Binance for these reasons;
1- Bittrex won't let me sign up and that's been that way for a very long time.
    So what is their problem? No support ?
    Binance slowed down sign-ups but they still manage to do them.
2- Binance fees are cheaper.
3- Binance website is faster, page loads up instantly, Bittrex takes several seconds.
4- Binance interface is smarter/easier with both newbie and advanced features.

And I think they are now based in Hong Kong so mainland China regs. do not apply.
The only reserve I have about Binance is they are using Tether, which seems to be
a huge problem in 2018 with Bitfinex tampering with the market.
In the end after Tether & Bitfinex implode I think Binance and the Crypto market in general
will survive quite nicely. Just don't get caught holding USDT, which is simple enough to do.

Thank you very much, looking in to Kucoin and Cryptopia now.

Awesome advice thank you ! I looked at Robinhood; "We’re planning to operate this business on a break-even basis and we don’t plan to profit from it for the foreseeable future” says Robinhood co-founder Vlad Tenev. “The value of Robinhood Crypto is in growing our customer base and better serving our existing customers.” ~ Looks great to me !

And your Cryptopia advice opened up a new avenue I hadn't thought about 
Bittrex apparently does not need me and I'm fine with that 

So I still need another ALT site...looking.....still looking.....

Personally I have only GDAX set up to buy LTC/ETH/BTC and move some to Binance for ALT trades.
Extremely happy with Binance, looking for another ALT site to store liquid trading pairs.

I can't get on Bittrex and that's looking to be a good thing. Not sure they are in for long haul.
And I checked an Exchange review site but sadly not one Exchange earned 4-stars.
All were rated 3-stars and below.

Also, I see BitFlyer, Japan's largest exchange, has landed in USA but not in my state yet.

Which ones are you happy with and what do you use them for?

Hey thanks for your input !
I'm increasing long and mid-term holds from 58% to 68%
Saving 10% ICO portion for later on perhaps, as suggested.
Day trading I learned will be slow due to my inexperience, so I will start with only 10% and consider it tuition fees.
Keeping 19% more in mid-term holds temporarily.
If I do okay trading then I will use the full 29%.
ADA, XLM and TRON suggestions, are those Hold or Day trades? I figured Holding them.
I also decided to not HODL LTC, but I will keep some in mid-term hold.
Thanks again for the help !

I think you are all missing the OP's point.
He wants to start an exchange.
I think an exchange is way out of his league as you need many employees writing code and stuff.
Just to pay salaries for a year off hand I'd guess $500,000 minimum.
Rent, insurance, hardware, servers, advertising, legal, etc. add another $500,000 
Funding the platform in Cryptocurrency  I have no clue about.
Looks like way over one million USD to me.

I watched a video on funding but it didn't answer all my questions regarding implementation.
I'm new to Crypto and with limited research developed this plan.
I have Coinbase/GDAX and Binance accounts currently. No coins bought yet.
$1,000 fund for our 1st foray into the Crypt of doom or BOOM.
All of your thoughts and recommendations are greatly appreciated.

29% In top 5 major cap coin picks = $290
   For stability with moderate long term growth.
   Example; BTC, ETH, LTC, ADA, XEM 
   $290/5 = $58 per coin on average, or 5.8% each
   I would carefully but fairly quickly buy $190 of these.
   Reserve $100 cash waiting to be played on lightning market drop -25% placed orders.
   Whats the correct term for those lightning type orders? Limit buy?
   Place in cold storage.

29% in very good consensus smaller cap Alt coins.
   Moderate risk, greater upside, mid to long term hold.
   Slightly more diversified in to 6 coins.
   $290/6 = $48.33 per coin, or 4.83% each
   Buy carefully but quickly, cold storage.

29% in reserve for Day Trading   
   Consider that the above mentioned 58% is relatively safe, I would risk this 29%.
   This funding & execution part is where I need the most help.
   Buy 50/50 ETH & LTC for the lower fees?
   60% ETH/40% LTC because Ether pairs more?
   What Crypto do I need and how to balance this portion of fund?
   I have assumed most of the day trades would be on Binance.

3% in  BNB to pay for trading fees with 50% discount
   $1,000 x 3% = $30 - Is that about right for day trades?

10% for ICO's
   I would pick 1-2  ICO to start with.
   $100 for one or $50 each for two. Should I buy ETH for these?
   I just like the idea of dabbling in and learning about future uses of blockchain.
   Holding pattern depends on market and news but generally long term.
        Do you cold store them or keep it in a wallet?

Earnings, if any, from that initial fund would be recycled back in to
portfolio using the same percentages for each category in general.
One minor adjustment I expect is to add more small cap Alt's, but still keeping them at 29% total.
I think they have more growth potential than Bitcoin per se, but I tread carefully.
Blockchain seems to have monster real world usage growth in 2018 and forever. 
Picking the apple requires very close inspection.
Again, all of your insights are very much appreciated.
Ha, my very 1st post here, thanks for the forum also !