A cryptocurrency exchange or digital currency exchange is a business that involves the exchange of cryptocurrencies for other assets such as money or any other digital currency. It is a web service that provides electronic transactions in electronic form and charges fees for them.
Any transaction or activity on a digital currency exchange can be done by debit and credit card, postal money order or any other form of money transfer. This article discusses various cryptocurrency exchanges that facilitate cryptocurrency trading for beginners and what they offer in terms of availability, ease of use, security, deposit/withdrawal methods and fees. We hope this guide to cryptocurrency trading will help you get started with cryptocurrency exchanges.
Coinbase/GDAX
Coinbase is one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges based in San Francisco, California. It is available in 32 countries and currently serves more than 10 million customers. Launched in 2012, it has an easy-to-use interface that makes digital currency exchange a simple task for a non-technical person. It is also available for both iOS and Android. Unfortunately, Coinbase does not offer cryptocurrency mining for beginners and is only an exchange.
As of now, it offers four coins, Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum and Litecoin. It exchanges digital currency with the US Dollar, Euro and Great British Pound. With minimal transfer fees, Coinbase has never experienced any security breaches making it a perfect platform for exchanging digital currencies. In addition to that, Coinbase offers a fully developed exchange called GDAX. It offers more advanced features and different and better trading fees than Coinbase.
Bitstamp
Bitstamp is another platform that offers digital currency exchange. It is relatively easy to use and offers more advanced features than TradeView. Bitstamp offers coins like Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash and Ripple. It exchanges digital currencies with US dollars and Euros. You can practice all the latest cryptocurrency trading strategies on this exchange.
It offers flat deposits through bank transfer and supports debit/credit cards. Perhaps the only downside to Bitstamp is the slightly high fees and the fact that it has suffered a security breach in its 7 years of operation. Nevertheless, it is one of the most reliable exchanges. It is available on both iOS and Android.
Gemini
Gemini is a UK based company launched in 2015 by the Winklevoss twins. It is available in a few countries, including the United States, Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore, and South Korea. A downside of this platform is that it is not particularly user friendly. So, beginners are not advised to use this platform.
It offers two coins and 1 flat currency Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum and US Dollar. Gemini follows strict protocols when it comes to security and till 2018, it has not faced a single security breach thus making it one of the most secure and reliable digital currency platforms. However, it is important to have a digital currency investment strategy before you start trading.
Digital Tix
Digital Tix is a modern crypto exchange that aims to be a game changer in the sector. They have implemented many modern techniques that make it easy for anyone to start trading.
It has a unique feature called a single portfolio view that will enable traders to view all holding positions in a single portfolio. Using this unique feature will make it easier for traders to make informed decisions about cryptocurrency exchanges. It supports Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin and Dashcoin.
the kraken
Kraken is one of the oldest cryptocurrency exchange platforms. Launched in 2011, Kraken is the largest exchange in terms of volume and liquidity of the EUR trading pair. It serves worldwide, including the United States.
Kraken offers a variety of coins including Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, Monero, Agur, Litecoin and more. It also supports bank transfers and deposits/withdrawals through cryptocurrencies. With a not so friendly user interface, it suffers from stability and performance issues but still, it is a good platform for cryptocurrency exchange.
Bitfinex
Bitfinex is the largest cryptocurrency exchange platform. Launched in 2012, its interface is easy to use and offers advanced number of features like margin trading, margin funding etc. It is available for both iOS and Android platforms It offers BTC, BCH, ETH, LTC, IOTA, XMR and NEO.
Similar to previous cryptocurrency exchanges, it supports withdrawals using US dollars and Euros via bank transfer. Bitfinex has suffered two security breaches, the first in May 2015, which resulted in $330,000 in losses. and the second in August 2016 which resulted in $72 million worth of damage.
EtherDelta
EtherDelta is a decentralized exchange that directly supports peer-to-peer connections. It is very different from the previously discussed cryptocurrency exchanging platforms. Here, funds are held in a smart contract on an Ethereum network from which you are solely responsible for deposits and withdrawals Currently, EtherDelta only supports Ehtereum based tokens.
EtherDelta has a rather confusing interface that makes it difficult for users to perform cryptocurrency exchange operations. On one occasion, someone tried to buy 750 KNC at 0.007 ETH each but ended up buying 0.007 KNC at 750 ETH.
Conclusion
After looking at various cryptocurrency exchange platforms, we can safely say that Coinbase and Bitstamp stand out in terms of good features such as security, user-friendly interface, multiple withdrawal/transfer methods and more.
I wouldn’t call them perfect but I would recommend that this is the safest bet you can make. Each cryptocurrency exchange platform is unique in its own way and has both advantages and disadvantages. We just have to select one as per our requirement. We hope this guide to basic cryptocurrency exchanges and trading will give you a head start on your cryptocurrency trading journey.