Following the most recent Bitcoin halving in May of 2020, buying and selling crypto assets became a worldwide sensation. For the first time, computer/tech novices and pros alike were participating in this revolutionary means of storing and exchanging value digitally. 

Unfortunately, since then, the crypto market has drawn back into a bear market cycle, in which prices of assets tend to trend downwards, accompanied in this case by rapidly decreasing trading volumes, and even the liquidation of entire exchanges. 

Of course, presumably immediately following the next Bitcoin halving, we will once again trend towards all-time highs at some point. This means there are still diamond hands in the market, holding their assets on cold storage, as well as day- and swing-traders, opening and closing positions with various degrees of leverage every day, and centralized exchanges are still needed to facilitate and foster much of this activity.

Without further ado, the top 6 remaining centralized crypto exchanges by market cap (as of July 2022):

Binance:

Known for offering the most comprehensive portfolio of crypto assets AND unique financial services, Binance is king in terms of trading volume as well, as has been the case for the past several years. In spite of the nearly all-in-one crypto/NFT experience it offers paired with respectably low trading fees, the biggest downside to the China-based Binance exchange is that it is not supported here in the United States.

FTX:

Based out of the Bahamas, the currently second-largest crypto exchange is known for innovative products offered almost exclusively on its platform, such as tokens with built-in leverage and tokens tracking traditional financial assets. Once again, this platform is not supported in the US. Like Binance, FTX also has a "US" version, but FTX US is actually an official partner, whereas Binance US is more of a cheap knockoff with questionable security features. It is worth noting that FTX US supports less assets and services than FTX.

Coinbase:

The biggest and best-known crypto exchange in America, Coinbase is known for its best-in-class user interface on its namesake mobile app. This has led to the onboarding of a great deal of users internationally, but especially in the United States, into the crypto ecosystem. The biggest drawback of Coinbase is the fact that they have the highest fees of any exchange seen here, but this is not a problem on Coinbase Pro, and is offset by Coinbase Earn, in all fairness.

Kraken:

The second biggest crypto exchange in America has made a name for itself with security features on par with Coinbase, paired with relatively low fees and best-in-class crypto staking services for its users. Kraken does not offer the most extensive or obscure list of assets or services, but they simply check off all the boxes for what a good centralized exchange needs, as well as a few additional bells and whistles.

Gate.io:

The destination for micro-cap altcoins, Gate.io made a name for itself in the last bull market by offering a wide array of crypto assets named after various dogs (yes, seriously), but have become a better and better exchange over time that is to be taken more seriously than in the past. This exchange now offers products and services like trading bots and feeless NFT minting/trading.

KuCoin:

A few ranks down the list from where it was throughout most of the previous bull market, KuCoin exchange rounds off our list. In spite of KuCoin's low ranking on this list, they offer some innovative products and services. The scope and quality of many of these are not even matched by the other exchanges listed here. For example, you can loan out crypto assets to private borrowers using KuCoin, for a rate agreed upon by both of you, with low fees and without completing any level of KYC verification. The reason KuCoin does not appear higher on this list is due by and large to the fact that it is not as easy to use as the likes of Coinbase.

Conclusion:

Centralized exchanges were never envisioned by the pioneers of the crypto ecosystem, and rightfully so, as many smaller exchanges have behaved in a less-than-ethical manner in recent months; However, some number of benevolent centralized exchanges are needed for the eventual mainstream adoption of crypto/NFT assets and technologies. Thus, I have compiled a list of the biggest of these exchanges by current trading volume, describing what makes each one unique. Before on-ramping funds to a centralized exchange, first familiarize yourself with this list of trusted exchanges and, as always, consult with your financial advisor.

If you derived any value from this blog post, I would appreciate a tip, as they are free. Thank you and best of luck surviving this bear market.