Where did Bitcoin come from?
Bitcoin was ‘invented’ by a person or group of people using the name ‘Satoshi Nakamoto’. Does anyone know who this really is? Despite many articles and investigation to unmask the person(s), there is still no conclusive evidence of who they are. Does it matter? Not at all. Satoshi designed the entire Bitcoin system in an ‘open source’ manner - this means the code is available for everyone to inspect and see, so there are no hidden secrets, and no influence on it from the creator. Over time many others have also worked on this code so it’s already very different from the initial outline Satoshi proposed.
It’s
also worth mentioning that there is a common misconception that Satoshi
invented Bitcoin all by himself. Like many big breakthroughs in the
sciences, Satoshi’s invention was built on the shoulders of giants. For
the past few decades many top scientists, engineers and mathematicians
were involved in research around cryptography, systems and so on.
Satoshi managed to pull all of this work together into one coherent plan
and then helped to start implement it. If you read the Satoshi
whitepaper you’ll even notice that he references all the other work on
which he relied to complete his invention.
Bitcoin was invented by Satoshi, standing on the shoulders of giants.
What is Ethereum?
In many ways, Ethereum is similar to Bitcoin. It’s a public,
peer-to-peer network or blockchain with its own digital currency called
Ether. Ethereum was created by Vitalik Buterin in 2014 and the purpose
of Ethereum is to be a platform on which smart contracts can be built
and run.
Put very simply, Ethereum is intended to be a world computer.
Where
Bitcoin stores a list of balances and transactions on its blockchain,
the Ethereum blockchain is designed to store different types of data.
This data can be accessed and used by computer programs running on the
Ethereum blockchain. These programs are called decentralized apps, or
dapps.
Developers around the world can build and run decentralized
applications on the Ethereum blockchain. The purpose of these is to
improve the industries of finance, personal information storage,
governance and more by using the transparent nature of a blockchain.
Ethereum is intended to be a world computer.
Additional resources
Digital currency exchange
Digital currency exchanges (DCEs) or bitcoin exchanges are businesses that allow customers to trade digital currencies for other assets, such as conventional fiat money, or different digital currencies.[1] They can be market makers that typically take the bid/ask spreads as transaction commissions for their services or simply charge fees as a matching platform.[1]
DCEs may be brick-and-mortar businesses, exchanging traditional payment methods and digital currencies, or strictly online businesses, exchanging electronically transferred money and digital currencies.[2] Most digital currency exchanges operate outside of Western countries,[3] avoiding regulatory oversight and complicating prosecutions, but DCEs often handle Western fiat currencies, sometimes maintaining bank accounts in several countries to facilitate deposits in various national currencies.[4][5] They may accept credit card payments, wire transfers, postal money orders, cryptocurrency or other forms of payment in exchange for digital currencies. They can send cryptocurrency to your personal cryptocurrency wallet. Many can convert digital currency balances into anonymous prepaid cards which can be used to withdraw funds from ATMs worldwide.[4][5]
Some digital currencies are backed by real-world commodities such as gold.[6]
Creators of digital currencies are often independent of the DCEs that trade the currency.[5] In one type of system, digital currency providers, or DCPs, are businesses that keep and administer accounts for their customers, but generally do not issue digital currency to those customers directly.[2][7] Customers buy or sell digital currency from DCEs, who transfer the digital currency into or out of the customer's DCP account.[7] Some DCEs are subsidiaries of DCP, but many are legally independent businesses.[2] The denomination of funds kept in DCP accounts may be of a real or fictitious currency.[7]
DCEs may be brick-and-mortar businesses, exchanging traditional payment methods and digital currencies, or strictly online businesses, exchanging electronically transferred money and digital currencies.[2] Most digital currency exchanges operate outside of Western countries,[3] avoiding regulatory oversight and complicating prosecutions, but DCEs often handle Western fiat currencies, sometimes maintaining bank accounts in several countries to facilitate deposits in various national currencies.[4][5] They may accept credit card payments, wire transfers, postal money orders, cryptocurrency or other forms of payment in exchange for digital currencies. They can send cryptocurrency to your personal cryptocurrency wallet. Many can convert digital currency balances into anonymous prepaid cards which can be used to withdraw funds from ATMs worldwide.[4][5]
Some digital currencies are backed by real-world commodities such as gold.[6]
Creators of digital currencies are often independent of the DCEs that trade the currency.[5] In one type of system, digital currency providers, or DCPs, are businesses that keep and administer accounts for their customers, but generally do not issue digital currency to those customers directly.[2][7] Customers buy or sell digital currency from DCEs, who transfer the digital currency into or out of the customer's DCP account.[7] Some DCEs are subsidiaries of DCP, but many are legally independent businesses.[2] The denomination of funds kept in DCP accounts may be of a real or fictitious currency.[7]
Contents
Regulatory issues
In 2004 three Australian–based digital currency exchange businesses voluntarily shut down following an investigation by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). The ASIC viewed the services offered as legally requiring an Australian Financial Services License, which the companies lacked.[8]In 2006, US-based digital currency exchange business GoldAge Inc., a New York state business, was shut down by the US Secret Service after operating since 2002.[9] Business operators Arthur Budovsky and Vladimir Kats were indicted "on charges of operating an illegal digital currency exchange and money transmittal business" from their apartments, transmitting more than $30 million to digital currency accounts.[7] Customers provided limited identity documentation, and could transfer funds to anyone worldwide, with fees sometimes exceeding $100,000.[7] Budovsky and Kats were sentenced in 2007 to five years in prison "for engaging in the business of transmitting money without a license, a felony violation of state banking law", ultimately receiving sentences of five years probation.[10]
In April 2007, the US government ordered E-gold administration to lock/block approximately 58 E-Gold accounts owned and used by The Bullion Exchange, AnyGoldNow, IceGold, GitGold, The Denver Gold Exchange, GoldPouch Express, 1MDC (a Digital Gold Currency, based on e-gold) and others, forcing G&SR (owner of OmniPay) to liquidate the seized assets.[11] A few weeks later, E-Gold faced four indictments. Here is the DoJ release [12] and here is the rebuttal by Douglas Jackson, CEO.[13]
In July 2008, Webmoney changed its rules, affecting many exchanges. Since that time it became prohibited[by whom?] to exchange Webmoney to most popular e-currencies like E-gold, Liberty Reserve and others.[14]
Also in July 2008 E-gold's three directors accepted a bargain with the prosecutors and plead guilty to one count of "conspiracy to engage in money laundering" and one count of the "operation of an unlicensed money transmitting business".[15] E-gold ceased operations in 2009.
In 2013, Jean-Loup Richet, a research fellow at ESSEC ISIS, surveyed new money laundering techniques that cybercriminals were using in a report written for the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.[16] A common approach to cyber money laundering was to use a digital currency exchanger service which converted dollars into Liberty Reserve and could be sent and received anonymously. The receiver could convert the Liberty Reserve currency back into cash for a small fee. In May 2013, digital currency exchanger Liberty Reserve was shut down after the alleged founder, Arthur Budovsky Belanchuk, and four others were arrested in Costa Rica, Spain, and New York "under charges for conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy and operation of an unlicensed money transmitting business."[17] Budovsky, a former U.S. citizen and naturalized Costa Rican, was convicted in connection with the 2006 Gold Age raid.[10][18] A U.S. indictment said the case "is believed to be the largest international money laundering prosecution in history."[18] More than $40 million in assets were placed under restraint pending forfeiture, and more than 30 Liberty Reserve exchanger domain names were seized.[17][19] The company was estimated to have laundered $6 billion in criminal proceeds.[17]
List of some notable digital currency exchanges
| Title | Country | Fiat money | Bitcoin | Altcoins | Commodity | Trade Fee | Decentralized |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Btc.sx |  UK |
No | Yes | No | No | 0.5% | No |
| CEX.IO | UK |
Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 0% - 0.2% | No |
| BTCChina |  China |
Yes | Yes | Yes | No | 0% | No |
| bx.in.th |  Thailand |
Yes | Yes | Yes | No | 0.25% | No |
| Coincheck |  Japan |
Yes | Yes | Yes | No | -0.05% - 0.15% | No |
| Coinfloor | UK |
Yes | Yes | No | No | 0.08 - 0.55% | No |
| Coinbase |  USA |
Yes | Yes | Yes | No | 1% | No |
| Gatecoin |  Hong Kong |
Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 0.02 - 0.35% | No |
| GDAX | US |
Yes | Yes | Yes | No | 0.1% to 0.25%[20] | No |
| Gemini | US |
Yes | Yes | No | No | -0.15% (rebate) to 0.25%[21] | No |
| Kraken | United States |
Yes | Yes | Yes | No | 0.05 - 0.50% | No |
| LocalBitcoins |  Finland |
Yes | Yes | No | No | 1% | Yes |
| Luno |  South Africa |
Yes | Yes | No | No | 0% - 1% | No |
| ANX | Hong Kong |
Yes | Yes | Yes | No | 0.3%-0.6% | No |
Over the counter trading (OTC)
Over-the-counter or off-the-exchange trading of bitcoins is a more flexible and convenient way of trading bitcoins comparing to traditional exchanges.OTC trading has kept growing since 2014 in various financial markets as more institutions taking the trades off the exchange.[22] Today, many corporations or institutions employ individual traders or bitcoin-OTC trading desks to perform this task at moderate expenses.[23] Some representatives bitcoin-OTC trading desks could be Bitfinex.com, itBit, Coinfloor, Octagon Strategy Limited, LocalBitcoins, Bitstamp, BitX etc.
Quote
The quotes given by OTC trading desks are generally in line with the main bitcoin trading desks, such as coindesk, localbitcoins, bitstamp, btcxindia, zebpay.[24]Preserve Market Stability[22]
Experienced OTC traders would fill large orders with multiple smaller orders outstanding in the public order book thus to avoid predatory pricing behaviours[25] in the bitcoin markets.List of some notable bitcoin OTC desks
| Title | Country | Fiat money | Bitcoin | Altcoins | Trade fee | Settlement | Min. Limit (no. of btc) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bitfinex.com[26] | Hong Kong |
Yes | Yes | Yes | 0.1 - 0.2% | NA | NA |
| itBit[27] |  Singapore |
Yes | Yes | No | 0.1% per transaction | T+0 | 100 |
| Coinfloor[28] | UK |
Yes | Yes | No | 0.1 - 0.38% | T+0 | NA |
| Octagon Strategy[29] | Hong Kong |
Yes | Yes | Yes[30] | 0.1-0.5% | T+0 | NA |
| LocalBitcoins | Worldwide | Yes | Yes | No | 0.0001 - 0.0010 BTC per outgoing transfer[31] | NA | NA |
| Bitstamp | UK |
Yes | Yes | No | 0.1 - 0.35% | NA | NA |
| BitX[32] | Singapore | Yes | Yes | No | 0.1% | NA | 250 |
Bitcoin Exchanges
Places to buy bitcoin in exchange for other currencies.
Bitcoin Exchanges
Note: Exchanges provide highly varying degrees of safety, security, privacy, and control over your funds and information. Perform your own due diligence and choose a wallet where you will keep your bitcoin before selecting an exchange.
International
Europe
Argentina
SatoshiTango
Australia
Brazil
Cambodia
Bitcoin Cambodia
Canada
Chile
China
Costa Rica
Colombia
India
Indonesia
Israel
Italy
Japan
Malaysia
Mexico
Nepal
New Zealand
Nigeria
Peru
Poland
Singapore
South Africa
South Korea
Ukraine
United Arab Emirates
BitOasis
United Kingdom
United States
Venezuela
Cryptobuyer
Visit Buy Bitcoin Worldwide for
user reviews on some of the above exchanges.
Visit Coin ATM Radar to find local Bitcoin ATMs.
Skip links
Top sites to buy & sell BTC
The Best Bitcoin Exchanges
First thing to consider when looking for the top bitcoin exchange is how safe are the website and server. This boils down to asking: is it a trustworthy exchange providing transparent data of coins in cold storage (more on this later) and are customers happy? It’s also good to lookout for which currency pairs are available: are you looking to trade bitcoin for USD, Euros, or other fiat currencies. The location usually gives an idea of what’s on offer. However, the largest bitcoin sites usually have many options for buying bitcoin with government issued currency and altcoins.
The sheer complexity of researching where to trade bitcoin led me to make this blog. Although you should always do your own research before investing, I hope this helps. Below is the table of the best exchanges to buy bitcoin online. If you are new to cryptocurrency exchanges then lookout for the ‘beginner-friendy’ column.
Secure exchanges that are trustworthy and have good user ratings will rank higher than their peers. Extra points are given for sites to buy bitcoin with paypal, as many users request this feature. Ranking preference is also given for sites to buy bitcoin with credit card. Check out each option on the following best bitcoin exchange list. Be sure to bookmark this page for future reference.
Top 40+ Sites to Buy Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency:
| Rank | Site | Location +currency |
Beginner- friendly | Trust score | Buy with… |
User-vote | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
London, UK
USD
|
 |
A+ | 
CFD
+ bank transf.
+ card
+ paypal
+ webmoney
|
+ (334 Votes)
|
9.85 |
| 2 |  |
San Fran, USA
USD EUR GBP
|
|
A+ | 
+ bank transf.
|
+ (1449 Votes)
|
9.80 |
| 3 |  |
Limassol, Cyprus
USD EUR
|
|
A+ |
CFD
+ bank transf.
+ card
|
9.75 | |
| 4 | 
cryptocurrency exchange
|
Las Vegas, USA
190+ crypto pairs
|
 |
B+ |  CRYPTO- CURRENCY |
9.70 | |
| 5 |  |
local
all currencies
|
|
A | 
+ paypal
+ bank transf.
|
9.55 | |
| 6 | 
|
London, UK
USD EUR GBP RUB
| |
A |
+ bank transf.
+ Ethereum
|
9.50 | |
| 7 |  |
Luxembourg
USD EUR
|
|
B+ |
+ bank transf.
|
9.30 | |
| 8 | 
Ethereum & ICO token exchange
|
p2p [decentralized]
325+ tokens (ERC20)
|
|
n/a | 
Ethereum-tokens |
9.15 | |
| 9 |  |
Hong-Kong
USD
|
|
B+ | 
+ Ethereum
+ Dash Monero
+ Zcash
|
9.10 | |
| 10 |  |
Delaware, USA | |
C+ | 
+ debit card
+ onevanilla
+ amazon gift
| 9.10 | |
| 11 |  |
San Fran, USA
USD EUR CAD GBP JPY
|
|
B+ |
+ altcoins
|
9.05 | |
| 12 | 
cryptocurrency exchange
|
Moscow, Russia
345+ crypto pairs
|
|
C+ | CRYPTO- CURRENCY |
9.00 | |
| 13 | 
cryptocurrency exchange
|
New Zealand
250+ crypto pairs
|
|
B+ | CRYPTO- CURRENCY |
9.00 | |
| 14 | 
|
San Fran, USA
USD GBP EUR
|
|
B+ |
+ LTC & ETH
|
8.70 | |
| 15 | 
cryptocurrency exchange
|
Prague, Czech Rep.
35+ crypto pairs
|
|
C+ | CRYPTO- CURRENCY
+ credit card
|
8.65 | |
| 16 | 
cryptocurrency exchange
|
Shanghai, China
30+ crypto pairs
|
|
C+ | CRYPTO- CURRENCY |
8.60 | |
| 17 | 
|
Luxembourg
EUR
| |
B+ |
|
8.50 | |
| 18 | 
cryptocurrency exchange
|
Copenhagen, Denmark
25+ crypto pairs
|
|
C+ | CRYPTO- CURRENCY |
8.30 | |
| 19 |  |
Germany | |
B | |
8.10 | |
| 20 | 
cryptocurrency exchange
|
Seoul, South Korea
8+ crypto pairs
|
|
C+ |
+ bank transf.
|
8.05 | |
| 21 |  |
[world ATM map]
all currencies
|
|
n/a |
|
8.05 | |
| 22 | 
cryptocurrency exchange
|
Delaware, USA
75+ crypto pairs
|
|
C+ | CRYPTO- CURRENCY |
7.90 | |
| 23 | 
cryptocurrency exchange
|
Switzerland
40+ crypto pairs
|
|
A | CRYPTO- CURRENCY |
7.90 | |
| 24 |  |
Republic of Seychelles
margin trading
|
|
C+ |
Leverage
|
7.75 | |
| 25 |  |
Mexico
MXN
|
|
B |
+ cash
+ pademobile.
|
7.70 | |
| 26 |  |
New York, USA | |
B+ | |
7.75 | |
| 27 |  |
South Africa / Nigeria
ZAR IDR MYR NGN SGD
|
|
B | |
7.45 | |
| 28 |  |
Katowice, Poland
PLN USD EUR
|
|
C | |
7.20 | |
| 29 |  |
Israel
EUR USD
|
|
C+ |
+ Ethereum
|
7.05 | |
| 30 |  |
Tokyo, Japan
JPY
|
|
B+ |
+ bank transf.
|
6.85 | |
| 31 | 
bitcoin & cryptocurrency exchange
|
p2p [decentralized]
59+ crypto pairs
|
|
n/a | CRYPTO- CURRENCY
+ bank transf.
|
6.85 | |
| 32 |  |
Sydney, Australia
AUD
|
|
B | |
6.80 | |
| 33 |  |
Tokyo, Japan
JPY
|
|
B+ |
+ bank transf.
+ 9 altcoins
|
6.75 | |
| 34 | 
cryptocurrency exchange
|
Thailand | |
C+ | |
6.40 | |
| 35 |  |
Indonesia | |
C+ | |
6.25 | |
| 36 |  |
Ahmedabad, India
INR
|
|
B | |
6.05 | |
| 37 | 
No ID verification
|
Westminster, UK
USD
|
|
C+ |
+ Ethereum
|
6.00 |
Have I missed something? Let me know (see footer).
How to buy bitcoin using this list of exchanges?
Hopefully the list of bitcoin exchanges above will be of good use for how to trade bitcoins. Each outstanding site should have detailed instructions. From here, one can easily figure out how to buy bitcoin with credit card, paypal, cash, bank transfers. Once you have got some coins then it is a good idea to store them offline (not on an exchange). For “cold” vs “hot” storage options – check out the list of available wallets. When wanting buy or sell it is safer just to transfer in and out of your ‘cold’ wallet to the ‘hot’ online exchange. Remember that so long as an offline wallet’s keys have not been compromised, then those coins cannot be taken.What is the best site to buy bitcoin in the above list?
It’s a tough question in my opinion. Each will have an upside compared to others. Check a few out and look up on forums to see what users are saying about the service provided, and which they think are the best sites to buy bitcoin easily. Localbitcoins.com is a really cool p2p bitcoin exchange for beginners wanting to buy for their first time. The service is all over the world, meaning you can use euros, pounds, yen, australian dollars, swiss francs, canadian dollars, krona, rubles, lira, rupees and so on. If you pay by physical cash then you get to meet the person in real life. Alternatively you can do a fast bank transfer and the site will hold your coins in escrow for you once it goes through. Obviously there are more simple ways to start off. Some like to buy with paypal, but not many leading bitcoin exchanges accept this because of chargebacks.Which are the largest exchanges?
Generally the biggest bitcoin exchanges will be toward the top of the above list. For example Bitfinex, GDAX, Kraken, Coinbase (also the best usd bitcoin exchange) all represent large volume proportions. Daily volume varies, and therefore the world’s largest exchange vary each day. Go to bitcoinity for a good list of all the top bitcoin exchange site and their proportional volumes. Some find this handy for arbitrage between markets.What about the best cryptocurrency exchange?
Sadly, with the demise of Cryptsy there is a need for a new major first-rate cryptocurrency exchange (aka altcoins). Having many medium-sized cryptocurrency exchange sites is a better situation than having one large amazing option. Bittrex has now replaced Poloniex as the largest most amazing option. Its platform is functional enough to have attracted tens of millions of new customer every month. Things feel smooth when using Bittrex. All big and small trading pairs are offered and it is now possible to do cryptocurrency margin trading on major altcoins. This is a cool feature, but use it with caution as leveraged trading has a certain risk factor. Keep in mind that some of the best bitcoin exchange sites also do altcoins. Yobit, Poloniex, and Changelly, are great options worth checking out. Some even offer short selling on major coins. You may also like to check the market capitalizations and compare them to others listed there.Where to find the most secure bitcoin exchange?
This is an important question to ask. Yes, putting the words trustworthy bitcoin exchange in the same sentence seems like an oxymoron, especially when remembering the shiny days of MtGox (aka Empty-Gox). While the bitcoin protocol has never been hacked, many peripheral businesses have. Perhaps the best question to ask would be: which are the least secure bitcoin exchanges. Generally, those listed here are optimum and of good standing, but please proceed with caution. Remember never to leave more btc online than you can afford to loose.
Please come back to my blog and rate
which ever finest site(s) you chose to buy BTC online. This helps future
visitors immensely.
For in-depth discussion: listen to Andreas Antonopoulos on the LetsTalkBitcoin podcast, and check out r/btc.
The best bitcoin exchanges in 2017:
Coinbase.com
Coinbase combine an attractive interface, a great site to get bitcoins with a debit card, and multiple online wallets for your digital currency. Over 4,800,000 users are signed up, including 45,000 merchants, and 9000 developer apps. Works well for European, American, & Canadian customers. I’ve also written a comprehensive Coinbase review for more detail.
Pros
- Really easy to use
- Lots of long-time customers
- Online wallet available
Cons
- Slightly more work needed when verifying account
Localbitcoins.com
Localbitcoins is quite a popular for p2p (person to person) transactions all over the world. Simply put, you interact directly with the guy selling to you. Out of all the bitcoin sites listed here, this is one of the first and most reputed. Escrow and dispute resolution is provided by the site.
Pros
- Great way to meet people
- PayPal also available
- No verification needed
- Popular in most countries
Cons
- May take longer to conclude transaction
- Risks associated with anonymous transactions
- Some bank accounts have been suspended after receiving money
Cex.io
CEX is one of those international bitcoin exchanges accepting euros, British pounds, US dollars, Russian Rubles, Ethereum, Zcash, and Dash. Needless to say, CEX is very popular within those currency regions. There is a no-nonsense landing page, giving you the option to buy or sell 100, 200, 500, or 1000 USD worth of Bitcoin. I like the transparency given to users about how much they will actually pay – even before they sign up. Good security practices, a modern and simple user interface, and both bank transfer & credit card purchases are available. CEX is indeed a good beginner-optimized alternative to Coinbase. Read the comprehensive Cex review for more details including fees, verification, & security.
Pros
- Bank transfer and credit card deposits
- Very easy to use & great for beginners
- Users know how much they will pay before even signing up
- Buying and selling Ethereum is available
Cons
- Recently Litecoin was unlisted
Kraken.com
Kraken is a reputed bitcoin broker, with many markets served. Europeans love it just as much as Americans because they work well through SEPA, have an easy verification process, and are very knowledgeable when it come to cryptography and security. As of early 2017, this platform has been re-positioning themselves as a crypto exchange by adding multiple new altcoins. I’ve written an in-depth Kraken review with everything you need to know. Note that Kraken users are currently reporting somewhat serious and ongoing issues with the trading interface.
Pros
- Cryptographic communications
- Cheapest rates for trading, depositing and withdrawing
- works well for Europeans and North America
Cons
- Site not as visually intuitive
- Increasingly severe issues with Kraken trading engine, page timeouts, generating new deposit addresses
- Recently disabled stop-loss and other trading features without giving explanation to the community
Bisq.io
Bisq (aka “Bitsquare”) is not to be missed for the more technically advanced. A decentralized p2p platform that keeps you super safe. Over 60 crypocurrencies can be traded and you can even purcahse btc using a bank transfer, escrow, & trusted 3rd parties.
Pros
- Incredibly advanced (technologically)
- p2p AND decentralized
- Trusted escrow system for bank transfers
Cons
- Advanced level of IT comprehension needed
GDAX.com
GDAX is great for technical traders and offers good liquidity. Deposits are in USD and can be processed just as rapidly as withdrawls. Also happens to be the best ethereum exchange for serious players in this space.
Pros
- An integral part of the trusted Coinbase brand
- Optimized to be a serious trading site
Cons
- More ID processing steps than on Chinese trading platforms
Bitstamp.net
Bitstamp are big in Europe and, since 2011, have moved from Slovenia, and the United Kingdom in search of sound regulatory environments. Good volumes are available for larger trades. Well received by people using SEPA and credit cards. Both euro and US dollar deposits are accepted. I like Bitstamp because they really focus on being a pure bitcoin-only exchange (update: since 2017 Bitstamp have started adding popular cryptocoins). Please read my Bitstamp critique for analysis of factors such as security, fees, and the history.
Pros
- Card purchases available (visa mastercard and visa) in Europe and the USA.
- HQ Located in Luxembourg
- Good for large transactions yet easy to use for beginners
Cons
- Not available outside of EU and the USA
Etherdelta.com
Etherdelta is a recent addition to my list. You absolutely have to check this decentralized exchange (DeX) out. Created by developer Zack Coburn in 2016, Etherdelta has become the community’s favorite place to trade Ethereum ICO tokens without using custodial accounts or centralized services. More than 325 ERC20 tokens are listed. Daily trading volumes are respectable for the most popular ICO coins. Using this DeX requires the Metamask Chrome browser extension. The best part is that your money is always under your control. Such infallibility comes from the storing of all personal funds in smart contracts – over which only you have control of the private keys.
Pros
- Funds are extremely safe on this fully-decentralized exchange
- No ID, real name, or registration of any sort is required.
- High-volume ERC20 exchange for trading Ethereum ICO tokens
Cons
- Beginners will have to watch a tutorial to understand how to use Etherdelta
Paxful.com
Paxful get over 2 million monthly visits, with 50% originating from the USA. It’s a peer to peer Bitcoin marketplace connecting buyers with sellers similar to the one above. Over 150 payment methods can be used. Impressive.
Pros
- Hundreds of payment methods such as Paypal, Skrill and NetTeller, cash – or even iTunes & Amazon gift cards.
- p2p (person to person) – similar to Localbitcoins
Cons
- Higher fees than elsewhere
CoinATMradar.com
CoinATMradar provide a global map of bitcoin ATMs. This allows you to use cash to buy in person at a physical machine. This is one of the most underrated means of purchasing with no verification of ID, and allows users to stay anonymous with over 869 ATMs srpead over each continent.
Pros
- Find bitcoin locations near you
- No ID needed in some cases
- Explains how a bitcoin atm works
Cons
- Not always possible to find a machine nearby
- You’ll have to leave your house!
Coinmama.com
A popular site for buying bitcoin or ether from those far-out tricky countries that are not accepted by the larger exchanges. Note that users cannot sell back to the site – only buy. There’s much more detail in my inspection of Coinmama which I encourage you to read.
Pros
- Credit card purchases from nearly all countries
Cons
- Fees are higher than most sites
- Not possible to sell cryptocurrency back to the exchange
Poloniex.com
Poloniex was once the best cryptocurrency exchange. Why? Well recently customers have been migrating to Bittrex following reports of withdraw problems on Poloniex. Nevertheless Poloniex has been through extremely fast traffic growth since the demise of its rival Cryptsy in 2016, and especially since the recent altcoin bubble of early 2017. Traffic has grown from 7 million monthly visits in February 2017 to 30 million in May 2017. Poloniex has the nicest trading interface out there, both for mobile and desktop users this will work wonders. Please note that because Poloniex is a pure “crypto” exchange, it is not possible to deposit government (fiat) currency. You’ll need to first buy bitcoin elsewhere, and then deposit it to be able to tade. I’ve written a full analysis of Poloniex, further exploring the founders, users, security, fees, history, and alternatives.
Pros
- The 2nd most popular crypto exchange, after Bittrex
- Margin trading (up to 4x) available on largest altcoins
- One of the best trading interfaces for mobile and desktop browsers
- Has the large volumes for all major altcoins including Ethereum.
Cons
- Loosing significant customer-base due to reports of user withdraw issues
- Not possible to deposit fiat currency
Bitmex.com
Bitmex is the leading bitcoin margin trading site. Users can trade cryptocurrency derivatives with up to 100x leverage. Pairs include BTC/USD, Yen, Monero, Ripple, Dash, and Ethereum. Bitmex CEO Arthur Hayes has used his experience as an equity derivatives trader for Deutsche Bank to design, build, and maintain exactly the type of platform that users are looking for. Granted that this platform is for experienced and seasoned traders. Beginners should avoid trading coins here without knowing the implied volatility risks.
Pros
- Leading platform for bitcoin derivatives and margin trading
- Great and functional user experience throughout the site
- Up to 100x leverage
Cons
- With such high leverage it’s easy to overlook implied risk factor
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