How to buy cryptocurrency? From where to buy cryptocurrency? Which are the best cryptocurrency exchange platforms? The world of cryptocurrencies is garnering interest but most of the people are yet to know more about basics. From the cryptocurrency itself, to its operation during transactions, its protection using cryptocurrency wallets and the best cryptocurrency exchange sites or crypto trading platforms, there’s always more to discover about these digital currencies. In this article, i have listed down the best cryptocurrency exchange sites as well as top bitcoin exchanges by volume. But if you are still a newbie, let us first understand quickly about What is Cryptocurrency?
What is Cryptocurrency?
A Cryptocurrency, as the name suggests, is a secret/hidden currency which exists in the records called public ledger, just like the balance in your bank account’s passbook, talk time in your mobile phone, DTH etc. It cannot be physically seen or felt, but is used for online transactions, making and receiving payments, just like internet banking. A cryptocurrency is a virtual or digital currency that uses cryptography for it’s security. Read more details about what is cryptocurrency here.
What is Cryptocurrency Trading?
To make it simple for you to know about it, let’s make an analogy. Just like Forex is the trading of one currency against another, with the hope of making gains based on fluctuations of the value in world markets, Cryptocurrency trading is a similar concept. Just that in the place of cash or bank money, you would be trading using Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, etc.
Therefore, Cryptocurrency trading is the best alternative way to get involved with the world of cryptocurrency, as it doesn’t require expensive cryptocurrency mining hardware or investing in cloud mining nor does it require technical expertise to build your own blockchain based cryptocurrency.
There are more than thousand cryptocurrencies which you can buy/sell/trade on various cryptocurrency exchange sites listed out below.
Advantages of Cryptocurrency Trading
There are a number of advantages that cryptocurrency trading has to offer.
- It doesn’t require expensive mining hardware or investing in cloud mining.
- It is quicker and easier to get started compared to Forex.
- In case of digital currencies, you can easily escape regulations which are otherwise put by authority like banks.
- It is also easy to get out of cryptocurrency trading as all you have to do is transfer your altcoins or cryptocurrencies out of the cryptocurrency exchange back into your cryptocurrency wallet.
- Another advantage is the low spreads. (The spread is the difference between the ask and bid price of the market maker. A smaller range means that when you are exchanging, you make very little loss whereas with Forex after you exchange you have already incurred a loss of at least 0.0018% which when dealing with significant monetary sums, is not an insignificant amount.)
- You also have the option to use leverage margin trading methods where you can trade an amount which you don’t have in the capital at that moment in time.
Also Read: Advantages and Disadvantages of Bitcoin
List Of Best Cryptocurrency Exchange Sites / Best Cryptocurrency Trading Platform To Buy Buy/Sell Altcoins
Following is a list of best cryptocurrency exchange sites or cryptocurrency trading platform to buy/sell/exchange altcoins:
Binance Cryptocurrency Exchange
Founded by Changpeng Zhao, famously known as “CZ” “http://binance.com” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener noreferrer”>Binance is one of the fastest growing cryptocurrency exchange. Binance cryptocurrency exchange concluded it’s ICO some time back and offers it’s own native tokens called BNB coin. BNB coin can be used for trading cryptocurrencies and offers an extra discount in fees. Although it is based out of China, it doesn’t serve its native country but is open to almost all countries around the world. Binance Cryptocurrency Exchange is now placed in the list of top 10 cryptocurrency exchanges in the world.
Binance Cryptocurrency Exchanges now has more than 140 altcoins listed on it’s platform. Recently, attempts were made to hack Binance cryptocurrency exchange. Following the event, Binance team got alarmed and realised the need of decentralized cryptocurrency exchanges. Binance has announced to launch it’s own Blockchain and introduce the facility of DEX, i.e Decentralized Cryptocurrency Exchange. Binance’s fee structure is also unique. To start with they have 0.1% standard trading fee which is already quite less than other peers. You can even reduce your fee further if you pay your trading fee in BNB according to the below-shown structure.
Click here to register and start trading on Binance Cryptocurrency Exchange
Follow Binance on Twitter : https://twitter.com/binance
Follow Changpeng Zhao : https://twitter.com/cz_binance
Also Read: From Zero To Crypto Billionaire In Under A Year: Meet The Founder Of Binance – Changpen Zhao
Watch this Video to learn “How To Use Binance Cryptocurrency Exchange” :
Bitfinex Cryptocurrency Exchange
BitFinex is one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in terms of volume and users is owned and operated by iFinex Inc. It is based in Hong Kong and is operational since 2014. Bitfinex cryptocurrency exchange has trading fees of 0.1% for makers, and 0.2% for takers. Some of the advanced trading tools offered by Bitfinex cryptocurrency exchange are:
- limit orders,
- stop orders,
- trailing stop,
- fill or kill,
- TWAP
Bitfinex Cryptocurrency Exchange also offers leveraged margin trading through its unique peer-to-peer funding market.It offers a margin trading with a leverage of upto 3.3X To get started on Bitfinex, you need to register yourself using e-mail and password and you are eligible to start cryptocurrency trading. Although cryptocurrency withdrawals may be restricted to certain amount, you can increase your withdrawal limit by doing KYC.
Bitfinex cryptocurrency exchange also offers it’s mobile app version which is available both on Android and IOS.
Follow Bitfinex cryptocurrency Exchange on Twitter: https://twitter.com/bitfinex
Watch this Video below to learn more about Bitfinex Cryptocurrency Exchange
Bittrex Cryptocurrency Exchange
“http://bittrex.com” target=”_blank” rel=”nofollow noopener noreferrer”>Bittrex cryptocurrency exchange is a US-based crypto only exchange headquartered in Seattle, Washington. Bittrex was founded by Bill Shihara and two business partners in 2013, all of whom previously worked as security professionals at Microsoft.Bittrex is a “crypto-only” exchange, meaning it doesn’t allow you to deposit fiat currencies such as USD, EUR, GBP, etc.
Bittrex is one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges because of its high trading volume and the vast number of cryptocurrencies it has listed for trading. Here, the users (buyers/sellers) discovers the rates in which they want to trade, and Bittrex charges them a small service fee for providing this platform (0.25%). To get started with Bittrex, you need to register and log in through your email ID, but to withdraw funds, you need to do a KYC by submitting your ID documents and phone number, as well as enabling two-factor authentication for higher limits. Bittrex cryptocurrency exchange supports two types of accounts:
- Basic Account – withdrawal funds worth up to 3 BTC/day.
- Advanced Account – withdrawal funds worth up to 100 BTC/day.
Follow Bittrex cryptocurrency exchange on Twitter : https://twitter.com/BittrexExchange
Watch this video below to learn “How to trade on Bittrex Cryptocurrency Exchange”
Poloniex Cryptocurrency Exchange
Poloniex cryptocurrency exchange, founded by Tristan D’Agosta in 2014 is based in Wilmington, Delaware. It was recently purchased by Circle. Poloniex offers only cryptocurrency exchange service and a user cannot buy Bitcoin or anyother cryptocurrency using Fiat Currency. Although it offers cryptocurrency trading in exchange of USDT (Tether).
Poloniex cryptocurrency exchange has 0.15% fees for makers, and 0.25% fees for takers. Poloniex offers +100 cryptocurrencies to its users to trade. In 2017, Poloniex had the highest trading volume for Ethereum (ETH) because it supports an independent Ethereum market as well as a BTC market. Poloniex also has zoomable candlestick charts for 5-minutes, 15-minutes, 30-minutes, 2-hours, 4-hours, and 1-day, along with a stop-limit feature for advanced cryptocurrency traders.
Poloniex offer offline cold storage for client deposits and only keep a sufficient minimum balance online to facilitate active trading.
Follow Poloniex Cryptocurrency Exchange on Twitter : https://twitter.com/Poloniex
Follow Circle on Twitter: https://twitter.com/circlepay
Watch this Video to learn “How To Start Trading On Poloniex Cryptocurrency Exchange”
The above four cryptocurrency exchanges i.e Binance, Bifinex, Bittrex and Poloniex are the biggest cryptocurrency exchanges in terms of volume of trading and users. All most all trading/investing worth cryptocurrencies are listed on the above four cryptocurrency exchanges. However, as these cryptocurrency exchanges are the most sought after cryptocurrency trading platforms, they have strict listing policies. The team behind these cryptocurrency trading platforms carefully reviews every cryptocurrency listing request and lists only handful of them. Hence, there are chances that the cryptocurrency or crypto token which you want to buy/trade may not be listed on the these Big Four Cryptocurrency trading platforms. These cryptocurrencies are then listed on other crypto exchanges. Some of them are :
Huobi Cryptocurrency Exchanges
Huobi is a Chinese cryptocurrency exchange platform based in Beijing,China. Huboi cryptocurrency exchange was founded by Leon Li in 2013 and is one of the biggest Chinese Cryptocurrency trading platforms. Till October 2017 Huobi was offering the facility to purchase a limited number of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, Ethereum and Ethereum Classic against USD. But in November 2017, Huobi lainched it’s global cryptocurrency exchange/cryptocurrency trading platform Huobi.Pro
Huobi Group group offers the following kind of services:
Huobi.pro – Digital Asset/ Cryptocurrency Exchange
Huobi.io – Digital Asset/ Cryptocurrency Wallet. The Huobi wallet is available both on Android and IOS.
Huobi.cn – Blockchain News Portal. ( Though the portal does have the English Language Version and displays only in Chinese Language)
Follow Huobi on Twitter: https://twitter.com/huobicom
Follow Huobi.pro on Twitter: https://twitter.com/huobi_pro
OKEx Cryptocurrency Exchange
Okex was founded in 2014 and is based in Belize, with its main operation hub located in Hong Kong. OKEx is an international company specializing in blockchain technology & digital asset development and applications. Focusing on digital asset-only exchange, OKEx also provides fiat-to-cryptocurrency, cryptocurrency-to-cryptocurrency and derivatives trading services to global customers. Okex has a strong list of Venture Capitalists backing the cryptocurrency exchange including VenturesLab, a VC firm co-founded by Tim Draper who also invested in leading companies like Hotmail, Baidu and Tesla.
Follow Okex on Twitter: https://twitter.com/OKEx_
Gate.io Cryptocurrency Exchange
Gate.io offers multiple cryptocurrency trading pairs such as BTC Market, ETH Market, USDT Market, QTUM market. Gate.io is a promising cryptocurrency exchange that offers trading of all major cryptocurrencies. Gate.io have a mobile app which is functional and let you trade cryptocurrencies on the move. The mobile app is available both on Android and IOS.You can also deposit or withdraw funds using gate.io mobile app.
Create your free account on Gate.io and start trading cryptocurrencies.
Follow Gate.io on Twitter: https://twitter.com/gate_io
Liqui.io Cryptocurrency Exchange
Liqui.io is another cryptocurrency exchange and trading platform based in Kiev, Ukraine. The exchange offers a good number of cryptocurrencies for trading and exchanging and also provides the services of Margin trading and Lending. The fee structure of Liqui cryptocurrency exchange is quite reasonable. Maker (0.1%), Taker (0.25%)
| Market: | Maker fee: | Taker fee: |
|---|---|---|
| BTC | 0.1% | 0.25% |
| ETH | 0.1% | 0.25% |
| USDT | 0.1% | 0.25% |
Follow Liqui Cryptocurrency Exchange on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Liqui_Exchange
Kucoin Cryptocurrency Exchange
KuCoin cryptocurrency exchange offers the trading of many popular and unique cryptocurrencies such such as DragonChain, $KCS and many others. KuCoin cryptocurrency exchanges also offers it’s own mobile app for trading cryptocurrencies on the go. The app is available both on Android and IOS.
Follow Kucoin on Twiiter: https://twitter.com/kucoincom
NOTE: Weather you are a newbie to a pro in the cryptocurrency world, it is always advised to never store your cryptocurrencies on any cryptocurrency exchange or cryptocurrency trading platforms. Cryptocurrency Exchanges are centralized organisations which keep keep your crypto assets or crypto funds in their custody which is not safe at all. Also these cryptocurrency exchanges are prone to hack attacks which can withdraw all the funds from the exchange. Thus, keep only that amount of your crypto assets on cryptocurrency trading platforms which are sufficient for trading.
For long term hold, always use cold storage physical hardware wallets. These hardware wallets give you the access to your private keys and cannot be hacked as they remain offline. In case you want to know more about cryptocurrency hardware wallets, here is a List of best Bitcoin hardware wallets.” Also if you still don’t know what are public keys, private keys, paper wallets, etc read this article which will guide you on “How To Protect Your Cryptocurrencies”
So does the above mean that only limited amount of cryptocurrencies should be kept on cryptocurrency exchange? What if you or any of your friend is willing to trade on any cryptocurrency exchange with huge volume or big number of Bitcoins, Ethereum, etc. To answer that, well cryptocurrency exchanges do take full precautions but still there are chances that they can get hacked. A recent case was when Binance, one of the biggest cryptocurrency exchange was attacked. Those accounts which were trading through API’s got affected. Though no loss of crypto funds were observed. Similarly, BitGrail was hacked and nearly around $195 Million worth of NANO Cryptocurrency were stolen. The founder Francesco Firano said:
“It’s Impossible to Refund the Stolen Amount”
Here comes Decentralized Exchanges (DEX) to solve the above issue. DEX, or Decentralized exchanges are the cryptocurrency exchanges which does not store your crypto funds in their asset. A user even has to not deposit any crypto. Decentralized Exchange provides cryptocurrency exchange mechanism in a dcentralized way. Here the user has to log into the exchange using his MyEtherWallet or any other wallet by entering the private keys of that wallet. These exchanges does not stores your keys and neither do they store your funds. They just provide you a decentralized cryptocurrency trading environment and charge a fees for providing the exchange/trading facility. See what Vinny Lingham , the Bitcoin guru says about DEX:
I’m almost certain we will see a top 25 crypto exchange fail or be shut down in the coming months. This will be the catalyst for the emergence of decentralized exchanges and this is a key theme I’m expecting in 2018.
— Vinny Lingham (@VinnyLingham) “https://twitter.com/VinnyLingham/status/953859441362784257?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>January 18, 2018
List of Decentralized Exchanges (DEX)
Following is a list of decentralized cryptocurrency exchanges:
- EtherDelta,
- IDEX,
- StellarDEX,
- WavesDEX,
- KOMODO or BarterDEX, and few more.
Also Read:- List Of Top Decentralized Exchanges (DEX) To Trade Cryptocurrencies
Some Important Tips For Cryptocurrency Trading
#1 Choose your Cryptocurrency : Before investing into any cryptocurrency, first learn about it, follow the team behind that crypto on twitter, understand their concept and problem that they are trying to solve as well their future roadmap. Always do your own research before investing in/trading any cryptocurrency.
#2 Protect your cryptocurrency via several wallet options : To help protect your digital currency that you have bought, there are several wallets available in the market. They can from mobile, desktop, software, paper, or cold storage suiting one’s need. Once you have purchased your cryptocurrency from any of the cryptocurrency exchanges, it is suggested to withdraw the digital currency from the cryptocurrency trading platform and store it in the cryptocurrency wallets. Click here to read list of different types of Bitcoin wallets to safely store your Bitcoins.
#3 Pick Cryptocurrency Exchange : There are cases where a particular cryptocurrency/altcoin is not listed on a particular cryptocurrency exchange. Once you have finalised the altcoin that you wish to buy, just search for the list of cryptocurrency exchanges which has listed your altcoin and buy it from there. Remember, not all cryptocurrency exchanges are safe. So don’t just buy altcoin from any cryptocurrency exchange. Make sure the cryptocurrency exchange is from the list mentioned above and always do your own research before depositing your crypto assets on any exchange.Once you have these two things, you need to pick your exchange of choice based on the information provided above.
#4 Google 2FA: Google 2FA is a security feature which is now being provided by almost every cryptocurrency exchange. Once you have set up your account on the cryptocurrency exchange, enable Google 2FA or Two-Factor authentication in the settings or privacy menu. Follow the steps mentioned there to enable Google 2 Factor Authentication. It would take not more than 2 minutes.
NOTE: It is strongly recommended to enable Google 2FA before making any transaction in the cryptocurrency exchange.
Also Read:
latest crypto news and updates on KryptoMoney.com
Rohit Kukreja
Rohit Kukreja is a Commerce graduate with Financial Markets expertise involving Stocks, Forex, Futures & Options Market and now Bitcoins & Cryptocurrency Markets. Blockchain Enthusiast but not a techie, Rohit is an active member of various Blockchain & Crypto communities all over India.
Bitcoin 
Ethereum 
Bitcoin Cash 
Tether 
Binance Coin