Tue Sep 27 2022
What to Look for When Choosing a Crypto Exchange
Finding the ideal crypto exchange can be difficult.
Between hacks, scams, bugs and other technical issues there is a lot to navigate. Not to mention all the offers of high returns you get from your friends in the pub too?
With our help you don't have to worry about any of these things. We offer an unbiased (and impartial) review of different exchanges. We tell you which ones are the safest and provide a good service. And, yes, we even give you a few recommendations so you know where to go when you want to trade cryptocurrency.
Reputation
Reviews: Crypto exchanges are not regulated, so you need to look at the reviews left by previous customers. If a particular exchange has been hacked in the past and there is no way of knowing whether they have fixed their security issues or not, then it's best to avoid using that particular platform.
The same goes for customer support systems; if a crypto exchange doesn't have good customer support staff available 24/7 then this could be an issue when things go wrong with your account.
Regulatory status: Although many exchanges operate outside of any legal framework, some countries do regulate crypto exchanges as part of their legal frameworks (for example China). So check with local authorities before committing yourself to any exchange as well!
Withdrawals and depositing
When you’re looking for a crypto exchange, you may have heard that there are two types of exchanges: crypto and fiat. Fiat means “money in the real world,” while cryptos are digital currencies that aren’t tied to any national currency or legal tender.
Crypto exchanges allow users to buy and sell cryptocurrencies using either fiat money (such as U.S. dollars) or other cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum and Litecoin—which are often called altcoins because they were created after Bitcoin itself was released in 2009 by an anonymous developer known only as Satoshi Nakamoto...
Liquidity
Liquidity is the ability to buy and sell an asset quickly without affecting the price. It's important for trading, but not for long-term holding.
Exchanges with good liquidity will have many buyers and sellers at any given time, so you can easily find a trade that suits your needs.
For example: if you want to buy Bitcoin (BTC) but don't want it to jump in price too much when you do so, then an exchange with high liquidity might be best because there are more buyers than sellers during market hours.
The same goes for selling BTC—if someone wants to sell their bitcoins quickly, they'll likely be able to do so at a fair price on such an exchange because there aren't many sellers looking for them at this moment in time!
Security
Security is one of the most important factors to consider when choosing a crypto exchange. You want to ensure that your funds and personal information are safe, so it's essential you do your research on the security features offered by each platform.
There are several different ways in which an exchange can be hacked: via malware attacks, hacks into databases, or even outright theft from users' wallets/accounts. A good crypto exchange should have strong security measures in place to prevent any such breaches from occurring. Here are some things to look out for when evaluating an exchange’s level of protection:
Altcoins offered
Altcoins, or alternative coins, are cryptocurrencies that aren't Bitcoin. They're sometimes called digital currencies and they're all different from Bitcoin. There are more than 1,500 altcoins available today!
Your exchange should offer at least a dozen altcoins to choose from when buying or trading your first crypto currency. Most exchanges will also let you trade in multiple coins at the same time, which makes it easy to diversify your portfolio while still giving you access to only one type of coin (or group of related ones).
The number of cryptocurrency exchanges on the market is growing rapidly—and not just because there are more people who want to invest in digital money!
It's because each new platform brings its own unique features and benefits: some have lower fees than others; some let users create their own wallets directly through their website or mobile app; others offer margin trading or leverage up-to 2x their deposits—so even if one exchange doesn't work out for whatever reason (like losing funds), another may be able provide better results overall.*
Fiat to Crypto exchanges
A fiat to crypto exchange is a platform that allows you to exchange your fiat currency, such as US dollars or euros, for cryptocurrency.
If you are new to the world of cryptocurrencies and want to buy some Bitcoins or Ethereum, this type of exchange might be a good option for you. You can't really use them on their own; they're just another tool in your arsenal that will help make it easier for people who are looking into investing in cryptocurrencies without having any experience with them (or even knowing what they are!).
Platforms and their security measures
It’s important to know that the platform you choose will have a huge impact on how safe your crypto assets are. If you want to make sure they’re secure, you should look for platforms that have been around for a while and are well-known and trusted.
You can do this by checking if the exchange has high customer ratings on sites like Trustpilot or Merchant rating (both of which give scores out of 100).
You should also check out its reputation in social media platforms like Twitter and Reddit—if there are many people complaining about problems with their service, then it might not be worth using them as an exchange in the first place!
Also make sure any website references regulatory bodies such as FINTRAC Canada or FINCEN USA (Financial Crimes Enforcement Network). The last thing anyone wants is getting caught up in scammers trying to steal from them through hacks at their own computer systems when they least expect it!"
Regulation
Regulation is important. It can help protect your money, protect you from fraud and hacking, and prevent phishing scams.
When choosing an exchange platform, look for one that's regulated by the government or a trusted regulatory body. For example, exchanges such as Coinbase and Kraken are regulated by the US Securities Exchange Commission (SEC).
Withdrawal Limits
Withdrawal limits are a security measure to protect your account. They can be set by individual exchanges, but they usually follow an industry standard. If you want to withdraw more than the limit, you can ask the exchange to raise it.
Some popular exchanges:
- Binance offers $50k per week ($200k annual) in withdrawals; this amount is increased based on your history with them and other factors like trading volume and activity level (more on this later). Moreover, if you have any problem accessing through binance from a banned territory, don’t worry. You can use a VPN to unblock binance and get access from US and trade all over the world on binance.
- Kraken also has a weekly withdrawal limit of $50k per week ($200k annual), but they'll waive it if you've been trading with them for at least three months (good news!). You'll also get 4 free trades per month if you're new or simply haven't made any trades yet—and each trade costs about 0.1% of total assets deposited into an account so expect fees if you go over that amount!
Conclusion
With all that said, the above considerations are not exhaustive. There are many other variables to consider when choosing a crypto exchange. These include trading fees, withdrawal limits, liquidity and market size.
We’ve covered some of the most important ones here; but if you want to get more information about crypto exchanges in general then check out our detailed guide on how they work!