Top 5 BEST Crypto Exchanges in 2023: Are They SAFE?!

Before you even think about using any Crypto exchange you have to watch this Video in it I'm going to give you five Of my best exchange picks I'll give you Everything you need to know about their Fees features support and most Importantly safety I also have a number Of deals and discounts that you will Only get here so don't go anywhere Okay before kicking off you need to know That I am not a financial advisor and None of this is financial advice also This video is not sponsored in any way Although we may earn a small commission If you do decide to use any of our links Below full transparency I'll also state That despite how safe you think an Exchange is you should never leave a Large amount of crypto on it if there's Anything that we've learned over the Past year it's the importance of Self-custody Nothing Compares To holding Your own coins and tokens and I have got A dedicated video on self-custody which I'll leave in the description for you Guys seriously folks exchanges should Just be used for buying and selling the Less crypto you keep there the better And finally these picks are presented in No particular order so do keep that in Mind okay would that Spiel out of the Way let's dive right into the video with Our first pick and that is binance Now I'm pretty sure that you'll have

Heard of binance but if you haven't then Here is the quick tldr Finance is the Largest crypto Exchange in the world and It was founded in 2017. since its Founding binance's growth has been quite Incredible in the past two years its Revenue has grown tenfold although such Success has also thrown up challenges Binance has long operated as a quote Decentralized company with no fixed Headquarters however this has attracted A great deal of regulatory scrutiny in Order to address this scrutiny binance Has in recent Years Gone the extra mile By trying to become one of the most Regulated crypto exchanges out there it Has secured licenses in at least seven European countries three in the Middle East as well as Kazakhstan South Africa Australia and New Zealand while its Subsidiary binance us serves the massive American market so it's no secret that Binance is trying its hardest to get Regulated as much as possible Such regulations should help to bring Some certainty to an industry that has Seen its reputation damaged by other Offshore exchanges in the past of course Regulations count for little if the Exchange in question doesn't securely Store its assets or uses them improperly Let's not forget that FTX was also Attempting to be a regulated exchange And we all know how that turned out so

How is binance securing those assets Well the most important question to ask Is whether binance is really holding all Of the assets that its users have Deposited one-to-one I.E that they're Not running a fractional Reserve System Like regular Banks do now one of the Best methods to do this is through what Is termed proof of reserves in the wake Of the FDX collapse numerous exchanges Rushed to issue proof of Reserve reports In order to assuage the fears of Numerous crypto holders myself included I did a separate video on this and you Can watch that right over here in the Top right Now about two weeks after the FTX Collapse binance came out and issued its First proof of reserves report it showed The exchange had a reserve ratio of 101 Percent so in effect it holds slightly More than required as a quick aside However such proof of reserves are Meaningless unless you can prove that The assets being held are sufficient to Meet customer deposits That's why they rely on cryptography Through the use of what are termed Merkle trees the tldr there is that this Allows you to verify your balance in the Exchanges system and thereby establish That it's backed by stored funds and I'll leave a link to this page in the Description if you would like to verify

Your own Assets Now there's one Important caveat to binance's proof of Reserves and that's that although they Allow you to verify that your assets Were included in the latest snapshot it Doesn't include a broader picture of the Exchange's other liabilities I.E Non-user liabilities that said binance Is not known for running large Institutional lending desks like Celsius Voyager block fi and others did binance Is in the process of trying to find an Auditor that would further verify its Reserves although the process is taking Longer than hoped anyhow moving on from Proof of reserves you'll want to make Sure that the exchange you're using is Storing the crypto it holds securely Like most exchanges binance operates a Hot and cold storage protocol which sees The majority of coins and tokens kept Offline and disconnected from the Internet unfortunately binance was the Victim of a hack of its hot wallet back In 2019 This led them to create what is called The safu fund quite simply it's a Reserve fund that holds a large amount Of crypto in order to reimburse users For any hacks or other losses the safu Fund currently holds about 780 million Dollars and you can verify this yourself As they've listed the wallets where the Safu fund assets are held so that's

Security but what are binance's fees and Asset support like well binance is well Known for being a smorgasbord when it Comes to crypto assets I'm not going to Go through the list here as it is pretty Damn long meaning there's a good chance You'll find the coin or token that you Want to trade there there is an Important caveat here though and that's That this coin support relates to the International Exchange binance.com there Are restrictions on certain assets at Binance.us and I've linked to the full List of supported assets on that Exchange in the description for you guys It's still pretty Punchy though at over 150. now if you're going to be funding Your account with Fiat there are several Currencies and payment methods supported These include USD wires via Swift cipa In the EU faster payments in the UK Etc etc There are several other local payment Options for other currencies as well Failing all of that you always have a Credit card option which is available For most currencies do note though that The fees on card payments are Prohibitively high at almost three Percent for most payment providers when It comes to trading fees meanwhile they Depend on a number of factors now these Include what instruments you're trading The volume you're doing whether you're a

Maker or a taker and how much BNB you Have in your account however at a base Level the fees that you'll pay as a Regular user one with less than one Million busd trade volume is 0.1 percent For a maker and take a fee now for those Unfamiliar these are the types of orders That you're placing and whether you are Making or taking liquidity from the Market quite simply when you place an Order that trades immediately before Filling the trading book this is a take A fee these are usually Market orders And when you place an order that is for Sent to the order book that is a maker Fee and it's generally done via limit Order I will say though that compared to Many of the other exchanges out there Point one percent is not a bad base rate For spot trading and if you do higher Trading volumes then you can get to VIP Levels which further lower your trading Fees however if you want to get a 20 fee Discount off the bat without any Additional requirements then you can Sign up with my link below in addition To that you'll also get up to a 600 Bonus now when it comes to all of Binance's other features and Functionality well they are extensive I Don't have the time to go over them all Here in this video but I do encourage You to take a look at our long-form Binance reviews and we have those in

Both video and written format linked to In the usual spot In summary then binance is the big dog Crypto exchange the fees are decent and The coin support is huge there's still a Cloud over it from a U.S regulatory Perspective but it has stood the test of Time for example in the wake of the FTX Collapse it managed to effectively Process over three billion dollars in Withdrawals in less than 24 hours pretty Crazy when you think about it okay on to The next exchange and that's one most People will recognize coinbase I'm going to go out on a limb here and Assume that if you're involved in crypto In some way then you're familiar with Coinbase coinbase is one of the OG Exchanges having been founded way back In 2013. in the years since it has grown To become the biggest crypto Exchange in The US and is the only one listed on the New York Stock Exchange Since that listing back in 2021 things Haven't all been plain sailing but when It comes to reputable and regulated Exchanges coinbase is one of those at The top of the pile it's regulated to Offer its services in every U.S state Bar Hawaii and holds licenses for Canada And numerous European countries These countries support what are termed Cash balances which is where you can Hold the local currency in Fiat

Beyond that coinbase supports trading in Numerous other countries let's just say That wherever you are chances are that Coinbase is supported barring places Like China Russia Iran Etc Moving on though are all user assets on Coinbase backed one to one well given That coinbase is a publicly listed Company it has to comply with some Pretty strict rules around audited Financial statements these are released Publicly and you can view them on the Coinbase website here you can see the Total assets that they hold on behalf of All their customers now while it's not a Merkle tree proof that allows you to Verify your own individual balance it Does come with the stamp of approval of A big four Auditor in this case Deloitte Another really big advantage of audited Financials is that you can see a broader Overview of the liabilities of the Exchange for example solvency is assured When you take a look at coinbase's Balance sheet I.E assets exceed Liabilities in terms of coin storage Coinbase uses a cold storage protocol Where 98 of the coins and tokens are Kept offline those coins that are kept In a hot environment are held under Best-in-class security measures and Something that would be relevant to Those of you Stateside is that your US Dollar deposits at coinbase are FDIC

Insured that means that all balances Below 250 000 are guaranteed by the Federal government in the event of Coinbase ever going bankrupt So it's pretty clear that coinbase is One of the safest exchanges out there so Let's move on to coin support shall we Now while coinbase has not had a Reputation for extensive asset support In the past it's in the position right Now where it supports most of the coins And tokens that you would want to trade There are a few exceptions to this However and they include the likes of Xrp which is due to that ongoing Ripple Securities lawsuit on that note if there Are any more of these tokens or coins That are officially designated as Securities then given coinbase's Regulatory position it will probably Delist them so it is worth noting that In terms of Fiat support those who are Based in the US Europe and the UK have Local currency support that means that You can fund and withdraw from your Accounts in either USD Euros or Pounds And these balances will be reflected in Your account you can also trade against These currency pairs if you're in any Other country then you can still Fund in Your local currency but the balance will Be reflected in dollars In terms of fees it really depends on The method that you're using like

Binance if you're in the UK or Europe You can do a wire through faster Payments or CPA for sepa payments and Withdrawals coinbase will charge 15 Euro Cents for GBP withdrawals they charge One pound If you're in the US and funding with Dollars then you can use ACH which is Free you can also send a wire but that Will cost you ten dollars to deposit and 25 to withdraw If you're in a country that does not Support any of these Alternatives then You could also consider Swift or a Credit card payment however as is the Case with binance card funding is Prohibitively expensive therefore I Would try to avoid this funding method If you can help it moving on to trading Fees coinbase also operates a maker Taker model with different tiers based On your trading volume over the past 30 Days the starting point for this is Point six percent for The Taker and Point four percent for the maker this is About four to six times higher than Binance so it's worth considering that Although compared to what coinbase used To charge it is a massive Improvement Now looking at trading features and Functionality I'll note that coinbase Recently combined its coinbase Pro Platform into its standard platform and Rebranded it to Advanced trade compared

To some of the other platforms out there It's well not the best but it has most Of the features that you'll need for Intermediate levels of trading so in Summary I can't really fault coinbase Too much yes spare fees are higher than Average and they sometimes make Decisions which anger the crypto Community but they are fully audited and Have weathered numerous storms in the Past Coinbase Still Remains one of the better Solutions for U.S Traders okay on to our Next exchange and that is Kraken Now whereas coinbase can be considered An OG exchange Kraken is the OG exchange That's because it was established way Back in 2011 and its founder Jesse Powell actually developed Kraken as an Alternative to mount gox which you may Recall managed to almost destroy the Entire crypto industry when it collapsed Back in 2014. Kraken was considering Joining coinbase by going public last Year but decided to pull those plans When the crypto Market went through the Floor Jesse Powell also recently stepped Aside as CEO which many consider to be The end of an era however he will Continue to be a powerful force in the Crypto space despite what the corporate Journalists think of him anywho looking Into kraken's regulatory licenses they Have quite a few for example in the US

They have money service business MSB Licenses which allow them to operate in A number of states with the exception of New York and Washington Something else that you may find Interesting is that they were the first And only exchange that was able to Acquire a banking license in Wyoming North of the Border meanwhile Kraken Also Services Canadian clients thanks to A fintrac license in the UK their FCA Regulated and in Italy they maintain a Vasp license with oam on top of that Kraken also has licenses to operate out Of Australia as well as the Middle East With its Abu Dhabi Global markets License so it is a well-regulated Exchange now as regards security Protocols Kraken really stands out from The crowd that's because it was actually One of the first exchanges to publish Proof of reserves this was even before The blow up of FTX in fact it did its First proof of reserves way back in 2014 Quite something Kraken's proof of reserves are also done In conjunction with an auditor who's Able to confirm the liability balances On the exchange as I mentioned before This is important as it allows one to Verify broader exchange solvency and not Just customer deposits kraken's most Recent full audit took place back in February of last year and it was

Conducted by armanino LLP I'll leave a Link to that in the description for you To read later I'll also leave this handy Guide over here which shows you how you Can independently verify your coins are Fully backed beyond the proof of Reserves Kraken has a host of other Rock Solid protocols that are able to secure Customer assets and data for example all Sensitive data is encrypted and the Exchange is ISO 27001 certified in terms of coin storage Kraken operates a hot cold wallet system And stores its server infrastructure in Secure cages that are under 24 7 Surveillance with armed guards Next Level stuff anyways it's these security Protocols that have kept Kraken as one Of the few exchanges never to be Successfully hacked given that it's been Around since 2011 that is really quite Something moving on though let's take a Look at supported assets and fees in Total Kraken supports over 200 coins and Tokens on its platform therefore there's A decent chance you'll find the crypto You want to trade There are a few exceptions though and Some depend on where you're based for Example us users can't buy xrp and a Number of other cryptos besides that However Kraken also has support for Quote pairs in numerous Fiat currencies I've linked to this page which compares

The different crypto Pairs and which Fiat currencies they're crossed with If you want to fund your account with Fiat then Kraken supports several Payment options depending on the Currency that you want to use for Example in the US they have fedwire Swift and ACH they also have sepa in Europe faster payments in the UK and Wire and e-transfers for Canada Additionally they have funding options For the Aussie dollar and Swiss Francs So relatively well supported if you're Going to be using any of these funding Methods then I would encourage you to Take a look at this page over here where They list all of the fees for doing so Most of the popular options are free Although there are minimum deposit Options and speaking of fees kraken's Trading fees are also quite reasonable Like binance and coinbase it operates on A maker taker model which differs According to your 30-day trading volume The most basic of trading fees you Encounter are 0.16 for the maker fee and 0.26 for the taker fee this is assuming That your 30-day trading volume is below Fifty thousand dollars I'll State though That these are the fees assuming that You're using Kraken Pro their Advanced Trading platform if you're going to go With the more simplistic instant buy Option then the fee is presented to you

Before you place the trade they also Have different fees for trading Stablecoin pairs as well as margin and Futures Trading pairs now when it comes To the rest of kraken's features and Functionality we have longer form Reviews in both written and video form Which I will of course leave in the Description for you guys so be sure to Give those a read before you decide to Start trading in summary then Kraken is A great exchange it stood the test of Time and has always been leading the Crypto cause in a number of ways Including through publishing proof of Reserves earlier than anyone else you Really can't go too far wrong with Kraken in other words On to the next exchange though and that Is okx Now if the name okx sounds familiar That's because it used to be called okx Back in the day However last year they decided to Rebrand by dropping the E from their Older name bold move chaps bold indeed Jokes Aside The Branding did come with a Completely new strategy if you'll recall Okx was predominantly a china-focused Exchange however given the bans that the Chinese government instituted against Crypto companies it made sense for the Company to diversify away from Mainland Traders as an entity okx is owned by the

OK Group which also earns okay coin the Company is registered in the Seychelles Which I can only assume was done out of Convenience having said that they do Maintain additional offices in Beijing Singapore Hong Kong Dubai Malta San Francisco and the Bahamas in terms of Licenses okx managed to secure one in The UAE in July of last year this is Under the Emirates virtual assets Regulators Authority or Vara This allows them to offer their services To users in the UAE the broader Gulf Area Africa and elsewhere that aside okx Has been as transparent as possible when It comes to their reserves since November of last year they've been Publishing their monthly proof of Reserves the solvency ratio has always Been above 100 which means that they are Fully backed if you have an account with Okx you can also verify that your assets Are backed in terms of the composition Of these reserves the wallets are Tracked by nanson analytics and they Show that over 90 of the Holdings are in BTC eth and usdt so liquid Cryptocurrencies I will however note That as is the case with binance these Proof of reserves and proofs of solvency Do not give a broader picture as to Okx's financial position that is Something that will require a full audit But so far as guarantees around user

Deposits go it's good to know that they Are fully backed at okx in terms of Other security features okx also Maintains a robust Cold Storage protocol With 95 of the coins held offline Moreover when it comes to the storage of Each of these cold wallets none of them Have more than 1 000 BTC on them and They are stored in Bank vaults on top of That a cold wallet is no longer used for Deposits once a withdrawal has been Initiated from it You can see all the other security Features that okx has over here one can Only assume that these are working Because to the best of my knowledge okx Hasn't suffered any hacks of its crypto Holdings moving on though let's take a Look at okx's country and asset support Shall we so firstly you should know that Okx is restricted in certain Jurisdictions the most notable here is Of course the United States but it also Includes two Canadian provinces as well As Malta however if you are in a country That does support okx then you have Several options for funding your account They support 30 Fiat currencies and 17 Payment options the simplest way to do This is with a card but it's likely to Also be the most expensive hence I would Recommend funding with a wire yes it Will take at least a day or two to hit Your account but it's worth it when you

Consider the savings that are made on Fees thankfully for those in Europe There is near instant super Functionality which is easiest for your Euro transfers looking at coin support On okx meanwhile it is quite extensive As well there are well over 300 coins in Tokens supported and they should cover Most of your trading needs okx also has A number of supported trading pairs for Some of the more popular coins as well As having a decent amount of liquidity In terms of trading fees okx also Operates a tiered maker taker model However there are two different classes Of investor you have standard users Which are those who have less than one Hundred thousand dollars on the platform Or less than 10 million dollars in 30-day trading volume these users can Achieve different fee levels based on How much okb they have in their account Which is obviously OK X's native token Then of course you have the VIP levels Which are for those who have either more Than 100K on the platform or more than 10 million dollars in trading volume The more volume or assets that you hold On the platform the lower your fees I'm Going to assume that most of you are not Keen on holding exchange tokens or Trading over 10 million dollars in Monthly volume so then the starting fees There are point zero eight percent and

Point one percent for the maker and Taker fees respectively these are in Line with finances and lower than Coinbase or Kraken however if you wanted To get these even lower without any of These arbitrary requirements then I do Have a special deal for you if you use Our Link in the description then you can Get a 40 discount on those trading fees Right off the bat In addition to that if you meet certain Trading volume or deposit requirements There are bonuses of up to 10K available It's a Time limited deal so if you are Thinking of using okx and want to take Advantage of it you have until the end Of the month in terms of the other Features and functionality of okx they Are quite extensive and I won't go Through them all here of course we do Have a more in-depth review for you on Our website which will be in the usual Spot in summary then okx is a good Exchange with a wide range of coin Support they have a proven track record With security and I do welcome their Monthly proof of Reserve audits that Said their country support is limited But one hopes that should change as they Secure more licenses okay on to our Fifth and final exchange now and that is Bitget Now bitget is a singapore-based exchange That was founded back in 2018 so the

Newest exchange on this list however They have recently been on a wide scale Global expansion and that has seen them Secure several licenses These include an MSB license in the US a Fin track license in Canada a digital Currency spot license in Australia along With a number of other International Licenses bitgets expansion has seen the Exchange grow over several different Metrics in the past year these include a 300 increase in trading volume and Growing their employee headcount by over Five times it's seen them climb up the Rankings on sites such as coin market Cap and coin Gecko and they are now in The top 10 of both aggregators bitget Has also published proof of reserves and Have completed at least three of these Since December of last year in their Latest snapshot taken at the end of January it showed that they had a 227 Reserve ratio that means that they hold More than double customer deposits in Assets Beyond this bitget also maintains A 300 million dollar insurance fund this Is the bitget protection fund which can Be thought of as similar to binance's Safu fund in that it stands as a Backstop should there be any losses on The platform for example if customers Had their accounts compromised through No fault of their own then they would Have a right to claim from the bit get

Protection Fund in terms of coin Security bitget operates much like the Other exchanges mentioned above in that They keep the bulk of their coins in Cold storage and only a limited amount In hot wallets there are also some Pretty Advanced protocols that they use To protect their hot wallets from any Hacks which you can read about in their FAQ over here moving on to the funding Options bitget has recently announced Support for Euro funding through cepa And GBP funding through faster payments Both of these Fiat funding options take Less than a day to hit your account They also have a Brazilian real wire Option available through pix as an FYI These options are also available for European UK and Brazilian traders who Are looking to withdraw in Fiat as well Unfortunately there are no options for Funding your account with USD wires or Swift payments therefore if you wanted To fund the account with dollars then You'd have to use the same option that's Available to most other currencies and That is through a credit card while this Is instantaneous let's not forget that These credit card providers charge Exorbitant fees of course there's always The option to fund your account with Crypto and this doesn't come with any Fees as well apart from Network fees When withdrawing one more thing to note

Is that there is a daily withdrawal Limit of 50k and a monthly withdrawal Limit of 100K if you have not completed ID verification looking at supported Cryptocurrencies bitget also has a Pretty extensive list there are over 250 Spot trading pairs available which Should satisfy most of your trading Needs diving into trading fees it's once Again a maker taker model with different Fee levels based on your trading volume Bitget has labeled their different Trading tiers as their VIP privileges Which gets you among other things an Account manager Etc The minimum requirement for VIP level 1 Is at least fifty thousand dollars in 30-day trading volume however assuming That you're just starting out on the Exchange and you're on the standard tier Then you will have a maker and take a Fee of 0.1 for both so about On a par With binance you can drop this down to Point zero eight percent although this Will require you to hold some of their Native exchange token as is the case With okx I have a better alternative for You though and that is through the Discount that we've been able to arrange So if you use my link in the description Then you will get a Time limited fee Discount of sixty percent on top of that You'll also get twenty dollars free as Well as additional trading bonuses all

Explained in the deals page I've linked To so that's an option open to you Should you want to give bit get a shot There is a lot more to bitget that I Can't cover here including the platform Copy trading features Launchpad and Other unique features these are as Standard covered in a separate review Which I've left in the usual spot for You folks in summary then bitget is a Good exchange with wide coin support and Provable coin reserves they have Attractive fees and are expanding at a Rapid Pace it would have been good to See dollar funding options but perhaps They are already in the pipeline And so that about does it for my top List of exchanges in 2023. I do Encourage you to do your own research on Each of these and I've left a wealth of Resources for you in the description so Do check those out However if you are going to be using any Of these exchanges or any other Centralized exchange for that matter Then it is absolutely crucial that you Practice self-custody irrespective of How much you think you trust an exchange Is proof of reserves nothing beats the Security of holding your own funds in Your own wallet I've said it a million Times before and I will say it again not Your keys not your crypto