposit by credit card. 
• Lacks some advanced trading features for experienced traders. 

CoinSpot 

CoinSpot was first launched in 2013 and today it has over 2.5 million users, making it the largest crypto exchange in Australia. It is also the recipient of the Blockchain Australia Certificate for best practices. 

This exchange offers more than 360 cryptocurrencies to trade and staking on 22 coins. It has one of the most diverse coin offerings among all cryptocurrency exchanges in Australia.  

CoinSpot has a very user-friendly interface that makes it easy for new traders to use. It comes in both the desktop version as well as mobile apps. It also provides excellent customer support as users have access to an agent through Live Chat that’s available 24/7.  

CoinSpot is registered with ASIC and AUSTRAC, so it’s accountable to maintain the best practicesin crypto industry . The majority of the exchange’s crypto assets are also securely kept in a cold storage environment. This gives its users peace of mind because they don’t have to worry about losing their coins to hackers. 

However, there are still a few areas CoinSpot can improve on. Traders on the platform do not have the option to trade on leverage positions with a margin trading account. It also does not offer demo Accounts, so traders have to look elsewhere. 

Cost 

• Market Orders: 0.1% 
• Instant Buy/Sell: 1% 
• Deposit Fees: Free  
• Withdrawal: Free 
• Deposit Fees: Free 
• Withdrawal Fees: Depends on the crypto 

Pros 

• Most secure Australian cryptocurrency exchange
• Simple interface for new users 
• Over 360+ cryptocurrencies are available 
• Staking on 22 coins to earn interest 
• 24/7 support via Help Desk & Live Chat 
• NFT Marketplace 

Cons 

• Lack of advanced trading markets like derivatives and margin.
• Credit/debit card deposits are not supported.

Binance Australia

Founded in 2017, Binance has based in the Cayman Islands and it’s the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume. This exchange supports the withdrawal and deposits of over 50 fiat currencies. Users have access to over 300 cryptocurrencies to trade with. Traders can buy and sell digital assets like Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Cardano (ADA), Solana (SOL) and Binance Coin (BNB),   

BNB is the indigenous token of Binance, it doubles as a utility token and provides discounts on transactions for its holders. Depending on how many BNBs are in holding, trading fees will range from between 0.1% to 0.04%.  

Besides the Binance crypto exchange, additional features include a Crypto Visa Card and Binance Earn, a digital asset staking platform.   

Its trading interface features advanced charting tools and its mobile app is available on both iOS and Android. They also reward their users with monthly promotions on certain trading pairs once they reach a certain milestone. 

Cost 

• Crypto deposit fees: Free 
• Fiat deposit fees: 0% to 3.5% 
• Crypto withdrawal fees: 0% to 2,5% 
• Taker fees: From 0.04 to 0.1% 
• Maker fees: From 0.02 to 0.1% 
• Futures trading maker fees: 0.02% 
• Futures trading taker fees: 0.04% 
• Instant buy/sell trade fees: 0.5% 
• Debit/credit card purchases: 4.5% 

Pros 

• An enormous selection of cryptocurrencies (300+) 
• Supports over 50 fiat currencies 
• Binance Earn and Binance Visa Card 
• Advanced charting tools 
• Low fees 

Cons 

• Not available in seven U.S. states and Ontario Canada 
• The Australian version has fewer crypto-to-crypto currency pairs than the global Binance site. 

Zipmex 

Aso based in Singapore, Zipmex is extremely amongst the crypto traders in South-East Asia. It is fully licensed in both Australia and Thailand.   

In addition to buying and selling cryptocurrency, it also offers many other interesting features. 

Zipmex gives its user the option to stake their cryptocurrency through two different platforms: ZipUp! and ZipLock. Both platforms yield good rewards in the form of crypto.  

ZipUp! offers decent APY rates and no lock-in period. However, if you are comfortable locking your crypto for up to 45 days, you should consider ZipLock’s as it provides a higher APY. 

Another feature on Zipmex is an ICO Launchpad, it’s called ZipLaunch. It allows eager investors to get early into promising DeFi projects or ICOs. 

One of the biggest drawbacks for ZipMex is its limited selection of digital assets, it has 41 coins to choose from. In addition, traders are almost forced to hold ZMT tokens in order to advantage of lower trading fees. 

Costs 

• Maker’s Fees: From 0.10% to 0.20% 
• Taker’s Fees: From 0.10% to 0.20% 
• Deposit Fees: Free 
• Withdrawal Fees: Varies by coin 
• Deposit Fees: Free  
• Withdrawal Fees: $5 

Pros 

• Some of the lowest trading fees in Australia (0.1%-0.2%) 
• The insurance policy covers up to $100 million USD  
• Instant Trading 

Cons 

• Investors are compelled to acquire ZMT to get the best benefits 
• Customer support is not available on the phone 
• No high-volume trading discounts 
• Limited crypto offerings 

Independent Reserve

Independent Reserve is one of the biggest crypto exchanges in Australia with over 200,000 users as of 2022. It is also registered with the Australian Digital Commerce Association (ADCA). 

Through its partnership with Lloyd’s of London, Independent Reserve is able that provides full insurance coverage for 100% of its digital assets. For extra security, the exchange keeps 97% of its coins secured in a cold storage environment and uses a Two Factor Authentication for verification.  

In addition to buying and selling cryptocurrencies, users can have access to a complete library full of investing strategies. These strategies can even be applied to an AutoTrader feature. For institutional traders, this exchange offers a VIP Over-the-Counter (OTC) trading service. 

Independent Reserve’s trading platform can be accessed on desktop as well as on a mobile app for both iOS and Android.  Fiat currency can be deposited with ease through the Osko and the BPay network.  

Cost 

• Exchange Trading Fees: 0.6% 
• Spreads: 0.41% 
• Deposit Fees: Free 
• Withdrawal Fees: Free  
• Deposit Fees: varies by network mining fees 
• Withdrawal Fees (Crypto): Varies by network mining fees 

Pros 

• Accept 4 fiat currencies as deposits (AUD, USD, NZD, SGD) 
• Have an AutoTrader feature 
• 97% of crypto coins are held in cold storage 
• 100% of digital assets are insured through Lloyd’s of London 
• Instant account verification for most traders 
• Mobile app available on iOS and Android 
• OTC trading services for VIP clients.  

Cons 

• Only offers 29 cryptocurrencies 
• Higher transaction fees 

Swyftx 

Swyftx was founded in 2018 by Angus Goldman and Alex Harper. Registered and regulated by the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC), Swyftx is both a crypto exchange and also a staking platform for certain cryptocurrencies. 

Swyftx supports 16 cryptocurrencies, including Cardano (ADA), Solana (SOL), Cosmos (ATOM), and Polkadot (DOT). Interest rates users can earn depends on the crypto they’re staking, with annual rates ranging anywhere from 5.12% (on Bitcoin) to 101.24% on (Axie Infinity). One thing users appreciate about Swyftx’s staking platform is that there’s no lock-up period, which means you can stake and withdraw your assets at any time with no penalty. 

Staking rewards are paid out daily directly into the Swyftx Crypto Wallet in the same currency that you’ve staked. The minimum staking amount is $1 AUD, with no maximum. 

All in all, Swyftx is a strong staking platform, but it lacks some important features as a crypto exchange, which is why we don’t recommend it so strongly. 

Cost 

• Trading Fees: 0.6% (discounts apply to higher trading volume) 
• Spreads: 0.41% 
• Staking Fees: Free 
• Deposit Fees (Fiat): Free 
• Withdrawal Fees (Fiat): Free  
• Deposit Fees (Crypto): Free  
• Withdrawal Fees (Crypto): Free 

Pros 

• Up to 23% annual interest on select cryptos 
• Available on mobile and desktop 
• Supports 16 cryptocurrencies 
• Two-Factor Authentication 
• TradingView charts 
• Real-time data 

Cons 

• Can take a while for users to get used to 
• Customer support can be lengthy as a result of a large customer base 
• Does not offer margin trading, derivatives or Futures markets 

CoinJar

CoinJar is a well-established crypto trading exchange, it has been around for 9 years and it is currently based in Melbourne. It does have plans to has plans to expand its operations to the UK in the future.  

It is also one of the very few platforms that offer a physical crypto debit card. Launched in early 2022, the CoinJar Crypto Debit Card lets you use your cryptocurrencies to make everyday purchases. It can be used everywhere Mastercard is accepted.  

They also have over 10 bundles of diversified crypto, ideal for beginners and experienced investors alike. Some of the most sought-after bundles are the DeFi Bundle, the Stablecoin Bundle, and the Green Bundle (eco-friendly).  

Cost 

• Currency Conversion: 1% 
• Instant Buy: 2% 
• Maker’s Fees: From 0.1% to 0.04% 
• Taker’s Fees: Free 
• Deposit Fees: Free 
• Withdrawal Fee: 1% 
• Deposit Fees: Free 
• Withdrawal Fee: Free 

Pros 

• Plenty of additional features 
• The platform is very friendly for beginner traders. 
• Low fee structure. 
• The exchange can be accessed by mobile app 
• To offset the transaction fees on the exchange, CoinJar offers its user Reward points that can be used at the Rewards Store. 

Cons 

• A limited number of cryptocurrencies can be accessed. 
• The trading fees are based on a floating spread that will increase during volatile market conditions. 
• Customer support agents cannot be reached on weekends. 
• Traders cannot take to short positions crypto pairs. 
• Only Australian investors can withdraw and deposit fiat currency. 

Kraken

Kraken is a crypto exchange and bank that was founded in 2011. Today, the company’s headquarter is located in San Francisco and it has many offices across the world.      

The crypto trading platform on Kraken is simple and user-friendly. It’s catered to the new traders in the cryptocurrency market and offers them a simplified and approachable trading interface. Its service is available in every country except for Cuba, Iran, and North Korea. 

Kraken is one of the few global crypto exchanges out there that caters to both retail and institutional traders. It also provides cryptocurrency pricing updates directly to the Bloomberg Terminal on Wallstreet, New York.  

As one of its stand-out features, Australian traders are allowed to trade on margin accounts with a leverage of up to 1:5 in the cryptos spot market and leverage of up to 1:50 in the cryptos’ future derivative market.   

Kraken exchange also comes in a Pro version. It allows users to have access to advanced features on the trading platform as well as lower transaction fees. 

Cost 

• Trading fees: 0% – 0.26% 
• Crypto credit card purchases: 3.75% + €0.25 
• ACH crypto purchases: 1.5% 

Pros 

• Wide selection with over 90 cryptocurrencies to trade 
• Simple and intuitive user interface 
• The exchange provides plenty of educational resources for its new traders 
• Excellent 24/7 customer support that can be contacted through a variety of methods 
• The user interface offers advanced trading tools 

Cons 

• A complicated trading platform might be difficult for new users to use 
• A slow verification process for intermediate and pro-level accounts 
• The website may experience laggings on occasions 
• Doesn’t have credit cards and debit cards deposit as deposit methods 

Summary 

It’s hard to choose the best cryptocurrency exchange in Australia that suits your needs. Each exchange has its own unique features as well as disadvantages. So instead of picking the one that’s the best, we highlighted the benefits of each crypto exchange and matched them with the type of traders that they are best suited for.   

Quick disclaimer. Remember, crypto is extremely volatile and quite unregulated. Crypto has no UK or EU investor protection like other traditional methods of investing. Like any investment, you are risking your funds and could lose all of it.

eToro

eToro offers multiple investment options: crypto, stock and CDFs. One of the main benefits of eToro is the amount of different coins you can buy. They offer over 115 cryptocurrencies to pick from. Of course, this includes the likes of Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin and other popular coins. 

eToro is registered with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Their trading platform is decently advanced so seasoned investors will enjoy extra features not found on all exchanges. eToro comes with a crypto wallet for you to store your crypto on their exchange, too. 

It costs nothing to start an account with eToro. For the beginners, you can enjoy their demo trading platform to get a feel for how it works. Using the demo platform will also give you a feel for the extreme volatility in crypto! 

Another benefit of eToro is a 0 fees deposit system. You’ll only have to pay fees on spreads. Another potential fee to be aware of is currency exchange. eToro operates in USD, so you will need to trade the pound or whichever currency you have to the USD. When you withdraw your funds, you incur a $5 charge. You have to withdraw at least $50. 

These are some of the main things to consider with eToro. Overall, it’s a pretty suitable platform for UK crypto users! 

Coinbase

Coinbase is one of the most established exchanges out there. They boast some of the highest users and trade volume. Coinbase gives you the choice of over 500 coins and tokens to buy and sell. Of course, this includes coins like Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP and Luna. 

The sophisticated trading platform allows you to schedule buys and sells into the future. Their IOS, android and web apps are really useful and smooth. You can always be checking your trades, the market and what’s going on.  

Coinbase includes a crypto wallet. You can use the wallet to connect to decentralized exchanges (as opposed to a centralized exchange like Coinbase) and make use of the different services they can offer. For example, you could use your Coinbase wallet to connect to PancakeSwap (a popular decentralized exchange on the Binance Smart Chain) to then quickly trade your coins away from the exchange. 

There are a few fees to consider with Coinbase. The fees combine together and are determined by the payment method, size of the order, market conditions and other things like volatility and liquidity of the coin you’re buying. 

Coinbase is registered with the FCA, as well as having a withdrawal fee, but a 0 deposit fee.

Gemini

Gemini was started by two famous figures from the Facebook story… Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss. Gemini is great because it is simple to use even for the brand new investor. Yet, there are also some nice features for experienced investors to take advantage of. Overall, Gemini makes it easy for you to get involved in crypto, with their simple interface, education section and wide variety of coins to choose from. Gemini lists 50+ coins to buy like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Cardano, Polkadot and more. Enjoy trading, managing, and dynamic price alerts amongst other trading tools with Gemini. You can also set up various scheduled trades like you can with Coinbase. Again, also like Coinbase, Gemini has smooth web app, IOS and Android options software for you to take advantage of. 

Gemini offers you a crypto wallet for you to store your crypto on. Choose between a hot wallet (has connected to the internet), or a cold storage option which is much safer. 

Gemini is free to deposit, registered with the FCA, and charges withdrawal fees. 

Bitpanda

Like eToro, Bitpanda allows you to invest in stocks as well as crypto. Bitpanda gives users over 50 of the top cryptocurrencies to choose from, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin and more. You can open an account for free but have to deposit at least 25 euros to get started. A cool feature with Bitpanda is being able to trade your crypto for other assets. For example, you could use Bitcoin to buy gold, ironically! 

Bitpanda also allows you to schedule investments over time. If you plan to dollar cost average (DCA) into Bitcoin, you could set a payment schedule on Bitpanda so it does it for you automatically. Bitpanda also has a crypto card that you can use to spend like cash. Crypto.com has a similar model. This is a great benefit as you don’t have to go through the stress of changing your crypto to fiat and withdrawing it to your bank.

For a more advanced experience, users can upgrade to Bitpanda Pro, which gives you more trading options. For example, you can gain price matching capabilities, automated clearing, settlement and netting processes. This isn’t necessary for those new to crypto, but those who are seasoned investors should consider Bitpanda Pro! 

Bitpanda aren’t registered with the FCA, but there aren’t any withdrawal or deposit fees.

Coinsmart

Coinsmart is simple to use. Their mission is to make crypto more accessible to use. They’re achieving that and have a clean and simple platform that just about anyone should be able to understand.

Coinsmart offers the top coins like other exchanges, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin and more. They have desktop and mobile options. They aren’t registered with the FCA, but you don’t have to make a minimum deposit, and there are withdrawal fees. 

Coinsmart’s focus on simplicity means it has a few less features than other exchanges, but it’s worth checking out for those who are new to cryptocurrency exchanges. 

Revolut

Revolut was popularized as a personal finance app. However, they have introduced the ability to purchase Bitcoin, Ethereum and 25+ other coins. You can even choose to invest as little as $1 to get involved. 

Revolut has built in features like price notifications (e.g. you want to buy Bitcoin at $20,000, you will receive a notification). Revolut also produces crypto news, so you learn about what’s happening in crypto within the app. 

A cool feature Revolut has is a round up service. You can gather all your spare change and invest into your favorite coin. Revolut charges a fixed fee for converting fiat currency into crypto. The fee is 2.5% for normal users and 1.5% for Premium and Metal users. This is the only fee involved. 

Enjoy other aspects of Revolut like savings features, accounts made specifically for investing, exchange + trading, and international fiat currency transfers. 

Revolut is a good option for someone who wants a money management app, but also wants to buy cryptocurrency. It’s good for someone who isn’t particularly interested in getting super involved in crypto. Perhaps if you just want to buy a bit of Bitcoin or Ethereum and forget about it, Revolut would be an easy way to do that. Enjoy 0 withdrawal fees if you want to take your crypto or fiat currency out! 

Cryptocurrency has become increasingly more popular over the last few years. The main coins, like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin and more have been exploding to new all-time highs, drawing lots of attention to the industry. 

If you want to start trading crypto, the best way to start is by using cryptocurrency centralized exchanges.

Why?

Well, crypto exchanges allow you to transfer fiat currency into cryptocurrency.

You simply pick one of the exchanges listed below, create an account, verify your identity, add your preferred payment method, then you can make crypto purchases directly.

Although it is a scary industry for newcomers, crypto is definitely here to stay, and exchanges are helping everyone to get involved. The best cryptocurrency exchanges today make investing in crypto easier than ever before. 

There are quite a few options when investing in crypto. Today we will be looking at the best cryptocurrency exchanges out there. For those familiar with traditional investing, please be aware that crypto is its own beast and is very different to traditional investing!

After all, a lot of crypto is centred around decentralization, which makes it a totally different system from what most are used to. 

Anyway, without further ado, let’s jump into your options and their benefits! 

Coinbase

Coinbase is one of the best crypto exchanges available. They have been established for a long time and make for a good “all-around” crypto exchange. Their fees are manageable, they have a lot of coins to choose from, they have customer support and it can be accessed from most countries.

You can do everything you’ll need on Coinbase, like buying, selling, trading and storing digital assets on their platform. They want to be industry leaders in helping people digital currency in and out of their local currencies.

You can buy all the most popular cryptocurrencies on Coinbase, like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Doge, XRP, Bitcoin Cash, and hundreds more.

Coinbase, like most exchanges, has a good mobile app you can use to trade crypto, buy and sell crypto, store crypto assets and so on.

Coinbase offers a Pro version (Coinbase Pro), which is particularly useful for any users who will be doing a lot of cryptocurrency trading. Coinbase Pro will help you to save money on transaction fees and trading fees.

Pros of Coinbase

• All of the top coins are available to buy
• Two factor authentification for added login security measures
• Watch and earn from educational resources
• Trusted and secure exchange 
• Home to the most popular crypto assets
• Lots of additional financial tools to take advantage of
• Stake your coins on Coinbase for yield (like getting interest from a bank account)

Cons

• Crypto transactions can cost more than other trading platforms
• Fee structure can also be confusing
• Spread pricing can increase transaction costs
• Not available to use in all countries

Do We Recommend You Use Coinbase?

Absolutely! If you need an exchange that can give you everything, Coinbase is a great choice. Most crypto exchanges usually have a few more cons than Coinbase. The only real issues they have are not operating in all countries (out of their control to a degree), and their complex fee structure. However, their fees are relatively fair and manageable, especially if you use Coinbase Pro.

Gemini 

Gemini is a good crypto exchange for beginners. It has a simple interface, with plenty of popular coins to choose from for your first purchase. For experienced traders, you can enjoy their ActiveTraders platform with more sophisticated trading options, like charting tools and multiple order types.

Although there are cheaper options out there to purchase crypto, Gemini is considered to be safe with its insurance policies and other safety measures. 

The Gemini mobile app is perfectly adequate. The fee structure differs from mobile app to desktop app, which is something to be aware of.

Pros of Gemini

• Low minimum trade. Get started trading crypto with only a small amount in your crypto wallet
• Available in all 50 U.S. States. Unlike some other crypto exchange competitors, Gemini is available everywhere in the U.S.
• Strong security. Gemini has always put an emphasis on the safety measures employed at their crypto exchange. They have sophisticated cyber safety and insurance policies on hot wallets

Cons of Gemini

• Some other crypto exchanges like Coinbase and Binance have more coins available to purchase
• Trading fees can be slightly higher than some of the other crypto exchanges
• Has low customer support ratings, citing 1.5 stars out of 5 on Trustpilot. Sometimes these review sites only attract the rare few who had a bad experience, so we would not take this totally at face value

Do We Recommend You Use Gemini?

Sure! We think Gemini is a good crypto exchange for anyone to use. They have a high level of security, and cool trading features. For someone looking to buy and sell rare digital currencies, perhaps one of the other exchanges is a better choice for you. Gemini mostly hosts the top cryptocurrencies out there. Also, their fees leave something to be desired but are manageable.

Crypto.com

Crypto.com is another great “all-rounder” exchange.

Crypto.com, or CRO, are an all-in-one platform if you want to buy, trade, store and earn interest on your crypto.

CRO offer all of the top cryptocurrencies, like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Doge, XRP, Cardano, Bitcoin Cash, Tether and more.

Crypto.com also boasts its own blockchain, where lots of developers have been creating decentralized applications for users to interact with. For example, as a user, you could go onto a decentralized app (DApp) through crypto.com’s blockchain and stake tokens to earn interest on them. CRO chain is crypto.com’s equivalent of the Ethereum blockchain.

CRO also offer their own credit card, a standalone crypto wallet, and an NFT marketplace.

We expect CRO to keep growing both through their trading platform as well as their own blockchain.

Customer Support

CRO has pretty comprehensive customer support. Although they have no phone support, they have a help page, email, and live chat to help you with your problems. As usual, there are quite a few people moaning online about poor customer support.

This is to be expected to a degree as you can’t please everyone, and the minority are often louder than the majority.

Security Measures

Like Coinbase, Crypto.com stores a lot of their assets in a cold environment, so it should be extremely hard to be stolen. They also work with banks in America to provide up to $250,000 in FDIC insurance on U.S. dollar balances.

Trading with CRO

Trading is a pleasant experience on CRO.

CRO has a mobile app, which is available on Android and iOS devices. It is easy and straightforward to use, especially if you have used a trading platform on mobile before.

The app allows you to do everything with CRO, from checking your portfolio, buying and selling crypto, and signing up for a Crypto.com credit card.

Pros of Crypto.com

• Get a CRO card and unlock additional rewards
• Stake your crypto and earn an attractive APR
• Relatively low fees
• Popular and safe
• Trade the top cryptocurrencies
• Have their own blockchain
• Lots of benefits if you hold CRO

Cons of Crypto.com

• Higher fees if you don’t hold significant amounts of CRO
• The trading fee structure can be hard to navigate
• Some other exchanges have more coins that you can buy and sell (however, you can get virtually everything from their decentralized exchange, as opposed to their centralized exchange)

eToro 

eToro has been building its reputation for over 15 years. They are an established player in all kinds of online investing. eToro is another full features platform where you can buy, sell, send, store and earn interest on your crypto.

CopyTrader Trading Feature

Interestingly, eToro offers a “CopyTrader” feature, which allows you to copy the trades of other users. This means you can copy the trades of the best performers on the platform. CopyTrader doesn’t cost any additional fees. The trader you copy gets compensated by eToro so you don’t have to. Who knows, one-day people will be copying your trades!

Demo Trading

Also, they have a demo platform for those who wish to try crypto with just play money to start. If you aren’t ready to buy cryptocurrency, using the play money account is a great way to start and see how volatile crypto is!

eToro is filled with all sorts of financial services. For example, you can buy stocks and shares, trade fiat currency, options and more.

Unfortunately, if you are in the states, eToro is blocked by about 10 states, so make sure it is allowed to be used in your jurisdiction. 

eToro Fees

Some exchanges like Coinbase and Binance provide complex fee structures. Thankfully, eToro makes it quite straightforward.

With eToro you pay a relatively small spread on the purchase of an asset that counts for when you sell it too. Normally, you pay a spread on the purchase and a spread on the sale (as with most popular crypto exchanges). However, on eToro, you pay both sides of the spread at once. This can be problematic if the asset decreases in the future when you go to sell it and you were taxed while it was a higher price. Spreads are around 0.75% for Bitcoin (BTC) and as high as 5% for Tezos (TXS).

eToro also has a minimum $30 withdrawal fee.

Pros of eToro:

• Demo trading platform
• Social trading – copy others’ trades
• User-friendly mobile and web app available on iOS and Android

Cons of eToro:

• Minimum $30 withdrawal threshold
• Spread their efforts between cryptocurrency and other financial services, so have less coins available compared to Crypto.com, Coinbase etc.
• $200 is required to use their copy trade system

Overall, we believe that eToro is a good one-stop-shop exchange to use for beginners as well as advanced users. It’s a particularly good option if you are involved in financial investments outside of cryptocurrencies.

Binance

Binance is one of the leading exchanges in the world.

Like Crypto.com, Binance has its own blockchain (the Binance Smart Chain, or BSC), and is extremely innovative in the crypto space. Binance boasts one of the most sophisticated lists of cryptocurrencies you can buy. 

Features

Again, Binance is also a one-stop shop with plenty of features. Their Binance Smart Chain is one of the most popular blockchains by gross volume and number of users.

More features include:

Futures Trading: Futures trading is leveraged trading. You can multiply the amount of money you are using for short or long positions and experience different sized wins/losses.

Staking: Binance offers various staking pools for most of the top coins, which will generate you a small percentage per year. Still more than a bank!

Peer-to-peer transactions: Binance’s peer to peer transaction service is useful for withdrawing money. Instead of withdrawing directly to your bank, you can send crypto to another user, who sends you money to your bank/Paypal/Revolut/Wise etc.

Three platforms: Binance.US has three trading platforms you can use. These are basic, advanced and OTC for peer-to-peer trading. Beginners and those new to the platform should start with basic, then you can work your way up.

Binance Launchpad: BNB holders (Binance’s native currency) can spend their BNB in the Binance Launchpad. The Binance Launchpad helps to promote new cryptocurrencies they deem to be useful or interesting. For example, STEPN (GMT) was a recent coin that exploded by being started on the Binance Launchpad.

Regulations

Binance is often falling under scrutiny by governments. Binance is constantly being targeted by rules and regulations which limits its usability in certain countries. Check to see if Binance is eligible to operate in your country.

Binance currently works well in most of Europe, Australia and Asia, but has limitations in America and Canada.

VPNs can be a workaround if Binance is banned in your country, but it might be a better idea to simply use an exchange which is accepted in your country.

Sign up Process

The Binance verification process is quite stringent. It can take a few days to verify your identity. However, AI is becoming increasingly popular, which helps to identify you through pictures of your passport etc.

Most other crypto exchanges are faster at verifying identities.

Once you finally get signed up, you shouldn’t have a problem after that point.

Trading Fees

The trading fee structure on Binance is quite complicated. To onramp fiat currency to Binance, it costs around 1% depending on the payment method you use. They also have trading fees ranging from 0.1% to 3.5%. Most trades are in the 0.1% region, which is very low.

Binance are not the cheapest exchange out there, but certainly not the most expensive either. They can also boast one of the most comprehensive lists of cryptocurrencies to justify their expense.

Binance also boasts the most trading pairs of any exchange out there. They have trading routes between all sorts of popular cryptocurrencies.

Pros of Binance: 

• Leveraged futures trading
• 500+  coins to trade
• Peer-to-peer transactions
• Lots of transaction options
• Staking available
• They own the Binance Smart Chain, one of the top blockchains in the world
• relatively low fees compared to some of the other top cryptocurrency exchanges

Cons of Binance

• Binance is currently largely unavailable in America and Canada. It is often changing which states, if any, allow citizens to use Binance
• Customer service can be hard to get hold of. It seems to be easier now but during bull markets or times when they are extremely busy, customer support can be slow
• Customer issues can take a while to solve. For example, if you send funds to another Binance user but you select the wrong network, you might be waiting a while for Binance to come back to you.

Kraken

Kraken is a good choice of exchange. They have plenty of coins to choose to buy, as well as fair fees and interesting trading options.

A major benefit of Kraken is their 24-hour chat support, as well as 12 hours of phone support per day. Many other exchanges only have email support, which can be extremely tiresome waiting for a reply. Instant messaging is a great help when you inevitably run into a problem. 

As Kraken uses Trustly, it can be an annoyance for US users to get money onto the platform. Not all banks sync with Trustly, meaning that you might need to call your bank to arrange a wire for a fiat currency deposit onto Kraken. 

Kraken Fees

Kraken fees vary depending on the platform used and the trade you enter. In either case, prices are also subject to spread fees (like virtually all centralized exchanges).

Kraken Pricing

When instantly purchasing crypto with your preferred payment method, the fee is 1.5% for most coins. Stablecoins are charged at 0.9% for stablecoin purchases using U.S. dollars.

There are additional fees depending on how you buy your crypto. Prices vary from 0.5% for bank transfers to 3.75% + 25 Euro cents with a debit card or credit card.

Kraken Pro Pricing

Users should opt for Kraken Pro if they plan on doing a lot of crypto trading. Kraken Pro has much lower fees than the main Kraken platform. Kraken Pro pricing is based on your total trading volume over the last 30 day period. Usually, a trade is subject to either a 0.26% taker fee or 0.16% maker fee.

Kraken Coins

Kraken has over 110+ cryptocurrencies you can buy. Other exchanges like Binance and Coinbase have a lot more coins available to buy and sell.

Kraken has an NFT marketplace in development.

Trading Features

Kraken has lots of different trading features. Choose from futures trading (leveraged trading), margin trading, indices, staking, funding and more. Kraken also has a “Cryptowatch” feature which allows you to analyze the market conditions and gives you more data in order to make your trades.

Overall, Kraken is one of the best crypto trading platforms in the world. It is a secure crypto exchange, the trading fees are fair, and they are available in most countries. Kraken’s additional features make it one of the best choices in the crypto market.

So Which is the Best Crypto Exchange?

The best cryptocurrency exchange is subjective. Each exchange brings its own positives and negatives to the table.

For example, Coinbase incurs more fees than most exchanges, but they also provide more services than other exchanges.

Binance is a great choice of exchange, but they often have issues with regulators.

So, all in all, it’s best to simply pick an exchange and see if it is suitable for your needs. If the exchange is not suitable for you, you can always pick another exchange.

As a cryptocurrency trader, you need to be nimble, and that might mean switching to another exchange!

Overall, simply pick the exchange that suits you the most. Test it out, see if it works and go for it! If you are experiencing too many problems, it’s not much of an issue and you can simply switch platforms.

If you would like to buy Solana, this is the guide for you.

Firstly we’ll look at the different exchanges you can purchase Solana from. Then we’ll look at how to buy Solana in a bit more detail – and if you should buy it. Then we’ll run through a quick guide to buying Solana.

Right. Let’s jump into it!

Buy Solana on Binance

If you want an easy, safe way to buy Solana – Binance is a perfect choice. Binance allows you to buy Solana, sell Solana and trade Solana, all with relatively low fees.

Simply download the Binance app or visit their website, create an account, verify your identity, onramp fiat money with your preferred payment method, and then buy Solana directly.

Binance is not available to all countries and often faces regulation issues. If you’re in the UK, Europe, and Asia – you should be OK with Binance.

Binance is the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world, so your crypto assets are largely safe with them.

Should you wish to purchase other cryptocurrencies, Binance has a wide variety of coins for you to choose from.

Pros

• One of the most popular crypto exchanges
• Plenty of features like leveraged trading, staking, lending and more
• Low fees considering the benefits
• You can buy Solana with a credit or debit card, wire transfer, PayPal and more
• Fair withdrawal fees
• Easy to buy crypto

Cons

• The identification verification process can take several days to complete
• Binance can be closed due to regulations in your country. Check to see if you can use Binance in your country!

Overall, Binance is a safe and easy way to buy Solana. Although the verification process can sometimes take a bit of time, it’s worth having a Binance account as it’s so widely used in the crypto industry.

Buy Solana on eToro

eToro is a great place to buy Solana!

USD deposit fees are null. No fees are paid in buying Solana. For those on a tight budget, an eToro account might be best for you.

eToro benefits from not only focusing on cryptocurrency. They have loads of features that other cryptocurrency exchanges do not – like CFD trading, investment advice, fiat currency trading and more.

You can also take advantage of the CopyTrader system they employ. The CopyTrader system allows you to copy trades made by other crypto investors. This is a good way to learn what the big players are doing in the crypto market.

eToro is extremely established and has been operating since 2007.

Pros

• Approved licensing in the UK, Europe and Australia 
• Easy exchange to buy SOL with
• Low transaction fees and deposit fees
• Get indirect investment advice through their copy trade system
• Multiple payment methods, like bank transfers

Cons

• At least $200 is required to use the CopyTrade system
• Crypto trading requires a minimum funding threshold to begin
• Less popular coins than other cryptocurrency platforms (but still a strong list)

Overall, we recommend eToro to buy Solan with. It’s easy to use and has low fees. You don’t need a lot more really!

Buy Solana With Crypto.com

Crypto.com, or, CRO is becoming a powerhouse cryptocurrency exchange among crypto apps. CRO is yet another amazing place to purchase Solana.

We like CRO for buying a coin like Solana because it is fast and easy. This is how CRO excels.

To buy Solana from CRO, simply create an account, verify your identity, and then buy Solana coin straight from your debit card. CRO accepts VISA, MasterCard, wire transfer, Paypal and more.

CRO does take a 2.99% fee if you use a debit card – but not during the first 30 days after signing up.

Select over 250+ cryptocurrencies to buy on CRO, not just Solana.

Now that we have a few places to buy Solana, let’s have a look at the project in more detail.

What Is Solana?

Solana is a relatively new cryptocurrency as it was launched in 2019. It was created to combat the scalability, speed and transaction fees associated with the Ethereum blockchain.

To explain further:

• The Ethereum blockchain can only process transactions at a rate of 15 per second. Of course, this is not a viable option for a mass-adopted global blockchain network.
• Ethereum transaction fees are extremely high, especially when the network is busy and many people are using it.
• Both of these factors contribute to being extremely hard to scale

To compare, Solana can allegedly process 65,000 transactions a second…

The Solana blockchain is also very cheap. Ethereum transactions range between $1 to outrageous numbers like $200 for a basic transaction. Meanwhile, you can make transactions on Solana for as little as $0.01.

NFTs and Decentralized Finance

The Solana blockchain has become increasingly popular for NFTs and Decentralized finance (DeFi). Solana blockchain is one of the few places in crypto that has successfully deployed smart contracts. Smart contracts allow developers to create decentralized applications (DApps).

A decentralized application is like a website where you connect your wallet and interact with the DApp. For example, UniSwap is a very popular DApp on the Ethereum network. You trade, stake, farm and more with UniSwap, all through the smart contracts which operate without the use of a third party. Decentralized exchanges and DApps are thriving on Solana.

NFTs are also thriving in the Solana ecosystem. Many users became tired of the Ethereum transaction fees. Solana presents a much cheaper and faster alternative, so many artists, developers and users alike migrated to the Solana network. We expect this community to grow into the future.

What Is SOL?

Solana is the blockchain, while SOL is the native token of Solana. Solana coin (SOL) is what exploded in value throughout 2021. Of course, the chain itself also grew, but the coin is what increased in value.

You need SOL tokens in order to interact with the SOL blockchain. For example, if you want to send SOL tokens to a friend, or if you wish to interact with a DApp, or mint an NFT – you will pay fees in SOL.

OK – now you know more about Solana, let’s run through a quick guide on how to buy it.

How To Buy Solana

The easiest way to buy Solana coin is through one of the centralized exchanges listed at the top of the article. If none of those crypto exchanges operate in your country, you can also try the Coinbase app, Kraken app, or the FTX Exchange:

• After selecting your exchange, download their app or visit their website
• Create an account and prove your identity
• Select your preferred payment method (bank transfer) then select Solana and purchase it
• If your exchange does not allow you to directly buy Solana coin, you might have to first buy something like USDT, and then trade your USDT for SOL (but most exchanges now allow you to buy specific crypto directly)

Easy! Follow these steps and you’ll be a proud owner of SOL tokens.

Wondering if you should buy Solana coin? Let’s look into SOL in even more detail with some FAQs

FAQS

Is It A Good Time To Buy Solana?

Our advice is to always dollar cost average into any crypto you like. As of now in July 2022, the macroeconomic climate is not looking excellent for going all-in on any crypto project.

However, Solana is a lot cheaper than it was compared to most of last year. It has retraced from $260 all the way down to $40. So, buying now is certainly a lot better than buying at the peak in 2021! But yes, anything can happen, SOL can go down more, so DCA!

What Is The Price Of Solana?

The Solana price has recently stabilized at around $40, all the way down from $260 in 2021. The market cap is around $15 billion. The market cap is significantly lower than last year.

Are There Downsides To Solana?

Yes. Solana is widely criticized for being too centralized. There have been multiple episodes where the entire network has gone offline. No one wants to see their assets offline. Disappear.

This has caused mass panic and hysteria, leading to panic selling. No one wants to see their assets frozen.

Most other blockchains, like Ethereum, never go offline. So for Solana to go offline multiple times, it has seriously decreased consumer confidence in the chain.

Where Can I Sell Solana?

Selling Solana is straightforward. Simply trade your SOL for another coin on the exchange you purchased it from. Alternatively, you can use a decentralized exchange on the Solana network to trade your SOL for another token.

Will Ethereum 2.0 Negate Solana?

Solana currently has a market because it solves a few issues of the de facto smart contract blockchain: Ethereum. Solana is currently faster and cheaper.

However, when Ethereum 2.0 comes out, they are claiming to process 100,000 blockchain transactions per second, and fix the expensive transaction costs.

Solana has their own identity, community and interesting DApps, but Ethereum 2.0 does pose a serious threat to Solana’s growth.

How Do I Keep My Solana Safe?

After buying your Solana coin, you need to store it safely.

Firstly, you’ll likely want to move your Solana away from the centralized exchange you purchased it from.

The best way to have ownership over your crypto is by having your own wallet, with your own private keys.

After creating one account, you’ll want to create several more! You can keep Solana (and any other crypto assets) on a cold wallet that you don’t connect to the internet. Cold storage is for any coins in your crypto portfolio you plan to hold for a long time. Many crypto investors will use hardware wallets (like a Trezor) as their cold wallet of choice. Trezor adds another layer of security to stop you from getting hacked or robbed.

You can also have a hot wallet you use for everyday DApps, transactions and so on. You should keep less money on your hot wallet as it is more susceptible to being hacked.

Best Solana Wallet

If you are sure you want to invest in Solana coin, you have several crypto wallet options to store your Solana investment. Usually, we recommend MetaMask but there are other options available to store your digital assets.

Some wallets worth trying are Phantom Wallet, Sollet, Exodus Wallet and Solflare Wallet. These wallets give you private access to your Solana crypto and allow you to keep the rest of your crypto investments safe too.

If the last few paragraphs have been too complicated for you, you could buy Solana crypto and simply use a crypto wallet hosted by an exchange. For example, some cryptocurrency exchanges, like eToro, have a crypto wallet you can use. Buy Solana coin and keep it safe!

Overall, a hardware wallet is going to be the safest way to store your digital assets.

Let’s first go over different exchanges you can buy Cardano from. Then we will look at Cardano and why you might want to invest in it. Then we will go over a basic buying guide to finish off!

Binance

Binance is a good place to buy Cardano. It is the largest cryptocurrency exchange by volume traded.

You can buy Cardano on Binance relatively easily. Create an account, verify your identity, connect your payment method, and then you can buy Cardano directly.

Binance is a great crypto exchange for beginners to buy Cardano. It is very simple and easy to use.

One issue Binance has is regulations are often trying to limit where they can operate. Make sure to check if Binance operates within your country and or if they have faced problems in your country.

Binance has plenty of other cryptocurrencies for you to choose from too should you not only want to buy Cardano.

Pros

• Choose from a wide variety of coins, not just ADA
• Enjoy farming, Futures trading (leverage), peer-to-peer payments, borrowing and more
• Relatively low fees considering all the benefits
• Most popular exchange, meaning relatively safe, secure, and trusted
• A few different ways to buy ADA with

Cons

• The verification process can be trickier than in other cryptocurrency exchanges
• Unclear corporate structure
• Binance can be shut down in your country. Check to see if you can use Binance in your area!

Binance is a good crypto exchange for anyone wanting to buy ADA. As long as you are legally able to do so, create a Binance account and see if it works for you!

Coinbase

Coinbase is another fine choice to buy Cardano.

Coinbase boasts of being one of the biggest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world. Their customer service, ease of use and relatively low fees make it a good choice for a beginner investor.

Coinbase has over 70 million users across 100 countries. They have billions of crypto assets and have one of the highest trading volumes of all crypto exchanges.

To buy ADA with Coinbase, sign up, complete the verification process, and add fiat currency to the exchange, then you can buy ADA directly. Coinbase makes a 0.5% fee on any of these purchases.

If you are going to make a large purchase, you should consider signing up to Coinbase Pro, which will allow you to pay fewer fees.

Pros 

• All of the top coins are available to buy
• 2-factor login security authentication
• Watch and earn educational videos
• Trusted and secure exchange 

Cons

• Transaction costs are higher than other trading platforms
• Fee structure can also be confusing
• Spread pricing can increase transaction costs
• Not available to use in all countries

Coinbase is a good all-round exchange if it is available in your country. You can trade Cardano, buy Cardano, and sell Cardano without any issues,

eToro

You can buy dogecoin without a problem on eToro.

To buy doge on eToro, download their app or visit their website, sign up, verify your identity, add your payment method, and then make a direct purchase for doge.

Like the other exchanges above, simply create an account, verify your identity, and then directly purchase ADA with your preferred payment method – be that through your bank account, wire transfers, debit card, and so on.

eToro boasts a demo feature that allows you to trade fake money if you are not ready for the real thing yet. It’s a cool feature just to see how you will make decisions should there be no real money on the line.

eToro also allows you to copy other people’s trades at no additional cost. This means you can follow “whales” or rich accounts and see how they are operating in the crypto market.

eToro also has a comprehensive list of popular crypto coins to buy.

With eToro you can access loads of different services, such as brokerage services, buying stocks and shares, and more.

Pros

• 15+ year track record
• Purchase regulated investments on eToro
• Approved licensing in the UK, Europe and Australia 
• Fine to purchase ADA on
• eToro website is easy to use
• Get indirect investment advice through their copy trade system
• Excellent security measures

Cons

• At least $200 is required to use the CopyTrade system
• Crypto trading also requires a minimum funding threshold to begin to trade any crypto
• Less popular coins than other main exchanges (but still a respectable list)

eToro is a good exchange for most people. It’s especially good if you are interested in more than just crypto.

What is Cardano?

Cardano is one of the largest cryptocurrencies in the world. It is created by Charles Hopkinson, who had visions of being the next-gen evolution of Ethereum. Like Ethereum, Charles wanted a blockchain that’s sustainable, fast, scalable and used worldwide. Like Ethereum, he wanted a place where developers can use smart contracts to build decentralized applications (DApps), new tokens, games, art, and more.

However, Cardano is still yet to have fully rolled out its smart contract functionality even in 2022. It was predicted they would be ready by 2021 but Cardano still is not there yet.

What is ADA?

ADA is Cardano’s native token. Much like Ethereum has Ether, Cardano has ADA. You buy ADA, rather than Cardano. Cardano is the blockchain that ADA is used on. You would use ADA to pay for the fees whenever you interact with the Cardano blockchain. For example, if you swapped ADA for CAKE on Sundae Swap, you would pay a small fee in ADA.

How Does Cardano Work?

Cardano has opted for the proof-of-stake consensus mechanism, which they named Ouroboros. This is as opposed to the proof-of-work model that Bitcoin and Ethereum use. Ethereum will soon join Cardano on the proof-of-stake model when they finally upgrade to Ethereum2.0.

Explain Proof-Of-Work?

Sure! Proof-of-work was developed to ensure users do not spend the same money twice without a centralized authority to assist them. To achieve this, a “consensus mechanism” is used. The original consensus mechanism is called proof-of-work, which Bitcoin popularised through mining.

Unfortunately, proof-of-work requires a lot of energy. Computers around the world are competing to be the first to solve a time-consuming math puzzle. The winner then updates the blockchain, verifying the transaction, and the miner is awarded an amount of Bitcoin.

So What is Proof-Of-Stake?

Proof of stake uses the network of invested participants, called validators. Instead of providing raw processing power to help solve puzzles and verify transactions, validators simply stake their ADA.

• The network then selects a winner based on the quantity of ADA each validator has in the pool and how long it has been there. The most invested participant wins.
• Once this winner validates the latest batch of transactions, other validators attest to the accuracy. Once a certain threshold has been hit, the network updates the blockchain with the newly confirmed transactions.
• All validators receive an ADA reward, which is received depending on the amount of ADA you hold and how long for.

Should You Buy Cardano?

Cardano is an extremely popular cryptocurrency. Despite not having much use yet, it has still remained extremely relevant by sticking in the top 10 cryptocurrencies. Other similar coins like Solana are providing more utility but are still smaller in market cap compared to the Cardano network.

In theory, Cardano could one day have a brimming ecosystem, like Solana, Ethereum, Binance Smart Chain and the other blockchains out there. However, we are yet to see that day yet.

Overall, it is up to you if you believe Cardano is worth buying. It certainly has a cult following, holds some promise, and could one day have a popular ecosystem built on top of it. If you do decide to buy this digital asset, make sure to dollar cost average and not invest more than you are willing to lose. All cryptocurrencies are highly volatile. You do not want to pay too much for a coin on your first trade, so enter cautiously, and yes, DCA!

Guide On Buying Cardano

Here’s a quick guide on buying Cardano.

• Pick your exchange. Select an exchange above or another preferred crypto exchange.
• Create an account and verify your identity.
• Add money to your trading account. You should have options like bank transfer, wire transfer, and more.
• Most exchanges will allow you to buy ADA directly.
• If they don’t you might need to onramp your fiat, then trade Cardano for your fiat. Many investors start buying ada this way.

Keeping Your ADA Safe

After you purchase your ADA, it’s a good idea to keep it safe and secure! Now, you can keep crypto on an exchange. But your account could come in jeopardy as you don’t technically own your crypto when it is on an exchange. Really, they own your crypto! You essentially have an IOU to be able to withdraw your crypto, similar to how a bank is set up.

It is much better to have your own wallet. MetaMask is the most common wallet people move to from an exchange. You will be given a set of private keys (12 words), which is your password.

You can use one account as your hot wallet, where you connect to DApps and are actively trading with. Then you should also make cold wallets, where you store crypto you plan to hold for a long time. ADA could well be a coin you want to hold for a long time. Some will use a Trezor (hardware device) to help secure their cold wallets. It’s worth keeping some tokens in cold storage. Cold storage prevents you from losing your crypto if you fall for a scam or make a mistake.

That’s it! Hopefully, this was a useful guide to going from having no Cardano (ADA) to having some Cardano! Congratulations and keep that Cardano safe.

Below we are going to look at the top cryptocurrency exchanges to buy XRP, then look at XRP itself in more detail!

Binance

Binance is a perfectly good place to purchase XRP.

You can simply purchase XRP by creating an account, verifying your identity, initiating a payment method (deposit cash), and then directly trading fiat currency for XRP.

Binance is home to the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world. Binance boasts of having the Binance Smart Chain, their own blockchain, where developers and users alike flock to trade, stake, farm, and more.

Binance is a good exchange for beginners to use as it is simple, the trading fees are low, and there are many other coins to buy.

Pros

• Large selection of cryptocurrencies to purchase, not just XRP
• Enjoy staking, Futures trading (leverage), peer-to-peer payments, lending and more. 
• Relatively low fees considering the other benefits
• Most popular exchange, meaning relatively safe, secure, and trusted
• A few different ways to buy XRP with

Cons

• The verification process can take longer than other cryptocurrency exchanges
• Unclear corporate structure
• Binance can sometimes be shut down in various countries as rules and regulations change. Check your jurisdiction to see if you can use Binance!

Binance is a good option for anyone wanting to start buying XRP. As long as you are legally able to do so, create a Binance account and see if it works for you!

Coinbase

Coinbase is also a perfectly good choice to purchase XRP.

C0inbase is one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world, and so their customer service, ease of use, and low fees make it a friendly choice for any investor.

They boast over 70 million users across over 100 countries. Coinbase owns billions in assets and accounts for hundreds of billions of trade volume every quarter.

Coinbase will also give you plenty of other cryptocurrencies to buy, not just XRP.

After completing the verification process, and then initiating a payment method, you will be charged 0.5% on any cryptocurrency purchases. If you want to buy $1000 of XRP, you will be charged $5.

If you plan to buy a lot of cryptocurrency, it might be worth signing up to Coinbase Pro, which gives you reduced trading fees.

Pros 

• You can buy all the top coins
• 2-factor login security authentication
• Watch to earn educational videos and quizzes on the platform 

Cons

• Transaction costs are higher than other trading platforms
• Spread pricing can increase transaction costs
• Not available in all countries

To conclude, we like Coinbase and think it is a good exchange. You get a crypto wallet, you can buy XRP, sell XRP, send XRP… Everything you would need!

eToro

eToro presents another good exchange to buy XRP / Ripple.

eToro has a demo feature that allows you to trade with fake money to get a feel for trading and their platform. Most exchanges don’t have a feature like this.

Also, eToro has a CopyTrader system, which allows you to mimic trades of other users on the platform. This is at no additional cost and is a free service.

eToro also allows you to buy other top cryptocurrencies.

Another strength of eToro is how it is focused on other financial services too. For example, you can buy stocks, get insurance, trade commodities, currencies, and more.

Pros

• 15-year track record, and very well established. 
• You can purchase regulated investments on eToro
• Approved licensing in the UK, Europe and Australia 
• Fine to purchase Ripple on
• eToro website is easy to use

Cons

• You need at least $200 to use the CopyTrade system.
• Crypto trading also requires a minimum funding threshold to start trading digital assets. 
• High spread fee for Ripple purchases.

We like eToro. We think it’s definitely a good choice for any readers who are interested in other financial services – not just the crypto market.

Huobi Global

Huobi Global is another place you can buy, sell and trade XRP.

Huobi Global offers a range of financial tools which can help you on your trading journey. You can check them out on their website.

Beginners will get on perfectly with Huobi. You can save the advanced features to the more advanced traders.

One potential downside is how Huobi is unregulated. Who knows, you might face issues with it one day. For now though, it seems fine to buy some Ripple with!

Pros

• 230+ tradable assets, including Ripple
• Loads of different financial instruments to use
• Leveraged and margin trading
• High level of security
• Secure trading platform despite being less regulated than other exchanges

Cons

• Another lengthy/tricky verification process
• Not as regulated as other crypto exchanges
• Relatively high withdrawal limits

We like Huobi. It’s not quite as beginner-friendly as other exchanges, but it’s still fine to buy, sell and trade XRP with.

This is not an exhaustive list of places you can be trading XRP, but these platforms are a perfectly good starting point. Each exchange is one of the largest in the world and is very reputable.

If you are new to the crypto space, we would recommend picking Binance or Coinbase to buy your first XRP.

What is Ripple?

In short, XRP allows quick and affordable financial transactions, while providing its own digital currency to go with it, which is XRP.

Ripple and XRP are often confused as the same thing.

Ripple is a blockchain-based digital payment network designed to process financial transactions throughout the world. It was initially created to replace the worldwide money transfer network SWIFT. Ripple blockchain has its own native token, XRP, which is designed to work on the Ripple bloackchain.

Ripple is developed by Ripple Labs Inc, which released its technology in 2012. Ripple Labs designed Ripple so the network is able to support fiat currency and other commodities like gold. XRP is perceived to be extremely useful in the financial services industry at some point in the future.

What is XRP?

XRP is the native cryptocurrency to the ripple network. XRP operates on the XRP ledger and enables transactions on the Ripple network. One downside to the native token XRP is that it is not a decentralized digital currency like many other coins claim to be.

Ripple instead uses a consensus mechanism to verify transactions. Consensus is reached by a unique network of nodes or validators, who verify transactions via consensus. A benefit of using a more centralised transaction verification model is that it is extremely fast compared to that of Bitcoin or Ethereum’s techniques.

XRP will mostly be used to assist traditional financial institutions. For example, if two different banks from different countries want to transact, they can use XRP as the intermediary currency on the XRP ledger. Financial institutions will essentially use Ripple Labs’ creation to make cross-border payments easier and smoother

XRP has long since been battling with the SEC and was temporarily delisted from some exchanges. The case is slowly progressing, and we will see what the effect on Ripple and XRP is.

XRP can be bought from centralized exchanges, as well as a decentralized exchanges. For those looking to make their first XRP purchase, we recommend using one of the crypto exchanges described above.

Should You Buy XRP?

That’s completely your decision to make, but it certainly seems like XRP is here to stay. Many extremely large banking entities support XRP. It seems like Ripple and XRP will be instrumental to help settle transactions internationally through blockchain networks. However, we cannot explicitly give you an XRP price prediction.

Let’s have a look at a few more reasons you might want to buy Ripple XRP. Remember, this is not investment advice!

Reasons To Buy XRP

The main benefit of Ripple and XRP is their extreme speed. Ripple is able to handle thousands of transactions per second – which will obviously be required if XRP is given mainstream use.

Other blockchains and cryptocurrencies are much slower than this, meaning they are less suitable for everyday practical use.

Ripple’s excellent partnerships are likely to be pivotal in its success. They are already partnered with some of the biggest banks in the world, ready to help them process their fiat currencies and digital currencies.

XRP Is Far From All-Time High

Although this does not make XRP a perfect time to buy, it certainly makes it a better buy than when it was at its all-time high. Many professional traders will wait for the market to flip bullish before buying an “altcoin” like XRP.

As usual, our advice would be to dollar cost average and not invest more than you are willing to lose.

XRP is Relatively Environmentally Friendly

Ethereum and Bitcoin are powered by methods that are not friendly to the environment. The energy cost of mining these coins is extremely high. This then affects the environment. Of course, the traditional banking system is also extremely energy inefficient, but hey ho.

XRP’s consensus mechanism uses far less energy than proof of work or proof of stake. The aforementioned validator nodes which approve transactions simply deem if they want a transaction on the network to go through, as opposed to solving complex puzzles in order to verify a transaction like Bitcoin and Ethereum.

Downsides to XRP and Ripple

Although there are lots of positives to XRP, there are also quite a few negatives. Let’s go through them.

Firstly, XRP is very centralized. It is owned and operated by a private company. Most are in cryptocurrency due to its decentralized nature. They want to escape centralized power, not support it.

Secondly, XRP is in its infamous lawsuit with the SEC. It has been going on for quite some time and it’s uncertain what the outcome will be for XRP. They have likely amassed enough power, influence, and finance to dodge anything to stifle their progress in our minds.

Thirdly, the Ripple network has been criticized as being less secure compared to other crypto transaction payment and process methods.

Overall, you have to decide whether the pros outweigh the cons if you wish to buy XRP. The market cap is significantly lower than it was one year ago, but who knows, it can go down more. Again, if you want to invest, make sure to dollar cost average and have money on the side to average down your investment.

How To Buy XRP

Buying XRP or Ripple is the same process as buying any cryptocurrency. Let’s go through the process quickly for you!

• Pick an exchange: use one of the exchanges listed above, or you can select another that you like.
• Create and verify your account: most exchanges require you to prove your identity.
• Connect your payment method: exchanges allow you to use debit cards, credit cards, wire transfers, banks transfer, Paypal and more.
• Buy XRP! Most exchanges should allow you to buy XRP directly with your fiat currency. If they do not allow this, you can trade XRP. This just means depositing your fiat onto the exchange, then swapping that fiat for XRP.

That’s it! You now have XRP. If you’ve bought XRP, it’s a good idea to move it to somewhere secure, like Metamask or Trust wallet. You’ll be given a private key which you have to keep safe.

Ethereum is a decentralized blockchain that allows users to create decentralized applications and smart contracts. The platform is open source. Smart contracts allow the users to transact with one another without a trusted centralized entity. Every transaction is immutable, verifiable and securely distributed throughout the network – meaning participants have full ownership and visibility of all transactions.

All transactions occur between user-created Ethereum accounts. Senders sign a transaction and spend Ether (the native Ethereum currency) as the cost of making a transaction on the network.

But what is a smart contract? Essentially, smart contracts are computer protocols that allow, verify or force negotiation of some sort of arrangement without a third party. For example, a smart contract could be used to represent a legal agreement, a financial contract, or any other important aspect of life.

Smart contracts act without third party intervention and are recorded on the Eth blockchain. The contract simply works as it is coded no matter what. The contracts work on an if, then logic system, so if A happens, B action is implemented. 

These contracts are self-fulfilling applications that do not need third party intervention, fraud or the possibility of downtime. They allow actions to happen as long as the criteria is met (A happens, B is implemented). 

More on Ethereum Smart Contracts

Ethereum themselves listed four key points about smart contract applications. 

• There is no downtime. Smart contracts cannot suddenly “turn off” for any reason. They are based on pure logic. Again, if Z happens, Y action MUST occur.
• 0 censorship. Eth nodes (computers which run the protocol) spread far and wide throughout the world, meaning no censorship from a central entity can take place. 
• Safe from fraudulent activity. Once deployed, the contract cannot be modified, broken into or changed by anyone else. 
• No centralized authority or third party is required to make the contracts operate as the contracts self-operate based on the if X then Y model. 

Benefits of Building on Ethereum 

Many crypto developers choose to build on Ethereum. It is, after all, the second most popular cryptocurrency available right now. It is also headed by Vitalik Buterin, an extremely respected mind within the crypto space. Ethereum is a very flexible platform to build decentralized applications. Developers will use the native Solidity scripting language (an extremely popular coding language) and Ethereum Virtual Machine. DApp developers benefit from the tooling, support and infrastructure of the long-standing Ethereum network. 

Thankfully, the development happening across the Ethereum network makes it a suitable place for cryptocurrency users as well as developers. For example, there are excellent wallet applications, like MetaMask, Argent and more which offer a simple interface for one to interact with the Ethereum blockchain and the smart contracts deployed there. A user might buy or sell a coin, or perhaps deposit their Ether onto a dApp through a smart contract.

As Ethereum is extremely popular with many users, developers are enticed to deploy their dApp on the Ethereum network. More users entice more developers and vice versa. The snowball effect is in full force with Ethereum. Over the years, this has reinforced Ethereum as one of the staple homes of decentralized finance (DeFi) and Non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

Ethereum is aiming to release Ethereum 2.0 protocol in the future, which will allow greater scalability for DApp creators that require greater transaction throughputs. Currently, the fees to deploy contracts on Ethereum is very expensive, especially compared to other blockchains. Just basic use for everyday people is expensive too. One may spend $100 worth of Ether in gas price to complete a simple task like sending 1Eth to a friend. On the other hand, one might use the Binance Smart Chain network and spend $0.30 on the same action. Ethereum 2.0 will aim to make using the network more cost effective.

The other issue the Ethereum blockchain currently faces is the environmentally unfriendly FUD (fear, uncertainty and doubt). It’s long been stated that Ethereum uses too much energy. Ethereum are overcoming this with their long awaited change to Ethereum 2.0. We are generally expecting to see more brands and businesses associate themselves with Ethereum after they become more environmentally friendly in the eyes of others.

Ethereum Use Cases

Let’s check out some of the main use cases of the Ethereum network. Ethereum has become the home of DeFi and NFTs, two major parts of crypto as a whole.

Decentralized Finance (DeFi)

DeFi is defined as a network of financial applications built on top of a blockchain network. It differs from traditional financial networks due to being open, programmable and operating without a centralized figurehead – hence the name “Decentralized Finance”. 

Developers can enjoy the creation of new payment methods, investing tools, trading platforms, borrowing tools and more. 

Smart contracts allow developers to easily create decentralized finance protocols as they can operate without the creator overseeing them. There are already endless peer-to-peer lending, staking, trading and other applications that can be used. For example, UniSwap is a great example of a team building DeFi trading, lending and staking features on their protocol. UniSwap is one of the biggest dApps on the Ethereum network. It is primarily used to “swap” tokens for others.

Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs)

NFTs are a way to prove unique ownership of something through the blockchain. They are essentially invisible digital assets. E.g. NFTs could be used by a property company to tokenize their home and prove that it is unique and belongs to them. The proof of ownership is stored on the blockchain, which is of course irrefutable based on the peer-to-peer network system of modern blockchains. 

NFTs are becoming more and more mainstream as people want to prove their “thing” is theirs in an indisputable way. In gaming, you can prove that your sword or armour is unique and belongs to you. In music you could prove your song is unique and belongs to you. 

Digital art is popular on the Ethereum network right now. For example, Crypto Punks, some of the first NFTs ever minted on Eth, are selling at a huge premium because of the prestige associated with these classical images. Some are going for multiple millions. They’re also known as JPEGs because they are essentially just a basic image. Now, those who own these simple JPEGs gain a lot of status for owning a piece of crypto, Eth and NFT history. So it goes to show that rarity, proof of ownership and everything NFTs can now provide us is extremely significant. 

Where Can I Buy Ethereum?

You can buy Ether with fiat currency from a centralized exchange. First, you must create an account on the exchange (e.g. Coinbase or Binance), then use your fiat to purchase Ether. Another option is to buy another coin and then exchange that coin for Ether.

Remember to always keep your login details safe so as to always be able to access your Ether. If you cannot access your account, you cannot access your Ether.

Another option is peer-to-peer trading. You could use the peer-to-peer system on an exchange like Binance, or you could have a friend send you Ethereum to your wallet.

This is especially true if you want to own Ether on a non-custodial wallet. You will have a set of private keys (essentially randomized words that are your password) that grant you access to the wallet. If you lose your keys you lose your Ether! 

Ethereum Price

The price of Ethereum is currently around $1,900 as we write this article. The total market capitalization is roughly around $250 billion. It is the second-largest cryptocurrency behind Bitcoin and ahead of Tether. We expect the price to continue to rise into the future as the Ethereum platform is so well established and continually grows every single day. The Ethereum community is as die-hard as it gets and many will be loyal to Ethereum forever.

Ethereum offers an extremely exciting level of scalability, too. Where bitcoin will almost certainly be used as “digital gold” – Ethereum will continue to grow and innovate at rapid speeds. Who knows what we will see developed on the Ethereum network in the coming years.

Ethereum2.0, when it is finally complete, will also be a huge boost to the Ethereum blockchain. Not only will Ethereum become cheaper and faster to use and build on, but also more environmentally friendly. This will certainly help brands and businesses support Ethereum.

ERC-20 Tokens

The “ERC-20 token” is the standard used for making and deploying smart contracts on the Ethereum blockchain. ERC stands for “Ethereum request for comment,” and was created in November 2015. This means every token on the Ethereum Blockchain is the same. One Ethereum token is the same as any other token, so as long as it is ERC20.

ERC-20 sets the standard in which tokens can be transferred, how transactions are approved, and the total supply of tokens. In order to interact with ERC tokens, you will need to pay a small amount of Ether for transaction execution.

Tokens can be used for anything. You might mint 1000 ERC-20 tokens to use as guest passes for an exclusive venue.

Other chains have equivalents of ERC-20, such as the Binance Smart Chain. They use BEP-2, BEP-20 and more.

Disadvantages of Ethereum

Ethereum does face a lot of competition. After effectively inventing dApps, a whole swarm of other chains have followed. Solana is a front runner. They are doing well with NFTs. Binance Smart Chain is also another front runner. Though less decentralized than Ethereum, The Binance Smart Chain has the backing of Binance, the largest crypto exchange in existence. There are other options like Polygon, but Polygon acts as a scaling solution for Ethereum and runs from the Ethereum blockchain.

Ethereum already achieved a high market cap. This means traders can likely expect to see less short term gains from a coin like Ethereum. However, there is an argument to be made for the safety and usability you gain for owning Ethereum. It’s not like holding a stock. You can swap, stake, farm, lend, borrow and more with your Ether.

Ethereum2.0 has taken… Forever. It’s no secret that Ethereum2.0 has taken far too long to rollout. The team are saying major progress will be made into 2022 as well as 2023, so we’ll have to see. Several parts of their checklist have been completed, so it seems we are getting gradually ever closer.

Well, let’s dive into all of the options available to us and decide which is best for you!

First, we’ll walk you through some of the greatest centralized exchanges available – then we’ll give you another idea on buying and even storing Bitcoin!

Crypto Exchanges

The most common point of purchase for most of you is going to be a cryptocurrency exchange. A cryptocurrency exchange hosts a marketplace for you to buy and sell various cryptocurrencies, as well as direct purchases using various payment methods, like debit card.

These centralized exchanges all offer different incentives to use their exchange. Let’s look at some of the top exchanges out there and how they compare!

Coinbase

Coinbase is an excellent beginner’s choice to purchase your first Bitcoin. As one of the most popular exchanges available, Coinbase has excellent customer support, ease of use and rates for a crypto beginner. 

Coinbase is used by over 70 million people in over 100 countries. They hold hundreds of billions in assets and account for hundreds of billions of trade volume every quarter. 

Not only can you buy Bitcoin, but Coinbase lists hundreds of other cryptocurrencies for you to buy. For example, Ether, Doge coin, Shiba Inu, Avalanche and many more! 

When purchasing Bitcoin or any other crypto with normal money, you will pay around 0.5% in fees to Coinbase. This varies depending on the market, and Coinbase’s fluctuating trading fees, but this is the general rate. You can upgrade to Coinbase Pro for improved trading fee rates. 

Pros 

• You can trade hundreds of top coins
• 2-factor authentication for safety
• They have educational content on their platform 
• You can even earn some free tokens for watching their educational content!

Cons

• Transaction costs can be higher than other platforms
• Spread pricing can increase transaction costs
• Not available in all countries

Overall, we like Coinbase and think it is a perfectly good exchange. You get a cryptocurrency wallet, you can buy Bitcoins, sell Bitcoins, send Bitcoin… Almost anything you would need to do with Bitcoin can be done with Coinbase!

eToro

eToro is another very popular platform to get Bitcoin from.

Interestingly, they have a demo mode which allows you to trade crypto without actually risking funds. You could start with $100,000 play money to test out crypto trading to see if it’s right for you. They also have a CopyTrader system that allows you to mimic trades from others on the platform without paying additional fees.

Like most platforms mentioned in this article, you can buy the other top cryptocurrencies from eToro too, like Dogecoin, AVAX, Polygon and so on.

With eToro you can access other investment vehicles like buying particular stocks, indices and more.

Pros

• 15-year track record, so they are extremely well established. 
• You can buy regulated investments through eToro
• Regulatory licensing in the UK, Europe and Australia 
• Perfectly fine to purchase Bitcoin on
• Credit card purchases, wire transfers etc.

Cons

• Higher than average minimum trading requirements. To get involved with the CopyTrade system you need to spend at least $200. Starting with crypto trading requires more funding than the average exchange, too. 
• High spread fee for Bitcoin purchases.

Binance

Binance is one of the most popular crypto exchanges in the world. Binance also has the Binance Smart Chain, their own blockchain, where many developers are launching crypto projects (e.g. Safemoon). 

Binance is one of the best exchanges to use thanks to their fair fees and a large list of options to buy coins from. There are also tons of staking, borrowing and trading options.

They are constantly being dragged into legal battles and getting neutered in various countries, but they often come back… Like the Undertaker! 

Pros

• Huge list of cryptocurrencies to buy, not just Bitcoin
• Enjoy staking, Futures trading (leverage), peer-to-peer payments, lending and more. 
• Relatively low fees considering the other benefits
• Most popular exchange, meaning relatively safe, secure, and trusted
• A few different ways to buy Bitcoin with

Cons

• The verification process can be clumsy and take time
• Unclear corporate structure
• Binance can sometimes be shut down in various countries as rules and regulations change. Check your jurisdiction to see if you can use Binance!

Robinhood 

Robin Hood is yet another great place to buy and trade Bitcoin.

A great benefit of Robinhood is zero fees charged when buying Bitcoin or any other crypto.

You will still have to pay the spread (difference between the bid and ask price), but there are no fees charged This is a great benefit to buying Bitcoin on Robinhood. It could be a good place for a beginner to simply buy some Bitcoin and leave it there on the platform. 

Pros

• Zero fees on Bitcoin buys and sells
• Easy to use platform
• Invest in more than just crypto

Cons

• Limited cryptocurrencies listed, you can only select from the highest market capitalization coins. Makes sense seeing as they are into other investment vehicles too
• No crypto exchange wallet

Robinhood is a great place to make a Bitcoin purchase. Especially if you only plan to buy and hold Bitcoin. It’s not the best exchange account if you wish to do more than just purchase Bitcoin, but it is great for escaping transaction fees.

CoinMama

Another good place exchange for crypto investors to buy Bitcoin!

CoinMama is a good choice for you because it has a fast account setup and verification process. Some other exchanges are slow and have lengthy verification processes. Once signed in, you can buy Bitcoin instantly using various different payment models. However, for instant purchases, the fees are a bit higher. 

Pros

• Instant Bitcoin purchasing
• Easy to transfer to other crypto digital wallets
• Various payment methods are available, e.g. credit card

Cons

• Complex fee structure depending on your choice e.g. higher fees for instant purchasing
• Limited options in some countries like the USA

We like CoinMama as a way to get the casual investor into Bitcoin. It’s one of the easiest ways to buy Bitcoin. Making cryptocurrency investments can be tricky, especially for a beginner, so it’s refreshing how simple CoinMama is.

BlockFi

Another fine exchange to use to get Bitcoin!

We like BlockFi because it gives you a lot of options.

BlockFi allows you to stake your Bitcoin and earn a yearly interest on it. Moreover, you can use your staked Bitcoin as collateral to gain USD, and then invest in other digital currencies should you wish! They also have a BlockFi card you can get to earn rewards and bonuses.

BlockFi‘s yearly loan repayments can be quite high – so we recommend lending to those who are financially educated. Even though Bitcoin’s yearly performance has been strong compared to many assets, you can quickly get into trouble if you borrow and don’t know what you’re doing. 

Pros

• Earn a yearly yield on your Bitcoin
• Use your Bitcoin as collateral for a USD loan
• No added fees when making cryptocurrency trades (just spread fee)
• Attractive referral scheme
• Different investment vehicles to choose from

Cons

• Loan interest is high, only those familiar with lending should use this
• Not a huge list of cryptocurrencies to buy, just the major coins

Bisq

Bisq is an interesting option because it is a decentralized exchange (unlike the others on the list, which are centralized exchanges). You don’t need to signup or create an account. You can use Bisq to buy and sell without having to give away your identity. The Bisq app you’re required to use is open source and free. 

You can get fiat money onto Bisq via multiple channels. These include bank transfers, Chase QuickPay, Western Union and more. 

Trading fees are also relatively low!

Pros

• A decentralized exchange unlike the other exchanges on this list
• Software is open source because it is decentralized
• No need to go through a lengthy sign up/verification process
• They have a DAO (decentralized autonomous organisation) you can get involved with
• Gives you a “secure wallet”

Cons

• Transactions can be slow
• Not the best platform for active traders who are looking to do anything more than simply long term holding, for example, it doesn’t have all the features of a BlockFi or a Binance (but it is decentralized)

So Which Exchange is Best For Buying Bitcoin?

Overall this is for you to decide.

Not all exchanges are made equally. Perhaps you wish to trade, stake, or borrow your coins. In that case, Binance or BlockFi could be a good option for you.

However, perhaps Binance isn’t allowed in your country. You could look at Coinbase for a good all-around option.

Or perhaps anonymity is vital to you, so Bisq could be a good option.

Or perhaps you want to set and forget your Bitcoin and already have a Robinhood account. Well, Robinhood would be a good choice for you! 

The right place for you to buy Bitcoin comes down to you and your individual needs. A good option could be to simply sign up to multiple exchanges and see which suits you best. Many exchanges won’t work for you – so find one that does!

Decentralized Exchanges, The Better Alternative?

New crypto investors should use one of the centralized exchanges listed above. It is the easiest way to get into the cryptocurrency markets. You simply go through the verification process, and then use credit or debit cards to then purchase your crypto. This is the best way, in our opinion, to go from”no-coiner” to crypto investor.

However, from here, we recommend you move at least some of your funds over to a decentralized exchange. The short reason?

Not your keys, not your crypto.

The whole point of crypto is to own your digital assets. When you keep your purchased Bitcoin or any other currency on an exchange, the exchange owns your cryptocurrency, not you.

So, the best thing to do is to get your own cryptocurrency wallets, like MetaMask and Trust Wallet. These exchange online wallets are not as safe as simply holding your coins yourself, with your own password. No one can take your Bitcoin away from you if only you have access to the seed phrase (password).

Also, you are limited to the services your centralized exchange offers should you keep your digital currency there. However, if you keep your Bitcoin in your own online wallet, you can connect to the thousands of DApps (decentralized applications) out there, where you can access all kinds of financial instruments.

Ultimately, buying Bitcoin and getting started is best achieved through a centralized exchange, but you will want to venture over to the world of decentralization as soon as possible…

FAQs

Great! Now you know how to buy bitcoins. Congratulations!