Directory

Exchanges

Where crypto is bought, sold and — usually — custodied for you. Every listing says what a company is good for and what to watch out for. Sponsors can buy placement here. They can never buy a rating, and the methodology page says so in writing.

Free to ask, free to be listed. A person reads every request, and we reply either way.

Exchanges today

Listed
31
every entry written by us
Custody stated
28
who holds the keys, on every card
Ratings sold
0
placement is for sale; a verdict never is

Every exchanges listing

Paid placement first, then A–Z. Position is the only thing a sponsor can buy, and it is marked on every card.

Binance They hold the keys

Large offshore exchange, not open to US residents. Pleaded guilty in 2023 to US money-laundering and sanctions charges.

Watch out for Pleaded guilty to US money-laundering charges

Founded 2017

Binance.US They hold the keys

US exchange run by BAM Trading Services, Binance's US affiliate. Oregon revoked its money transmitter licence in 2024 after the US conviction of Binance's founder, and in 2025 Connecticut fined it $60,000 as it gave up its licence there.

Exchange for spot and perpetual futures trading, including futures on stocks, indices and commodities. In 2023 Malaysia's Securities Commission added BingX to its investor alert list.

Founded 2018

bitFlyer They hold the keys

Japanese exchange, with a US arm, bitFlyer USA. In 2018 Japan's Kanto Local Finance Bureau ordered it to improve its business operations after inspections found it had no effective management structure, and in 2023 New York's Department of Financial Services fined bitFlyer USA $1.2 million for cybersecurity failures.

Bithumb They hold the keys

South Korean exchange trading against the Korean won. In March 2026 South Korea's Financial Intelligence Unit decided a ₩36.8 billion fine on it for anti-money-laundering breaches.

Bitpanda They hold the keys

Vienna-founded investing app for crypto, stocks and precious metals. In 2026 Austria's Financial Market Authority fined Bitpanda GmbH €70,000 for breaching the EU's crypto-asset rules on white papers and marketing; at Bitpanda's request the FMA is reviewing whether publishing the penalty was lawful.

Bitstamp They hold the keys

One of the longest-running exchanges in crypto, licensed in the European Union.

Watch out for Owned by Robinhood since 2024, so its terms follow a new parent

Founded 2011 · Luxembourg

Bybit They hold the keys

Offshore exchange, not open to US residents. About $1.5 billion was stolen from it in February 2025 in a hack the FBI attributed to North Korea.

Block, Inc.'s US payments app, which also sells bitcoin. In 2025 New York's Department of Financial Services fined Block $40 million over Cash App's anti-money-laundering failures, including its handling of high-risk Bitcoin transactions, and 48 state regulators fined it $80 million for anti-money-laundering violations.

Coinbase They hold the keys

US-listed exchange. Holds customer assets in custody by default.

Watch out for Its own filing says you would be an unsecured creditor

Founded 2012 · United States

Coincheck They hold the keys

Japanese exchange. After customers' crypto was stolen from it in a 2018 hack, Japan's Kanto Local Finance Bureau ordered it to improve its business management and internal controls.

eToro They hold the keys

Investing platform that sells crypto alongside stocks and ETFs. In 2024 its US arm, eToro USA, paid the SEC $1.5 million to settle charges that it ran an unregistered broker and clearing agency for crypto, and cut its US crypto list to Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash and Ether; it neither admitted nor denied the findings.

Gemini They hold the keys

US exchange and custodian, chartered as a New York trust company.

Watch out for Its Earn product froze customer funds for 18 months

Founded 2014 · New York, United States

HTX They hold the keys

Exchange formerly called Huobi. In May 2026 the UK froze the assets of its operator, Huobi Global S.A., under its Russia sanctions, citing reasonable grounds to suspect it served the A7 company and Garantex; in 2023 Malaysia's Securities Commission publicly reprimanded Huobi Global for operating there without registration.

Founded 2013

Kraken They hold the keys

Long-running exchange with a custodial default and its own staking products.

Watch out for The instant-buy screen is far more expensive

Founded 2011 · United States

KuCoin They hold the keys

Seychelles-based exchange, out of the US market under a 2025 guilty plea for unlicensed money transmission.

Watch out for Pleaded guilty in 2025 to unlicensed money transmission

Founded 2017 · Seychelles

OKX They hold the keys

Large offshore exchange. Pleaded guilty in the US in 2025 to operating an unlicensed money transmitting business that served US customers.

Revolut They hold the keys

Banking and payments app that also lets customers in many countries buy, sell and hold crypto. In 2025 the Bank of Lithuania fined Revolut Bank UAB €3.5 million for breaches of anti-money-laundering law.

River They hold the keys

Bitcoin-only US brokerage and custodian. Publishes a proof of reserves.

Watch out for Bitcoin only, and for US residents only

Founded 2019 · United States

Strike They hold the keys

Bitcoin payments and remittance app built on the Lightning Network.

Watch out for The price you are quoted includes a spread — compare it before a large buy

Founded 2019 · United States

Uphold They hold the keys

Platform for buying, selling and holding crypto, stablecoins and precious metals. In 2023 it paid $72,230 to settle 152 apparent violations of US sanctions on Iran, Cuba and Venezuela with the US Treasury's OFAC, which called them non-egregious and voluntarily disclosed.

XMRMatters Checked They hold the keys

Custodial peer-to-peer Monero marketplace. Trades settle through escrow the platform holds, not on-chain multisig.

Watch out for The platform holds your XMR. Escrow is a balance lock in the operator's database, not on-chain multisig — recovery is their process, not yours.

Founded 2026

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Free to ask and free to be listed. Paying never gets you in: a listing is decided on its merits first, and placement is only talked about after.

  1. 1
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  2. 2
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  3. 3
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Listings are our own opinion, written by us. Some links are commercial and marked as such — see how we make money. Nothing here is financial advice, and a listing is not a recommendation to use a service.