Bitcoin Forum

Hello Everybody,

Been using Bitcointalk for a while as a guest, but decided to take the plunge and signup... so first time poster. Any suggestions for good exchanges outside of the really big ones? I've used COSS a few times, but just wondering if anybody has found any gems or any recommendations for exchanges on the smaller side? Particularly ones with good service/community engagement.

What kind of exchange exactly? an exchange for buying bitcoin using fiat? or an exchange for exchanging cryptocurrencies?

For bitcoin <-> fiat, I'd probably suggest Abra[1]. It's probably like a Coinbase alternative that's available on 3rd world countries. Used it in the past, no problems. They don't require documents for smaller purchases/withdrawals too.

On exchanging cryptocurrencies, yeah, I've also used COSS and it works fine. As of now I don't use anything besides Binance[2] though. I'm definitely not a fan of risking using smaller exchanges.

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[1] https://abra.com/
[2] https://binance.com/

Sorry, probably should have stated that. Crypto to crypto is what i'm looking for. I've used Coinbase a fair bit for fiat to crypto, but only because I just followed advice/suggestions from friends when I first started. Thanks for the suggestions mjglqw! I'll be sure to have a look at Abra.  8)

Alright. Anyway, if you're interested in checking out the other exchanges besides Coinbase Pro and Binance, check out this[1] link. Listed there are the exchanges with the most to less trading market volume of various fiat/altcoin <-> bitcoin trading pairs.

Best of luck.

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[1] https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/bitcoin/

If you are using coinbase do not use it as a wallet. They are in control of your private keys and you would not want them confiscated at any point for any reason.

Back to topic, you would want to look into the local legal rules of crypto before you start trading. I understand you are attempting crypto to crypto exchanges but the source of crypto is also needed. I guess for any normally earning person its going to be fiat. So for fiat to crypto you would want to consult local regulations and then only sign up on an exchange, get verified and link your bank account.

Not going to suggest any names, but you can find a lot of them from coinmarketcap list of exchanges as well.

He said:
"good exchanges outside of the really big ones?"

So Binance is out

I can suggest taking a look at Cryptopia. It's a medium exchange and I never got a problem using it for months. (no KYC)

Thanks for the advice. Very helpful! I've used a few exchanges before and doing KYC/bank account verification is not an issue for me. But, was just wondering if anybody had an recommendations on smaller exchanges with good service/community. But will be sure to have a look on coinmarketcap and do a bit of digging myself. Thanks for your reply UltraElite!

Bisq is another option if you’re looking for a decentralized, no-KYC exchange- all exchanges are P2P, no verification is required, and the app has a great, extremely easy to navigate interface. AFAIK the main app is only available on Linux, Windows and Mac, but it’s still an overall good exchange. There is a mobile app for the exchange, but it’s only for alerts and notifications.

Why would anyone want a smaller exchange?

There'll be less liquidity and a much higher possibility of it being 'hacked' or simply giving up the ghost.

When it comes to exchanges even the biggest and oldest are risky enough. I see zero reason to start flirting with a greater chance of disaster.

Less liquidity isn't an issue for smaller traders. It's just not what whales are after. Another benefit of smaller exchanges is that their support is pretty darn responsive, which is another major reason to use a smaller scale service.

That's exactly why I am no longer using an exchange, but strictly stick with local exchanging services. They offer less convenience, but also way less risk exposure, and I don't have to wait weeks to get my tickets sorted out.

I would recommend cryptobridge : https://coinmarketcap.com/exchanges/cryptobridge/
It's a decentralized exchange where no KYC verification is required and all trades are made in peer to peer system. The platform is nicely designed and easy to react with, you just need to understand the fees system as there is two type of payements. Note that the platform doesn't support ERC20 ethereum based tokens or even ethereum itself. I used it for the last month and it's pretty awsome.

Thanks for all the suggestions! Very much appreciated. Enjoy your week ahead.

You often have a better and faster support, fewer limits and less subject to a sudden change. (KYC for example). Security isn't really a problem, most of the biggest exchanges have been hacked once (i.e. BitFinex) and a lot of them aren't so secure as people think.
Don't worry it's often the same IRL. I personally prefer to deal with a small company than a big one with someone not talking my own language properly (call-center in another country lol)

We do have our own choice but im with gentlemand and why we would stick out to things which we know its less secure.You said that even bigger once is prone to hacks and its true but putting up your position into the top does signify that it do have a good standing when it comes to security after all those years on operating in the market.Even on support thing they may lack or have difference on newer once but overall security and convenience i will stick or trust on older once.

It can be an option but remember that at late 2017 and early 2018 the cryptohia have lot of scam accusations on them for stealing the money from the users wallet but I have used them just only for trading a particular coins and never faced any fee because I just deposit token then trade it for bitcoin and immediately moved my bitcoins to my wallet so chance of losing here is less but they have high fee when compared to some exchange tho.For small trader these things are need to be considered.

To compare the big exchanges and the small ones, I am sure most of the hacks targeted the big exchanges only.
Good standing when it's about security? Bitfinex was in good standing but got hacked. (Just as a reminder, most exchanges aren't in good standing with security Security status in Cryptocurrency exchanges (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3008189.msg30931252#msg30931252) I could name a lot of others. An exchange with a lack of support isn't one convenient to me.

I'm only recommending what I use, so don't take that as any sort of vouching other than for the fact that I've used them without issues. Don't use any exchange to store your funds once you've done your deals, but you already know that.

Until recently, BitPanda has been my go-to for crypto-fiat. I'm mentioning them because they're increasingly giving good options for crypto-crypto exchanges. This isn't a trading marketplace either, so there are no orders - you exchange directly at the rate they give (still very competitive I should add). My only gripe with them is since GDPR, they've not been able to verify my country, so I have a lifetime limit which I'm likely to hit by early next year. They're really good with customer service, SEPA and bank transfers work smoothly with really good rates.

Small exchange with good community engagement is also Nessie.io. Linked to Monster Byte, which is linked to BitcoinRush, one of the old hands in the gambling section.

To me must of the exchange platforms we have available are not much different from each and I think we should look at them base on volumes and used.  I do used binance and cryptopia and there are very OK for me.  If you really want to go into trading or investment I don't think the exchange platforms should be much concerned but the idea and knowledge on how to invest profitabily should be the most concerned.
Remember that the more you stay in this bitcointalk forum the more you learn anything about cryptocurrencies market and exchange platform. I believe that if I am not here I could have lose my fund to scam exchange sites and icos projects.

I can't really suggest or recommend you the small exchanges specifically because we might have different experienced using them. I also used COSS and never got a problem as of now. My only consideration why Im using those exchanges is because that's the only exchange where can I trades my coins. After looking for some positive review of that exchange I will now test the waters. Another small exchanges Im using are Hotbit, Bancor etc.

P.S: Please always understand the risks when dealing in any exchanges. I stated the reason why Im using them and not just because I want to used them. For reference, as of now I never got any problems using them.

I've been using CoinExchange for over a year now and I think they are a very decent exchange up until now. No drama, kyc free and they have an active support. They don't cater to fiat exchanges and is for only crypto to crypto exchanges. There is no information about the people behind this exchange, so I never leave my assets on there for long. A day or two max, that said, withdrawals are always smooth and I've never had any issues withdrawing large amounts. Their biggest advantage is the number of coin pairs they have, over 400.

I agreed with the exchange site you mentioned since the OP stated he was looking for a crypto to crypto exchange site  which is not among the top exchange site but i think it will be better if the OP could make use of bitsgap (https://bitsgap.com/) which allow him to use the medium level and top level exchange site at a single glance

I just wonder why would anyone will be looking for smaller exchanges. He should state more reasons, maybe he is also considering exchange location with higher security. I have not seen or consider any advantage of smaller exchanges to big volume exchange.