Top Crypto Spot Exchanges in 2024

Although crypto futures and options trading is picking up in popularity, spot trading is still the go-to for the majority of cryptocurrency investors and traders.

When choosing a crypto spot exchange, it’s important to consider various factors including liquidity, trading fees, selection of cryptocurrencies, trading interface and charting tools, order types and security. 

Of course, not all traders have the same priorities, so your choice of exchange will depend on whether the platform excels in the areas that are particularly important to you. For example, you might be prioritizing security and charting tools, but might not be too bothered about trading fees.

How to choose the best crypto spot exchange?

These are the most important areas to focus on when deciding which crypto spotcurrency exchange to use:

Liquidity: Ideally, you want to choose an exchange that has strong liquidity in the trading pairs you’re most interested in trading. This will ensure that your orders will be executed quickly with minimal slippage.

Trading fees: If you trade frequently, it’s important to choose an exchange that has low trading fees. However, fees become less of a consideration if you only trade occasionally and are primarily a long-term holders.

Selection of cryptocurrencies: If you’re interested in the ability to seize opportunities in the altcoin markets, it’s important that the exchange lists a large number of cryptocurrencies and actively lists new coins as they enter the market. This is a less important consideration if you’re only interested in major coins such as Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana.

Interface and charting tools: If you’re going to spend a lot of time trading, make sure that you choose an exchange with a trading interface that suits your needs. Also, pay attention to the exchange’s charting tools, which will help you implement your trading strategies. This consideration is less important if you trade via APIs or use other charting platforms.

Order types: Consider the range of order types offered by the exchange. All exchanges will offer limit and market orders, but it’s also useful to have access to more advanced order types such as stop limit, stop market, OCO, trailing stops and so forth.

Security: Make sure that the exchange has a good track record on security and offers features that help users secure their accounts (multiple 2FA options, email alerts, etc.).  

Fiat currency support: Some cryptocurrencies are focused on crypto-to-crypto trading, while others also provide good fiat-to-crypto options. If you want to fund your account with fiat currency or want to trade in fiat-denominated pairs, make sure that the exchange supports your local currency.

The best crypto spot exchanges in 2024

When selecting the best crypto spot exchanges, we made sure to provide a diverse selection of crypto trading platforms to provide good options for all types of crypto traders and investors.

Regardless of which exchange you choose, however, we believe that every platform on our shortlist will provide a great spot trading experience. This is because we only focused on top-tier crypto exchanges that have stood the test of time and established themselves as industry leaders. 

Now, let’s take a closer look at each platform that made our shortlist of the best crypto spot exchanges.

1. Binance

Although it has faced its fair share of controversy over the years, Binance continues to be the undisputed king of the cryptocurrency exchange industry. The global crypto exchange offers a truly impressive selection of cryptocurrencies for trading on its spot markets, and has the strongest liquidity on the biggest crypto trading pairs. 

Binance offers more than 500 cryptocurrencies for trading, ranging from the top crypto assets to low market cap altcoins. The platform makes it easy to customize your trading strategies, as you can access advanced order types such as trailing stops and OCO orders to fine-tune your entry and exit points.

On top of that, Binance also has a very competitive fee structure, with base spot trading fees starting at just 0.10% for both maker and taker orders. These fees can be lowered even further if you pay them with the BNB cryptocurrency or generate enough trading volume to advance up the exchange’s VIP system. 

When it comes to security, we have to mention that Binance did suffer a security breach in 2019, when hackers managed to steal $40 million worth of Bitcoin from the exchange’s wallets. However, all affected users were reimbursed with full, and Binance established a special fund called SAFU (Secure Asset Fund for Users), which is designed to protect Binance users in case of unexpected emergencies such as wallet hacks. 

Another thing to keep in mind with Binance is that it might not have the best fiat currency support, but that depends on the region you live in. If you’re primarily interested in crypto-to-crypto trading, however, it’s hard to find a better option than Binance.

Create Binance Account

2. KuCoin

KuCoin is a crypto exchange launched in 2017 that has managed to attract a significant userbase and establish itself as one of the key players in the crypto trading sector. Although KuCoin’s trading volume is considerably lower than some of its top competitors such as Binance, Bybit and OKX, it should still have more than enough liquidity for most traders. 

Besides a robust spot trading offering, KuCoin also offers all of the features one would expect from a top-tier crypto exchange, including futures and leveraged trading, savings products, automated trading, and more. Spot trading fees start at 0.10% for both maker and taker orders, which is a very competitive fee structure. The fees can be reduced even further if paid with KCS or if the user generates substantial trading volumes. 

The KuCoin crypto exchange is best known for its massive selection of altcoins. The exchange already lists nearly 900 cryptocurrencies, and regularly adds new crypto assets shortly after they become available on the market. 

This makes KuCoin especially appealing for traders who are interested in trading highly speculative coins, and aim to turn the volatility associated with smaller crypto coins to their advantage. However, if you’re mostly interested in just trading major cryptocurrencies, an exchange like Binance probably makes more sense.

Create KuCoin Account

3. Kraken

Kraken is a rock-solid cryptocurrency exchange that has been operating since 2013, which makes it one of the most established players in the crypto industry. 

The exchange lists roughly 120 cryptocurrencies, which is certainly a solid selection, but falls short compared to the likes of Binance and Kraken.

However, Kraken shines when it comes to fiat currency support, as it enables users to directly deposit fiat currency from their bank accounts and trade in fiat-denominated trading pairs. 

One of the best aspects of Kraken is that their wallets have never been compromised despite the exchange operating for more than a decade, which has earned it a reputation as one of the safest crypto exchanges. This is an especially impressive feat given that security breaches are unfortunately quite common in the cryptocurrency industry. We have also found mostly positive opinions online when it comes to the exchange’s customer support.

The fee structure on Kraken is reasonable, but noticeably higher than some competitors. Maker fees start at 0.25% and taker fees start at 0.40%, but you can access lower fees depending on the amount of trading volume you generate.

Kraken is not the best option if you highly value the ability to access markets for hundreds of altcoins. However, if you are looking for an exchange that provides very robust security and has good fiat currency support, it’s hard to go wrong with Kraken.

Create Kraken Accounts

4. Coinbase

Coinbase is a crypto exchange that has been operating since 2012 and has established itself as the go-to platform for buying and selling crypto in the United States and many other markets. In 2022, Coinbase became the first cryptocurrency exchange to list its shares in the U.S. public markets.

Overall, the value proposition of Coinbase is similar to that of Kraken, which we have already covered in this article. Coinbase has very strong fiat currency support and provides a user friendly trading experience. In addition, Coinbase has a spotless track record in terms of keeping its wallets safe despite operating for far longer than most other exchanges in the industry.

Another advantage of Coinbase is that it has a relatively rare combination of offering a large selection of cryptocurrencies (the platform lists around 250 different cryptos) and providing good fiat currency support and fiat-denominated pairs.

However, Coinbase has some of the highest fees in the crypto spot trading industry. Traders who are very active can potentially benefit from a Coinbase One subscription, which provides zero trading fees and multiple other benefits in exchange for a monthly payment. If you’d like to learn more, make sure to check out our article explaining how to reduce Coinbase fees.

If you’re looking to buy and sell cryptocurrencies in exchange for fiat, Coinbase is one of the better options since it accepts customers from many different jurisdictions and supports a large selection of fiat currencies. 

Create Coinbase Account

5. Bybit

Bybit is a popular cryptocurrency exchange and a strong choice for crypto day traders. Initially focused on futures trading, Bybit has since expanded its services to include nearly all the features one would expect from a top-tier cryptocurrency exchange.

Bybit’s base spot trading fees are on par with Binance, offering a 0.1% fee for both makers and takers. However, fiat-denominated trading pairs have slightly higher fees, with a 0.2% fee for takers and 0.15% for makers. Like many exchanges, Bybit offers lower fees to traders with higher trading volumes.

The exchange supports a vast range of cryptocurrencies, listing over 310 coins for trading. On the derivatives side, Bybit provides both stablecoin and crypto-settled futures, along with USDC-settled options.

A notable feature of Bybit is its copy trading service, which allows users to automatically replicate the trades of more experienced traders. Bybit also offers a demo trading mode, letting users test their day trading strategies without risk.

Create Bybit Account

The bottom line

Hopefully, our article has helped you choose the best crypto exchange for your spot trading needs. We provided options for all types of crypto traders, regardless if you want to trade crypto-to-crypto, fiat-to-crypto, major cryptocurrencies or altcoins. 

If you want to learn more about top-tier exchanges, especially for those who trade crypto frequently, make sure to take a look at our list of the best crypto exchanges for day trading.

Source: https://coincodex.com/article/46593/top-crypto-spot-exchanges/