Looking for the best Ethereum exchanges can be a painstaking task. After all, there are hundreds of crypto exchanges with shady history strewn about on the internet. So, how does one find a reliable Ethereum exchange to trade, buy or sell ETH? By going through our list of the best Ethereum exchanges, of course!
The rise of the Ethereum blockchain has spawned an ecosystem that has led to the creation of DeFi, Decentralized apps (dAPPs), Ethereum Apps, smart contracts, and so much more. All the transactions on the Ethereum blockchain are powered by the Ether (ETH) token that is also used to reward miners when they add a new block.
While Ethereum has gained massive popularity in recent years courtesy various ICOs and platform launches, there is still a dearth of safe Ethereum exchanges for buying and selling ETH to make profits. Our guide of the best Ethereum exchanges explores platforms that offer services that run the gamut from instant swaps to derivatives such as Perpetuals, Futures, and leveraged trading. So, without further ado, let’s get started.
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Types of Ethereum Exchanges
- Centralised Exchanges: Most Ethereum exchanges are centralised meaning they deploy traditional central servers to host the entire platform. These exchanges provide higher trading speeds and liquidity, however, run the risk of being hacked due to their single point of failure. Also, the traders are at the mercy of these exchanges for transfer of ETH and other altcoins.
- Decentralised Exchanges: These types of Ethereum exchanges run on blockchain technology, and are non-custodial in nature since traders don’t need to hand over their crypto assets. Decentralized exchanges use smart contracts and liquidity pools for facilitating transactions. Traders can simply connect their Ethereum wallets to the exchange and swap assets with the help of smart contracts. However, decentralized exchanges tend to be slower due to block confirmation time delays and price fluctuations during the execution are commonplace.
- Local Exchanges: These types of Ethereum exchanges cater to users within a certain geo and are usually Peer-to-peer (P2P) based. However, they are much more accessible across the world and most of them are KYC-free.
10 of the Best Ethereum Exchanges 2025
1) Coinbase
Amongst the biggest crypto exchanges going by sheer trading volume alone, Coinbase enables users to easily buy and sell Ethereum, Bitcoin, Litecoin, Monero and a ton of other altcoins through local fiat currencies. Suitable for both beginners and institutional crypto investors alike, Coinbase implements robust security mechanisms such as two-factor authentication (2FA), multisig wallet/vault to maintain customer security.
Coinbase also offers a vault for enhancing security of your digital assets. Although the Coinbase vault stores these crypto assets in offline storage and requires approvals for withdrawals, it also gives users more control over their funds.
2) Bitfinex
An advanced exchange that offers up to 3.3X leveraged margin, Bitfinex is best fit for professional traders and institutional investors that rely on order types and advanced graphing tools to ascertain orders, positions, and price alerts.
What’s more, Bitfinex also supports trading through peer-to-peer funding market and helps ETH aficionados trade intelligently per current market conditions. It also provides a platform for liquidity providers to earn interest by allowing them to fund traders.
Bitfinex is also renowned for deploying elaborate security mechanisms to protect ETH traders’ funds. It encrypts all their users’ information, funds and transaction history and keeps approx. 99.5% of user funds in cold storage to protect against cyber attacks.
3) Kraken
Built for professional traders and beginners, Kraken is a renowned crypto exchange that offers a swift and fluid trading engine with advanced order types. The exchange also facilitates margin trading for users to leverage long or short market positions easily.
Digital security of your assets is of utmost importance to Kraken as it undergoes regular audits and stores all your crypto coins in an encrypted cold storage to circumvent hacks and thefts.
What’s more, it also offers margin trading up to 5X and provides automated trading strategies amongst other tools. All in all, Kraken is one of the best Ethereum exchanges for US customers who do not want KYC verification until a specific threshold.
4) Poloniex
A pioneering digital assets exchange for Bitcoin and Ethereum, Poloniex helps users trade securely with the help of advanced trading processes. It is one of the most trustworthy platforms out there that facilitates exchanging your virtual assets that are stored offline in a cold storage, thereby minimizing the risk of cyber attacks, and hacking attempts.
Poloniex keeps all your funds stored in cold storage and doesn’t operate on fractional reserves which traditional banks do. Hence, crypto enthusiasts are free to sell or withdraw their ETH funds without quantity loss issues.
5) Cex
One of the earliest-known crypto exchanges with a reputed history, CEX.IO is a reliable platform for trading ETH tokens. For starters, it offers advanced order-matching algorithms to maintain maximum liquidity. CEX also supports cross-platform trading and provides real-time transaction history, balance, and other handy info straight in the user dashboard for quick assessment.
What’s more, it also offers orderbook liquidity to professional traders for implementing high-frequency trading, high-volume orders, and scalping techniques.
All in all, CEX is one of the best Ethereum exchanges that offers a tight security layer to all your ETH transactions with full data encryption, cold storage, DDoS protection and two-factor authentication.
6) YoBit
Sporting a simple, intuitive and no-frills attached interface, YoBit is a nifty Ethereum exchange that also supports trading in a melange of other cryptocurrencies. For starters, YoBit displays full page of trade history, market rates, trade volumes and buy/sell orders in a compact form, thus alleviating the need for scrolling.
Furthermore, users can instantly deposit and withdraw ETH on YoBit. On the downside, YoBit doesn’t offer trading graphs, or advanced order types which might put off pro traders.
7) Bittrex
With support for over 190 cryptocurrencies including Ethereum, Bittrex is a formidable exchange with presence all around the world. Based out of the USA, Bittrex is intrinsically built for traders who prefer secure and blazing fast trades. The platform also offers algorithmic trading via third-party and custom trading bots.
What’s more, Bittrex is one of the best Ethereum exchanges that offers top-tier industry standard security encryption with cold storage, and two-factor authentication (2FA) for withdrawals.
Bittrex’s UI is second to none and offers an easy and intuitive way to buy and sell ETH coins for beginners. Advanced traders also have the option to use algorithmic bots to automate trading.
8) Coinmama
Coinmama offers a nifty brokerage service for trading Bitcoin, Ethereum and a plethora of other altcoins. This exchange helps users buy or sell Ethereum (ETH) directly at a premium and is known for its dedicated customer support.
Coinmama accepts fiat payments via credit and debit cards, Paypal and SEPA transfers for purchasing Ethereum (ETH) token. However, if you pay via SEPA, chances are you can decrease transaction fees drastically.
9) LocalCryptos
Similar to Local Bitcoins, LocalCryptos is a dedicated P2P marketplace where buyers and sellers can meet and trade ETH on the go without the need for intermediaries. LocalCryptos supports a ton of pay payment methods such as Debit/Credit cards, Paypal, cash by mail for smooth transactions.
Not to mention, it deploys smart contracts as a safe escrow service for all transactions. Also, LocalCryptos doesn’t ask for your KYC verification and is available in many countries of the world. All together, LocalCryptos is one of the best Ethereum exchanges for P2P transactions.
10) Bitstamp
Since adding Ethereum trading pair in 2017, the Bitstamp exchange has come a long way. Bitstamp offers two options for buying Ethereum – using the brokerage service or using the trading platform. While the trading platform is an affordable route for buying ETH, it is relatively hard-to-use for beginners and inexperienced users.
Conversely, the brokerage service is a costly “one click” solution, however, beginners learning the ropes of trading ETH can benefit from it.