5 sites to buy, sell and trade bitcoin and other cryptos

For several months now we have been interested in cryptocurrencies. Coinbase and Gdax, Kraken, Bittrex, Binance, CoinFalcon, here are five platforms to buy, sell and trade cryptocurrencies. Follow the guide.

Some tips and precautions before you start

Before embarking on the adventure of cryptocurrencies, it is important to take precautions and follow our advice:

• If you do not know anything about it, start by reading this folder;
• Invest only what you can afford to lose;
• In the case of trading, take out your starting bet as soon as possible. When you return, set yourself now “coherent” exit prices;
• Do not hesitate to activate double authentication;
• Listing follows the law of supply and demand and may be subject to very high volatility, so be careful what you do;
• The gains made in cryptocurrencies are to be declared, which should not be neglected;
• If you intend to store cryptocurrency over the long term, do not leave your currencies on the exchanges. Place your virtual currencies directly in a wallet with a private key, this part will be the subject of another file. In any case, you can go through these platforms to acquire the currency of your choice, and then transfer them to a private portfolio.

Coinbase

Coinbase is one of the most used virtual currency platforms in Europe and the United States, its mobile client was the most downloaded application in the United States at the beginning of December 2017. It is not an exchange, but what is called a broker (a broker if you prefer). The broker is responsible for finding sellers and buyers, taking a foreign exchange commission and doing an arbitration.

Its use is simple, which is a strong point for novice users, nevertheless the foreign exchange commissions are quite high. Only four currencies are available, Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), LiteCoin (LTC) and recently BitCoin Cash (BCH). Also note that the mobile client is effective, which is a plus point compared to other platforms.

 

Coinbase             

Highlights

– Quick and easy registration

– Very accessible thanks to good ergonomics

– Quality mobile application

– 4 currencies available: Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum and LiteCoin

– Supply of the account by credit card, in addition to the bank transfer

– The platform holds the load relatively well, except in some cases

Weaknesses

– Only 4 currencies available, several new integrations are planned in 2018

– High foreign exchange fees

– When trade explodes, the purchase and sale of cryptocurrencies are blocked

Coinbase          

This is one of the few services that allows the purchase of these currencies from a bank card (3D Secure), a bank transfer (SEPA) but also Paypal (sale only). If you want to start, it’s really the platform of choice to buy your first cryptocurrency. Nevertheless, this platform will not allow you to exchange cryptocurrencies with all the necessary tools for trading. For this, it will use the exchange associated with Coinbase which is called Gdax (with much lower exchange costs). Good news, your Coinbase access works on both platforms. Note that your virtual currencies are not blocked on Coinbase, you can transfer them to a portfolio or one of the exchanges below in a few minutes and for very little cost.

Kraken

Kraken is a relatively well-known exchange in Europe and the United States that allows to buy, sell and trade a dozen crypto-currencies, including the most famous (Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, LiteCoin …) but also less popular currencies but with high potential (Ripple, Ethereum Classic, etc.). Registration requires passing verification steps (Tier 1, 2 and 3), which can be lengthy: several days to several weeks. You must then credit your account by transferring crypto-currencies or with a simple bank transfer (SEPA and others).

Note that the platform is experiencing a lot of instability since the rise of cryptocurrency, which makes it very complicated to use it especially to validate transactions. Fortunately, the “Trade” interface is convenient for tracking virtual currencies and placing orders. You can easily switch from cryptocurrency to fiat currency (JPY, EUR, GBP and USD) depending on the markets. Among the negatives, mobile iOS and Android customers are very basic. What I appreciate is that commission rates are falling in stages, with rates that are particularly low compared to competition. You can start trading with this platform if you wish.

Bittrex and Binance

Bittrex and Binance are exchanges that buy, sell and trade dozens of cryptocurrencies including many alt-corners. On the other hand, these platforms do not offer currency-fiat (you can go through the USDT Tether, even if it is not advisable). Personally, I advise you Binance, which is very resistant to rising loads and offers many tools for trading. Finally, importantly, they are not exchangers, so you will not be able to buy cryptocurrency from a fiat currency. More simply, you can not exchange your euros in Bitcoin on these platforms.

CoinFalcon

CoinFalcon is a very recent exchange that offers five currencies, including recently Bitcoin Cash, as well as euro fiat currency. The platform is particularly well designed, with a strong team behind it, it resists the rise in load that we have experienced in recent weeks. CoinFalcon is not yet an exchanger, so go through Coinbase or Kraken to get your first cypto-currencies. In the future, CoinFalcon will be powered by bank transfer, which will make it a complete platform and an alternative to Kraken and Coinbase (Gdax).