As I see it currently on Coingecko, there are hundred’s of exchanges. An exchange is basically a place (platform) where you buy and sell cryptocurrencies. It’s similar to the supermarket you pick your groceries from.
Now firstly there’s two kinds of exchanges: Centralized and Decentralized.
Think of Walmart. Or, here in Sweden, you have markets like ICA, Hemköp. These are basically owned by a company, right? That company is providing you with a place to come and buy your groceries. That’s centralized exchanges – the likes of Binance, Coinbase, Huobi, Kucoin, CoinMetro and stuff.
Now think of an exhibition or fair or a weekly flea market. There’s no central control here. People come set shop and sell their stuff. So it’s de-centralized. So these are exchanges of the likes of Uniswap, 1Inch and the likes.
If you’re starting off in crypto, I suggest you begin with a centralized exchange. Decentralized exchanges can take some time getting used to or figuring out (I’ll cover that separately. So for now, in this post, I’ll just stick to centralized exchanges).
My preferences outlined here are based on my experience. I’ve obviously not tried all exchanges and I doubt anyone would be able to. But I’m basing this on convenience, ease of use and customer service in general. So here goes (there’s no order to these),
Binance
- By far, in my experience, the smoothest experience with an exchange.
- It’s the biggest and there’s never an issue in terms of liquidity (by this I mean if I want to sell or buy something, an order goes through immediately. Simply because there are so many people trading)
- Loads of coins on it
- Enough layers of security and safety which kind of give some amount of reassurance
- Easy to set up a new account
In case you want to give this a try, here’s a link to begin.
Without a doubt, Binance currently is the best exchange out there. Not saying it’s perfect. I do have an issue with them for not being able to withdraw funds directly to my bank. Guess it’s something to do with the location. But that aside, difficult to be in crypto without being on Binance.
CoinMetro
- This is a way smaller exchange. So there’s a limited number of coins. I’ve used it for coins like Quant, Parsiq and even their own native XCM coin.
- I’ve included this here cause of their customer service. I do not know how they do it but any given hour of the day, if you face an issue, these guys will be there to serve you. Haven’t seen anything that comes close to them in terms of customer service.
- Very nice interface. Easy to use.
- Very convenient withdrawal. The issue I face with Binance is sorted here. Get funds back in my account within a day.
- Liquidity can be a bit of an issue here something given it’s a small exchange
- They also have some nice offers to earn some of their native coin just by holding some coins on their platform. I earn some XCM only by holding Quant on their platform
Definitely recommend trying this. Here’s a link if you decide to.
Coinbase
- Again a massive exchange. Great liquidity
- Great for someone just starting off. Easy to navigate through. I used them for a while especially when I started off.
- Easy to deposit or withdraw funds. Very very smooth.
- Definitely nowhere compared to Binance in terms of coins available. But they’ve got a fair selection of coins.
- A very easy interface if you’re starting off
- Even got some pretty neat reward schemes they keep running to earn free coins by answering some questions. I just did one when I logged in just now and make $3 by answering 3 questions.
- I’ve reduced my usage with them purely on account of their customer service. This is just my experience. But their customer service is bad. They sure need to higher a lot more people.
But ya. A nice exchange to start off with. Here’s a link in case you want to give it a try.
CEX
- Used it for a long time. Easy to use.
- Clean and clear interface which may be nice for someone new. I’ve recommended this to friends and they’ve been fine. It does away with some of those intimidating trading screens filled with numbers.
- Easy deposit and withdrawal mechanism. Never really had issues in withdrawal. Used it in the Middle Easy and Europe. Worked smooth each time.
- Nice and helpful customer service
- Again the number of coins can be limited. But if you’re starting off, it’s got enough to cover you.
Here’s a link if you want to give them a shot.
KuCoin
- Use this once in a way cause they list some nice coins you may not find elsewhere. I got Pluton (PLU) here, simply because I wanted to avoid the insane fees of buying the same UniSwap (which is a decentralized exchange)
- Similar in terms of structure and stuff like Binance. That’s how I feel. Smaller in size though.
- Can take some time getting used to cause they have something called a Trading account and Main Account and stuff.
- The interface is a little crappy looking. Again maneuvering can be a little difficult.
- But yes. Once you get a hand around it, like I said, can be a nice alternative to decentralized exchanges if you’re looking to pick up some select currencies. Generally tends to have some names other big exchanges may have skipped. Recently listed Quant too.
Here’s a link if you decide to try them or opt to buy PLU or Quant.
Again, like I said there’s a load of exchanges. This is just what I’ve used and what I find convenient. If you’re clueless where to begin from those 100’s of exchanges, I’m hoping this article just helped clear the waters a little.
