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7 Best Cryptocurrency Exchanges to Buy/Sell Any Cryptocurrency [2018]

Slowly and steadily, Bitcoin and altcoins are getting attention from more investors all around the world.

And why not? These cryptocurrencies are time and again proving themselves to be a safe haven against government’s inflationary policies.

That’s why some people are even securing cryptocurrencies as their retirement funds, while some are doing pure speculation with short-term trading (i.e. buy low, sell high).

And let’s not forget about those who are just starting off by looking around to find the answer to questions like:

Where do I buy such currencies?
What are the best cryptocurrency exchanges?

But before we talk about the best exchanges out there, I need to tell you that it’s not too late to get invested in cryptocurrencies. At the time of this writing, the Bitcoin and altcoin market is at an all-time high, with a market cap of $166 billion. I believe we will cross the $250 billion mark later this year.

So now that you know you should invest, here’s where you need to go to do that.

Update: Due to high users demand and to focus on current user base, many exchanges have shut down new registrations. I will update this note when they start accepting new registrations. For now here are some of the top exchanges accepting new registrations:

Binance: They have resumed limited user registrations which will be open for a few hours every day and for the limited number of users. Try your luck!
Bitmex: One of the whales of Cryptocurrency exchange. You can do margin trading if that’s your thing.
KuCoin: One of the strongest exchange that also offers a mobile app (Android and iOS). They have been constantly updating their mobile app to make it one of the best in the industry.
Huobi: Many new cryptos can be found here. Unique approach and something you should signup for in 2018. Offers Exchange-specific coin called HT.
YoBit: Low cap coin heaven
Changelly: Instantly convert any cryptocurrency to any of your choices. Great for instant conversion.

Here is a consolidated list of best cryptocurrency exchanges with my comments:

Binance – Offers mobile app and probably the fastest growing exchange. If you need to pick only one, this is the best and #1 in 2018.
Bitmex: One of the whales of Cryptocurrency exchange. You can do margin trading if that’s your thing.
Bitfinex: Offers mobile app and a popular exchange. You can also lend crypto here to earn interest.
KuCoin: One of the strongest exchange that also offers a mobile app. They have been constantly updating their mobile app to make it one of the best in the industry.
Huobi: Many new cryptos can be found here. Unique approach and something you should signup for in 2018. However, the volume is growing.
Changelly: Perfect for quick crypto exchange. Easy to use and great for beginners.
Bittrex: Another high-quality exchange with a lot of coins.
Cryptopia: Many undervalued cryptos can be found here.

For Acquiting Cryptocurrencies:

If you live in a country where it’s not easy to get Bitcoin, you can use any of these three websites. All three of them offers to buy Bitcoin using a credit/debit card.

CEX: My favorite
CoinMama: Old but gold and let you buy BTC and ETH instantly.

Note: This list is starting from easy to use exchanges and moving towards some of the advanced exchanges.

9 Best Cryptocurrency Exchanges for Trading Cryptocurrency

1. Binance

Binance is a rapidly growing exchange that concluded its ICO a few months back.

Though it is based out of China, it doesn’t serve its native country but is open to almost all countries around the world.

Since its ICO to till date, it has grown tremendously and is now placed in top 10 cryptocurrency exchanges in the world. It now has more than 140 altcoins listed on it which are only increasing as the days are passing.

Binance being a centralized exchange has taken a unique take to expand its business and also provides a decent discount for day traders if they use BNB coins. BNB is Binance Coin which is the native currency of this platform.

Read: Binance Cryptocurrency: A Unique And Rapidly Growing Crypto 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.

To get started with Binance you need to register using your email ID and the process is quite simple & fast. Moreover, you get 1 QTUM coin as a kind gesture for registration which is limited to 10,000 QTUM coins on first come first basis.

Binance is one of the few exchanges that offers mobile app for iOS and Android. Being using it for a while, I find it too easy to trade cryptocurrency while on the move. You can watch this video to learn how to use their mobile app.

They also have aggressive plans like multi-lingual support, mobile apps for both iOS and Android users, Binance Angel Program, and the Community Coin Per Month etc for more adoption of their platform.

2. KuCoin

KuCoin is another easy and hassle-free cryptocurrency exchange. KuCoin offers many popular and unique coin such as DragonChain, $KCS, and many others. Just like Binance, they offer a fully functional mobile app for Android and iOS.

To get started with KuCoin, you can deposit any crypto of your choice ex: BTC and start trading. Personally, I have been using KuCoin since last quarter of 2017 and they are getting popular day by day.

Get started with KuCoin

3. Huobi Pro

Huobi Pro is an international cryptocurrency exchange that originated in China but now has moved across the world to serve a maximum number of investors. It is based out of Singapore and has been operating in this space successfully for the last five years.

As we speak, it occupies the #3 spot on CoinMarketCap’s list of exchanges by volume and has 244 cryptocurrency pairs. Hence, needless to say, of this, you will never face liquidity problems on this exchange.

They also have mobile apps for both Android and iOS for users who want to trade cryptos on the go.

Their registration process is also pretty simple and straightforward, so go ahead and do the needful. Oh, and just so you know, the exchange fee is also pretty low. Have fun.

Do read, Huobi Exchange Review & Benefits of HT token: Can It Pull Off Another Binance?

4. Changelly

Changelly is one of the easiest ways to get ahold of various cryptocurrencies.

Changelly is a product of the mining pool, MinerGate, which has a proven track record of consistently good products being put out into the crypto-space.

One of the best things about Changelly is that you don’t need to go through any lengthy verification or registration process. You just log in with your email ID (or any email ID) and start exchanging!

Currently, it supports more than 35 cryptocurrencies along with fiat pairs such as USD/EUR. It is one of the best and easiest to use exchanges out there. If you want to know more, check out Harsh’s review on Changelly.

When you use Changelly to exchange cryptocurrency, Changelly bots connect in real time to some of the best and busiest cryptocurrency exchanges in the market to get you the best price.

Usually, when using Changelly, a crypto-to-crypto exchange takes 5 to 30 minutes.

They charge a commission fee of 0.5% on each trade, which I think is minimal in exchange for the volatility and risk that they bear on behalf of their users. In addition to the commission, a miner’s fee is also paid by the user and is deducted directly from their crypto balance.

But all you need in order to buy from Changelly is a VISA/MasterCard (credit/debit card) or any Changelly-supported cryptocurrency and a wallet where you want to receive your new coins.

The procedure is very simple.

Head toward CoinSutra’s Cryptocurrency Exchange – Changelly, and follow the steps given in this guide.

Note: Though this guide shows how to buy Ripple in exchange for BTC, the process is exactly the same to buy any other Changelly-supported cryptocurrency.

And if you want to buy cryptos using a VISA/MasterCard, then here is their official step-by-step guide on doing that. (Even though this guide is for buying BTC using a VISA/MasterCard, the process is the same as buying any other Changelly-supported cryptocurrency.)

Check out Changelly

5. Bittrex

Bittrex is a US-based cryptocurrency exchange that provides you the option to trade more than 190 cryptocurrencies at a time. They are well-regulated and compliant with all of the current US rules, so crypto users need not worry about the safety of their funds.

Bittrex handles one of the largest BTC trading volumes out of all the exchanges in the world.

Here, the users (buyers/sellers) decide 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.

But one good thing about Bittrex is the account verification happens quite fast.

Bittrex 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.

Bittrex is a “crypto-only” exchange, meaning it doesn’t allow you to deposit fiat currencies such as USD, EUR, GBP, etc.

They provide access to advanced trading tools like candlestick charts and crosshairs, but the user interface is quite clean and intuitive, so newbies should have no problems.

You can visit Bittrex and open a Bittrex account by following this official step by step guide here.

Check out Bittrex

6. Poloniex

Founded by Tristan D’Agosta, Poloniex has been operational since January 2014 and is undoubtedly one of the biggest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world.

It is based out of the United States and offers +100 cryptocurrencies to its users to trade.

When you talk about trade volumes, nothing beats Poloniex. In 2017, Poloniex had the highest volume for ETH because it supports an independent Ethereum market as well as a BTC market.

It is a crypto-only exchange, but you can start trading easily by depositing USDT (Tether dollars).

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 charges a fee of 0.15% to 0.25% on all trades depending upon whether you are a maker or a taker.

So if you are looking to trade a variety of altcoins, then you should give Poloniex a shot.

To get started with Poloniex, follow this official guide.

Remember: As soon as you sign up for Poloniex using your email, do make sure to enable two-factor authentication!

Check out Poloniex

7. Bitfinex

Bitfinex is another one of the largest and most popular cryptocurrency exchanges out there.

Based out of Hong Kong and operational since 2014, it gives its users the option to trade the following 13 cryptocurrencies in exchange for USD or BTC:

Bitcoin
Bcash
Dash
Ethereum
Zcash
Monero
Litecoin
Ethereum Classic
OmiseGO
EOS
IOTA
Santiment
Ripple

Update: They have added a lot more cryptos recently.

Unlike Bittrex and Poloniex, you can trade using USD (with a wire fee of at least $20). Also, users will need to pay a trade fee which varies from 0.1% to 0.8% (details here).

Also, whenever you withdrawal or deposit anything, you are charged a certain fee:

On Bitfinex, if you are a pro-trader, you will find advanced trading tools such as limit orders, stop orders, trailing stop, fill or kill, TWAP, and others, along with different market charts.

To get started on Bitfinex, you need to register, verify your ID, and authenticate yourself. It typically takes 15-20 business days after submitting valid ID proof before you’re accepted into the platform.

Update: on 12th January 2018 Bitfinex opened the registration but put a limit of 10000 USD or equivalent cryptos to be deposited for the account to be fully functional.

And whenever you get bored with the web version or want to trade on-the-go, you can use Bitfinex’s Android and iOS mobile apps.

Check out Bitfinex

8. BitMex

BitMex is high volume crypto exchange created by a talented team of economists, high-frequency traders and web developers for the crypto community.

Here you will never find any issues regarding the liquidity of your cryptocurrencies.

The primary currency traded on this exchange is Bitcoin and its future contracts.

Apart from Bitcoin contracts, one can also play around with future contracts for altcoins such as Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, Cardano, Litecoin, Ripple.

The registration process on BitMex is quite simple where you just need to register through your email ID and their fee structure is also quite straightforward as shown below:

Coins	Leverage	Maker Fee	Taker Fee	Settlement Fee
Bitcoin (XBT)	100x	-0.0250%	0.0750%	0.0500%
Bitcoin Cash (BCH)	20x	-0.0500%	0.2500%	0.0000%
Cardano (ADA)	20x	-0.0500%	0.2500%	0.0000%
Ethereum (ETH)	50x	-0.0500%	0.2500%	0.0000%
Litecoin (LTC)	33.33x	-0.0500%	0.2500%	0.0000%
Ripple (XRP)	20x	-0.0500%	0.2500%	0.0000%

Trade On BitMex

9. Cryptopia

Cryptopia is another popular cryptocurrency exchange that supports buying/selling more than 400 altcoins.

They have aggressively grown to this stature and have the record of listing many cheap coins.

By cheap I don’t mean that those coins are fake or scam but yeah they do list those coins that you will not find on other popular exchange.

Their this approach makes it possible for so many cryptocurrencies to acquire good liquidity for themselves.

It is a centralized exchange based out of NewZealand that allows you to buy/sell cryptos in almost any part of the world.

Getting started here is quite easy & simple. You just need to register yourself using your email ID with a strong password. Always two-factor authentication is recommended when you are using centralized exchanges.

Their fee structure is not fixed that keeps an eye while trading because they do show the fee in a tiny little corner and have not other hidden fees apart from the shown one.

Check Cryptopia Now

The Best Crypto Exchanges

Using the above cryptocurrency exchanges will allow you to buy almost all of the cryptos you could ever want to buy.

However, there are a few more cryptocurrency exchanges that you should have an account with, as there are a few coins that are only available there. It’s a good idea to have an account on most of these, which will save time when you discover a winning coin.

Some of those exchanges are:

I will update this post as I find other trustable and feature-rich cryptocurrency exchanges. For now, you can consider joining our Telegram channel to stay updated with all the latest info.

I hope these insights help you in choosing the best cryptocurrency exchange for you to use.

But one word of caution:

Don’t use these exchanges as a wallet to HODL your cryptos.

If you are storing cryptocurrencies on these exchanges for a few hours or even a few days for the sake of trading, then it’s probably OK. Otherwise, this is a bad practice.

Large-scale hacks like Mt. Gox can happen at any time. I would strongly recommend you to use the Ledger Nano S or a wallet like Exodus, where you can store a lot of different cryptos and control your private keys.

So now it’s your turn to tell me: Which one of these exchanges do you like the best? Also, what’s another great exchange that I haven’t listed here? Let me hear your thoughts in the comments below!

Here are a few hand-picked articles you should read next:

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Wendy McElroy: Avoiding Fraud by Going Crypto-Anarchist

The Satoshi Revolution: A Revolution of Rising Expectations
Section 5: Saving the World Through Anarchism
Chapter 11, Part 8
Avoiding Fraud By Going Crypto-Anarchist

A transfer on the blockchain is a simplistic peer-to-peer contract, which memorializes the terms for those involved and is seen to be valid by the surrounding community through transparency. It is a voluntary exchange. The blockchain is also an instrument of enforcement that embodies the terms of execution, such as irreversibility, to which both parties have agreed; their agreement is expressed through the willingness to use the blockchain. Thus the blockchain expresses both requirements of libertarian law; it facilitates voluntary interaction and it acts as an instrument of enforcement.

–Wendy McElroy, “Don’t Smash the State, Bypass the State”

The late Samuel E. Konkin III (SEK3), the father of agorism and an old drinking buddy of mine, used to answer his telephone with the salutation “Smash the State.” And, yet, his lifestyle did not include direct confrontations with authority. Whenever possible, SEK3 avoided or replaced the state in his daily life, because he knew that the most effective way to smash the state was to render it irrelevant. His lasting legacy to anarchist theory: Agorism is a peaceful revolution that is achieved by counter-economics, which SEK3 defined as “the study or practice of all peaceful human action which is forbidden by the State.” Counter-economics is a black market version of Ludwig von Mises’s praxeology—the study of human action that flaunts the state.

SEK3 would have reveled in the audacity of cryptocurrency, which both avoids and replaces state fiat because being a better currency is the surest way to destroy fiat. He would have declared crypto to be the “counter-economic currency”–the currency of agorism. But more than this. In a flash, SEK3 would have recognized crypto’s implications for justice, because it also avoids and replaces state law as the default position for contracts. The default position becomes the free market or agorism. I can see SEK3 take a swig of black beer and a drag on his constantly present pipe, before announcing that anarchy had arrived.

The message of anarchism never should have been “smash the state” or “convince everyone to become an anarchist.” Those are impossible ends. The message should be “free yourself” by decentralizing the power expressed by every decision into your own hands. To the extent you can act as though the state does not exist, it does not.

The Basis of a Free Society

The contract is the basis of anarchist law because it is tangible evidence of the consent of individuals, upon which a free society rests. That’s why it is essential to decentralize contracts under the direct control of participants. The blockchain is a self-executing transfer, with immutable and transparent terms that are dictated by the users rather than by the jurisdiction of a state; it can become a self-executing agreement through the addition of a smart contract. (Note: smart contracts are still a developing technology, but proof of principle is definitely there.) The blockchain is its own defense against fraud and theft, largely because it bypasses trusted third parties, who are the overwhelming causes of corruption.

A Brookings Institute article asks, “Can Cryptocurrencies and Blockchain help Fight Corruption?” Pointing to accountability and transparency, it presents a practical example of how the blockchain prevents fraud. “If a government decides to construct a road, it can now track how each dollar is being spent, identify all the users of the funds, and ensure that only those authorized to spend money do so on originally intended expenses within the permitted time. Fraud and corruption investigations that now take on average 15 months could be performed at the touch of a button and at a fraction of the cost.”

The blockchain is part of a growing push to minimize the need for lawyers and courtrooms. An article in Futurism, entitled “An AI Law Firm Wants to Automate the Entire Legal World,” explains another aspect of the trend—an automated service called LawGeex. “On LawGeex, users upload a contract and, within a short period of time (an hour on average), they receive a report that states which clauses don’t meet common legal standards. The report also details any vital clauses that could be missing, and where existing clauses might require revision. All of this is calculated by algorithms.” For a modest fee, algorithms can detect clauses that enable fraud or provide inadequate protection. It can vet smart contracts before they are coded.

The Lingering Reality of Fraud

Fraud is like violence. Both will always be present because some people will always choose them as options. As with violence, the goal in countering fraud is not to eliminate it, because that is Utopian. The goal is to drastically reduce it and keep it away from your life.

What is fraud? It is not merely “dishonesty”–a word that is sometimes used as a synonym. Nor is it a breach of contract, which can occur between well-meaning people who then usually come to a settlement. In an anarchist framework, aggression is defined as the usurpation of property—whether it is a person’s body or goods—without the owner’s consent. In crypto, the aggression is committed against goods or wealth. If it is taken through violence, such as in a mugging or a burglary, then it is straightforward theft. If it is taken through deception or stealth, then it is the type of theft called fraud. In fraud facilitated by a contract, there may be a bogus exchange of value; a person is assured that an expensive watch is a Rolex, for example, when it is a cheap knock-off. Or the exchange may happen on falsely-stated terms; the genuine Rolex is stolen property to which the seller has no title. The seller lies; the buyer believes; the contract of sale—explicit or implicit–is invalid because the values or terms were not agreed upon by both parties.

Before discussing fraud in crypto, it is important to note that the phenomenon may not be as common as many assume. The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission released a report on the level and types of scams that happened in 2017. Crypto-related fraud constituted 0.6% of the total. Each instance seems to draw media attention, however, because powerful forces use the accusation of fraud to call for regulation. Or, as a headline at Panda Security recently stated, “Cryptocurrency fraud is the exception, not the rule.”

I also know that for every scam, there are countless examples of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology being used responsibly to create opportunities, grow economies, and do good in the world. We need to remember that cryptocurrency fraud is the exception, not the rule.

The attention to fraud is warranted, but the conclusion of a need for state involvement is not. Inviting in the state—the greatest trusted third party scam in existence—is dangerous folly. Instead, people need to focus on the correcting the unsafe user practices that are revealed by every scam. They should stop opening their wallets and crypto to thieves, statist or private.

Consider the 2017 “mybtgwallet.com” scam. The website claimed to be an online web wallet for Bitcoin Gold, which was considered to be legitimate. Mybtgwallet.com offered users free Bitcoin Gold wallets through which they could check their balances, and use the website for one day for free transactions. The scam link was lent credibility by appearing briefly on the official Bitcoin Gold site—an act of incredible carelessness on the site’s part, to say the least. To take mybtgwallet.com up on its offer, users had to submit their private keys or recovery seeds. Of course, after they did so, the crypto in their wallets was forwarded to other addresses.

No one should have fallen for this scam but even some crypto veterans did. Coindesk reported that “more than $3.3 million has been stolen as part of an elaborate scam that took advantage of bitcoin users seeking to claim their share of the newly created cryptocurrency bitcoin gold. At least $30,000 in ethereum,$72,000 in litecoin, $107,000 in bitcoin gold and more than $3 million in bitcoin were confiscated.”

What are the lessons of the mybtgwallet.com debacle?

Always assume a strange site might be trying to steal crypto. Extend trust only after due diligence.
Due diligence or not, never trust anyone with private keys or recovery seeds. This is equivalent to disclosing the combination of a safe or handing over title to your wealth. The keys and recovery seeds are the proof and control of ownership.
Immediately distrust anyone who asks for keys or recovery seeds.
Never enter your keys or seeds anywhere that is vulnerable to being copied or stored.
Always keep a paper version of both in a secure place.
In essence, maintain privacy. Thieves require personal data in order to loot.

If the preceding lessons are repetitive, it is because they bear repetition. Remember: when crypto leaves your wallet, it is gone forever. That should at least be the assumption. The transaction cannot be reversed, and there is no insurance company to make you whole (although the crypto community should sell this service). As it is, victims rarely receive back even cents on the dollar, as the Mt. Gox victims did after years and years of strenuous effort.

The Biggest Message of mybtgwallet.com

Avoid trusted third parties, however convenient or alluring they may seem. They are the major point of vulnerability for fraud and other theft.

Third parties may be necessary for some purposes, such as converting between cryptos. If so, use exchanges or other services that require as little trust as possible. Many decentralized exchanges do not require keys or personal information beyond the absolute minimum of an email address and user name; prefer them over centralized exchanges that strip away all privacy. In your account, keep the least amount of crypto possible for as short a period as necessary to accomplish your goal.

The trusted third party to avoid the most is the state. Unfortunately, when massive fraud occurs, even people who should assume some responsibility for the theft call, instead, for government regulation. There is an irony here. One reason fraud happens is because of the statist mindset with which people approach investing and all things monetary. They are accustomed to guarantees of safety from the state, and many believe the guarantees are real. Fiat money is backed by the state and, by law, it must be accepted as payment. Bank deposits are insured; in the U.S., the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation insures up to $250,000. Law enforcement operates fraud divisions that record reports of theft. In short, the state makes people feel safer than they should, and they neglect the due diligence that is the responsibility of every individual. Protecting your property is part of self-defense. The world’s most fraudulent trusted third party—the state–is not a remedy. It is not a reason to relinquish self-defense. It is a reason to learn how to be comfortable and skilled in exercising it.

[To be continued next week.]

Reprints of this article should credit bitcoin.com and include a link back to the original links to all previous chapters

Wendy McElroy has agreed to ”live-publish” her new book The Satoshi Revolution exclusively with Bitcoin.com. Every Saturday you’ll find another installment in a series of posts planned to conclude after about 18 months. Altogether they’ll make up her new book ”The Satoshi Revolution”. Read it here first.

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