Where Would You Exchange BTC to USD? Top 5 secured exchanges to do that.☣
Bitcoin has always been the top cryptocurrency and represents over 50% of the entire cryptocurrency market today. It is nearly always the first purchase new entrants to the cryptocurrency market make. It is not only the original and the biggest cryptocurrency, but it is also used as a gateway to other lower market cap cryptocurrencies. There are many options to choose from when looking to exchange between USD and bitcoin. In this post, we present the leading exchanges that facilitate this.
Coinbase
Coinbase is the most popular option for beginners looking to make their first purchase of bitcoin with USD. Coinbase has two main exchange services – Coinbase Consumer and Coinbase Pro. Coinbase Consumer simplifies the process of making cryptocurrency purchases. The user interface and process to purchase cryptocurrencies on Coinbase Consumer are straightforward and intuitive to understand. Coinbase Pro offers a suite of advanced trading tools for more professional traders. This suite of tools includes an order book, price chart, depth chart, and trading history. Users of Coinbase Pro can also avail of 0% fees for limit orders which are orders that serve to add liquidity to the exchange. Users will pay higher fees when trading on Coinbase Consumer. Coinbase Consumer allows users to buy cryptocurrencies through either funding their account via bank transfer or by using a prepaid debit or credit card. The process for signing up to Coinbase Pro involves further identity verification than Coinbase.
Coinbase has been operating since 2012. They have built up a huge amount of trust among both cryptocurrency users and institutions. They are also regulated which provides an extra level of protection to users of their exchange services.
Bitstamp
Bitstamp is an extremely popular exchange and facilitates high amounts of trading volume in both USD and EUR trading. Bitstamp is one of the longest operating exchanges, being founded in 2011. The fees for trading start at 0.25% and progressively decrease based on the amount of volume traded.
Bitstamp is an attractive option for those looking to cash large amounts bitcoin to USD. Most exchanges have strict limitations on the amounts which can be withdrawn over daily and monthly periods. Bitstamp has no such limitations. However, this may not be suitable for those dealing with smaller amounts as a €15 withdrawal fee is charged to conduct withdrawals.
Kraken
Similarly to Bitstamp, Kraken conducts high amounts of trading volume in both USD and EUR. They have also been operating since 2011. Kraken has some unique features that users will not be able to find on other exchanges. Traders can use margin to leverage their positions and also have the ability to take short positions. With most exchanges, users cannot verify that the exchange actually holds their funds. Kraken was the first exchange to do a third-party audit to prove that they held the funds of users. They also provide a way for users to independently cryptographically verify that Kraken holds the funds for their account. The fees on the exchange are highly competitive and progressively decrease based on the volume traded. Kraken is not regulated but participates in self-regulating organizations.
Bittrex
Bittrex was initially a crypto-to-crypto exchange but began launching USD markets in 2018. The exchange was popular for listing a large number of altcoins prior to launching the USD markets. There is support for over 500 altcoins to be traded against bitcoin. The USD market is more limited with around 20 trading pairs supported against USD. However, if users trade from USD to bitcoin, they will have a large number of altcoins that they can trade against bitcoin. Each trade is charged a 0.25% fee. The exchange was founded in 2014 by three cybersecurity professionals.
Bitfinex
Bitfinex is a controversial exchange. Nonetheless, it is one of the leading cryptocurrency exchanges and regularly accounts for the highest amount of bitcoin to USD trading volume. The exchange had the second largest hack in the history of cryptocurrency exchanges. The hack took place in August 2016 and resulted in 120,000 bitcoin being stolen which was worth $72 million at the time of the hack. Some other key controversies surrounding Bitfinex include its involvement with USD stable coin USD Tether (USDT) and also the overseas registration of the company behind Bitfinex.
Despite the controversy, Bitfinex remains a hugely popular exchange, especially among more advanced traders. Bitfinex offers a number of features which are attractive to more advanced traders including margin trading and the ability to go short. The fees are also competitive and decrease if large amounts of volume are traded. As with any exchange, there will be tradeoffs in using it. If traders are willing to look past the controversies surrounding Bitfinex and the past exchange hack, they will likely find a lot of trading tools that they find useful.
Choosing a BTC to USD Exchange
There are a lot of options to choose from when looking to exchange between BTC and USD. The exchanges listed above are some of the longest operating and most popular among users. There is likely to be even more options in the near future. Binance has recently launched Binance Jersey which provides trading in EUR and GBP. With USD being among the biggest markets for bitcoin trading, more exchanges will likely look to enter and compete in this space. Some of the key factors which have made the above exchanges popular are high levels of liquidity, a high number of trading tools, competitive fees, and a high level of trust among users.
Watch Our Video about top BTC to USD exchanges:
