5 Best Crypto Exchanges

5 Best Crypto Exchanges of 2022

After you’ve learned about what a blockchain is and maybe done some research on different cryptocurrencies, the next step you might want to take is to buy some cryptocurrency. Some questions that might have come up: 

1. Where should I buy my cryptocurrency? 
2. Are all crypto exchanges the same? 
3. Which crypto exchange will give me the best prices and the lowest fees?

If that’s the case, you’re in the right place. In this post I’ll share my 5 favorite crypto exchanges, what to look for when choosing a crypto exchange, and I’ll also include some discount codes so you can get free crypto for signing up.

If you’d like to skip straight to the top 5 exchanges click here. 

How to choose the best cryptocurrency exchange?

At their core, most cryptocurrency exchanges are pretty similar. A cryptocurrency exchange is like a marketplace where people go to buy or sell cryptocurrency.

Before I give you my recommendations, here are the 4 criteria I looked at when choosing the crypto exchanges I use.

1. How secure is the cryptocurrency exchange?

Security is my number one concern when buying cryptocurrency. If I’m going to be investing thousands of my hard-earned dollars into crypto, I want to make sure that my investment is safe.

You may have heard people say things like, “be careful with cryptocurrency, it’s not insured by the federal government like a bank is.” And that is definitely true.

Cryptocurrency is not insured by the government, which used to make it a risky investment. However, this risk has been eliminated in recent years because the cryptocurrency exchanges have started insuring the crypto themselves. 

How do crypto exchanges insure your crypto investment?

In simple terms, by purchasing theft insurance.

Cryptocurrency exchanges know that in order to get our investment dollars, they need to make sure that we trust them. To create that trust, they purchase insurance from other companies and some even purchase it from the federal government.

Coinbase, for example, insures your deposits up to $250,000. That means that if their exchange were to get hacked and the hackers steal $80,000 of your Bitcoin, Ethereum, or other crypto, Coinbase will personally return your coins from their personal stash or from the public market.

2. Who created the cryptocurrency exchange?

While cryptocurrency is decentralized for the most part, a cryptocurrency exchange is not. That’s why it’s important to know who you’re entrusting your money with. 

When choosing the top 5 cryptocurrency exchanges of 2022, I researched the founders of the exchange, the investors who back them, and the size of the team that’s running the operation.

Gemini (which made our top 5 list) was actually created by the Winklevoss twins (the twins who helped invent Facebook) and has been around since 2014. 

Binance, on the other hand, is also a large crypto exchange, but it did not make the list because it has had several probes filed against it for tax evasion and scams occurring on the platform. It was also founded in China and has had to move it’s operations several times.

3. How many cryptocurrencies are available on the crypto exchange?

One of the most important considerations when choosing a cryptocurrency exchange is how diverse are its cryptocurrency offerings.

If you’ve ever bought stocks through a brokerage account, you’ll have noticed that you could buy pretty much all domestic stock, but sometimes you couldn’t buy some international stocks. Crypto exchanges are similar in that not all cryptocurrency exchanges allow you to purchase all cryptocurrencies.

If you’re looking to just buy popular coins like Bitcoin and Ethereum, you don’t have to worry about this criteria. But, if you’d like to get in early on an innovative new coin, you may be disappointed to find out that your chosen crypto exchange might not have it.

When I was trying to buy Solana TK for example, I was upset to find out that I couldn’t do so with my Coinbase account. Because of this, I had to go sign up for another account on FTX to make my purchase. 

It was a bit of a hassle to sign up to another exchange, but in the end I was glad I did. By the time that Solana was finally listed on Coinbase, it had skyrocketed in price so I was happy to get in early.

Here is a helpful chart of how many coins each crypto exchange currently has listed:

Notice that although Robinhood, a popular stock app, does allow you to buy crypto, they only offer 7 coins to choose from. This is one of the big reasons that I didn’t add it to our list this year.

4. Ease of Use

The last criteria I used for picking the top 5 crypto exchanges of 2022 was their ease of use. If you’re going to be buying cryptocurrency a few times a year, this may not be a big deal to you.

But, if you’re going to be using these platforms weekly or monthly, it’ll save you a lot of headaches to choose a cryptocurrency exchange that’s relatively easy to use.

One criteria to look for in particular, is if the crypto exchange allows you to create “limit” orders easily. A limit order allows you to set the price you want to buy a cryptocurrency at and then it will automatically buy it when it hits that price.

This is one of my favorite features to use with crypto exchange because it means I don’t have to stress out about checking crypto prices every day. In our crypto workshops, I teach you how to set limit orders so that you can make smarter crypto investments as well.

Top 5 Crypto Exchanges of 2022

Alright, here are the 5 best cryptocurrency exchanges I recommend based on the four criteria above. I have personally used all 5 of these crypto exchanges and recommend them to our community regularly. 

As always, I recommend trying out multiple of these crypto exchanges before fully committing to the one that you like best.

1. FTX | Low Fees

FTX is the exchange I recommend for anyone who is looking to get the lowest fees possible, while still having high security and a good selection of coins to choose from. The exchange was founded by Sam Bankman-Fried in 2019 and has become one of the 5 largest in the world in record time.

Advantages

FTX has some of the lowest fees of any major crypto exchange at 0.1-0.4% per trade. It also has early coin availability compared to many other major exchanges, giving you a distinct advantage of getting in early. FTX also allows you to set “limit” orders very easily so that you can set your desired price for buying and it will make the purchase automatically.

Disadvantages

The FTX interface can be a little tricky to navigate at first. It took me about 3 days to get used to it, but once you find where everything is located it’s pretty straightforward. The U.S. version of FTX doesn’t have as many coins available as the international version.

Notable features:

• Super low fees
• Has some alternative coins early
• Easy to set “limit” orders
• U.S. version has fewer coins than international version

👇 Referral Bonus: Use the link below to get 5% off fees for all your trades.

https://ftx.us/home/#a=7225620

2. Coinbase | Ease of Use

Coinbase is the crypto exchange I recommend most often for people who are looking for basic functionality and just want something that is super easy to use. Coinbase was founded in 2012 by Brian Armstrong and Fred Ehrsam. It is currently the largest crypto exchange in the United States and was the first crypto exchange company to go public on the U.S. stock exchange.

Advantages

Coinbase is by far the easiest crypto exchange that I have ever used. Their interface features very simple “buy” and “sell” buttons that are very beginner friendly. They also have some great tutorials on their site and will even give you free crypto if you go through the tutorials. Coinbase also has great security and insures your crypto up to $250,000.

Disadvantages

Coinbase does have higher fees than most other crypto exchanges. As of this writing, Coinbase charges 1.49% for direct purchase and even more for credit card purchases. They also charge additional fees depending on what and when you’re purchasing. The other disadvantage of Coinbase is that in order to do “limit” orders (which I highly recommend) you have to use Coinbase Pro, which is a much more complicated version of the platform.

Notable features:

• Super easy user interface
• Higher fees than most
• Gives you free crypto to take tutorials
• Doesn’t allow “limit” orders in basic version

👇 Referral bonus: Get $10 in Bitcoin after you purchase $100 of any crypto using the link below.

https://www.coinbase.com/join/zlatko_z9

3. Crypto.com | Large Selection

Crypto.com is the exchange I recommend to people who are looking for a large selection of crypto currencies. It is headquartered in Singapore and was founded in 2016 by Bobby Bao, Gary Or, Kris Marszalek, and Rafael Melo. 

Advantages

Crypto.com currently has over 150+ cryptocurrencies available on the platform. This allows you to get in early on some alternative cryptocurrencies earlier before they become available on Coinbase or FTX for example. Crypto.com also offers a crypto debit card, which gives you free Netflix, Spotify, and access to airport loungers, in addition to 10% interest rates for some of your crypto. Crypto.com also has good security and low fees of 0.1%-0.4%.

Disadvantages

The biggest disadvantage of Crypto.com is that they don’t currently let you buy or sell crypto in a web browser on your computer. To use crypto.com you have to download their app either to your phone or to your computer. The app itself is okay to use, but it doesn’t allow you to do limit orders.

Notable Features:

• Has over 150+ cryptocurrencies
• Has debit card that pays 10% interest, 3% cashback, plus perks
• Must download an app to use the exchange
• Doesn’t allow for “limit” orders

👇 Referral Bonus: Get $25 of CRO when you sign up using the link below.

https://crypto.com/app/fuatdyf4jd

4. BlockFi | Earn Interest & No Fees

I recommend BlockFi for anyone who is looking to buy and hold crypto for long periods of time. BlockFi pays some of the highest interest rates of any cryptocurrency exchange and also has no fees for buying crypto. BlockFi was founded in 2017 by Zac Prince and Flori Marquez. 

Advantages

The biggest advantage of BlockFi is that you can earn high interest rates on both your cash and your crypto. BlockFi currently pays 9.5% interest on cash and 5% on most cryptocurrencies. In addition to high interest rates, BlockFi also has no fees for buying crypto. Instead, they only charge a fee if you want to withdraw crypto from the platform, but they do give you a few free withdrawals every month.

Disadvantages

The biggest disadvantage of BlockFi is that they have a very limited coin offering of 8 coins. They also don’t support “limit” orders, but they do let you borrow against your crypto.

Notable Features

• Pay high interest rates (9.5% APY)
• No trading fees
• Only support 8 cryptocurrencies
• Have a credit card that pays Bitcoin rewards

👇 Referral Bonus: Get $10 of Bitcoin when you sign up and buy $100 of any crypto.

https://blockfi.com/?ref=f9625c85

5. Gemini | Earn Interest

I recommend Gemini as a good all-around crypto exchange. Gemini is an easy platform to use, but overall it’s about average in most features. Gemini was founded in 2014 by the  Winklevoss twins (the twins who helped invent Facebook).

Advantages

Gemini does most things pretty well. It has an easy user interface, average fees of 1.49% on transactions over $200, and 50+ coins to choose from. Where Gemini stands out is that it offers generous interest rates on both your cash and your crypto. If you hold cash in the Gemini, they will actually pay you 8% interest on it. You can also earn interest on your crypto as well, so if you want to earn interest and also have access to a good amount of coins, this platform is your best bet.

Disadvantages

Other than paying high interest rates, Gemini is pretty average at everything else. It’s not the best crypto exchange for low fees, it’s not the best user interface, it’s not the best in terms of coin selection.

Notable Features:

• Pays 8% interest on cash
• Pays variable interest on crypto
• Has a good user interface
• Charges average fees

👇 Referral bonus: Get $10 in Bitcoin when you sign up and buy $100 of any crypto.

https://www.gemini.com/share/qavkxlwue

Takeaways and Resources

Luckily the “wild west” days of crypto are mostly behind us. Today, you can safely buy crypto at a number of crypto exchanges knowing that your money will be insured, safe, and easy to manage. 

Which crypto exchange you choose should largely depend on how you plan to invest in crypto. Do you plan to buy and hold? Then BlockFi is a good choice so you can earn interest.

Do you want to trade every week or every month? Then FTX might be a good choice for it’s low fees.

The important thing to remember is that it doesn’t cost you anything to try out any of these exchanges. I’ve personally signed up for all of these and others as well. 

So, my best recommendation is to sample a few of them and then decide. Even if you decide you don’t like one you sign up for, at least you’ll get the sign up bonus with the referral codes above so it’s really a win-win.

I hope this article on the best crypto exchanges has helped you to at least feel more comfortable getting started in crypto.