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Over the last year, the crypto market cap has been falling:
At the same time, the volume has declined by over 75% from over 250 Billion $ to under 50 Billion $ in 2022. What does this all indicate?
In my opinion, the crypto market moves in the cycles of 4 years coinciding with the bitcoin halving event. If you looked at the bitcoin price over the past 12 years, halvings have been a great indicator of price increases.
And if you’ve been watching closely, all crypto prices coincide with bitcoin movements.
Trading cryptocurrencies can be very profitable in the short term. I do not personally recommend trading cryptos. I feel the risks are too high and you are exposed to your mentality, emotions, and market sentiments. Humans are not very good at managing their emotions.
Cryptocurrencies have become a daily feature in all the financial media and our daily lives. There is not a single day that you hear about some news related to cryptos. There is either good news or bad news about cryptos. Most governments and related entities like IMF, and World Bank talk against it. Investors like Warren Buffet and Charlie Menger hate bitcoin.
What should common investors like us do?
Investing is very personal and your own choice. I feel you’re drawn to investing in cryptocurrencies like bitcoin because you’ve heard about people getting rich out of this. I’d recommend you study deeply what you’re getting into.
If you’ve decided to start investing in cryptos, there are several options for you to buy and sell. Most cryptocurrency exchanges have made the process more user-friendly than ever, especially those with the best cryptocurrency trading apps.
What are Cryptocurrency Exchanges?
A cryptocurrency exchange is a company that facilitates cryptocurrency transactions. As a customer of a Cryptocurrency exchange, you can buy and sell various digital currencies like bitcoin, Ethereum, and so on. Most of these exchanges will also help you store your digital currencies securely.
In addition to buying and selling cryptos for dollars/dirhams, they also provide the following services:
- Exchange one type of cryptocurrency for another at prevailing exchange rates.
- Exchange cryptocurrency for fiat currency (like U.S. dollars), or for cryptocurrencies tied to fiat currencies.
- Access educational resources to learn about digital currencies.
In this post, I will cover the top local and international crypto trading apps that are present in UAE, Saudi, Middle East to help you with cryptocurrency investment.
List of Top Local and International Crypto Trading Apps:
| Name | Link | Overall Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Binance | Binance | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| BitOasis | BitOasis | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| CEX.io | CEX | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Coinbase | Coinbase | ⭐⭐⭐ |
| CoinMENA | CoinMENA | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Crypto.com | Crypto | ⭐⭐⭐ |
| eToro | eToro | ⭐⭐ |
| Kraken | Kraken | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| MEXC | MEXC | ⭐⭐⭐ |
| Rain | Rain | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
Factors to consider before selecting a Crypto Exchange:
How to select the best cryptocurrency exchange? There are several aspects why you should select a particular exchange. I list down some below:
Security. First and foremost, is the exchange secure? Is it regulated? Look at the exchange’s security features to see how many of its assets are kept offline in cold storage, whether it has private insurance, and whether it is part of a bug bounty program that encourages ethical hackers to report any weaknesses. You can also find out whether the exchange has ever been hacked.
Customer service. Imagine you get locked out of your account with thousands of dollars worth of assets and the exchange won’t respond to your queries. That’s a scary situation to be in. If you’re new to cryptocurrency investing, 24/7 customer service is a must.
Range of currencies. There are over 10,000 cryptocurrencies, but even the largest crypto exchanges only offer up to 150 coins. On most platforms, you’ll likely be able to buy Bitcoin and one or two other major currencies. But if you want to buy a specific currency or plan to invest in some of the smaller coins, you’ll need an exchange that has some variety.
Ease of use. Cryptocurrency apps have developed rapidly as more people want to invest. However, at times that fast development has come at the cost of user-friendliness. You must make sure the app has the features you want to use, and if you’ve never traded before, pick one that is beginner-friendly.
Fees. One of the most important aspects for me to consider a crypto exchange is the fees. Most of the Middle Eastern crypto exchanges have higher fees compared to let’s say Binance or MEXC. If you are regularly trading, this is a key feature that you must consider before signing up.
Location. All crypto exchanges are supposed to be regulated. This means there is an added protection for retail investors. But, if you deal with a crypto exchange and they are not regulated in your country of residence, it may be tough for you to get into disputes if they arise.
Overview of the Crypto Exchanges
Binance is a cryptocurrency exchange which is the largest exchange in the world in terms of daily trading volume of cryptocurrencies. It was founded in 2017 and is registered in the Cayman Islands. Binance was founded by Changpeng Zhao, a developer who had previously created high frequency trading software
BitOasis is one of the oldest and most innovative exchanges in the Middle East. On this platform, you are able to trade with more than 40 crypto assets.
CEX.io is one of the top-ranked crypto exchanges. They offer a secure way to trade your cryptos and also allow fund your account with a credit card. I’ve personally used them in the past and feel the ease of use is customer friendly.
Coinbase is one of the only listed cryptocurrency exchanges in the world. They are known for their ease of use. I’ve not used them personally. I include them here as their brand name is quite strong.
CoinMENA is one of the newest and most innovative crypto exchanges in the Middle East. They are licensed by the Central Bank of Bahrain. Read a detailed review of CoinMENA.
Crypto.com came to my notice when they started heavily marketing their platform in the media and selected celebrities like Matt Damon to promote their platform. They also have bought naming rights to several stadiums in the US to promote their platform.
They have the largest number of cryptos listed with more than 50 million users on the platform.
e-Toro is actually not a crypto exchange. They offer CFDs – Contracts for Difference. This means you do not actually own the underlying digital currencies and you can not take self custody of the assets that you purchase. They pioneered a feature called ‘social investing’ where you could follow other investors and copy their trade patterns.
The first exchange I’ve ever used to buy bitcoin. I’ve massive respect for Kraken as they offer clean, neat, user-friendly platform. They also offer one of the lowest fees across crypto exchanges.
MEXC is the latest global exchange that I’ve started using. The user interface is similar to Binance; hence I’d have no difficulty navigating. The fees are also some of the lowest I’ve ever experienced.
Rain is a Bahrain-based crypto exchange and is licensed by the Central Bank of Bahrain. The user interface is one of the simplest yet robust as per my experience.