Where to Buy Cryptocurrency: The Best 4 Exchanges & Brokerages [2019]
When searching for where to buy cryptocurrency there is no doubt that year-on-year vastly more platforms and options are entering the market to satisfy ever increasing demand.
As more competition is created, cryptocurrency trading platforms have to understand their user-bases better, and build solutions that go above and beyond what is already available.
While there are many platforms that bring very little in the way of new innovations to the market, there are also a smaller group that are continuously building more and adding more ingenuity to their offerings.
These cutting-edge goliaths of the industry are the focus of our exploration into the 4 Best Exchanges and Brokerages that can be used to Buy and Trade Cryptocurrency.
We’ve broken down our analysis into 5 key areas: the range of assets available, technical performance, trade volume, security and the unique features available at each platform.
From over 200 different crypto trading platforms we’ve found 4 that offer more in the way of profitability and the reduction of risk than the rest of the pack.
PrimeXBT
Details:
PrimeXBT has been the fastest growing cryptocurrency brokerage of 2019, rapidly outpacing older and more rudimentary platforms, and now seeing some of the highest daily trade volumes in the market.
The platform provides a wide range of cryptocurrency trading pairs, and has moved to become a bridge between crypto-asset markets and traditional markets by adding more than 30 of the most in-demand traditional financial assets to their listings earlier this year.
PrimeXBT’s unique set of features for traders, extensive range of asset listings, reliable trading engine and world class security systems have given them the top spot in our list for 2019.
Range of Assets Available
Unlike many other crypto trading platforms, PrimeXBT not only lists a wide range of crypto-assets like BTC, LTC, ETH, EOS, and more, but also lists over 30 of the leading traditional financial assets. These include stock indices like the S&P500 and FTSE100, forex trading pairs such as EUR/USD, AUD/CND and EUR/CHF, and commodities including Gold, Silver and Brent and Crude Oil.
PrimeXBT provides one of the most diverse sets of trading pairs on the market, and has worked to provide cross-asset-class opportunities, with the ability to execute trades between crypto-assets and traditional assets seamlessly under one account.
Users can buy cryptocurrency using a credit card via PrimeXBT’s integration with Changelly, and have purchases instantly deposited into a cryptocurrency wallet.
Technical Performance
PrimeXBT runs on a powerful trading engine that executes trades near instantaneously, and vastly differs from a number of glitch-ridden crypto trading platforms like BitMex and Kraken.
The platform’s trading engine can execute over 12,000 transactions per second and allows for cross-margin trading with post-order risk checks after every order.
PrimeXBT’s interface is intuitive for new and experienced users, and offers an array of advantages including an extensive suite of drawing tools, over 50 technical indicators and a wide range of order types.
Trade Volume
Trade volume across the board has grown throughout the first half of 2019, however the growth in PrimeXBT’s trade volume has widely outpaced the market, fuelled by its universal appeal to a range of trader types, reliability and cutting-edge functionality.
As a concrete example of this, the platform’s average daily trade volume has doubled within the past 3 months, and now sits at almost $250 million per day across all assets.
Additionally, the platform sources liquidity from a wide range of vendors via the PrimeXBT aggregator, with multiple feeds ensuring strong liquidity across all trading pairs and markets.
Security
While hacks and exit scams are still relatively common in the cryptocurrency industry, and platforms like Binance have suffered major hacks to the tune of $40 million lost in client funds recently, PrimeXBT has advanced security and has never been breached by hackers.
The platform incorporates security features such as cold-wallet storage of user funds, two-factor authentication, mandatory Bitcoin wallet address whitelisting and hardware security modules with ratings of FIPS PUB 140–2 Level 3 or higher.
To provide enhanced compliance and security, PrimeXBT has also recently updated its policy on Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Combatting the Financing of Terrorism (CFT) procedures, and has gone beyond industry-standards for the protection of user privacy while allowing for safe and compliant trading for all users.
Additional/Unique Features
Possibly the main driving factor for the exponential growth in PrimeXBT’s userbase and trade volume is the unique features provided by the platform.
As an obvious example of this, PrimeXBT partnered with prominent crypto-asset exchange, Covesting, to build and integrate a module to allow traders to create their own native funds from within the PrimeXBT ecosystem, and then to allow other traders to invest into the funds of provably-profitable traders.
PrimeXBT has worked to release mobile apps for both iOS and Android, that allow for portable trading functionality, and showcases the clean UI and advanced, fully-customisable charting system that carries over from the desktop platform.
PrimeXBT also provides margin trading across all crypto and traditional assets, including industry-leading 100x leverage on all crypto-assets, and up to 500x leverage of traditional assets such as stock indices, forex pairs and commodities.
Binance
Details
Binance is one of the world’s leading crypto exchanges, and has built a reputation for having a wide range of trading pairs.
Since its inception in 2017, Binance has quickly grown and built up its services to now include a decentralized exchange (DEX).
After originally launching in China, Binance has relocated its operations to the blockchain-friendly European island of Malta.
Range of Assets Available
Binance lists over 45 cryptocurrencies, but has avoided incorporating traditional assets or the ability to make payments to the platform using fiat currencies.
Of the 45 crypto-assets listed, Binance has many different pair combinations and allows for deposits and withdrawals to be made in all of the listed cryptos.
Technical Performance
Binance has a user-friendly interface, and a reliable trading engine which is known for executing trades well and being largely glitch-free.
Binance’s charting system is widely considered as being easy-to-use, and Binance also has a well-made mobile app.
Trade Volume
Binance has high trading volumes, and is one of the largest exchanges in the world by trade volume.
Binance’s trade volume has grown throughout 2019, but stagnated in comparison to growth seen during their launch throughout 2017.
Security
Binance has recently dealt with a large-scale hack of over $40 million in user funds stolen.
While the platform repaid all traders in full, this isn’t a good indicator for the security of the platform overall.
Saying this, since the hack Binance has worked to beef up their security further, but they have been marked down on security in comparison to other platforms on this list who have never had any of their users’ funds stolen.
Additional/Unique Features
Binance’s main distinguishing feature is its use of a native token called “BNB” to incentivise traders to join the platform.
When traders hold a certain amount of BNB their trading fees are reduced from 0.1% to 0.075%. While this is a good incentive, Binance’s post-discount trading fees are still a full 50% higher than that of PrimeXBT’s normal flat rate of 0.05%.
Coinbase
Details
Coinbase launched their operations in 2012 where they provided services to be able to sell and buy Bitcoin via bank transfers.
The platform has grown to provide access to crypto markets for traders around the world, with a variety of payment options.
Although Coinbase lists a relatively small number of cryptocurrencies to purchase, the trade volume on the platform is high, and its security has been good enough that in 7 years of operation no successful hacks have taken place.
Range of Assets Available
Coinbase lists over 20 of the leading cryptocurrencies including BTC, LTC, EOS, ETH and BCH.
While they don’t provide listings of any traditional assets, users are able to make fiat payments via a wide range of methods.
Technical Performance
Coinbase is a brokerage, but also operates an exchange called Coinbase Pro.
While there can be some delay in purchasing via Coinbase, Coinbase Pro typically has good trade execution times, powered by a solid trading engine.
Coinbase Pro’s charting system is clean and easy-to-use, with a variety of additional features available to traders, including the ability to buy cryptocurrency with a credit card.
Trade Volume
Coinbase Pro’s average daily trading volume is respectable, at over $100 million per day.
Others higher up in the list have larger trading volumes, however, but liquidity is surely not a problem at Coinbase.
Security
To date, Coinbase and Coinbase Pro have never been successfully hacked, in spite of a relatively high profile and a range of different attempts being made in the past.
As recently as 2019 hackers tried to use a “sophisticated” and “highly-targeted” hack, but were ultimately shut out by Coinbase’s systems.
Additional/Unique Features
Coinbase’s fee structure is known for being expensive, and while PrimeXBT and Binance have fees of down to 0.05% and 0.075% respectively, Coinbase’s fees are at the lowest 0.06% and anywhere up to over 1%.
Coinbase and Coinbase Pro are relatively standard trading platforms, and don’t have any significantly notable unique features outside of what is readily available at other platforms.
eToro
Details
eToro is a social trading platform that specialises in traditional assets like stocks and forex, but who have recently included a limited number of crypto-assets in their listings when they partnered with Coindash in 2017.
eToro was launched in 2006 in Tel Aviv, Israel, and following multiple successful funding rounds has grown to be one of the largest financial trading platforms in the world.
Range of Assets Available
eToro lists 15 of the top cryptocurrencies, along with hundreds of stocks.
The platform allows for payments in fiat via online banking and wire transfers.
Technical Performance
Based on the age of the platform, eToro has built a strong trading engine that that reliably executes trades in short periods of time.
Although fairly standard, eToro’s charting system is easy on the eye and options are placed logically throughout the interface.
Trade Volume
eToro’s trade volume is not publicly listed online, and is impossible to accurately estimate.
Security
eToro has not been hacked to date, and has basic security features like two-factor authentication.
There have been sporadic reports that users have had their crypto-assets confiscated by the platform, however, this is hard to confirm or disprove.
Additional/Unique Features
eToro’s most differentiated feature is the ability to copy trade, which is a process similar to PrimeXBT’s provision of fund creation for traders.
Comparatively, copy trading is a more basic version of PrimeXBT’s fund creation model, and while users can only execute simple strategies with eToro’s copy trading, PrimeXBT’s fund management module is a much more robust variant of this.
In Summary: Where to Buy Cryptocurrency in 2019
We’ve searched through dozens of major cryptocurrency trading platforms to find where to buy cryptocurrency online, including where to buy Bitcoin as well as other crypto-assets.
From these we’ve identified the platforms that represent the future of global cryptocurrency trading, and a recent push towards providing more advanced features, enhanced security measures and more powerful trading infrastructures.
Throughout the earliest years of the cryptocurrency industry, basic platforms were quickly created which allow for simple buy/sell functionality, but lacked the tools for traders to develop the more complex trading strategies that were prevalent in traditional trading at the time.
But today there is a merging of both crypto-assets markets and traditional markets, in a wide variety of ways. Multi-asset platforms are commanding more attention and loyalty from traders, because of their ability to allow for succinct cross asset class trading.
While we’re seeing the evidence of the direction the market is now moving in by the huge increase in trade volume in platforms like PrimeXBT this year, this effect is compounded by many of the older platforms dragging their feet and resting on the lack of sophistication of past generations of cryptocurrency traders.
Today we are seeing a more informed, more competent, and more exploratory group of new traders, quickly digesting trading data and looking for opportunities on the edge of contemporary strategic thought.
Newer platforms that are bridging the gap between crypto and traditional markets are the perfect breeding ground for opportunities that have not yet been saturated.