When it comes to finding the best bitcoin exchange things are not all that easy. Why is this so? Simply because many of the best sites to buy bitcoin are rather recently online. This means that they have had little to get the word out about their services and products. Most people coming to this page will be asking how to buy bitcoin online through a secure means. Well, here is a good starting point. Let's see how.
First thing to consider when looking for the top bitcoin exchange is how safe are the website and server. This boils down to asking: is it a trustworthy exchange providing transparent data of coins in cold storage (more on this later) and are customers happy? It's also good to lookout for which currency pairs are available: are you looking to trade bitcoin for USD, Euros, or other fiat currencies. The location usually gives an idea of what's on offer. However, the largest bitcoin exchanges usually have many options for buying bitcoin with government issued currency and altcoins.
The sheer complexity of researching where to trade bitcoin led me to make this blog. Although you should always do your own research before investing, I hope this helps. Below is the table of the best exchanges to buy bitcoin online. If you are new to cryptocurrency exchanges then lookout for the 'beginner-friendy' column.
Secure exchanges that are trustworthy and have good user ratings will rank higher than their peers. Extra points are given for sites to buy bitcoin with paypal, as many users request this feature. Ranking preference is also given for sites to buy bitcoin with credit card. Check out each option on the following best bitcoin exchange list. Be sure to bookmark this page for future reference.
Coinbase - https://www.coinbase.com - Rating: 9.85
Poloniex - https://www.poloniex.com - Rating: 9.70
Localbitcoins - https://localbitcoins.com - Rating: 9.65
Bitpanda - https://www.bitpanda.com - Rating: 9.50
Coinhouse - https://www.coinhouse.io - Rating: 9.25
Shapeshift - https://shapeshift.io - Rating: 9.15
Kraken - https://www.kraken.com - Rating: 9.15
Cex - https://cex.io - Rating: 9.10
BTC-e - https://btc-e.com - Rating: 9.05
Bitstamp - https://www.bitstamp.net - Rating: 9.00
Paxful - https://paxful.com - Rating: 8.95
Therocktrading - https://www.therocktrading.com - Rating: 8.70
247Exchange - https://www.247exchange.com - Rating: 8.65
Virvox - https://www.virwox.com - Rating: 8.65
Bittrex - https://bittrex.com - Rating: 8.50
Okcoin - https://www.okcoin.com - Rating: 8.45
Coinfloor - https://coinfloor.co.uk - Rating: 8.25
Anycoindirect - https://anycoindirect.eu - Rating: 8.15
Circle - https://www.circle.com - Rating: 8.10
Bitsquare - https://bitsquare.io - Rating: 8.10
Itbit - https://www.itbit.com - Rating: 8.10
Huobi - https://www.huobi.com - Rating: 8.05
BTC38 - www.btc38.com - Rating: 8.00
Alfacashier - https://www.alfacashier.com - Rating: 7.90
Hitbit - https://hitbtc.com - Rating: 7.80
Coinmama - https://www.coinmama.com - Rating: 7.75
Bitcoin.de - https://www.bitcoin.de - Rating: 7.70
Loyalbit - https://www.loyalbit.com - Rating: 7.70
Quoine - https://www.quoine.com - Rating: 7.55
Ice3x - https://ice3x.com - Rating: 7.45
Vaultoro - https://www.vaultoro.com - Rating: 7.30
Bitray - https://www.bitbay.net - Rating: 7.20
Anxpro - https://anxpro.com - Rating: 7.15
Coinmate - https://coinmate.io - Rating: 7.10
Btcc - https://www.btcc.com - Rating: 7.05
Changelly - https://changelly.com - Rating: 6.80
Btcmarkets - https://btcmarkets.net - Rating: 6.75
Bit2c - https://www.bit2c.co.il - Rating: 6.75
Paymium - https://paymium.com - Rating: 6.50
Bx - https://bx.in.th - Rating: 6.40
Bitcoin.co - https://www.bitcoin.co.id - Rating: 6.25
Magnr - https://magnr.com - Rating: 6.20
Gemini - https://gemini.com - Rating: 6.15
Exmo - https://exmo.com - Rating: 6.10
Quadrigacx - https://www.quadrigacx.com - Rating: 6.10
Bitcurex - https://bitcurex.com - Rating: 6.05
Bter - https://bter.com - Rating: 6.00
• How to buy bitcoin using this list of exchanges?
Hopefully the list of bitcoin exchanges above will be of good use for how to trade bitcoins. Each outstanding site should have detailed instructions. From here, one can easily figure out how to buy bitcoin with credit card, paypal, cash, bank transfers. Once you have got some coins then it is a good idea to store them offline (not on an exchange). For cold storage check out the list of available wallets. When wanting buy or sell it is safer just to transfer in and out of your 'cold' wallet to the 'hot' online exchange. Remember that so long as an offline wallet's keys have not been compromised, then those coins cannot be taken.
• What is the best site to buy bitcoin in the above list?
It's a tough question in my opinion. Each will have an upside compared to others. Check a few out and look up on forums to see what users are saying about the service provided, and which they think are the best sites to buy bitcoin easily. Localbitcoins.com is a really cool p2p bitcoin exchange for beginners wanting to buy for their first time. The service is all over the world, meaning you can use euros, pounds, yen, australian dollars, swiss francs, canadian dollars, krona, rubles, lira, rupees and so on. If you pay by physical cash then you get to meet the person in real life. Alternatively you can do a fast bank transfer and the site will hold your coins in escrow for you once it goes through. Obviously there are more simple ways to start off. Some like to buy with paypal, but not many leading bitcoin exchanges accept this because of chargebacks.
• Which are the largest exchanges?
Generally the biggest bitcoin exchanges will be toward the top of the above list. For example OkCoin, GDAX, Btc-e, Coinbase (also the best usd bitcoin exchange) all represent large volume proportions. Daily volume varies, and therefore the world's largest exchange vary each day. Go to bitcoinaverage (btc usd) for a good list of all the top bitcoin exchange site and their proportional volumes. Some find this handy for arbitrage between markets.
• What about the best cryptocurrency exchange?
Sadly, with the demise of Cryptsy there is a need for a new major first-rate cryptocurrency exchange (aka altcoins). Having many medium-sized cryptocurrency exchange sites is a better situation than having one large amazing option. Poloniex is the large amazing option. It's a really good platform and the user-interface has gone through a complete redesign. Things feel smooth when using Poloniex. All big and small trading pairs are offered and it is now possible to do cryptocurrency margin trading on major altcoins. This is a cool feature, but use it with caution as leveraged trading has a certain risk factor. Keep in mind that some of the best bitcoin exchange sites also do altcoins. Bittrex, Cex.io, Bter, and BTC-e are great options worth checking out. Some also offer short selling on major coins.
• Where to find the most secure bitcoin exchange?
This is an important question to ask. Yes, putting the words trustworthy bitcoin exchange in the same sentence seems like an oxymoron, especially when remembering the shiny days of MtGox (aka Empty-Gox). While the bitcoin protocol has never been hacked, many peripheral businesses have. Perhaps the best question to ask would be: which are the least secure bitcoin exchanges. Generally, those listed here are optimum and of good standing, but please proceed with caution. Remember never to leave more btc online than you can afford to loose.
