This is not a sales pitch for the next ‘exchange to rule all exchanges.’ It is a genuine question every crypto trader should consider. It is a means of understanding cryptocurrency adoption and the overall state of the Digital Assets ecosystem. What needs were not being met with your first exchange? What motivated you to add an additional exchange? What have you gained or lost from this decision?

You aren’t alone. It is common for cryptocurrency traders to utilize multiple exchanges. In fact, most crypto traders do. Crypto.com’s recent survey on crypto adoption found that their respondents used an average of two exchanges, with 49% of all respondents using two or more (report). Overbit’s survey found that “Mid-Tier” traders used nearly 4 exchanges on average (report). 

So that is:

• Four registration / KYC processes to complete
• Four payment methods to link
• Four sets of private keys to maintain
• Four buying, selling, exchanging processes to learn / execute
• Four portfolios of assets to manage

The ever changing market dynamics and customer needs across the crypto market has enabled the vast amount of solutions we see today. But it also means that managing each of these unique solutions becomes a very complex process, very quickly. So back to the original question: what in your crypto strategy made you invest your time and energy in the capabilities of a new platform? What needs were not being met?

• Did you grow frustrated with the user interface of a prior exchange? 
• Did you max out the technical capabilities of a prior exchange?
• Did you need a trading pair that was not offered on a prior exchange?
• Did you need greater security than what was offered on a prior exchange?
• Did the performance (transaction speed, up to date pricing, withdrawal speed) no longer meet your needs?
• Was the technical support (customer service helpfulness, promptness, accessibility) not satisfactory?

Indeed, not all exchanges have been created equally and choosing the right exchange is a critical responsibility of active traders. Ultimately it is about finding the technical partner that provides the unique capabilities the trader requires. For those traders just hodl’ing a single asset (passively waiting to see what the future will bring), multiple exchanges may not be a necessity. But for more sophisticated, active traders, managing multiple exchanges can be the only way to mitigate risk, find new trading efficiencies, and capture emerging market opportunities. 

While it may be convenient to have that ‘one exchange to rule them all,’ the crypto market has continued to innovate under the same ethos it always has. More customized, nimble, yet focused solutions offer the unique capabilities to niche traders need, while incumbent leaders play catch up to understand, adopt, and provide these capabilities at some point in the undetermined future.

Managing multiple exchanges is not glamorous, easy, efficient, or fun. However, utilizing multiple exchanges offers traders the utility they need when capturing emerging Digital Asset opportunities.

Daniel Pinto - Market Analyst @ TradingBull.io