TL;DR Breakdown
- Coinbase is one of the best crypto exchanges in the United States.
- Regulation, security, trading fees, and customer service are important criteria to keep in mind.
- Know how to buy cryptocurrencies in the US after choosing a suitable crypto exchange
Most US residents don’t know where or which is the best Crypto exchanges to buy cryptocurrencies from, in the euphoria of wanting to take a bite of crypto trading profits, they get stuck between strict regulations and obliviousness.
Against popular beliefs, for most US residents, the reason they’ve not invested in any of the cryptocurrencies is not that they’ve not heard of cryptocurrencies, neither is it because they lack the funds.
The reason ranges from not knowing the best crypto exchanges to not understanding how to buy them. Rumors of crypto exchanges being hacked are primary deterrents.
Types of Crypto Exchanges
Choosing the best crypto exchanges in the US initially requires knowing the basic types of crypto exchanges, so let’s tackle that first.
- Centralized exchanges (CEX)
- Decentralized exchanges (DEX)
Centralized exchanges (CEX)
These are exchanges controlled by a central authority, a company that offers a platform for buyers and sellers to meet, and your funds are kept in their care.
Given its easy-to-use user interface and customer service, CEX is the traditional and most used type of exchange in the crypto space. You could own an account by just inputting an email and password, then a mandatory Know-Your-Customer verification process.
CEXs with an excellent reputation for trading high volume per day has significant liquidity to accommodate heavy buy and sell orders at a considerable market price. While some CEXs go further to offer liquidity aggregation, a feature that brings buy and sell orders of the same currency pairs from other sources to give traders the best market prices.
Decentralized exchanges (DEX)
Decentralized exchanges are service platforms with no central authority and no hold on user funds or personal data. Smart contracts and decentralized applications (dApps) are used to automate and carry out transactions.
The advantage of DEXs is the security; funds are held by the users on their wallets, they only need to connect wallets to the DEX platform. It remains impossible for the government to regulate DEXes because it holds no user data and is not owned or controlled by any central authority.
DEXs are not user-friendly because it focuses on experienced traders and has no customer support of any kind. DEXes has low trading volume and low liquidity. Most support only ERC-20 tokens as Ethereum seems to be the blockchain with the highest number of tokens built.
10 ways to choose a cryptocurrency exchange
As the saying goes, beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. After giving out the list of best crypto exchanges for US residents, one is still left to choose one or two or even more from the list, what works best for them amongst the best.
There are specific factors to consider when choosing your best crypto exchanges:
- Deposits and withdrawal method: There are various deposits and withdrawal methods used by crypto exchanges ranging from fiat to crypto gateways.
- Deposits and withdrawal limits: Some crypto exchanges have specific minimum and maximum amounts permitted to be deposited or withdrawn from the platform. Whilst some have durations for withdrawal. It’s important to check these before choosing a crypto exchange.
- Liquidity: Liquidity is the degree to which an asset can be quickly bought or sold, exchanges that trade large volumes have more liquidity. It’s important you check the liquidity of the exchange before going in to avoid getting stuck trying to sell off a position.
- Security: Checking how secured an exchange is is an important factor. Check to see if there are previous complaints of lost funds on the crypto exchange.
- Customer Support: As we’ve previously known DEXes do not have customer support but CEXes do. Some CEXes still do not pay much attention to the customers.
- Trading Tools: The kind of trading tools a crypto exchange offers shouldn’t be ignored. Trading tools allow for easy prediction of the markets and take positions accordingly.
- User Interface: Since user funds are on the table, it’s important to go with interfaces users are comfortable on.
- Trading Fees & Exchange rates: Knowing how much one is charged for trading is as important as the trading itself. Crypto exchanges offer a range of fees from 0.015 percent to 2.99 percent.
- Loyalty programs & discounts: Check out for discounts, some crypto exchanges offer first-time deposits discounts or rewards. Trading some currency pairs on some exchanges offers a reduction in fees or extra rewards.
- Access: It’s necessary one see if an exchange allows users in their region. For instance, Binance.US doesn’t allow users for some parts of the US like Texas, New York, and some other parts.
Top 10 crypto exchanges for US residence
| EXCHANGE | PROS | CON |
|---|---|---|
| Coinbase | Funds are privately insured in case of a cybersecurity breach Easy to use interface for beginners Has a fiat to crypto buying gateway with several payment options More than 80 currency pairs to choose to trade from. Allows minimum trades of $2 Allows all states of the United States of Ameria | High trading fees Lagging customer support service |
| Etoro | Easy to use interface for beginners Very safe for trading as it’s regulated by US regulatory body. Supports buying about 30 cryptocurrencies using fiat. Easy account opening. Demo account with $100,000 virtual money A feature to copy trades of professional traders | Limited to just 43 US states Despite having ETF and Forex features, only crypto trading is allowed for US residents. High trading fees |
| Crypto.com | Low trading fees Good security More than 150 currencies to trade Offers a visa card with 8 percent cash back on transactions Best for staking | Quite difficult to navigate Lagging customer support service. |
| Gemini | Available in all US states Secured against possible cybersecurity hacks Offers a large number of cryptocurrencies to trade. Overs several trading options | High trading fees Difficult to navigate |
| Kraken | Very low fees A large variety of cryptocurrencies to trade Offers several types of trading ranging from Futures trading, Forex trading to OTC, and much more | Very little learning materials High Instant buying fees. |
| Kucoin | Best for altcoin trading, a large variety of coins Low fees Good security Easy-to-use platform or beginners Loyalty program to earn KCS | Low liquidity |
| Binance | High trade volume A high number of digital currency pairs Numerous services to earn from Low transaction fees | Not available in all states of the US Tough KYC verification process Lagging customer support service. |
| Robinhood | Secured to trade Available in all states of the US Offers ETF, commission-free stocks, and options trading Low trading fees | Lagging customer support service. Few trading features |
| Uphold | User-friendly platform No hidden fees Several cryptocurrencies to trade Available in all states in the United States | less learning materials |
| Coinmama | Good customer support service User-friendly interface A great guide for trading | High trading fees Europeans are only allowed to sell bitcoin Limited features |
