In the ever-evolving world of cryptocurrencies, finding a reliable and secure platform to trade is of utmost importance. With numerous exchanges available, it can be challenging to determine which ones offer the best services and features. This article will guide you through the top 3 cryptocurrency exchanges renowned for their safety, security, and user-friendly interfaces. Whether you are an experienced trader or just starting in the crypto space, these exchanges provide the ideal platforms to buy, sell, and trade digital assets with confidence.
BINANCE
Binance Holdings Ltd., popularly known as Binance, is a global company that owns the largest cryptocurrency exchange in terms of daily trading volume of cryptocurrencies. Binance was founded in 2017 by Changpeng Zhao, a developer who had previously created high frequency trading software. Binance was initially based in China, then moved its headquarters out of China shortly before the Chinese government imposed regulations on cryptocurrency trading.
In 2021, Binance was put under investigation by both the United States Department of Justice and Internal Revenue Service on allegations of money laundering and tax offenses. The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority ordered Binance to stop all regulated activity in the United Kingdom in June 2021. That same year, Binance shared client data, including names and addresses, with the Russian government.
Introduction of their own crypto
(a) Binance coin (BNB)
The company has launched two cryptocurrencies which it developed itself: Binance Coin (BNB) is their first launch. BNB launched July 2017, which started as an Ethereum token and later moved to Binance Smart Chain (BSC), launched September 2020.BSC later merged with the older Binance Chain and was rebranded into BNB chain. BNB Chain operates using “Proof of Staked Authority”, a combination of proof of stake and proof of authority. It has 21 approved validators. As of 2023, Binance coin (BNB) crowns in top 5 cryptos because of their market valuation. Binance allows its users to pay fees on its exchange with BNB.
BNB Chain supports smart contracts and is compatible with the Ethereum virtual machine (EVM).
(b) Binance USD (BUSD)
BUSD, or Binance USD, is a US Dollar pegged stablecoin issued by Binance. According to Binance it is backed 1:1 by a reserve of US Dollars and was founded by them in partnership with Paxos, who is the issuer of the token. Paxos holds the reserves only partially in cash deposited in their US bank accounts with the other part held in U.S.Treasury securities. BUSD is natively issued on the Ethereum blockchain by Paxos. Binance creates Binance-Peg BUSD by locking the natively ERC-20 BUSD in a smart contract on the Ethereum Blockchain and issuing Binance-Peg BUSD equivalent to the amount held in reserve in the smart contract. Binance-Peg BUSD is native to BNB chain.
2. COINBASE
Founded in 2012 by Brian Armstrong and Fred Ehrsam ,Coinbase Global, Inc., branded Coinbase, is an American publicly traded company that operates a cryptocurrency exchange platform. Coinbase is a distributed company; all employees operate via remote work. It is the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the United States by trading volume. In May 2020, Coinbase announced it would shut its San Francisco, California, headquarters and change operations to remote-first, part of a wave of several major tech companies closing headquarters in San Francisco in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Products
Coinbase also offers products for both retail and institutional cryptocurrency investors, as well as other related cryptocurrency products.
The company’s products for retail traders include:
- Coinbase is an app used to buy, store, and trade different cryptocurrencies.
- Coinbase Pro, a professional asset trading platform for trading digital assets
- Coinbase Wallet is an app that allows customers to access decentralised crypto apps (dapps) using a dapp browser .
Products for institutional traders include Coinbase Prime (a trading platform for institutional customers) and Coinbase Custody (a custody solution).
Other cryptocurrency-related products include:
- USD Coin is a digital stablecoin that lets customers put up U.S. dollars in exchange for a cryptocurrency that has the same value but can be traded more quickly.
- Coinbase Card, a debit Visa card that allows customers to spend cryptocurrency
- Coinbase Earn is a cryptocurrency learning platform that rewards users with small amounts of altcoins for watching videos and taking quizzes to learn about them.
3. KRAKEN
Owned by Payward Inc. Kraken was established in 2011 and officially launched trading operations in 2013. The current CEO is David Ripley, who replaced co-founder Jesse Powell in 2022.4
The exchange provides the easy movement of money to and from the linked bank accounts of the participant, and the movement of cryptocurrencies to and from the participant’s digital wallets from Kraken-linked trading accounts.
In 2014, as cryptocurrencies became more popular, Kraken, along with Coinbase exchange, was selected to provide the market data of bitcoin trading to the Bloomberg terminal.3 Getting associated with the leading market data provider helped Kraken gain popularity among the trader community. Bloomberg clients were then able to access virtual currency prices, charts, news, and social media posts through appropriate Bloomberg services and terminals.
Comparison Table
To help you make an informed decision, here’s a comparison table highlighting key features of the top 3 cryptocurrency exchanges:
| Exchange | Supported Cryptocurrencies | Trading Options | Security Measures |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binance | Extensive selection | Spot, Futures, Margin | Two-factor authentication, Cold storage |
| Coinbase | Variety of cryptocurrencies | Spot, Staking | Two-factor authentication, Secure storage |
| Kraken | Wide range of assets | Spot, Margin, Futures | Two-factor authentication, Cold storage |
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