Exchanges & Trading
Best Crypto Exchanges
Centralised venues that hold your funds while you trade. Custody dominates the weighting because on a centralised exchange your balance is a claim on a company, not a coin in your pocket.
All 6 compared
Sorted by computed score. Column headers carry this category's weighting; the highest score in each pillar is marked. Tap a name for the full assessment.
| # | Service | Score | Custody30% | Cost20% | Regulation20% | Performance20% | Access10% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | KrakenTraders who use Kraken Pro and want reserve proofs they can check themselves | 8.4Strong | 8.9 — best in table | 7.6 | 8.5 | 8.5 | 7.8 |
| 02 | BitstampEuropean and UK users who want a boring exchange, in the good sense | 8.1Strong | 8.4 | 7.4 | 9.0 — best in table | 7.8 | 7.9 |
| 03 | CoinbaseUS users who value an audited, listed counterparty over cheap trading | 7.8Solid | 7.9 | 5.8 | 8.9 | 8.3 | 8.5 — best in table |
| 04 | OKXDerivatives depth with better reserve disclosure than most offshore venues | 7.8Solid | 7.9 | 8.5 | 6.2 | 8.9 | 7.4 |
| 05 | GeminiUS users who want the strictest state custody regime and will pay for it | 7.1Solid | 8.4 | 5.0 | 7.0 | 7.2 | 7.2 |
| 06 | BinanceDepth and asset coverage outside the US and EU, if you accept the counterparty question−1 penalty | 5.9Mixed | 7.2 | 8.8 — best in table | 4.8 | 9.0 — best in table | 7.1 |
The assessments
what each score rests on- 018.4/10
Kraken
Best for traders who use Kraken Pro and want reserve proofs they can check themselves
Company file: Kraken, owners, incidents →Strong◆ Sources checked · 27 Sept 2026Kraken pairs one of the best reserve-disclosure records among the large venues with the cheapest order-book entry tier of the three US majors. It has published Merkle-tree proof of reserves for longer and more consistently than almost anyone. It does have a retail tier: the Kraken app charges 1% plus spread, against 0.40% / 0.80% on Kraken Pro. And as a private company its accounts are not public.
Pillar scores
- Custody & Security30%
- 8.9
- Cost & Fee Transparency20%
- 7.6
- Regulation & Legal Standing20%
- 8.5
- Performance & Reliability20%
- 8.5
- Access & Support10%
- 7.8
Strengths
- Proof of reserves published consistently, not as a one-off marketing exercise
- Kraken Pro entry fees (0.40% / 0.80%) are below Coinbase Advanced's US entry tier
- Federal Reserve master account for its Wyoming bank arm since March 2026
Against it
- The Kraken app charges 1% plus spread; the cheap schedule is only on Kraken Pro
- Private company: no public audited accounts until an IPO
- Verification queues can be slow when volumes spike
Full assessment of Kraken →strong · 8.4/10 - 028.1/10
Bitstamp
Best for european and UK users who want a boring exchange, in the good sense
Company file: Bitstamp, owners, incidents →Strong◆ Sources checked · 27 Sept 2026One of the longest continuously operating exchanges in crypto and among the least eventful, which in this category is high praise. Owned by Robinhood since 2 Jun 2025, it holds a MiCA licence from Luxembourg and registrations in the UK, US and Singapore. Fees are low at the first tiers and the asset list is short. Its one theft, in 2015, the company said it absorbed in full.
Pillar scores
- Custody & Security30%
- 8.4
- Cost & Fee Transparency20%
- 7.4
- Regulation & Legal Standing20%
- 9.0
- Performance & Reliability20%
- 7.8
- Access & Support10%
- 7.9
Strengths
- One of the longest operating records in the industry, most of it uneventful
- MiCA licence plus UK, US and Singapore registrations, no current restrictions
- First $1,000 a month trades free; first paid tier 0.30% / 0.40%
Against it
- Short asset list compared with every other venue here
- Depth outside the majors is thin
- The 2015 payout is confirmed only by the company
Full assessment of Bitstamp →strong · 8.1/10 - 037.8/10
Coinbase
Best for uS users who value an audited, listed counterparty over cheap trading
Company file: Coinbase, owners, incidents →Solid◆ Sources checked · 27 Sept 2026The large exchange with the fullest public record: a Nasdaq-listed company filing audited accounts with the SEC. Pricing is the weak side. The one-tap screen hides its spread, and since 16 Sep 2026 the US entry tier on Coinbase Advanced is 0.50% maker / 0.90% taker, above Kraken Pro. Its own wallets have never been breached; its customers' accounts have, through a 2021 SMS-recovery flaw and a 2025 insider data leak.
Pillar scores
- Custody & Security30%
- 7.9
- Cost & Fee Transparency20%
- 5.8
- Regulation & Legal Standing20%
- 8.9
- Performance & Reliability20%
- 8.3
- Access & Support10%
- 8.5
Strengths
- Audited public-company disclosure, which is a materially different evidence base to an attestation
- No breach of Coinbase's own wallets on record
- Coinbase Advanced has a published maker/taker schedule, and EU/UK entry rates (0.25% / 0.50%) are low
Against it
- The one-tap screen prices badly and does not present the spread as a cost
- US entry tier on Advanced is 0.50% / 0.90% since 16 Sep 2026, above Kraken Pro
- Customer accounts drained in 2021 and customer data leaked by insiders in 2025; repayment is company-reported only
Full assessment of Coinbase →solid · 7.8/10 - 047.8/10
OKX
Best for derivatives depth with better reserve disclosure than most offshore venues
Company file: OKX, owners, incidents →Solid◆ Sources checked · 27 Sept 2026The strongest reserve disclosure among the offshore venues: monthly Merkle-tree proofs plus a zk-STARK proof that the liability total contains no negative balances, so a user can check their own inclusion. It now holds licences in the US, the EEA (MiCA), the UAE, Singapore and Australia, but its main entity pleaded guilty in the US in February 2025 and paid more than $504M.
Pillar scores
- Custody & Security30%
- 7.9
- Cost & Fee Transparency20%
- 8.5
- Regulation & Legal Standing20%
- 6.2
- Performance & Reliability20%
- 8.9
- Access & Support10%
- 7.4
Strengths
- Monthly proof of reserves that covers user liabilities, checkable against your own balance
- Derivatives depth close to the category leader
- Competitive, clearly published fee tiers
Against it
- Guilty plea in the US in Feb 2025 over years of unlicensed operation
- Protection depends on which OKX entity you sign up with
- Documentation quality lags the regulated venues
Full assessment of OKX →solid · 7.8/10 - 057.1/10
Gemini
Best for uS users who want the strictest state custody regime and will pay for it
Company file: Gemini, owners, incidents →Solid◆ Sources checked · 27 Sept 2026The most conservative custody setup of any exchange we rate, held by a New York trust company under a regime that is genuinely more demanding than a money-transmitter licence. The price is high: the app is expensive, and since 1 Sep 2026 the ActiveTrader base tier is 0.60% maker / 1.20% taker. In 2026 Gemini is leaving the UK, the EU and Australia while posting heavy losses.
Pillar scores
- Custody & Security30%
- 8.4
- Cost & Fee Transparency20%
- 5.0
- Regulation & Legal Standing20%
- 7.0
- Performance & Reliability20%
- 7.2
- Access & Support10%
- 7.2
Strengths
- Custody under a New York trust charter, the strictest regime in this table
- Published SOC audit reports rather than summaries
- Earn users got 100% of their coins back in kind
Against it
- ActiveTrader base tier is 0.60% / 1.20% since 1 Sep 2026; the app costs more
- Earn users lost access to funds for about 18 months through an affiliated lender
- Leaving the UK, EU and Australia in 2026 while running heavy losses
Full assessment of Gemini →solid · 7.1/10 - 065.9/10
Binance
Best for depth and asset coverage outside the US and EU, if you accept the counterparty question
Company file: Binance, owners, incidents →Mixed◆ Sources checked · 27 Sept 2026By some distance the deepest venue in the market, with the widest asset coverage and flat 0.10% spot fees (0.075% paid in BNB). It also carries the heaviest regulatory history of any exchange we rate: a $4.3bn US guilty plea in 2023 and, since 1 Jul 2026, no service for EU residents after it withdrew its MiCA application. Which entity holds a given balance is harder to establish than at any of its peers.
Pillar scores
- Custody & Security30%
- 7.2
- Cost & Fee Transparency20%
- 8.8
- Regulation & Legal Standing20%
- 4.8
- Performance & Reliability20%
- 9.0
- Access & Support10%
- 7.1
Deductions applied
- −1.5Live enforcement action. A regulator currently restricts the service, its market access or its users' ability to withdraw.
Strengths
- Liquidity no competitor matches, which is itself a form of user protection on exit
- Spot fees of 0.10% flat, 0.075% paid in BNB
- Asset coverage far beyond any regulated peer
Against it
- Regulatory history is the worst of any exchange in this table
- No service for EU residents since 1 Jul 2026; Binance.com excludes the US
- Collateral priced off its own books failed on 10 Oct 2025
Full assessment of Binance →mixed · 5.9/10
A centralised exchange is the only product in crypto where using it means giving up the thing you came for. Your balance stops being a coin and becomes a line in a company database — an unsecured claim against a business you cannot audit. That is why custody carries thirty per cent here and why the questions we ask about reserves, segregation and incident history matter more than the fee table everyone compares first.
Frequently asked questions
Is the highest-scoring exchange here the one I should use?+
Not automatically. The score answers "how sound is this operator", not "is this right for me". If you are buying once a month and holding, the depth advantage that lifts a venue up this table is worth nothing to you, and the retail pricing that drags another one down is the only number that matters.
Why does Binance rank below venues with far less liquidity?+
Because compliance carries twenty per cent in this category and a live enforcement penalty is applied on top. Its performance and cost scores are among the highest in the table — the weighting simply does not let those offset a regulatory record this heavy, and since 1 Jul 2026 it cannot serve EU residents at all.
What is proof of reserves actually worth?+
Less than people think, and more than nothing. It shows assets exist at a moment in time. The better versions also prove the total owed to users, so a Merkle-tree proof you can check against your own balance scores higher here than an attestation letter. None of them show the company's other debts, so none prove solvency on their own.
Should I keep coins on an exchange at all?+
For anything you are not actively trading, no. Every score in this table is a judgement about how well an operator handles a risk you can avoid entirely by withdrawing to a wallet you control. See our hardware wallet ratings for the alternative.
Assessed by
By Emily Volker
Editor-in-Chief · September 27, 2026