No matter where you are on your crypto investing journey, you'll inevitably need to use an exchange.
A crypto exchange is just a website where traders can buy and sell cryptos in much the same way that stocks are traded on Wall Street. That might sound simple enough...
But there are dozens of options available. The challenge for crypto investors of any experience level is choosing which exchanges are trustworthy enough to use. (Hint: It's not many.)
It's not a decision that should be taken lightly. Thieves have managed to loot hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of crypto from exchanges over the past decade.
Out of all the potential exchanges, I trust exactly two of them.
Both of them operate out of the United States, and therefore offer the protection of anti-money laundering (AML) and know your customer (KYC) laws. Opening an account will require you to surrender a lot of sensitive personal information. That usually includes your birthday, home address, and Social Security number, along with images of personal identification such as a driver's license or a passport.
This is one of the rare instances where crypto activity is regulated, but that regulation keeps all users protected against scams and thieves.
My two favorite exchanges are also geared toward different levels of experience. One of them is a long-time favorite among veteran crypto traders. The other has made a serious effort to make investing in cryptocurrency easy for beginners - and it even has a way you can earn crypto for free, so you can test the waters of crypto investing without risking any of your own money.
Here are my top two crypto exchanges of choice...
Crypto Exchange No. 1: Kraken
Launched in 2013, Kraken in a mainstay among crypto traders. But in its early years, Kraken wasn't particularly beginner-friendly. Kraken still isn't quite as easy to use as Coinbase, but it has made enough progress that beginners won't get lost.
On the other hand, Kraken gives every user easy access to more advanced features when they feel they're ready.
One major drawback is the need to wire fiat money into the exchange, although you can fund your account with a credit card.
- Pros: Large selection of coins, strong security, one-click access to more advanced features, lower fees than other exchanges, mobile app.
- Cons: Less handholding for beginners, harder to move fiat money in and out.
Crypto Exchange No. 2: Coinbase
Many investors know of Coinbase now because of its initial public offering (IPO), and because of its strategy to make crypto investing as accessible as possible.
Getting fiat money (U.S. dollars) in and out is a simple ACH transfer once you've linked your Coinbase account to your checking account.
The website walks you through the steps of buying, selling, and transferring cryptocurrencies to hide as much of the behind-the-scenes complexity as possible.
- Pros: Intuitive website, offers a more sophisticated "pro" version, offers recurring purchases, mobile app, offers a way to generate an annual report for tax purposes.
- Cons: Charges above-average fees, site known to crash when demand rises during major rallies or crashes on the crypto markets.
How to Get Free Crypto on Coinbase
Coinbase has a Learn and Earn feature, where you can earn free crypto by completing a series of video lessons. The cryptos you can earn as of this writing are The Graph (GRT) and Amp (AMP). They rotate in and out, so you'll have plenty of opportunities to earn other cryptos in the future.
To get started earning free crypto, all you have to do is visit Coinbase.com/earn, and you can pick and choose what lessons you want to complete.
You can also get there by logging into your Coinbase account and navigating to the "Learn and earn" section on the lefthand side of your home screen, where you'll find a variety of different lessons you can complete to earn your free crypto.
Click "Start lesson" for the crypto you'd like to earn. Once you've completed the quiz, any cryptos you earned will be direct-deposited into your Coinbase account and appear in your portfolio.
Once you have your free crypto, THIS is what you should use to test the waters - move it to a wallet, watch prices for a few days, trade it...
There's a lot to learn about crypto investing, and what you don't want to do is send your own money into hyperspace because you made a rookie mistake.
Use the free crypto instead.
Where to Go from Here
Once you've got accounts set up on one or both exchanges and you're earning your crypto, your next step is to put together a crypto portfolio that's going to build wealth.
You can go here to learn how to access the complete Alternative Wealth Network model portfolio, packed with crypto profit plays. Our complete panel of experts, including yours truly, has hand selected these recommendations for sheer profit potential. We're particularly excited about two small coins that could each soar more than 5,000% in the next five years. Take a look...