Crypto Exchanges reviewed

Start with whether the exchange is allowed to serve you, then compare costs. A low fee means little if the platform isn't licensed where you live or can't show that it holds your coins. Work through five checks:

1. A licence or registration for your country, checked on the regulator's own register: ESMA's MiCA register in the EU, the FCA register in the UK, the NYDFS list in New York, AUSTRAC's register in Australia.
2. Evidence that it holds client assets: proof of reserves, audited accounts where they exist, and clear custody terms.
3. The all-in cost of the trades you will actually make, including the spread on simple buy screens.
4. Deposit and withdrawal options in your own currency, and what they cost.
5. Its incident and enforcement record, and how it treated customers afterwards.

No regulator ranks exchanges, so look for evidence. Licensing comes first. In the EU, the last MiCA transition periods ended on 1 July 2026, and ESMA warns that clients of unauthorised firms "do not benefit from MiCA safeguards, including protections for client assets". In the UK, crypto firms are only registered for anti-money-laundering purposes until a full regime that is expected to start on 25 October 2027, and the FCA says compensation from the FSCS is highly unlikely if one fails.

Proof of reserves helps, within limits. Kraken lets clients check that their balance is included in a Merkle tree of client holdings, and its snapshot of 30 June 2026 showed reserves above 100% for bitcoin and ether. Staff at the US audit regulator, the PCAOB, warn that such reports "are not audits": they capture one moment and likely don't cover liabilities or whether assets were borrowed. Kraken's own page lists similar caveats.

Then read the history. FTX filed for bankruptcy on 11 November 2022; the US Justice Department says its founder stole over $8 billion of customers' money, and an appeals court upheld his conviction and 25-year sentence in June 2026. In February 2025 North Korean hackers stole about $1.5 billion from Bybit, according to the FBI. The funds came from the exchange's Ethereum cold wallet, and Bybit says client assets stayed fully backed. In September 2026 about $387.5 million was taken from Bitget's hot wallets, the largest exchange theft of the year so far; Bitget blames North Korea and says its protection fund covers the loss.

Exchange fees come in three layers, and the headline trading rate is only one of them:

• Maker and taker fees on the order book. On Kraken Pro, since July 2026 the entry tier charges 0.40% for orders that add liquidity (maker) and 0.80% for orders that take it (taker), falling as your 30-day volume rises.
• Fees and a spread on simple buy screens. Coinbase charges a separate Coinbase fee on simple buys and sells, varying with payment method, order size and location, on top of a spread built into the quote; Kraken's Instant Buy charges 1% plus a payment-method fee and a spread.
• Deposit, withdrawal and network fees, which vary by payment method and by coin.

Our fee calculator lines up the published trading fees of most exchanges we review for the order size you choose, and the comparison tool shows scores and features side by side.

Every exchange gets the same five weighted pillars, set out in our exchange scoring methodology: security and trust (30%), fees (25%), asset variety (20%), ease of use and features (15%) and customer support (10%). Our country guides add local checks on top, such as licensing and currency rails, which is why a country ranking doesn't always follow the global score.

Fourteen exchanges have full reviews. The other names on this page are on our review desk and carry no score until we publish them.

Full reviews: Binance, Coinbase, Kraken, Crypto.com, OKX, Bybit, KuCoin, Bitget, Gate.io, MEXC, BTCC, Bitpanda, Young Platform, Conio.

• Country guides: United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia.
• Tools: fee calculator, exchange comparison and country availability.