Cryptocurrency is an exciting industry at the cutting edge of technology and finance. While it’s full of opportunities to “make it,” it’s also full of traps to lose your money. One of those opportunities is the exchange you use to swap between digital currencies.
Often holding billions of dollars in assets, exchanges make a great target for hackers because the potential rewards are massive. When an exchange is hacked, customers can lose the funds stored on the platform, either for a long time or permanently. Therefore, choosing a trustworthy service is vital.
Godex
Godex is an anonymous, non-custodial cryptocurrency exchange. It facilitates swaps between hundreds of different cryptocurrencies across different blockchains. Using Godex is easy. You just select which assets you want to send and receive, send crypto to the address provided, and receive it there! Depending on the blockchain, the whole process takes about 10-30 minutes, and you don’t need to register an account.
Godex was an obvious choice for this safety crypto exchange list because the platform doesn’t store your funds, thus minimizing the risk. It also doesn’t take any personal information from you, making data theft impossible.
Gemini
Gemini is one of the biggest names in the cryptocurrency industry. It is a regulated, centralized exchange that was founded by Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss in 2014. Gemini currently operates in the US, Canada, the UK, South Korea, Hong Kong, and Singapore.
Although Gemini is a centralized exchange, which does make it an attractive target for hackers, the platform has never suffered a security breach. Its Gemini Custody product offers $200 million in cold storage insurance. The exchange holds a license to operate from the New York State Department of Financial Services.
Kraken
Kraken is another centralized exchange that has never suffered from a major hacking incident. Founded in 2011, the United States-based company is one of the longest-running in the entire industry. It is also the only exchange to hold a full banking license.
Not only does it boast a world-class security team and cold storage protected by armed guards, but the exchange periodically publishes proof of its reserves. This is an important detail as it ensures users that all the money they deposit on the exchange can actually be withdrawn without issue.
Bisq
Bisq is a decentralized Bitcoin exchange that facilitates fiat-to-crypto and crypto-to-fiat swaps. The platform operates as a peer-to-peer network, meaning that it is managed by a distributed network of computers. Users must install the open-source Bisq application and create a wallet to use the service. Adding a traditional currency payment account enables fiat exchanges.
Bisq embodies many of the original cypherpunk leanings that inspired Bitcoin. Examples include its focus on user privacy, evidenced by its Tor implementation, and lack of a central account system.
Crypto.com
Crypto.com is a fully licensed Singapore-based crypto exchange. It serves more than 70 million users and offers over 250 digital coins. The platform has been approved by various nations’ financial authorities, including regulators from the UK, Italy, France, Dubai, and South Korea.
In addition to Crypto.com’s robust licensing arrangements, it boasts industry-leading asset security. It only holds corporate funds in hot wallets, leaving customer crypto assets safe in cold storage. Additionally, it holds fiat deposits at Metropolitan Commercial Bank, which provides up to $250,000 in insurance.
Conclusion
Finding a trustworthy crypto exchange that offers the services you need is crucial if you want to buy and sell crypto safely. If you need to swap crypto-to-crypto — STX to BTC, for example — a platform like Godex is ideal. By not requiring users to sign up, it enables you to trade crypto quickly with minimal counterparty risk and zero risk of identity theft.
If you want to sell crypto for fiat, you will need to use either a solution like Bisq or a centralized exchange like Kraken or Crypto.com. While these platforms do carry counterparty risk and are targets for attackers, the selections we’ve included above have all demonstrated consistently excellent security practices.
About the Author/s
The New Jersey Digest is a new jersey magazine that has chronicled daily life in the Garden State for over 10 years.
