Cryptocurrency exchange or digital currency exchange is a business in which the exchange of cryptocurrency involves other assets such as money or any other digital currency. It is a web service that collects and transfers electronic transactions in electronic form.
Any transaction or activity on the digital currency exchange can be done by debit and credit card, postal money order or any other type of money transfer. This article discusses the various cryptocurrency exchanges that facilitate cryptocurrency trading for beginners and what they offer in terms of availability, ease of use, security, deposit / withdrawal methods and fees. We hope this guide to cryptocurrency trading will help you get started with cryptocurrency exchange.
Coinbase / GDAX
Coinbase is one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges based in San Francisco, California. It is available in 32 countries and currently serves more than 10 million customers Launched in 2012, it has an easy-to-use interface that makes exchanging digital currency an easy task for a non-technical person. It is available for both iOS and Android. Unfortunately, Coinbase does not offer cryptocurrency mining for beginners and is only an exchange.
So far, it offers four coins, Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Etherium and Lightcoin. It exchanges digital currencies with the US dollar, the euro and the Great British pound. With minimal transfer fees, Coinbase has never encountered a security breach that makes it a perfect platform for digital currency exchange. In addition, Coinbase offers a completely advanced exchange called GDAX. It offers more advanced features and different and better trading fees from Coinbase.
Bitstamp
Bitstamp is another platform that provides digital currency exchange. It is relatively easy to use and offers more advanced features through TradeView. Bitstamp offers coins like Bitcoin, Lightcoin, Etherium, Bitcoin Cash and Ripple. It exchanges digital currencies with the US dollar and the euro. You can practice all the latest cryptocurrency trading techniques on this exchange.
It offers flat deposits through bank transfers and supports debit / credit cards. The only flaw in BitStamp is probably the slightly higher fee and in the 7 years of its operation it has been the victim of a security breach. Nevertheless, it is one of the most reliable exchanges. It is available for both iOS and Android.
Gemini
Gemini is a UK-based company launched in 2015 by Winklevoss twins. It is available in several countries, including the United States, Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore, and South Korea. One downside of this platform is that it is not particularly user friendly. Therefore, newcomers are not advised to use this platform.
It offers two coins and 1 flat currency Bitcoin Cash, Ihterium and USD. Gemini adheres to strict protocols when it comes to security, and as of 2018, it has not encountered a single security breach, making it one of the most secure and reliable digital currency platforms. However, it is important to have a digital currency investment strategy before you start trading.
Digital tax
Digital Tax is a modern crypto exchange aimed at becoming a game changer in this sector. They have implemented many recent strategies that make it easy for anyone to start trading.
It has a unique feature called Single Portfolio View which will enable traders to view all holding positions in a single portfolio. Using this unique feature will make it easier for traders to make informed decisions about cryptocurrency exchanges. It supports Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin and Dashcoin.
Kraken
Kraken is one of the oldest cryptocurrency exchange platforms. Launched in 2011, Kraken is the largest exchange in terms of volume and liquidity of EUR trading pairs. It serves worldwide, including the United States.
Kraken offers a variety of coins, including Bitcoin Cash, Etherium, Monero, Agur, Lightcoin and many more. It also supports bank transfers and deposits / withdrawals via cryptocurrency. Not having such a friendly user interface, it suffers from stability and performance issues but nonetheless, it is a good platform for cryptocurrency exchange.
Bitfinex
Bitfinex is the largest cryptocurrency exchange platform. Launched in 2012, its interface is easy to use and offers a number of advanced features such as margin trading, margin funding, and more. It is available for both iOS and Android platforms It offers BTC, BCH, ETH, LTC, IOTA, XMR and NEO.
Like previous cryptocurrency exchanges, it supports withdrawals using US dollars and euros through bank transfers. BitFinex suffered two security breaches, the first in May 2015, resulting in a loss of 30 330,000. And the second in August 2016 resulting in a loss of $ 72 million.
Etherdelta
Etherdelta is a decentralized exchange that directly supports peer-to-peer connectivity. This is very different from the cryptocurrency exchanging platforms discussed earlier. Here, the funds are placed on an Ethereum network under a smart contract from which you are solely responsible for depositing and withdrawing. Currently, EtherDelta only supports Ehtereum based tokens.
EtherDelter has a rather confusing interface that makes it difficult for users to perform cryptocurrency exchange activities. On one occasion, someone tried to buy 750 Ky bar at 0.007 ETH but ended up buying 0.007 KNC at 750 ETH.
Conclusion
Looking at the different cryptocurrency exchange platforms, we can safely say that the good features of Coinbase and Bitstamp differ in terms of security, user-friendly interface, multiple withdrawal / transfer methods and much more.
I wouldn’t call them perfect but I would recommend that this is the safest bet you can make. Each cryptocurrency exchange platform is unique in its own way and has both advantages and disadvantages. We just have to choose one according to our needs. We hope that this guide to basic cryptocurrency exchanges and trading will give you a glimpse into the journey of cryptocurrency trading.