The 3 Exchanges For Every Crypto Trader In 2020
In the crypto market, there is a new gold rush. That rush is from thousands of development teams working day and night to create the best crypto exchange. Hundreds of exchanges have been launched all around the world trying to reproduce Binance’s success, but only the most exceptional have been able to acquire any traction.
Don’t be distracted by the fake volumes that are being posted up on websites like CoinMarketCap. There are only a handful of the over 300 exchanges tracked by CoinMarketCap that are seeing any significant usage.
In this article, we will break down the first 3 cryptocurrency exchanges you should consider when getting into the market. These exchanges are ideal for US customers who want a safe, reliable, and enjoyable experience with cryptocurrency.
Each and every exchange we discuss has been thoroughly vetted by our team. We’ve not only personally traded on each of these exchanges for over 2 years, but we’ve executed over $750 million dollars in trades across these and other exchanges through their APIs, so we know a thing or two about cryptocurrency exchanges.
Let’s cut through the noise and get right into the action.
KuCoin - Altcoin Hunting
Since launching in 2017, KuCoin has become one of the best exchanges for finding the newest altcoins. Each listing is carefully vetted by the KuCoin team or decided by a community vote on the exchange. This ensures the most desirable assets are always considered for listing.
At this time, there are over 200 unique assets supported by KuCoin. This is combined with over 450 trading pairs, making KuCoin great for both day traders as well as those people looking to build a diverse portfolio of assets.
KuCoin also supports the lowest trading fees we will discuss throughout this article. With trading fees starting at 0.10% for both maker and taker, KuCoin opens up opportunities for interesting strategies that are more difficult to execute on exchanges that maintain higher trading fees.
One example of such a strategy is high-frequency portfolio rebalancing. Due to the frequency of trading, this is often ideal for exchanges that have low trading fees.
Security
Several users around the web have published stories of their accounts getting “hacked”, however, this does not appear to be the fault of the exchange.
The reason we put hacked in quotations is because these hacks can be the result of a user making poor decisions to give their credentials or other information to third parties who end up logging into their account. There was no hacking involved, but potentially social engineering to get the user to divulge sensitive information.
As far as we know, there have been no security breaches to the core KuCoin infrastructure or custody solutions.
Coinbase - Crypto On-Ramp
After getting a feel for the cryptocurrency market, many people become inspired to make a serious commitment to the space. At that time, we want to make sure we are using the most reliable fiat on-ramp.
Essentially, a fiat on-ramp is an exchange that allows you to trade your fiat currency (like US Dollars) for cryptocurrencies (like Bitcoin). Not every cryptocurrency exchange provides this feature, so many people use an exchange to specifically help with trading from fiat currencies to Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies.
The best exchange in the US for this process is Coinbase. They have the most pleasant signup process. Purchasing your first Bitcoin will feel like a breeze. Once you have completed the process to buy your first Bitcoin or altcoin, you can then transfer those funds to other exchanges for trading from crypto to crypto.
Security
Similar to KuCoin, there have been reports of individual Coinbase users getting “hacked”, however, there have been no reports of Coinbase suffering security breaches to their core custody infrastructure.
Essentially what this means is there are likely vulnerabilities that provide users with opportunities to make poor decisions, but ultimately Coinbase is secure.
For example, if users decide to share their login credentials to third parties that steal the user’s funds. While this is not Coinbase’s fault, ideally there would be measures in place from Coinbase to prevent users from giving account access to other individuals without first significant obstacles and assurances that the user is aware of the potential consequences.
Bittrex - Everyday Trading
After a long day of transferring fiat funds into the market with Coinbase and hunting for the hottest altcoins on KuCoin, you might want to just settle down with a simple portfolio management strategy to automate your funds.
This requires solid liquidity, robust trading, and a trusted exchange that has a long history of no security breaches. That exchange is Bittrex.
Bittrex is one of the most user-friendly exchanges in the market. Signing up for a Bittrex account, making a deposit, and executing your first trade is a pleasant experience. After using Bittrex for a few days, you are sure to fall in love with the experience.
Security
Similar to Coinbase and KuCoin, there have been murmurs of personal account “hacks”, but there have not been any reported security breaches to the core Bittrex infrastructure.
Since Bittrex was originally founded by Microsoft security professionals, we see this as a clear sign that Bittrex is serious about security.
Final Thoughts
If you are new to the cryptocurrency space, ensure you are trading on reliable exchanges. Cryptocurrencies are still the wild west and there are a lot of sketchy exchanges that would be more than happy to lose your money.
Perform deep market research before joining any crypto exchange and only use popular exchanges that have a clean history. Adventuring into exciting new exchange ventures can be exhilarating, but it can also lead to the loss of your funds.
Users should always be aware that hackers are constantly looking for new cryptocurrency users. They target people who are trying crypto for the first time to take advantage of their naive understanding of the market.
Never give anyone your account credentials. Even if you think an exchange employee is asking for the credentials, there is NEVER a time when you need to provide these details. When we say never, we mean never. There is not one time ever that you will need to provide someone with your password or 2FA information. Simply don’t give it out.
While these exchanges have a great track record, that does not mean they will never be hacked. Placing your funds on an exchange is always a risk. We cannot guarantee the safety of your funds when using any of these exchanges. However, we have personally used these exchanges for over 2 years now and they each have industry leading track records.
Additional Reading
Coinbase vs Kraken - Which Exchange Is The Best For Buying Bitcoin?
How to Make a Crypto Trading Bot Using Python
Shrimpy is a trading bot that simplifies crypto portfolio management. Linking your exchange account to Shrimpy unlocks convenient trading features that can help you automate your crypto strategy. Try it out today!
Shrimpy’s Universal Crypto Exchange APIs are the only unified APIs for crypto exchanges that are specifically designed for application developers. Collect real-time trade or order book data, manage user exchange accounts, execute trading strategies, and simplify the way you connect to each exchange.
Follow us on Twitter and Facebook for updates, and ask any questions to our amazing, active communities on Telegram & Discord.