Best Crypto Exchanges in the USA in 2022

With the USA being the so-called land of the free, you’d expect its residents to be able to do what they want with their money and to be able to put it wherever they please. However, this is far from the case, and the US sees its citizens barred from more cryptocurrency exchanges than any other capitalist country. 

To name a few of the major exchanges that US citizens can’t use to trade crypto on, BitMEX, Bybit, FTX, and Binance are included in this list.

Although users can use KuCoin to transfer cryptocurrency assets, as it’s not licensed in the US, the USD fiat currency can’t be directly transferred into the exchange. Due to this, US citizens have to work inside of the restrictions the exchange puts in place for users who don’t fulfil their KYC requirements.

Recently, even exchanges that have historically been a safe haven for US users, such as Gate.io, have taken the decision to no longer service residents. 

There are numerous reasons behind some of the largest crypto exchanges in the world not allowing US citizens to use their services, on both a state and federal level. As an example, the state of New York and Washington both have strict regulations on cryptocurrency.

Derivates trading is one of the biggest pieces of red tape when it comes to exchange availability in the US. Although derivates, futures trading, longing, shorting, or whatever name you know it by is becoming bigger in the worldwide market, US retail investors simply aren’t allowed access, and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is making sure it stays this way. 

With this said, there are still a number of great exchanges that are available to US residents. Here are our top picks when choosing an accessible US exchange:

Coinbase, founded in 2012, is the biggest exchange (CEX) in the US by trading volume. The CEX even held the number one spot worldwide for a number of years, before finally being knocked off their pedestal by Binance in 2018. They also made history in 2021, becoming the first cryptocurrency exchange to list publicly on the Nasdaq. 

The exchange offers around 100 tradable coins to its users and charges 1.49% for cryptocurrency sales and purchases made by bank transfer, all the way up to 3.99% for purchases made through credit or debit card. There is then the spread fee, 0.5%, on top of this. If a user wants to convert a cryptocurrency of there choosing, a 2% fee is charged for the privilege of using this service.

US citizens Coinbase USD wallet funds are covered by FDIC insurance, up to a maximum of $250,000, even if Coinbase was to fail as a business. However, as crypto isn’t ‘legal tender’ account balances such as USDC stable coin, Bitcoin (BTC), or any other altcoins, such as Ethereum (ETH), aren’t subject to Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) or Securities Investor Protection Corporation protections.  

The exchange also offers customer support, through phone, email, and live chat, making it a staple for US crypto investors. 

Gemini was launched in 2015 by the Winklevoss twins, Cameron and Tyler. Although the trading volumes aren’t that of Coinbase or Binance US, it’s still one of the biggest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world, ranking only just out of the worldwide top 10, when looking at 24 hour trading volumes.

Where a number of the exchanges on the market have minimum purchase requirements, Gemini has almost no minimum thresholds in place. An investor can buy as little as 0.00001 Bitcoin (BTC) if their risk appetite, or finances, only allow this.

Although small trades are allowed by the exchange, this isn’t necessarily the most cost effective way of buying crypto. Trades of over $200 come with a 1.49% fee, whereas trades under $10 cost 99c each.

The exchange gives investors the option of trading around 90 coins, which is significantly lower than the likes of Binance, not to be mistaken by Binance US.

Although Binance isn’t accessible in its International form, Binance US is accessible for US users. However, even though the name and is owned by Binance, this is as far as it goes. The exchange is run independently, and the name is where the similarities end. 

Due to US regulations, the exchange is significantly restricted in terms of the coins that can be made available to their users, with only 53 coins, at the time of writing this being available. This is in comparison to the sheer number of coins that users have become accustomed to on the international exchange. 

They do, however, work on the same low fees that the Binance international exchange offers, which is a major positive. This keeps them extremely competitive compared to other exchanges on the market. 

Binance US, not to be mistaken for Binance international, USD wallet funds are also covered by FDIC insurance, for US citizens. 

Other US Exchanges

This is far from an exhaustive list of crypto exchanges available to US residents though, and the likes of Wirex, Crypto.com, and Kraken, to name a few, are also major players in this space.