Tools & Services
This page contains a directory of the basic tools and services you may need on your crypto journey including exchanges, wallets, and miscellaneous other tools like VPNs and charting software.
There are many crypto tools and services not listed here, but these should cover the vast majority of your needs:
Binance.com
Binance.com is a large and reputable exchange with a large selection of cryptocurrencies that services most customers outside of the US with reasonable fees. Leveraged trading is available.
Binance.us
Binance.us is a reputable white-labeled arm of Binance that serves US based customers. Leveraged trading is not available, but there is a large selection of altcoins and reasonable fees.
Coinbase
Coinbase is a reputable beginner friendly exchange that comes with the trade-off of high fees compared to competitors.
Gemini
Gemini is a reputable US-based exchange with a user-friendly interface. Fees can be high unless you activate the active-trader setting by request. Gemini is often considered one of the more secure exchanges due to their cold storage security practices. Leveraged trading is not available.
Kraken
Kraken is another US based exchange that is considered by most to be secure and reliable. Kraken offers some leveraged trading products and is very user-friendly when it comes to depositing foreign fiat currencies outside of the US Dollar. Onboarding fiat can be a pain as there is no instant ACH transfer option.
Kucoin
Kucoin is an exchange based out of Seychelles, East Africa, and it is therefore seen as risky to keep large amounts of funds on Kucoin as legal recourse in the event of losses is limited. Kucoin has a reasonable fee structure, offers leveraged trading products, does not require KYC, and has a large altcoin selection.
Bybit
Bybit is a Singapore based cryptocurrency exchange that is frequently used for their user-friendly derivatives trading platform though Bybit also offers spot trading. Bybit is a popular option for leveraged derivatives trading as they do not require KYC.
dYdX
dYdX is a decentralized derivatives exchange that allows users to trade crypto on leverage directly out of a MetaMask wallet without KYC. dYdX is known for a robust user interface and strong liquidity. dYdX is not US-friendly.
GMX
GMX is a decentralized derivatives exchange that allows users to trade crypto on leverage directly out of a MetaMask wallet without KYC on Arbitrum. GMX is known for strong tokenomics that accrue value to $GMX holders by sharing trade fees with $GMX stakers.
Gains Network
Gains Network is a decentralized derivatives exchange that allows users to trade crypto, stocks, forex synthetically on leverage directly out of a MetaMask wallet without KYC on Polygon. Gains Network’s forex and stock offerings set it apart from similar exchanges.
Uniswap
Uniswap is a popular DEX (decentralized exchanges) that enables decentralized spot swaps for many cryptocurrencies, predominantly on Ethereum or Ethereum compatible chains. Uniswap allows users to trade tokens directly on-chain without a centralized custodian.
1Inch
1Inch is a DEX aggregator, aggregating liquidity from multiple DEXes like Uniswap and routing decentralized swaps through the the DEX with lowest fees and slippage.
OpenSea
OpenSea is a popular and reputable NFT exchange that hosts and facilitates the trading of NFT assets.
MagicEden
MagicEden is a popular and reputable NFT exchange that hosts and facilitates the trading of NFT assets. MagicEden is growing to host NFTs on multiple chains, but grew to popularity as the premiere NFT exchange on Solana.
MetaMask
MetaMask is the premiere web3 wallet for interacting with dApps on the Ethereum blockchain or EVM compatible blockchains.
Popular alternative: Trust Wallet
Phantom
Phantom is the premiere web3 wallet for interacting with dApps on the Solana blockchain. While there are alternatives, Phantom is the currently the clear leader for security, compatibility, and ease of use.
Ledger
Ledger is a hardware wallet company that makes reputable, high quality hardware wallets.
Popular alternative: Trezor
TradingView
TradingView is the gold standard in customizable charting software. TradingView offers price charts for the vast majority of tradable assets in existence and can be customized to your needs.