Here's The World's Most Trustworthy Crypto Exchanges

Forbes

Crypto is riding high once again, but investors still need to be careful about where they put their money.  Read the full story on Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/javierpaz/2025/01/28/the-worlds-most-trustworthy-crypto-exchanges/  Subscribe to FORBES: https://www.youtube.com/user/Forbes?sub_confirmation=1  Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:  https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript  Stay Connected Forbes newsletters: https://newsletters.editorial.forbes.com Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes More From Forbes:  http://forbes.com  Forbes covers the intersection of entrepreneurship, wealth, technology, business and lifestyle with a focus on people and success.

Transcript

00:00Today on Forbes, the world's most trustworthy crypto exchanges.

00:06Christmas came early for Bitcoin this year.

00:09On the back of record-breaking launches of ETFs backed by the likes of BlackRock and

00:13Fidelity, which have accumulated $112 billion in Bitcoin, and President Donald Trump's

00:20re-election in November, the digital asset crossed $100,000.

00:25Enthusiasts are expecting 2025 to be more bullish as a pro-crypto Congress is coming

00:31into power with promises to finally pass regulation that will move the industry out of the proverbial

00:36penalty box.

00:38Hype cycles like this create unbridled optimism and a healthy dose of FOMO, but investors

00:44should proceed with caution.

00:46And this does not mean which tokens one chooses to speculate in.

00:50There are hundreds of crypto exchanges in the world, essentially retail brokerage firms,

00:54with fancy websites, attractive features, and yield propositions, and promises to keep

01:00your money safe.

01:02But all crypto exchanges and marketplaces are not created equal.

01:06There are significant differences between the types and number of licenses they hold

01:10and how they safeguard your digital assets.

01:13Anyone who was burned by the collapse of FTX in 2022 knows how important that can be.

01:20Additionally, not every exchange provides the same trading opportunities or charges

01:25the same amount.

01:27The top firm on Forbes' third annual Best Crypto Exchange ranking, which analyzed more

01:32than 200 firms, is $85 billion Chicago-based CME Group.

01:38While this giant futures exchange, founded in 1898 to trade butter and eggs, is not suitable

01:44for most retail investors, we gave it high scores because in the wild and woolly world

01:49of crypto, safety is paramount, and the CME Group is highly regulated by the Commodity

01:54Futures Trading Commission, or CFTC.

01:58While crypto is still a tiny part of what is traded at CME, during 2024 it traded $1.4

02:04trillion in futures contracts for digital assets such as Bitcoin or Ether.

02:10CME Group offers such things as micro-Bitcoin and micro-Ether futures and options, with

02:15minimums of $300 for the smallest of futures contracts, that customers can gain access

02:20to via traditional brokerage firms like Charles Schwab and Fidelity.

02:25When it comes to retail-oriented exchanges, $70 billion market cap Coinbase earned the

02:30number two spot in the rankings.

02:33Coinbase is the only major publicly traded cryptocurrency exchange in the U.S., and its

02:37customers pay more for this perceived safety in fees and transaction costs.

02:43Thanks to some 8 million active accounts, it is the largest custodian of Bitcoin in

02:47the world, holding $2.4 million worth a staggering $245 billion at current price levels.

02:55Asset safety is the most important feature exchange customers demand, according to our

02:59survey of retail crypto trade.

03:01Bitstamp, a global exchange with a significant presence in Europe, came in third, with Binance,

03:08the world's largest crypto exchange by trading volume, coming in fourth, and Menlo Park headquartered

03:13Robinhood, which is predominantly oriented towards stocks and options, taking fifth place.

03:19Robinhood, long criticized for gamifying investing to attract a youthful audience, has become

03:25something of a meme headquarters, including holding $15 billion worth of Dogecoin for

03:30clients.

03:31Besides meme coins, Robinhood acquired Luxembourg-based crypto exchange Bitstamp last July for approximately

03:37$200 million, with the firms continuing to operate separately pending the necessary board

03:42approvals in the coming months.

03:45This acquisition may be the start of a consolidation trend for this highly fragmented industry

03:50as the most successful firms attempt to break out from their regional focus.

03:54Binance, absent during last year's rankings due to legal wranglings, has a new management

03:59team that promises to focus more on compliance, which would be a boon for the crypto compliance

04:05sector.

04:06The remaining firms in the ranking include some of the most prominent worldwide.

04:10In the U.S., leading firms include Kraken, Gemini, Crypto.com, and Fidelity.

04:18For full coverage and to see the whole list, check out Javier Paz's piece on Forbes.com.

04:24This is Kieran Meadows from Forbes.

04:27Thanks for tuning in.

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