With all the competition happening right now in the crypto exchange space, newer and unknown players are showing up more and more by the day; going to great lengths to penetrate the market, attract new customers and win over customers from other bigger exchanges. In 2017 we saw new contenders KuCoin and CEX.IO enter this highly lucrative, highly competitive cryptocurrency exchange economy in a significant way, attracting media attention and a significant number of new users. Both exchanges offer their customers some great incentives to buy, trade and sell on their platforms. Are these newer platforms giving the likes of Binance and Coinbase a run for their cryptos? KuCoin is an exchange founded in 2017 by a brilliant group of tech and finance experts with tremendous passion and vision for cryptocurrencies. Despite KuCoin’s late entry into the market, they have been developing their platform for years before establishment and the leads behind the scene have moved quickly to bring the system online while winning investors and new customers along the way. KuCoin has a ton of exciting things up their sleeve to stay competitive. They boast their product’s superior security and stability across the board that meets or exceeds the standards of many banks and traditional financial institutions. They also have a lot more to brag about like their low trading fees and near-zero lag time for order placements and processing, the infinite number of crypto trading pairs (options for how to trade coins for others), ease of entry for ICOs to be listed on their platform, 24/7 customer service, their API, and their referral program. When your friends sign up with KuCoin using your referral link, you get a commission from their purchase, and a compounding commission from their referral’s purchases as well, leading to a potential to get a few free coins here and there as you refer friends and your friends refer theirs. CEX.IO is not necessarily a new name in the world of cryptocurrencies. They have been around since 2013 as the first cloud-mining provider, and have since grown into the exchange space as of late 2016. CEX.IO gives its customers cross-platform trading via their website, mobile app, WebSocket and REST API which enables them access to a high liquidity order book for the top currency pairs on the market. Another key feature for CEX.IO is their instant Bitcoin buying and selling which is available from an easy to use interface, which is appealing for new folks entering the market. The exchange has also built a layered account system with a personalized approach to their customers, from crypto newcomers to institutional pros. Another advantage of CEX.IO is their global reach, multiple ways to pay out, 24/7 customer service, low fees, and platform security and stability that they ensure the safety of assets and data. Their referral program is also pretty attractive, offering folks 30% of trade fees on your referred individuals. With the entry of KuCoin and CEX.IO into the turbulent world of cryptocurrency exchanges , it is clear that the terrain currently dominated by big players Binance and Coinbase is starting to have foundations laid by these new and aggressive entities seeking to disrupt the current crypto exchange establishment. Both new exchanges are boasting superior security, customer service, lower fees, more integration, as well as many other bells and whistles. Will the pitch from these exchanges get the attention of folks that are not satisfied with their current exchanges and from newcomers looking for a welcoming place to start their crypto experience ? As this fresh new crypto world changes by the day, we will see which contenders stand the test of time, which speak the most to their customers’ wallets, and which crumble into obscurity. Marcus Henry is an American Journalist with over 10 years working in tech. He has been actively involved in the crypto community for the past two years and currently works out of Austin, Texas. He covers breaking news, writes perspective pieces and reflections and conducts interviews with industry professionals and community members. Follow Marcus Henry on Twitter- @MarcusHenryHODL