While there are many "safe" crypto exchanges, we rounded up the industry leaders in this list. Various factors were considered such as reputation, features, regulatory status, cold storage practices, insurance, how long they've been operating, hacks, and more.
Although some platforms are better at communicating their security practices than others, we attempted to take a data-driven approach to the process. Keep in mind, a safe crypto exchange does not replace the need for getting your own wallet. We recommend the Ledger Hardware Wallet. Now, here are the safest crypto exchanges in 2022:
Coinbase
170+
Coins
Varies
Trading Fee
2012
Founded
Coinbase tops the list because it has dozens of U.S. licenses and is compliant in 100+ countries. Coinbase is a household name in the crypto world with 103M+ users and has a track record since 2012. It's also a publicly traded company (COIN) on the NASDAQ which means regular audits and transparent financials. It has all the user security features as well. In your account you can setup 2FA, address whitelisting, set up trusted devices, and more.
Coinbase is easily one of the safest platforms in the world. On the downside, it's also one of the most expensive which is something to consider as well. Read our full Coinbase review here.
Binance
600+
Coins
0.10%
Trading Fee
2017
Founded
With 90M+ users and the highest trading volume in the world, Binance is one of the largest and most trusted crypto exchanges in the world. Binance has a SAFU insurance fund for users which had a $1 billion balance of Bitcoin at one point. This insurance fund takes a portion trading fees from the exchange and stores it in a wallet in case of a hack or emergency. In 2019, Binance had a hack for $40M but no users lost funds thanks to the SAFU fund.
According to an interview wth CZ, the founder, Binance is now the most regulated exchange in the world which may be a surprise to some. It now has regulatory approval in France, Australia, USA, and many other jurisdictions. On top of being safe, Binance is also one of the cheapest crypto exchanges in the world which is why it tops our list. Read our full Binance review.
Kraken
150+
Coins
0.16% / 0.26%
Trading Fee
2011
Founded
Founded in 2011, Kraken is the oldest platform on this list. It's also the only one with a perfect track record and no hacks. 95% of crypto is held in cold storage and and they are compliant in all 100+ countries they operate in. Kraken is regarded as one of the safest platforms in the industry and their track record proves it. Read our full Kraken Review.
Methodology
Here is some of the data used to create these rankings. Compare 21 platforms across 200+ security-related data points:
Name | Year Founded | Uses Cold Storage? | Insurance Policy? | Any Hacks or Incidents? | 2FA | 2FA for Withdrawals | Address Whitelisting | View Login History | KYC? | Publicly Traded? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2018 | Yes | Yes - 2021 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partial | No | ||
2017 | Yes | Yes - 2019 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | ||
2012 | Yes | Yes - 2016 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partial | No | ||
2017 | Yes | Uknown | Yes - 2021 | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | |
2011 | Yes | Yes - 2015 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | ||
2014 | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | ||
2018 | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Partial | No | ||
2012 | Yes | Yes - 2021 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes (COIN) | ||
2012 | Yes | - | - | - | - | - | - | Yes | Yes (COIN) | |
2017 | Yes | No | Yes - 2020 | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | |
2016 | Yes | Yes - 2022 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | ||
2007 | Yes | Yes - 2020 | Yes | ? | ? | ? | Yes | No | ||
 FTX [bankrupt] | 2018 | No Info | Yes - 2022 | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | |
2013 | Yes | Yes* | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | ||
2014 | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | ||
2013 | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partial | Yes (1611.HK) | ||
2011 | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | ||
2017 | No Info | Yes* | Yes - 2020 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partial | No | |
2017 | Yes | No | Yes - 2020 | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | |
2014 | Yes | Yes - 2014 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partial | No | ||
2013 | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | No |
What We Learned
After collecting all this info, we learned 13 out of 21 platforms have had a hack or incident (62%). 100% of platforms offer 2FA and 2 out of 21 are publicly traded entities (10%). Hacks are very common in this industry but most platforms have repaid their users or recovered the funds so no users actually lost any funds.
Summary
There are many safe crypto exchanges, but we believe these to be the industry leaders in 2022.