Crypto Exchanges

How to choose a crypto exchange

A crypto exchange is where you buy, sell and trade digital assets. Centralized exchanges (CEX) hold your funds and match orders in their own order book; decentralized exchanges (DEX) settle trades on-chain from your wallet. This page lists centralized exchanges; DEX venues will be added later.

Spot trading means buying the coin itself and settling immediately. The number of coins shows how many different assets you can buy; markets (trading pairs) count every coin/quote combination such as BTC/USDT, BTC/USDC or ETH/BTC. More pairs usually mean more ways to enter and exit a position without extra conversions.

Futures are derivatives: perpetual swaps without an expiry and delivery contracts with a settlement date. They let you go long or short with leverage, and are funded or settled in a stablecoin (linear) or in the coin itself (inverse). Contract counts include both types.

Margin trading borrows funds against your collateral on the spot market. Cross margin shares one collateral pool across all positions, so profits in one position support the others — and one loss can drain the whole balance. Isolated margin limits the collateral and the risk to a single pair.

Before choosing an exchange, check that it is available in your country, which coins and pairs you need, trading fees and withdrawal fees, liquidity on your pairs, security record, proof of reserves and the KYC requirements. Leverage amplifies both gains and losses — start small and use stop-losses.

Crypto exchanges FAQ