Yet, investing in cryptocurrencies proved to be a risky venture, especially with the rise of rugpulls and exchange shutdowns and hacks which have the goal of stealing users assets. For users to benefit from crypto, having a safe, secure and reliable exchange could make all the difference.
In the article below we will look at five best crypto exchanges in 2022, what makes them great for each given situation, and what to consider when investing.
What to Look for in an Exchange?
There are several important factors to help you decide if a certain crypto platform is worth your time:
- Security – Safety and security are crucial; platforms that have invested properly in security of its systems and are providing safety tools to users are the way to go.
- Availability – Good exchanges are available across numerous regions, but most importantly in the jurisdiction from which you aim to invest from.
- Token support – While there are over 20,000 tokens listed on CoinMarketCap.com, they’re mostly low-cap tokens. You should pay attention if your favorite token is listed and whether it’s tradable against a stablecoin and BTC.
- Trading fees – If you’re not planning on doing a lot of trading, you may oversee the importance of fees. But, in the wider picture, platforms should have lower fees to encourage traders to join.
- Token liquidity – Liquidity in essence means how easy it is to turn tokens into fiat currency. Additionally, it indicates how quickly you can get in and out of trades as crypto moves fairly quickly.
- Payment methods – Depending on the location you are investing from, payment methods can play a major role. It can determine whether you can deposit money into your trading account and then pull it out when needed, quickly and with low fees.
Coinbase - The Best Overall
Coinbase landing page Source: Coinbase
A US-based cryptocurrency exchange is one of the more popular ones, and is a publicly traded company on the US NASDAQ exchange. Initially, the platform was a crypto brokerage provider, but morphed into a trading, staking, custody, learning and wallet platform, over time.
The platform itself is user-friendly, with an easy-to-understand interface, both on mobile and web, making it ideal for beginners. It supports payment methods like PayPal, credit and debit cards and bank transfers, making it easier to trade from almost any jurisdiction.
The platform offers over 130 tokens, and a combination of over 400 trading pairs; it also includes a learning section, a staking section, and custody section with detailed explanations of each function. While geared towards beginners, there is a Coinbase Pro section where more complex activities can be undertaken.
On the security front, the fact that it is a publicly traded company, makes it more prone to regulations, and public scrutiny; thus, making it one of the safest platforms out there.
Binance – The Best Accessibility
Binance landing page Source: Binance
Binance is a truly global crypto exchange, as it offers its services almost across the entire globe, launched by the now famous CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ). The platform offers a plethora of services in its ecosystem, including their own blockchain and token (BNB token), mining pools, staking services, lending, futures trading, wallets, P2P trading and an NFT marketplace.
Currently, there are over 600 tokens on the platform, with extremely low trading fees, giving it the title of the cheapest crypto trading platform. Like Coinbase, Binance also has a learning section called Binance Academy, giving a chance to users to learn more about crypto.
In terms of payment methods, the platform offers 100 of different fiat currencies, which you can deposit or withdraw from. Finally, security on the platform is top-notch, with even an insurance fund called #SAFU used to reimburse users in case of security breaches and loss of assets.
Kraken - The Best for Crypto Geeks
Kraken landing page. Source: Kraken
Another US-based crypto exchange that started its journey by offering trading pairs in Euros against Litecoin and Bitcoin, while over the years it added numerous other crypto and fiat pairs. The platform is in a sense more geared to advanced users with its suit of tools, the Kraken Terminal and Cryptowatch, offering advanced charting techniques, drawing tools and order books. While Cryptowatch is used to pull data from over 4,000 markets, giving new insights to traders.
In terms of coverage, the platform lags behind both Coinbase and Binance, as it covers most of the US, though its user friendliness across web and mobile platform is on par with the above two exchanges. Guides, podcasts, webinars and video sessions provide learning opportunities for users.
On the security front, the exchange prides itself on securing accounts through 2FA, Master keys and secure API creation processes.
Uniswap - The Best Liquidity
Uniswap landing page. Source: Uniswap
A fairly unique crypto exchange, at least when it launched in 2018, offered a new concept among decentralized exchanges, the concept of trading through automated market makers (AMM). Providers of liquidity used Uniswap to make deposits using the platform’s dApp, which were then used as swap assets for traders using the platform.
In the past, P2P trades worked on the concept of directly swapping one token from a wallet for another token from another wallet; however, with the introduction of liquidity pools the trading became faster and more predictable and cheaper.
Uniswap therefore provides the best liquidity among decentralized exchanges, making swapping fast, fun and cheap. All ERC-20 tokens, tokens created on the Ethereum network, are available for trading, allowing anyone with a Web3 wallet to connect easily and start trading.
The platform has a governance scheme through the native token UNI, that allows holders of the token to vote on development and other issues. Its sourcecode is open, and permissionless, allowing security analysts to check the code and help fix any and all bugs.
Uphold – The Best for Digital & Physical Assests
Uphold landing page. Source: Uphold
Uphold is also a US-based exchange, but unlike the others on this list, this platform allows trading of both digital and physical assets, including commodities. It launched in 2015, offering a variety of cryptocurrencies, including both major ones and altcoins.
The platform has over 7 million users, where a single account offers a selection of US equities, over 200 cryptocurrencies, precious metals and fiat currencies to trade.
It offers many options for depositing and withdrawing funds from the platform, whereas the Uphold debit card allows even spending holdings in “metals” without incurring custody costs. In addition, the automated trading options allow participation in trading without having to constantly monitor the computer, by setting up or using predefined trading rules.
Staking on the platform offers high rewards, but unlike other platforms, security could be additionally tightened, though it does offer ample tools to users.
