Crypto.com
I put it on the first line because I use it 90% of the time, and this is so for many reasons:
- No commission fee when you buy. You may argue it is included into the price, I don't see the prices much different from other exchanges.
- Fee Airport Lounge Access. You would need to trade for $5,000 and also hold certain amount of funds in the account for 2 years. I think it is worth it. Normal credit cards with this benefit charge $500+ per year.
- Besides staking, they have "earning" and sometimes I see promotional rates like 60%, 30%, 15% for certain tokens.
- They have their own token $CRO and they promote it very smartly. I see they definitely keep the community engaged by doing airdrops, giveaways, and other events. I feel it, simply because I found myself logging into crypto.com app every day and see what's new there.
- I do not like using it for transferring money to wallets, because withdrawal fees are too high.
Blockchain.com
I love it and I use it for funding other wallets.
- You can fund it from your bank account through Plaid easily
- Zero fees when you buy Tether ($USDT)
- Very low fees for transfers (withdrawal) to your self-custody wallets
- You can use the feature Connect Wallet, i.e. if you need to use it as a wallet for a Pre Sale (if working)
- Their app has a normal non-custodial wallet right inside the same app (with a seed phrase)
Gemini
This was my first Exchange. I chose to start with it because ChatGPT told me that it is the most secure exchange and they went through various audits and so on. This is probably the best exchange for beginners, because they list only well established tokens. I do not use this exchange anymore, because I found their commission super high. I think if you want to buy a lot of Bitcoin and hold it worry-free, this is one of the best options for you.
- They stake only ETH and MATIC, and offer very low APR%
Binance.US
Binance is the largest exchange in the world, but it is not available in the USA, so they created another exchange Binance.US with a very limited functionality. Currently (as of March 2025) they still not even offer to deposit money in it, but we all understand it is matter of time and eventually we will see it working. They have their own token $BNB. Unfortunately, they do not have a referral program for Binance.US. You can use Binance.US only if you need a way to legally swap some rare tokens that are not listed on other US exchanges.
