Where to Trade Bitcoin and Alts

Where to Trade Cryptocurrencies

Our top picks for places to trade cryptocurrencies include Coinbase and Binance. Find out what other exchanges we suggest for trading Bitcoin and altcoins like Ethereum and Ripple.

Please note we include referral links below, in some cases we both get something when you sign up using the link, in other cases we just get a bonus. Feel free to use the links or not. We picked the following wallets and exchanges because they are the best… it just so happens that many of the best crypto products and platforms have referral programs.  😉

What you need to get started trading cryptocurrency: To trade cryptocurrency you’ll need an exchange and a wallet. All the exchanges below double as online wallets aside from Changelly. However, you may want to consider other wallet solutions including an offline wallet for long-term storage like TREZOR (referral link) or a desktop wallet like Atomic Wallet.

Our Top Choices For Crypto Exchanges

Coinbase. The top exchange for cryptocurrency in the US. They serve many other countries as well. Coinbase has a limited selection of “alts” (Bitcoin alternatives; i.e. altcoins). However, Coinbase is a good starting point due to you being able to buy cryptocurrencies using a bank account. Sign up for Coinbase by clicking this Coinbase referral link and get $5 in Bitcoin free.

Binance. Binance is probably the most popular global altcoin exchange due to its wide selection and low fees. Binance is one of our top choices of exchanges, most people will use both Coinbase and Binance, typically using Coinbase for trading dollars to crypto and Binance for trading alts and for things like futures trading. Please use our Binance.com referral link to sign up (you’ll save 10% on fees if you do). TIP: If you can’t use Binance, try Binance.us.

Other Choices For Crypto Exchanges

KuCoin. KuCoin is a solid alternative to Binance for those who don’t want to or can’t deal with strict Know Your Customer Rules. KuCoin doesn’t have the volume Binance does, but on the plus side, it doesn’t require you to fill out a bunch of information to get started (as long as you don’t do big withdrawals). With that covered, KuCoin is like Binance, you can’t use dollars, but you can use a credit card. Please use our KuCoin.com referral link to sign up.

FTX is another good choice for those who don’t want to deal with strict KYC. While FTX is a global exchange only, FTX.us is a solid option for US citizens.

And many more. Kraken is a great Coinbase alternative and so are Gemini and Poloniex. Bittrex is a decent alternative to Coinbase AND Binance and Kucoin, although it does have low volume. Bitmex and Deribit are popular for skilled leverage traders who don’t live in the US. Bitfinex is a top exchange, and they are becoming more user-friendly. Also, for international customers, there is Huobi, Upbit, YoBit, OKEx, HitBTC, and more. Then there are also DEXs like Uniswap, Kyber, and Bancor. There are a spread of exchanges to try… but if you stick with the ones we link to on this page, you’ll greatly reduce your chances of something going wrong!

Exchanges to avoid. There are some exchanges that are accused of using wash trading to fake volume. This can make some shady exchanges look like top exchanges when sorted by volume. I can’t list every shady exchange here, but aside from a handful of exchanges, if I didn’t list it, and you didn’t take ample time to research it, you should proceed with caution.

Want to automate trading? There are a few choices for trading bots, but in my opinion, CryptoHopper is the most user-friendly. Even if you just use this to use the trailing stop feature, it can be worth it. Sign up for a free trial using our Cryptohopper.com referral link.

Please secure your accounts. It is vital to secure your accounts using a strong password and a two-factor authentication app. You can even kick things up by using offline hardware wallets, storing your pins, passwords, and seeds in offline or protected accounts, and using unique emails for all your products. Make sure to take some time to learn about security before going too heavy into cryptocurrency.

Please use our site as a resource. Our site is all about trying to help you understand the basics of cryptocurrency and cryptocurrency trading. Take some time to browse our site and learn before jumping headlong into crypto. You can always save this page and come back to it later. Thanks!

To find out what other options you have when it comes to crypto trading check out a List of Cryptocurrency Exchanges For Beginners (when you go here, and when you start trading, you’ll realize that the above list is full of some of the highest quality choices in the crypto space). TIP: There are many products and services we didn’t include on this page that are worth learning about, for example, Square, GBTC, Gemini, and Bittrex. Whatever choice you make, make sure to bookmark us for reference, and most of all enjoy trading, investing, developing, mining, or whatever you do in crypto!?