Best crypto exchanges, compared
| Coinbase | Kraken | Gemini | Crypto.com | bitFlyer | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best for | Beginners | Advanced trading | Educational resources | Altcoins | Low fees |
| Currencies | 207 | 191 | 101 | 333 | 15 |
| Fees | $0.99-2.99, or 1.49% for trades over $200 | 0.0-0.2% maker; 0.0-0.5% taker; 1.5% instant buy | $0.99-2.99, or 1.49% for trades over $200 | 0.04-0.4% maker; 0.1-0.4% taker | 0.03%-0.1% maker/taker |
| Excluded states | Hawaii | Hawaii, New York, Washington | None | New York | Nevada, West Virginia |
| Year founded | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2016 | 2014 |
What about Binance and Binance.US?
Binance is the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world, per CoinMarketCap. The exchange launched in China in 2017 and moved its servers and operations to Japan a few months later, in advance of the Chinese ban on cryptocurrency.
In 2019, due to increased enforcement of regulations, Binance was banned in the US. The existing crypto exchange eventually spun off Binance.US as a separate company that now operates in 45 states. Binance and Binance.US are sister companies with distinct ownership structures.
Binance.US features a very similar interface and experience to Binance and also boasts some of the lowest fees of the major crypto exchanges. However, the company has a rocky past and uncertain future.
In May 2021, Bloomberg reported that the Justice Department and IRS were investigating Binance's operation for possible links to money laundering and tax evasion. Bloomberg followed up in September with news that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission was probing Binance's connections to insider trading and market manipulation.
In April, Reuters reported evidence that Binance had turned over data to the Russian Federal Security Service, or FSB, about crypto donations to Alexei Navalny, a political opponent of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Most recently, Binance has come under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission for possibly violating US law when it began selling its native token BNB in 2017 to fund its global exchange, per Bloomberg. And a special report from Reuters indicates that, between 2017 and 2021, Binance processed $2.35 billion in crypto that originated from "hacks, investment frauds and illegal drug sales."
Binance itself was hacked in 2019, with thieves getting away with 7,000 bitcoin worth about $40 million, though the exchange refunded users who lost money using its Secure Asset Fund for Users. Several investors who were locked out of trading in 2021 and suffered major losses are planning a class-action lawsuit against Binance.
Although Binance.US provides a quality experience on mobile and desktop and features low trading fees, we would not recommend using the crypto exchange until the legal investigations have been completed and Binance.US provides more transparency on its practices to regulators and users.
FAQs
A crypto exchange is a platform that allows users to buy and sell digital assets and cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin and ether. Some may also support the buying, selling and trading of NFTs.
Crypto exchanges generally let users deposit and withdraw funds in either fiat (such as US dollars) or cryptocurrencies, buy crypto with US dollars or another currency, trade one crypto for another, send crypto to another individual (or business) and sell crypto for US dollars.
There are many. Cryptocurrency is decentralized, meaning that no central authority controls or oversees it. There is no central bank backing it. And your holdings have considerably less protection than you’ll find with more conventional assets like stocks, bonds and mutual funds. In fact, it’s worth repeating: Crypto markets remain largely unregulated, prices are hypervolatile and scams and hacks are prevalent.
Some of the larger crypto exchanges provide FDIC insurance up to $250,000, similar to a bank account. But that insurance only covers US dollar deposits. Some crypto exchanges provide separate insurance for digital assets, though many do not.
A crypto exchange provides a platform for individual buyers and sellers to trade crypto — or exchange tokens and fiat currency, like US dollars. Exchange rates are ostensibly based on market prices.
Similarly, a crypto brokerage serves as an intermediary for buyers and sellers, but the broker sets the prices. Brokerages often support fewer cryptocurrencies yet charge lower fees than exchanges. Robinhood, for example, supports only seven cryptocurrencies — bitcoin, ethereum, dogecoin, litecoin, ethereum classic, bitcoin cash and bitcoin SV — but charges no transaction fees.
As with any investment, it’s important to consider the cost of buying, selling and trading cryptocurrency — high fees can erode returns over time. Exchange fees are typically based on how you buy, sell or trade.
“Spot” trades, also known as “instant” transactions, involve buying from or selling to an exchange in real-time for a set price. These trades are simple to make, and most exchanges charge a relatively high fee to make them, often approximately 1.5% of the transaction value.
A more sophisticated type of trade — using “buy” and “sell” orders — is more convoluted and less user-friendly, especially for beginners. But these trades are also considerably less expensive, with “maker” and “taker” fees costing between 0.1% to 0.5% of the transaction value. With this approach, you choose the price you wish to buy or sell at, and a transaction clears only when the market finds a buyer or seller willing to buy or sell at that target price.
Along with crypto exchanges and brokerages like Robinhood, some payment services allow users to buy and sell cryptocurrency, although your options for tokens will be more limited, and you usually won’t be able to move crypto out of your account and into a private wallet.
Cash App, Venmo and PayPal all let users buy bitcoin via their payment apps. Cash App only buys and sells bitcoin, but it’s the only payment service that lets users withdraw crypto to their own private wallets. Crypto fees aren’t advertised on Cash App and will vary from trade to trade. Generally, Cash App will charge lower fees than most crypto exchanges for smaller trades, yet higher percentage fees for larger trades.
Venmo and PayPal support bitcoin, bitcoin cash, ethereum and litecoin. Both use a tiered fee structure for crypto that’s similar to Coinbase’s — $0.49 to $2.49 on transactions up to $200, a 1.8% fee on transactions between $200 and $1,000 and a 1.5% fee on transactions more than $1,000. Both sites also charge unspecified spread fees that are estimated at 0.5%. You can send crypto to other Venmo or PayPal users with each service, but you can’t move your crypto into your own wallet.
Regulations on cryptocurrency in the US are more stringent than other countries, and also vary from state to state.
The SEC and crypto exchanges have clashed several times in recent years, with some exchanges facing investigations by the financial agency. The main sticking point is the SEC’s classification of virtual currencies. In 2017, the SEC announced that many crypto tokens represented investment securities, which must be registered with the SEC. The agency also argued that crypto exchanges should register with the SEC as securities trading platforms.
The additional regulatory burdens and threat of lawsuits from the SEC have prompted several crypto exchanges to pull out of US markets.
Methodology
CNET reviews crypto exchanges and brokerages by comparing them using an established set of criteria, including maker, taker, transaction and withdrawal fees, security features, number and type of supported crypto assets, geographical availability, number and type of supported crypto pairs, software interface and functionality, trade limits or restrictions, educational resources and customer support.
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