Crypto Exchanges Compared: Licences, Fees and Closed Platforms

The large crypto exchanges now split into two groups: platforms licensed in the major markets (Coinbase, Kraken, Gemini, Bitstamp, Crypto.com and OKX all hold MiCA authorisations in the EU) and offshore platforms that have paid heavy US penalties or been shut out of regions such as Canada and the EU. Below we compare both groups as of October 2026, then list what became of the exchanges this site tracked years ago, many of which were seized, hacked or wound down.

Volume rankings are left out on purpose. Reported trading volume is easy to inflate and says nothing about whether you can withdraw your money next month. Regulatory status, custody and the cost of a normal purchase tell you far more.

Licensed exchanges compared (October 2026)

Each row names the legal entity that holds the EU licence, because that is what you search for on a register. “MiCA” means the entity appears on ESMA’s interim register of authorised crypto-asset service providers.

Being on the list is the starting point, not a verdict. Each of these firms still holds customer assets and could fail, and US availability varies by state. If you are in New York, check that the specific entity is on the New York Department of Financial Services list of regulated virtual currency businesses.

Offshore and restricted exchanges

These platforms are large and well known, but each has a gap in at least one major market. That gap matters most to people in the countries concerned.

For a full account of each, see our reviews of Binance, KuCoin and HTX. Coinbase and Kraken have their own pages too: Coinbase and its old Pro platform and Kraken.

What happened to the exchanges on our old list

CoinChoose once ranked about forty exchanges and payment processors by daily volume. Most of those pages now point here. This is what we could confirm about the names readers still search for.

If you still hold funds on a closed exchange, look for the official liquidator or trustee rather than anyone who contacts you offering to recover them. Bankruptcy claims processes are public, and genuine trustees do not charge upfront fees to file a claim.

Some old entries were never exchanges at all. BitPay, CoinGate, CoinPayments and Coinify are payment processors that let merchants accept crypto; they belong in a different comparison.

How exchange fees compare

Every platform above uses some mix of the same four charges: a spread on simple purchases, maker and taker fees on order-book trades, funding fees, and network withdrawal fees. The difference between platforms is usually smaller than the difference between using the simple app and the advanced order book on the same platform.

Kraken shows how steep the tiers can be. On its published fee schedule, Kraken Pro’s entry tier (30-day volume from $0) charges 0.40% for maker orders and 0.80% for taker orders, falling to 0.22% and 0.38% from $10,000 of monthly volume. The Kraken app’s instant buy adds a 1% fee on top of a spread. Coinbase, OKX and the rest publish their own tier tables, and most change them a few times a year, so read the current schedule on the platform before your first trade.

Coin choice and the stablecoin rules

All the exchanges above list Bitcoin and Ether, and nearly all list XRP, Litecoin and Dogecoin; our coin directory covers each of those networks. Differences show up at the edges. Offshore platforms list hundreds or thousands of small tokens, many with thin trading and some that later collapse. Licensed platforms list fewer and delist faster when a token falls foul of local rules.

Stablecoins are the clearest example. MiCA only lets authorised providers offer stablecoins whose issuers meet its e-money token rules, so several exchanges removed Tether’s USDT for European customers: Coinbase did so for EEA users in December 2024 and Kraken followed in early 2025, keeping USDC and euro stablecoins instead. If you rely on a particular stablecoin, check that it is available to residents of your country before you move funds, not after.

When an exchange is hacked

Large platforms are attacked constantly, and a few attacks succeed every year. What separates a survivable incident from a disaster is how the exchange responds:

• Fast, specific disclosure. Bitget paused withdrawals on 24 September 2026 after unauthorised transfers, published its own incident timeline and later revised the affected amount to about $388 million.
• Customer balances made whole from company reserves or an insurance fund, with a date for withdrawals to reopen. Bitget said it would begin restoring withdrawals on 28 September 2026.
• No haircut on customer accounts. In 2016, Bitfinex instead spread its losses across customers and issued tokens it later redeemed; compare that with exchanges that covered losses in full.

A hack does not have to cost you anything if you are not holding funds on the platform at the time. That is the strongest argument for keeping exchange balances small.

Records and tax

Tax authorities in Canada, the US, the UK, Australia and the EU treat selling or swapping crypto as a disposal that can trigger tax. Exchanges are also being drawn into automatic reporting: EU platforms collect customer data for the DAC8 directive from 1 January 2026. Download your full transaction history from every exchange at least once a year, and before closing any account. A platform that shuts down, like those in our old-list table, may not leave you a way to get those records later.

Deposit and withdrawal methods by region

A low trading fee is wasted if getting money onto the platform costs 3%. The registered platforms tend to support the local bank rails; offshore platforms often rely on cards, third-party payment providers or crypto-only deposits.

• Canada: Interac e-Transfer and wire transfers are the usual routes on CSA-registered platforms. Check whether withdrawals to your bank are supported in Canadian dollars.
• European Union: SEPA transfers in euros are standard on MiCA-authorised exchanges; SEPA Instant is increasingly common.
• United States: ACH bank transfers are cheap but can delay withdrawals of the purchased coins for several days; wires are faster and cost more.
• Everywhere: card purchases are fastest and most expensive, and some card issuers treat crypto purchases as cash advances with their own fees and interest.

How to check an exchange yourself in ten minutes

1. Open the platform’s terms of service and note the legal entity that contracts with customers in your country.
2. Search that entity on your regulator’s register: ESMA’s interim MiCA register in the EU, the CSA list and FINTRAC’s registry in Canada, FinCEN and your state regulator in the US, the FCA register in the UK, AUSTRAC in Australia.
3. Search the regulator’s warnings and banned lists for the brand name. The CSA, for instance, publishes a list of banned crypto platforms; the Netherlands AFM warned in September 2025 that MEXC was serving Dutch customers without a MiCA licence.
4. Read the custody section of the terms: are client assets segregated, and what happens on insolvency?
5. Look for proof-of-reserves reports with an independent accountant’s opinion, and check how recent the last one is.
6. Search the exchange’s name with “withdrawals” and the current month. Delayed withdrawals usually surface in public before anything else.

Which exchange fits which reader

We do not rank exchanges, because the right one depends on where you live. Some practical pointers instead:

• In Canada, limit yourself to platforms on the CSA’s authorised list. Coinbase, Kraken and Crypto.com are on it alongside domestic platforms such as Coinsquare, Newton, Shakepay and Wealthsimple.
• In the EU, use an entity on ESMA’s register. The six exchanges in our first table all qualify; Binance currently does not.
• In the US, confirm state availability first, then compare the order-book fees. Offshore platforms that exclude US persons in their terms are off the table.
• For long-term holding, the exchange matters less than what you do after buying. Moving coins to a wallet you control removes most platform risk; our wallet guide explains the options.

Whatever you choose, nothing here is investment advice. Crypto is volatile, and exchange balances are generally not protected by deposit insurance.