Best Cryptocurrency Exchange

Boxmining avatar Boxmining
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Description

Note: accidentally missed out Bittrex and Kraken!! Had their tabs open on my browser too. Will talk about them soon 0:30 Golden Rule of Crypto 2:18 Coinbase 3:27 Poloniex 5:13 Bitfinex 5:55 HitBtc 6:...

AI Analysis

When diving into cryptocurrency, it’s crucial to understand that there’s no single "best" or even truly "safe" exchange. All exchanges inherently carry risks, as they hold your funds, making them vulnerable to hacks or even potential misconduct, where your money could simply disappear. Despite this fundamental insecurity, exchanges are a necessary evil for trading crypto, and many people, including me, have to use them.

Here's a breakdown of some commonly used exchanges, along with their pros, cons, and personal experiences:

* The Golden Rule of Crypto (or the lack thereof):
* There's no truly safe cryptocurrency exchange because they hold your money, and they can claim to be hacked (or actually be hacked).
* Historically, major exchanges like Mt. Gox and Bitfinex have been hacked, resulting in significant losses for users.
* Because of the decentralized nature of cryptocurrency, law enforcement has very limited recourse if an exchange takes your coins.
* I personally lost a substantial amount of money when Mt. Gox, once the biggest exchange, blew up, which is why I fundamentally distrust exchanges.
* Despite the risks, using an exchange is currently unavoidable for trading crypto, which is a frustrating reality.

* Coinbase:
* Convenience: It’s one of the most convenient exchanges for depositing and withdrawing money if you're in the United States or other supported countries.
* User Interface: The website is beautiful, user-friendly, and responsive, with nice charts for Ethereum, Litecoin, and Bitcoin.
* Beginner-Friendly: It’s an excellent starting point for beginners entering the crypto space.
* Security Advice: It's crucial to use Google Authenticator for securing your account rather than SMS authentication, as SMS can be vulnerable to phone number theft and hacking. Some users have unfortunately lost money on Coinbase due to inadequate security measures.

* Poloniex:
* Coin Variety & Volume: Poloniex boasts a crazy number of coins and maintains extremely high trading volumes, including for Ethereum and Bitcoin, making it a very active marketplace.
* USDT (Tethers): You can't directly use US dollars; instead, you use US Dollar Tethers (USDT). It's important to understand that while tethers are designed to be 1:1 with USD, there's absolutely no guarantee they are backed by actual US dollars. Recently, tethers have even traded above $1 due to demand for trading on Poloniex.
* Customer Service Issues: Poloniex is infamous for its very poor customer service. I've personally been trying to verify my account for two months without success. Their support system is overwhelmed due to massive user growth.
* Performance Problems: The platform frequently lags and experiences issues during periods of high market volatility or adjustments.
* Despite the Flaws: Due to its vast selection of coins, high volume, and competitive pricing, Poloniex remains one of my most frequently used exchanges.

* Bitfinex:
* Infamous History: Bitfinex has a notorious history, having been hacked in the past.
* Recovery: Impressively, they managed to recover from the hack and even cover their losses, allowing them to stay afloat despite security flaws.
* Exclusive Offerings: People use Bitfinex for its wide range of coins, and more notably, its exclusive coin listings. For instance, IOTA was largely launched and traded exclusively on Bitfinex initially, attracting significant trading volume.

* HitBTC:
* Unique Strategy: This exchange was introduced to me through Bancor, as it allowed trading of Bancor IOUs (pre-launch tokens) before the actual Bancor token was tradable on other platforms. This business strategy of offering exclusive or early access to assets helps them gain users.
* Stability: It appears to be a quite stable exchange, even though I haven't used it extensively. Its unique approach to token launches is its main draw.

* Liqui.io:
* Clean Interface: Liqui.io features a very clean and functional user interface.
* Specific Coin Availability: I started using it because it offered Waves and BAT tokens, which weren't available on Poloniex at the time.
* Functionality: It's a working and efficient exchange with a good selection of coins.
* Minor UI Flaws: There are some minor user interface quirks, like not immediately realizing you could scroll down to find more coins, but these are small issues.
* Use Case: I continue to use it specifically for trading tokens like BAT and Waves that aren't readily available on my primary exchanges.

In summary, while I use these five exchanges regularly, it's clear each has its own set of advantages and disadvantages, primarily driven by their coin offerings, trading volumes, and historical performance. The overarching message remains that caution is paramount when dealing with any cryptocurrency exchange due to the inherent risks involved.

Transcript

In this video, I'm going to talk about the best cryptocurrency exchange. Actually, there is no best cryptocurrency exchange. In fact, there's not even a safe cryptocurrency exchange. More on that in a second. But first of all, I'm going to tell you what I'm going to cover in this video, which is the exchanges that I use. And I'm going to give you some of my personal opinions on each of these. So I'm going to talk about Coinbase, Poloniex, Bitfinex, Kraken, HitBTC, and Liqui.io. And I've been us...