[GradyFuson]

I'm curious what exchanges people are using. Lately when I receive a payout in BTC or another crypto I send it straight to an exchange to turn it into USD, CAD, AUD or Tether.

Right now I'm feeling uncomfortable holding too much Tether (not sure it's trustworthy)

I have used Bittrex, KuCoin, Cryptopia, Kraken, Quadriga, BTC Markets and Local Bitcoins.com

Bittrex, KuCoin and Cryptopia: low fees but questionable security.
Kraken: bad customer service (I locked out of my account for months back in December)
Quadriga and BTC Markets: seem pretty safe, but they have fees of .5%-.8%

None of them have exactly what I want. I'd like a secure exchange with trading fees of .25% or less, and good liquidity for trading into actual fiat (not tether). Does anyone have a solution? I'd really like to hear other's experiences with different exchanges.

[Arky]

You've used more exchanges than I have. Surprised you haven't tried Binance. Very popular and dependable but not that great on fees - the fees were really high for a while and then after some complaining, they reduced that, I believe. I haven't withdrawn from them in a while.

There's supposed to be some new things in the works. Binance is supposedly working on allowing USD trading pairs which should help the entire market decouple from BTC. Also, they are working on a decentralized exchange where you can buy coins from your own personal wallets....

As for onboarding, I'm still using Coinbase and Gemini. Lately, I've been using wire transfer - cash gets there relatively quick and I can purchase BTC or ETH and send it out immediately to an exchange to get what I really want.

Never used localbitcoins but I can see some advantages going that route.

One philosophy is to never cash out. The thinking is that when you cash out, you've made somebody's "list". It's OK to buy out (purchases like gold, silver, Overstock, Newegg, etc.). Reinvesting is an option. I would think localbitcoins would be best if you absolutely had to have quick cash. I've never cashed out anything in the 9 months or so I've been in crypto.

Just my 2 satoshis.

[GradyFuson]

From what I understand Bittrex and Finance are pretty similar with .25% trading fees (I think)... Though I feel like it may be more popular and have better liquidity.

My experience with local bitcoins has not been great for the last 6 months. I often get contacted by scam LBC accounts. But if you can find someone with good feedback who is trustworthy in your area it can be golden!

Does anyone here use Bitfinex?

[GradyFuson]

Just to correct my initial post. Bittrex does now have an actual BTC/USD pairing (not tether), but you have to apply for it. I applied for it and was approved within a day. So I think this solves my problem, though I'm still a little skeptical of the safety of have decent sized balances in anything on an exchange.

[bitcoinLuke]

From what I understand Bittrex and Finance are pretty similar with .25% trading fees (I think)... Though I feel like it may be more popular and have better liquidity.

My experience with local bitcoins has not been great for the last 6 months. I often get contacted by scam LBC accounts. But if you can find someone with good feedback who is trustworthy in your area it can be golden!

Does anyone here use Bitfinex?

Binance fees are .1% compared to Bittrex's .25%. Binance is also half that if you use their BNB coin for fees (.05%)

[GradyFuson]

Binance fees are .1% compared to Bittrex's .25%. Binance is also half that if you use their BNB coin for fees (.05%)

Thanks, kinda dumb that I haven't signed up there but have signed up everywhere else. I bet liquidity would be higher there too.

I assume they have a non-tether fiat option too

[GradyFuson]

Binance doesn't seem to have a BTC/USD market. I haven't done the verification so perhaps its available for verified accounts? Does anyone know about this? I can't seem to find any info on this in their support pages or news releases.

Bittrex does have that pairing but the fees are higher at 0.25% vs Binances 0.1%. I think I will split my exchange action between the two places so as not to be too heavy on Tether.

[Optional]

If you are doing large volume https://www.independentreserve.com/fees might suit you. USD AUD NZD based pairs. Regulated and secure.