However, that won’t matter for beginning investors. Since Gemini is only available in a small number of countries, there are bound to be fewer traders on the platform, and your transactions may be delayed if you can’t find an immediate buyer or seller. That means the exchange has less liquidity than Coinbase and Kraken.Īs mentioned, liquidity is important for crypto investing because you need to be able to buy or sell at a moment’s notice. Gemini is available in the United States, but there are only 50 other countries that accept it. Let’s compare the accessibility of Gemini, Coinbase, and Kraken. Due to local regulations, a crypto platform may have features that are available in some countries and banned in others. A coin that’s acceptable in one country may be banned in another. On an exchange with high liquidity, you should be able to complete your transactions within a short amount of time so you can capitalize on price fluctuations.īased on those principles alone, Kraken would seem like the ideal platform for hardcore crypto investors.Ĭryptocurrencies are regulated differently around the world. If you want to make a profit in cryptocurrency, you’ll want to be an active trader-you’re going to time the market (buy low and sell high) to generate a strong return on investment.

Because it has no intrinsic value, there’s little reason to believe that crypto values will grow over the long term in the same way property values do. Cryptocurrency is a high-risk investment.

Greater liquidity will make it easier for you to succeed in your crypto investing. In other words, there are more likely to be immediate buyers and sellers when you place an order. More active traders means there’s greater liquidity. Kraken boasts that it has more active traders on its platform-here’s why that’s a good thing. But Kraken has unique fee structures for each of its trading options so you can maximize your trade savings and return on investment. That’s not inherently unique to crypto platforms-Coinbase and Gemini have similar features. Kraken allows you to trade a variety of cryptocurrencies and stablecoins, and you can also do margin and futures trading. Kraken is a crypto platform that’s designed for advanced traders. If you’re interested in stablecoins, you can invest in the Gemini dollar (GUSD), which is backed 1:1 by the United States dollar. You can also earn interest on your crypto holdings-as high as 7.4% APY. Gemini does not offer as many cryptocurrencies as Coinbase does, but it does provide tools that are helpful for institutional investors and active traders. Like Coinbase, it’s a beginner-friendly platform with an intuitive interface and plenty of educational resources. While the standard version of Coinbase is geared toward beginning investors, Coinbase Pro is optimized for advanced users. Coinbase Pro has a larger selection of cryptocurrencies and investing tools, and an entirely different fee structure. You don’t need to plug in additional hardware, although you can use compatible external wallets if you wish.Ĭoinbase has two versions: the standard version and Coinbase Pro. Coinbase is also a crypto wallet and enables you to store your private keys through the app. You can place orders to buy and sell cryptocurrencies and connect your bank account to fund transactions or transfer your balances. In many ways, it’s the benchmark for all crypto exchange platforms.Ĭoinbase works similarly to an online brokerage. Coinbase has continued to build upon its success and is still the go-to platform for beginning crypto investors.

When Coinbase was launched in 2012, it was the first mainstream cryptoĮxchange and reached one million users in its second year of existence.

Coinbase pro vs. gemini fees 2019