The Best Platform to Buy Bitcoin

For the millions of beginners entering the cryptocurrency world, learning about Blockchains and wallets and token projects and more, there is one big question that is frequently asked — ‘Which is the best platform to buy Bitcoin from?’.

In this article, we will look at several factors, such as costs, convenience, geo-considerations, and market dominance. We will also highlight a couple of other well-rounded cryptocurrency exchanges that are worth a mention, without being exceptional in any one department.

Which cryptocurrency exchange offers the lowest trading fees for Bitcoin? — Kucoin

For some people, the word ‘best’ can be replaced with ‘cheapest’ and in that case, we have to go with Kucoin. Starting at 0.1% for both maker and taker fees, their trading cost is the same as Binance (the market leader), however, it’s for high-volume traders where things get interesting. Kucoin actually offers negative trading fees for high volume users, meaning rather than paying out fees, they are actually rewarded for providing liquidity.

Beginners also have the option to purchase KCS — Kucoin Shares — a native utility token that allows you to pay 20% less in trading fees.

Which broker offers the lowest purchase fees for Bitcoin? — Coinbase (via debit card)

For novices who want to open an account and make a direct purchase in the cheapest way possible, we think Coinbase has the lowest overall purchase fees, as long as you purchase over €270 of crypto and use a debit card, not a credit card to do it. This method would allow you to pay just 1.49% in transaction fees, on top of a 0.5% spread (the premium Coinbase adds to the true market value).

We should also mention that Binance offers 1% transaction fees for debit and credit card users, however, they do not specify how big their spread is. Market analysts found that the dynamic spread of Binance can reach as high at 8%, which would not represent good value and is why Coinbase wins this round.

Which Bitcoin broker offers the greatest convenience? — Coinbase

Coinbase’s greatest credit is perhaps their incredible levels of convenience. They have managed to build a platform that makes buying cryptocurrencies as easy as doing online shopping. This quality alone may qualify them as the ‘best platform to buy Bitcoin’, and it’s quite a compelling case. With over 35 million verified user accounts, few would be brave to argue with the ease of their purchasing process, which is compatible with almost every country and tonnes of payment options. Excellent UX and UI make the purchasing experience incredibly smooth, as does the option to use your mobile and its camera for the KYC verification checks.

Which is the best platform to buy Bitcoin in Europe?

There are 3 European exchanges worth mentioning here:

1. Binance. After facing heavy regulation and myriad issues in their native China, the management team decided to relocate to the beautiful Mediterrannean nation of Malta. As the world’s biggest exchange, Binance has earned its place on this list.
2. Bitstamp. Perhaps the oldest still-thriving European cryptocurrency exchange, founded in 2011 in Luxembourg, Bitstamp offers fair fees, great liquidity, and a lot of useful features, including multiple trading view options.
3. CEX.io. This non-typical exchange is registered in the UK and features some interesting features, such as mining pools. As is typical, they also have a fiat-to-Bitcoin brokerage and spot trading. It’s not one of the top-ranked exchanges in the world, but more than 1 million Europeans seem to love it.

Which is best platform to buy Bitcoin in the US? — Gemini

We can’t get through this entire article and not mention Gemini. What the Winklevoss twins (the guys who came up with the concept of Facebook, sued Zuckerberg, and invested the money in Bitcoin) have created in Gemini is a platform that bends and conforms to the United States biggest crypto-obstacle — regulation. The American financial system is pretty unfriendly towards crypto-companies and so, many simply leave the US market for greener pastures. Not Gemini though, their mission is to be the most compliant, most well-regulated, and most legitimate exchange ever. If you are wanting to buy crypto as part of a business, corporation, or institution, and you’re based in the US, Gemini insures all of your investment in the case of a hacking. Almost no other exchange offers that.

Who is the market leader? — Binance

If we put the term ‘best’ down to volume, quality of service, number of users, low fees, amount of market pairings, and market share, Binance is going to come out on top in basically every category. It’s a pretty amazing service and at this point in the growth of the crypto-world, we are lucky to have it.

Who else is worth an honourable mention?

It wouldn’t be fair to not give a mention to these 2 fantastic exchanges before this article is over and done.

Kraken

This exchange formed in the wake of the Mt.Gox scandal and was one of the exchanges who set about not only supporting the victims of the hack, but creating change in the industry by pushing for higher levels of security and accountability. Kraken was the first exchange to publish a ‘Proof-of-Reserves Audit’, which showed that they had all of their client’s funds securely protected in cold storage and out of reach of hackers.

Poloniex

We love Poloniex’s cool trading interface, awesome features, and smooth Bitcoin brokerage (which also offers 15 other cryptocurrencies). It often gets left off of ‘top exchange’ lists, but what they can offer, which many other exchanges refuse to, is KYC-free trading. You can’t buy your crypto without a KYC check, but you can trade without restriction and withdraw up to $10,000 per day whilst keeping your anonymity. Users can also pay trading fees with Tron for a large discount.

Did we miss your favourite exchange?

Users of Huobi, Bitfinex, Bittrex, OKEx and more might be disappointed to see their names not mentioned. Want to discuss it more? Join our Telegram group to join the discussion.

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