Top Cryptocurrency Exchanges In 2019

By The Times of Blockchain on ALTCOIN MAGAZINE

A bitcoin exchange is a digital marketplace where traders can buy and sell bitcoins using different fiat currencies or other cryptocurrencies. A bitcoin currency exchange is an online platform that acts as an intermediary between buyers and sellers of the cryptocurrency. Some of these bitcoin exchanges provide support for FIAT currencies and allow to buy cryptocurrencies directly using FIAT such as USD, EUR, GBP, etc.

To be honest, there is nothing such as “Best Cryptocurrency Exchange”, it depends on your geographical location, your currency and current trading volume in that exchange. You can always refer to Bitcoin (BTC) price, charts, market cap, and other metrics | CoinMarketCap and find which exchange suits you much better.

I will list some of the most trusted Cryptocurrency exchanges right now:

• Binance — Binance is a rapidly growing exchange that concluded its ICO last year in 2018. Binance is currently considered as the biggest cryptocurrency exchange in the world in terms of trading volume and provides a platform for trading more than 100 cryptocurrencies. Though it was based out of China initially, it doesn’t serve its native country but is open to almost all countries around the world. CEO Changpeng Zhao had previously founded Fusion Systems in 2005 in Shanghai; the company built high-frequency trading systems for brokers. In 2013 he joined Blockchain as the third member of the cryptocurrency wallet’s team. He also worked at OKCoin as CTO for less than a year, a platform for spot trading between fiat and digital assets. You can easily register on their website, verify your identity and start trading. Binance is undoubtedly the King of all exchanges.

• CEX.IO — CEX.IO is a cryptocurrency exchange and former Bitcoin cloud mining provider. As an online digital currency exchanger, it offers trading cryptocurrency for fiat money, such as USD, EUR, GBP, and RUB. Established in London in 2013, they are one of the Oldest Bitcoin Exchanges. There was a time in 2014 when they owned 47% of World hashrate available for Bitcoin mining. They later stopped their mining services and continued as a Bitcoin Exchange. They offer all the major currencies USD, EUR, GBP, and RUB. So you can purchase using any of these currencies. For payment they accept Credit Cards, Wire Transfer and SEPA Transfer, so you won't face problem any regarding payments. You can easily register and start trading easily. They currently support a number of cryptocurrencies such as BTC, BTG, BCH, ETH, XRP, DASH, LTC, XLM, ZEC, OMG, MHC, GUSD and offer Margin Trading on selected pairs.

• Coinbase — Coinbase is a digital currency exchange headquartered in San Francisco, California and one of the most popular cryptocurrency exchanges in the World. They broker exchanges of Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, Ethereum Classic, Litecoin and other cryptocurrencies with fiat currencies in approximately 32 countries, and bitcoin transactions and storage in 190 countries worldwide. Coinbase comes with ease of movement and you can easily trade using their mobile app etc. Coinbase Pro is the part of Coinbase designed for professional traders, this more advanced platform is just as reputable as the regular Coinbase exchange. Those in Canada, Singapore, and Australia can use Coinbase Pro to access cryptocurrencies without any access to fiat. Those in the UK, Europe, and the U.S. have support for fiat currencies, as well. And if are based in the UK , you can have access to Coinbase Visa debit card, allowing you to make purchases and cash withdrawals directly from your accounts.

• Huobi — Huobi is a Singapore-based cryptocurrency exchange. Founded in China, the company now has offices in Hong Kong, Korea, Japan, and the United States. In August 2018 it became a publicly listed Hong Kong company. Huobi has performed extremely well in the last couple of years making it to the elite list of Crypto exchanges.

• Coinmama — Coinmama is a bitcoin broker based in Israel. They specialize in selling bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies for a credit card to nearly anyone in the world. Once verified, you have high limits for buying bitcoins with a credit/debit card and they have a Fast and responsive customer service. They currently support Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, Qtum, Ethereum Classic, and Cardano.

• Kraken — Kraken is a US-based cryptocurrency exchange, founded in 2011. The exchange provides cryptocurrency to fiat trading and provides price information to Bloomberg Terminal. It's one of the most trusted exchanges in the World. They claim that most of their digital assets are held safely in cold wallets so bad actors can’t reach it. They have a 24/7 Global Support which enables the customers to reach out whenever they want. They support a number of FIAT currencies like USD, EUR, CAD, JPY, GBP depending on geographical locations and levels of verification.

• Poloniex — Poloniex used to be the largest cryptocurrency exchange, but lost a lot of users when it had trouble scaling to support a surge of new signups. Recently, however, Poloniex was acquired by Circle. Circle is partly backed by Goldman Sachs, one of the largest investment banks in the United States. The likely path for Poloniex is that is becoming a cutting edge exchange as money from Goldman Sachs and Circle start going towards improving the exchange.

• Bitstamp — Bitstamp is a bitcoin exchange based in Luxembourg. It allows trading between USD currency and bitcoin cryptocurrency. It allows USD, EUR, bitcoin, litecoin, ethereum, ripple or bitcoin cash deposits, and withdrawals. The company was founded as a European-focused alternative to then-dominant bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox.

• Bitfinex — Bitfinex is a cryptocurrency exchange owned and operated by iFinex Inc., which is headquartered in Hong Kong and registered in the British Virgin Islands. Bitfinex is one of the largest exchanges serving 52 countries and more than 100 cryptocurrencies.

• Changelly — Changelly.com is the best instant cryptocurrency exchange platform with the best exchange rates for BTC, ETH, LTC, XRP, ADA and 140+ other cryptocurrencies. If you want to change cryptocurrency instantly you can refer here, they also provide easy buy options using Debit Cards.
• LocalBitcoins — LocalBitcoins is a bitcoin startup company based in Helsinki, Finland and they only support Bitcoin. Its service facilitates over-the-counter trading of local currency for bitcoins. Users post advertisements on the website, where they state exchange rates and payment methods for buying or selling bitcoins. Its a completely decentralized peer to peer exchange. In crypto regulated countries in Asia, one can easily use LocalBitcoins to trade between peers.

At last, I would give you friendly advice — no matter which exchange you use, never ever keep your cryptocurrency in the exchange. Always transfer them to Cold Wallets or Hard Wallets such as Ledger wallets or Trezor Hardware Wallet. Ledger Nano X costs around 122$ and Ledger Nano S costs around 60$, but your assets will be safe and secured. Both of them are supported by Ledger Live application which can facilitate your process easily.

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