Glossary
What is a crypto exchange?
In one sentence
A crypto exchange is a marketplace for buying, selling and swapping cryptocurrencies — the usual first stop for anyone entering the market.
An exchange matches buyers and sellers. Most people first encounter one when converting ordinary money into crypto, which requires a platform that handles bank transfers or card payments and complies with financial regulation in your country.
Costs are rarely a single number. Look at the trading fee, the spread between buy and sell prices, deposit and withdrawal charges, and the exchange rate applied to your currency. A platform advertising “zero commission” often earns considerably more through a wide spread.
Beyond cost, the questions that matter are: is it available and licensed where you live, what is its security history, does it publish proof of reserves, and can you actually get money out — withdrawal is where platforms most often disappoint, and it is the step our reviews always test.
For example
Comparing two exchanges on headline commission alone will usually mislead you; the spread often costs more.