Investor Guide
June 9, 2022

📚 How to Crypto Investor | 8 CEX to easy start on cryptomarket

Hey, all crypto enthusiasts and investors! You already know about top blockchains, but you will need a platform for investment, trading, and DeFi-operations, that allows pay in fiat. So we're find best CEXs to help you choose the most useful advantageous, and safe exchange.

Binance 

Binance is one of the largest crypto exchanges on the market. It started during the bull run of 2017, and now Binance is a versatile crypto platform with a huge set of tools, products, services, and own blockchain.

Registration and verification

Binance complies with KYC and AML, so there's no anonymously trading. Due to registration need confirmation by email and phone number. Trading and other services are available only to verified users.

You need a foreign passport, ID card, or driver's license to pass verification. Also, the procedure requires a selfy to face check.

Functionality

Trading

Liquidity mining and staking

Portfolio management

Launchpad

NFT Marketplace

Loans and investments

And if that's not enough - welcome to the BNB chain ecosystem.

Fees

The complete list of trading fees - is here.

Crypto deposits and withdrawals here, fiat fees here.

Useful links

Beginners wishing to start in the crypto market can start with:

Binance Academy - educational materials on various categories.

Learn to Earn - is a beginner course trader. Binance pays rewards for studying.

Binance Research - reports and reviews the market, trends, and separate sectors.

Huobi

Huobi is a veteran of the market. The exchange began operating in 2013 in China but moved after a cryptocurrencies ban establishing. Currently, Huobi Global has several licenses worldwide and local sites for Japan and Korea. In the global trading volume rank, it holds the 6th step.

Registration and verification

You can register via email or phone number. However, to start with fiat, you need to add 2FA way - it may be a phone number or google authenticator.

You need to verify your account to make a deposit, trade, and access other Huobi features. The procedure is standard, but not all documents are suitable for proof of identity (for example, driver's license). Restrictions for your country will appear in the KYC window.

Functionality

Trading - including P2P trading, margin trading, and trading bot.

Derivatives

Staking

HuobiEarn

Primepool for airdrop participation

Fees

There are fees for trading, derivative contracts, deposits, and withdrawal of funds. The trade fees are high as Binance, but you can get a discount.

There are no fees for the cryptocurrency deposit. The rate depends on the payment method for the fiat deposit and withdrawal.

Useful links

Huobi Learn - guides and articles of various complexity. It's mostly for beginners.

Huobi Wallet - is a native Huobi wallet. It's multichain and doesn't keep private keys.

OKX

OKX (formerly OKeX) is considered one of the oldest sites. She started working in Hong Kong in 2014, but in 2018 company got a Maltese registration. The exchange is time-tested, has a high-quality and convenient site, and the functionality is balanced to be clear for beginners and enough for the professionals. At the same time, OKX remains a relatively small platform - only the 18th step of trading volume rank.

Registration and verification

To register on the site is enough email or phone. Operations with cryptocurrencies (not only trades) are also available to unverified users, but it is required to install 2FA.

Verification is needed to purchase cryptocurrency with fiat, increase withdrawal limits, and P2P trading. You can use a passport, ID card, or driver's license to verify the account. The procedure is the same for other sites.

Functionality

Trading - includes spot trading, derivatives, margin trading, trading bot, P2P, and OTC trading.

Loans

Investment programs: PoS staking and token staking with varying risks and APY.

Jumpstart is a built-in launchpad where startups can drop their tokens. To use it, you need to hold OKB.

And even a mining pool for BTC miners.

Also, OKX has MetaX - the platform positions it as metaverse, but in fact, it is a "built-in" dApp ecosystem. Connect your MetaMask to get access to DEXs and DeFi without leaving OKX.

Fees

The base rate for spot trading is 0.1% for the taker and 0.08% for the Maker. The commission for derivatives and spot is here.

There is no information about deposit and withdrawal rates. The fee for these operations is calculated when making a transaction.

You can get a fee discount by buying a VIP account or holding a native OKX token- OKB.

Useful links

OKX Academy - learning materials for newbie traders.

Awards - are beginners' tasks with Satoshi rewards.

MEXC Global

MEXC is a relatively young platform (launched in 2018) with relatively small trading volumes. However, MEXC Global reports about 6 M users. It is licensed in the United States and Europe and operates in 70 countries.

The user-friendly interface, unique products, and hundreds of trading pairs make the platform a good solution for traders of various levels.

Registration and verification

You can create an account with email or phone numbers, as in previous cases. 2FA requires one more contact way: a phone or a google authenticator, and without 2FA, there will be no access to all functions.

Verification may be basic (with the document) and advanced (+selfie). Verification is needed to make a fiat deposit, P2P trading, and increase the withdrawal limit. Crypto-crypto exchanges are available for unverified users but with a 10 BTC per day withdrawal limit.

Functionality

Trade - spot trading, margin trading, P2P, and OTC trading.

Staking and mining pools.

Launchpad and Kickstarter for participation in IDO and airdrops.

Derivatives, including ETF and margin ETF.

Rewards for а MX token holding.

Additional opportunities, including a new interface and no-fee loans, are available to institutions.

Fees

The exchange collects trading and withdrawal fees. You can use a native MX token to pay the commission. The base rate of trading is 0.02% for the taker and Maker. The commission for the derivatives trading is here.

There is no fee for crypto deposits. The fiat deposit fee depends on the payment means. You can find here the fees rate and minimum withdrawal amounts of the crypto.

Useful links

MEXC Academy - exchange's products descriptions, including token and DeFi.

Blog MEXC - in fact, it looks like Academy

Starting tasks - simple actions (verification, 2FA) for newcomers for bonuses.

Gate

It is also a veteran of the crypto market. Gate appeared in 2013 in China, around the same time as Huobi. Now it's a worldwide regulated site with American registration. It is comparable in functionality to Binance or Huobi and thus more like a versatile platform than a just exchange. By the way, 9th place in trading volume rate.

Registration and verification

For registration is enough email and a few minutes (CAPTCHA is slightly too much). But the phone number is not needed even for 2FA.

But the most beautiful thing about Gate.io is that you can buy crypto with fiat without verification. Payment goes through third-party apps like Moonpay.

Functionality

Trading - spot, margin, push deals, fast conversion. There is also copy trading, and it's free.

Derivatives - futures, options, temporary contracts, and others.

Earnings - stakes, liquidity pools, loans, and investment products.

NFT - Marketplace, airdrops, and additional tools for NFTs interaction.

Gate.io Startup - to IDO and tokens airdrops participation.

It's not all perfectly localized, so you could see hieroglyphics on some buttons and pages. But in general, it's OK.

Fees

The base rate for spot trading is 0.2% for the taker and Maker. The rate is reduced depending on the VIP level. If you pay with GT tokens, there is an additional discount.

There are no fees for the crypto deposit. Withdrawal fees and daily limits find here.

Useful links

Event calendar (it isn't nicely localized).

Cryptopedia - a crypto-terms for a beginner.

Gate blog - a lot of materials on various topics, English speaking.

Kraken

Ready to see a real veteran? It is in front of you - Kraken has been working since 2011 and now ranks 4th in the trading volume rate. The exchange was tested by years and regulators. Thanks to the cooperation with Fidor Bank is suit for euro trading(but there is another fiat). The site will be helpful for experienced traders but may look complicated to beginners.

Registration and verification

You can create an account only with email, but you will need a phone number for verification. The registration procedure is no more complicated than others.

You need to fill in personal data and upload photos of documents to verify. Unverified users can't make transactions, and the exchange's functions are unavailable for them.

Functionality

Trading - spot and margin. 161 coins in the list.

Derivatives.

Classic staking

NFT marketplace (not yet launched).

Another feature of Kraken - is two versions of the interface: for Pro and beginners.

Fees

Spot trading - 0.2% for taker and Maker (different for Pro).

Futures - more here.

Additional fees for "instant buy".

Rates may decline as trading volume increases.

Useful links

Kraken Blog - educational materials, general articles, and product descriptions.

Beginners zone - guides, videos, and podcasts for newbies.

Bybit

Like MEXC, Bybit was founded in 2018 and can be considered a young platform. Company headquarters in Singapore, registration in the Virgin Islands. Unlike its competitors, Bybit was initially created for derivatives trading, although it now offers spot trading and other products. Bybit comes in the top-20 in trading volume.

Registration and verification

To create an account, you need just email and the phone number or Google Authenticator for 2FA. The registration procedure is simple and takes just two minutes.

Bybit as Gate allows buying crypto with fiat via third-party services, so verification is unnecessary. However, verified accounts can deposit fiat currencies directly to the exchange and increase withdrawal and P2P transaction limits.

Functionality

Spot trading - regular trading and P2P. Tokens ranged into several categories.

Derivatives - perpetual and perpetual inverse contracts, futures, options, and copy trading. Margin trading with leverage up to x100.

Earning - several options of staking with different profitability and risk.

The launchpad - for airdrops and token startup sales. To use it, you need to hold native BIT tokens.

NFT marketplace - is mostly P2E NFTs, but other collections are also available.

Fees

There is are free deposit. The withdrawal fees rate (and amount) depends on the cryptocurrency.

The base rate for spot trades is 0.1% on taker and Maker. The rate can reduce for VIP users. The complete list of rates and fees is here.

Useful links

Learn Bybit - a lot of articles for beginners and advanced traders.

Blog Bybit - focuses on announcements, descriptions of new products, and offers.

Bonus center - coupons and rewards for actions.

FTX

Probably the youngest on our list, but the fastest-growing exchange. FTX launched in 2019 as an exchange for pro-traders and now offers a huge number of products. FTX backers are Alameda Research and Binance, so the company is also actively investing. It holds the second step in the trading value rank, behind only Binance.

Registration and verification

The registration process is relatively complete. You'll need an email and a phone number just to start.

You can't deposit without verification (and therefore trade), so it is better to prepare documents and personal information from the start. The verification procedure is standard.

Functionality

Spot trading - including margin trading. Margin rates are here. Crypto-crypto and crypto-fiat pairs are available.

Options, futures, and derivatives. In addition to perpetual contracts, there are also weekly or daily.

Shares and futures of traditional companies - Tesla, Alibaba, and others.

The forecast market - there are not many positions, but it looks interesting.

FTX also has an advanced trading mode for experienced traders and QuantZone for trading strategy automatization.

Fees

No deposit and withdrawal rates. You will see it for your transaction.

The base rate for spot trading is 0.02% for the Maker and 0.07% for the taker. There are additional discounts for holders of the native FTT token and by trading. The complete list is here.

Useful links

Help Center - helps FAQ and basic articles for beginners.