CRYPTO BROKERS

On a global scale, cryptocurrency is a market that is gaining significant traction. This is confirmed by the explosion in new coins, trading activity, and institutional interests too. Of course, cryptos such as Bitcoin and Ethereum still dominate the space. However, hundreds of other coins are actually available to purchase these days. And if you want to gain access to all of these crypto coins, one of the best investment platforms for you to choose is a crypto broker. As the name suggests, these platforms provide an intermediary link between yourself and the various crypto assets available. 

Best Crypto Brokers

Crypto brokerage sites are actually rather common in many parts of the world. Many crypto investment companies offer multiple products on their site too, meaning that they aren’t exclusively brokerage platforms. For example, you might sign up with a site and find that they offer a digital wallet, exchange, staking services, and of course, brokerage services too. It all depends on which site you choose to register with, which brings us to the main reason we are here. The hard work and research process has already been done for you, and our team of professionals have managed to filter things down to the very best brokers:

• eToro - best overall crypto broker
• Pepperstone - best crypto broker for low fees
• Coinbase - best crypto broker for beginners
• Binance - best crypto broker for enthusiasts

67% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider

eToro is an immensely popular site in the USA. But while it first launched out there, eToro has since expanded into markets like the UK, Australia, and others. This site is used by more than 15 million users, at the time of writing, and there are specific reasons why eToro has gained such popularity. Underpinning it all, the main appeal of eToro is how easy it is to trade crypto on the platform. eToro has a mobile app for both Android and iOS, it facilitates instant order executions, and the user interface is absolutely terrific. Even those who are brand new to the crypto investing game should have no trouble getting started.

Of course, eToro also boasts some specific benefits above some of the other crypto brokers out there. These include zero fees for trades, access to state of the art risk-management tools, support of all major cryptocurrencies, as well as options relating to social trading. The latter is what really put eToro on the map in the first place, in all honesty. Social trading lets you copy seasoned investors, trade by trade, which is ideal if you aren’t completely certain of what you are doing.

Cryptoasset investing is unregulated in most EU countries and the UK. No consumer protection. Your capital is at risk. CFD crypto trading is unavailable for clients residing in the UK and US. 67% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 72.2% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work, and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

Pepperstone is popularly regarded as a Forex trading platform, but that’s not all these guys have to offer. While yes, Pepperstone did focus on this market when they launched back in 2010, the platform is now highly diverse. And in recent times, Pepperstone has started to give users access to the crypto markets. With that said, Pepperstone is focusing mainly on CFDs with crypto, which is essentially a form of spread betting on the market price. This is somewhat complex at first, but there are educational videos on the Pepperstone site to help expand your knowledge in this area. 

You can also get leverage of 2:1 for major cryptos like Ethereum and Bitcoin, which helps to boost your trading power.

CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 72.2% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work, and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

Coinbase actually has two main products that users can take advantage of. The first is a standard wallet, simply known as Coinbase. This wallet is the easiest way to buy and sell different cryptos, and it is extremely safe to do so through this platform. However, the fees can be quite high compared to other brokerage sites mentioned here. This can be avoided by choosing to use the Coinbase Pro product, which is where you’ll find a set-up more similar to an exchange or brokerage platform.

Coinbase Pro has significantly lower fees, sometimes as low as 0.5% (subject to the size of your order). It also provides users with a much better range of cryptos to buy and sell, including access to typical trading tools such as charts, trading volume, and the ability to set stop orders. 

Binance is the self-proclaimed ‘largest crypto exchange in the world’. While we can’t confirm one way or another concerning this, we can say that the product offerings are certainly extensive with Binance. The platform supports well over 100 different cryptos, with an even greater number of crypto trading pairs - ideal if you don’t always want to invest using fiat currency. You’ve also got benefits like relatively low fees, staking services, stop limits, as well as leverage trading, if desired. Binance is incredibly safe and accessible too, with all members being able to download the highly-rated trading app for both Android and iOS. 

What Is a Crypto Broker?

A crypto broker is basically a platform that connects individual investors with the crypto markets. That’s where the term broker comes from, in the first place, as it indicates that someone ‘brokers a deal’ before executing a trade. However, back in the day, brokers would often work at large firms and deal with investors over the phone, connecting the needs of both parties by acting as a middleman. But with crypto brokers, all of this has been streamlined. Instead of negotiations taking place between two parties, with plenty of back and forth going on, everything is now built-in using software, allowing trades to be completed almost instantly. 

One thing that hasn’t changed, however, is the small fee that a broker takes for facilitating the transaction. Many sites still have fees for transactions, unless you pick a site like eToro, where all fees have been removed for trades. 

67% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider

How Do Crypto Brokerages Work?

In a broad sense, crypto brokerages work by connecting investors with the main crypto market, providing instant access to a range of coins. The platforms themselves are the actual broker in this case, which is quite different from how things used to be. Back in the day, people would deal with individual brokers to set up their buy and sell orders, but this is no longer necessary, even if it is still possible. Brokerages facilitate both sides of the equation, helping to execute both buy and sell deals relating to crypto, often taking a small fee for providing such a bridge. 

What’s the Difference Between a Broker and an Exchange?

Although investors often use these terms synonymously, there are subtle differences between exchanges and brokerages. Starting with exchanges, these are similar to a brokerage platform, although people buy and sell cryptos at the current market price - unless they set any stop orders. With brokerages, they are able to set the price, and they often create products known as derivatives, which are a little more complex. One constant, however, is that both platforms facilitate the buying and selling process by connecting investors on both sides of the equation.

Brokerage sites also tend to operate in the OTC (over the counter) market, which is different from exchanges. For that reason, brokerages are able to set up more complex products and services, as previously stated. Brokerage sites can set up derivatives, futures, as well as CFDs, all operating in a way that is speculative but can lead to larger returns thanks to the flexible trading options. 

What Are CFD Brokers?

For starters, we’d better highlight what a CFD is. This stands for contract for difference, and it is a little confusing for novice investors, understandably. Basically, with CFDs, nobody actually owns the crypto coin. Instead, two parties are essentially betting on whether the price will increase or decrease from the price at which the CFD contract was initiated. Since CFDs are only typically allowed in OTC markets, that’s why people must use a crypto broker to engage in such contracts. 

CFDs are very popular in the United Kingdom, USA, and Australia - especially for cryptos such as Bitcoin, which are expensive to own outright. Investing this way lets you be involved with that asset class without having to stump up such huge sums of cash. Should a CFD contract go in your favour, the returns can be significant, but the opposite is also true. For that reason, CFD trading is only recommended for experienced individuals.

How to Sign Up to a Crypto Broker

After covering some of the best crypto brokers available right now, we’d like to ensure that you know exactly how to register with them. Note that this can only be done legally if you are a resident of a country in which crypto is regulated, and if you meet the legal investment age for that particular jurisdiction. Both must be proved after you’ve actually opened the account. With that said, here is how you can get yourself set up with a crypto broker:

Opening Your New Account

Of the four crypto brokerages we’ve mentioned earlier, our number one recommendation is eToro. You can register with eToro in a matter of minutes too, meaning that the crypto market is at your fingertips right now. As for the required details, firstly, you must create a fresh username and password. Beyond this, eToro will ask for some personal details relating to your name, title, address, DOB, email, and phone number. The age, name, and address are what you must verify after setting up your account. 

Before you officially open the account, you will also have the chance to set up some security questions and create any account restrictions.

67% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider

Verifying the Details

Verifying your account details may seem like a pain, but this is actually a good sign. All regulated crypto brokerages must complete the KYC (know your customer) process before allowing anyone to make any investments. It is pretty easy to verify your details too, especially through sites like eToro. In order to complete this process, you can email the team with a photo of your driving license or passport, which will take care of verifying your name and age. As for the address, you can send through a bank statement or a recent utility bill. 

All photos that you send through need to be clear enough so that the information can be checked and verified. Once sent through and received by the site, your account will likely be verified within hours.

Funding the Account

Before you can purchase any crypto coins, you must ensure that you have the necessary funds in your account to cover the transaction value. Therefore, you’ll need to use one of the supported banking methods to make a deposit prior to any trades. Most brokerage sites offer a range of payment methods these days, and these can include credit/debit cards, prepaid cards, e-wallets such as PayPal or Skrill, bank transfers, and several others. Of course, it’s completely up to you which method you use, but the deposit value must meet the minimum permitted at your chosen site. 

This also means that your first trade will need to be completed using fiat currency such as USD, GBP, AUD, or others. Beyond this, however, you can actually trade using crypto pairs, which is where you can purchase one crypto using another. An example would be BTC/ETH, where you can purchase Ethereum using Bitcoin. 

Making Your First Investment

It’s always an exciting time when you are lining up to make your very first crypto investment. But before you pull the trigger, take a moment to think about your investment goals, how much you can afford to invest, and whether you see any true value in the coin you are considering. With the crypto market, it’s easy to get wrapped up in head-spinning gains on a short-term basis. But take it from us, those coins with real-world value and sustainable, long-term appreciation are always a safer investment than emerging coins. Some examples of such coins include Solana, Cardano, Ethereum, Bitcoin, Litecoin, among others. 

Best Bitcoin Brokers

There is no denying that Bitcoin is still the major player in the crypto market as a whole. It is the largest coin by market cap, and it has demonstrated significant price appreciation since its inception - more than 10 years ago now. So as you’d expect, all crypto brokerages provide users with exposure to Bitcoin. But of the many brokerage sites out there right now, we believe that the following two provide the most benefits:

67% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider

We are confident in putting eToro in the ‘top rated’ category for some fairly obvious reasons. Of course, the option for members to engage in social trading is a major plus, as better returns can be achieved by copying expert traders. This is all free of charge, and speaking of freebies, all transactions are executed without eToro taking a cut from the buy/sell order. Not many brokerage sites display such a benefit. And finally, eToro has quite a range of products for users to explore too. This includes standard trading, CFDs, P2Ps, staking, exchange trading, as well as digital wallets for storing crypto too.

Since all of this has been bundled up into a leading mobile app too, we’d say that eToro has all major angles covered. So if this sounds like the sort of platform you’ve been looking for, you can sign up with eToro right now. Of course, Bitcoin is the star-player in all of the products mentioned here too!

67% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider

CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 72.2% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work, and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

Trading through crypto brokerage sites is obviously a suitable route for many, as we have hammered home throughout. On that note, Pepperstone is another great brokerage site when it comes to Bitcoin. Why? Because you’ve got access to the latest MT5 trading software, options such as CFDs and leverage trading, and very low fees for transactions. This is true for both buying and selling Bitcoin, meaning that you can move in and out of positions without taking on too much damage with respect to your available balance. Since brokerage sites can set their own prices to a certain extent, looking at the spreads is also critical.

And from what we’ve seen, the prices/spreads that Pepperstone sets for Bitcoin are highly competitive. Should you trade quite large sums of money for Bitcoin, there is even a rewards scheme in place, where cash rebates are quite frequent. 

CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 72.2% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work, and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

How to Choose the Best Crypto Broker

Rather than simply shortlisting the top crypto brokers, we’d like to share some insider knowledge as to how such platforms have been selected. So, without further ado, let us get into some of the main areas that we have assessed to create our list.

Design and Ease of Use

Choosing a site that is easy to use is one of the most underrated review areas of them all. Why? Because a great user experience is essential for trading crypto in a headache-free manner. On that note, we like to assess how easy it is to access all products on a site, how easily trades can be executed, and how professional the site is from an aesthetics point of view. Of course, all of the sites we have selected above score highly in these areas.

Fees and Commissions

There is nothing worse than being charged premium fees for funding your account, trading cryptos, or for anything else that a sub-par platform might charge you for. Note that we said sub-par because the sites we’ve listed have reduced if not eliminated many of these annoying fees. And the less you get charged for trades or deposits, the more cash you keep for future transactions.

Reputation

Assessing the reputation of any investment platform is always an important step in the process of choosing the right site. All of the crypto brokers we’ve mentioned have been in the game for a number of years, and they are all regulated by relative authorities from around the world. This makes them trustworthy and legal, but when you look at online reviews from current customers, on the whole, things look very positive. None of these sites displays any major red flags, which would automatically mean that we wouldn’t recommend them anyway.

Cryptocurrency Pairs Available

Although you can trade most of the main cryptos using fiat currency, some of the other altcoins out there cannot be purchased with fiat. That’s where it is advantageous to look at the range of crypto pairs that are supported. You can often get a better spread when trading using cryptos instead of fiat currency too, especially if one coin gains value against another. As for some of the more fundamental and widely accessible coins to trade with, BTC, ETH, LTC, ADA, and SOL are candidates to look out for.

Trading Options

As we’ve touched upon several times earlier, the best crypto brokers all have multiple products that you can trade crypto with. In short, more products means that there is a greater chance that one will suit your needs. Some people like to trade using CFDs, some prefer trading at the market price, and ambitious traders might like to use leverage trading in search of greater yields. This all depends on the individual, but of course, being able to access these trading products under one roof is always a positive thing.

67% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider

Final Thoughts

By now, we sincerely hope that you feel more comfortable with what crypto brokers are, how they operate, what kind of features the top platforms have, and whether or not you want to use one to purchase cryptocurrency. Of course, nobody is forcing you to invest through such platforms, but the benefits are obvious to see. With favourable spreads, low fees, plenty of trading products, and even options such as social trading, crypto brokers are a great way to gain exposure to the broader crypto market. However, there is still one site that rises above the rest, and that site is eToro!

So if you are feeling ready to jump into this highly exciting market, why not sign up with eToro today and make your first purchase?

67% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider

FAQs

Are crypto brokers regulated?

Yes - crypto brokers are regulated in the same way that other investment platforms are. Depending on its country of operation, some of the regulatory bodies to look out for include the FCA, FINRA, ASIC, and several others.

Which is the best crypto broker?

Given the user-friendly design, range of options, transaction fees, and overall popularity - we have to say that eToro is the best crypto broker right now. Few sites are able to match the quality that these guys have to offer, which is why we recommend registering with eToro when you get the chance.

67% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider

Is it safe to use crypto brokers?

Absolutely. Crypto brokers boast many factors that make them trustworthy. This includes FCA regulation, the use of encryption software for transactions, KYC processes, and so much more.