Best New Cryptocurrency Exchange

FTX is the new kid on the cryptocurrency exchange block and is backed by a quantitative trading firm called Alameda Research. The exchange first attracted traders through a widely advertised trading competition and then through highly leveraged altcoin futures. Fast forward a few months and now FTX offers some of the most unique trading options on the market and ranks 5th among all exchanges in terms of volume. The exchange space has been dying for someone to come out with a unique offering and FTX has done exactly that. As more traders flock to it, it seems like FTX is destined to be one of the leading exchanges and the major investment made by Binance likely guarantees that.





FTX Overview





Platforms: Web & App

Withdrawals & Deposits: Free

Trading Pairs: There are only 5 primary pairs in the spot market (BTC, ETH, FTT, BNB, BTMX) however there are over 30 perpetual futures contracts including indexes which span dozens of different cryptocurrencies meaning the true extent of trading pairs is quite vast. FTX also offers some non-crypto markets, options, and leveraged tokens.

Trading Fees: 0.02% maker, 0.07% taker, reduced based on FTT balance and a 5% discount using a referral

Average Daily Volume: ~$640M

Est. Slippage (BTC-USD): 0.066%

ftx.com

@FTX_Official

t.me/FTX_Official





Pros

Indexes and trading pairs that aren't offered anywhere else

Arguably one of the widest selections of leveraged pairs

Tons of USD-settled options

Non-Crypto markets

BTC Options

Reliable trading execution

Ability to trade all derivatives with a single margin wallet





Cons

Not the cleanest interface

Not great for new traders - overwhelming options plus high leverage and slippage on volatile assets don't mix well

Without a sizable FTT balance, fees are a bit higher than other exchanges

Slippage appears high on some pairs





Trading Interface

The trading interface on FTX is not my favorite. Although it offers all of the necessary information in a compact view, it all generally looks the same which means the most important features don't necessarily stand out from the rest. That being said, it's perfectly usable, it just takes a bit of getting used to. All the order types you'd expect from a reputable exchange are there as well as information on liquidation levels, though again this information definitely isn't made super prominent until after you submit an order. The one thing that is great about FTX is that you can trade all derivatives with a single margin wallet meaning there's no need to swap cryptocurrencies and the freedom to trade flexibly.





Managing Positions

Position, liquidation and PnL are clearly displayed on FTX and there's a button to market close which is always good to quickly act on a position. The one thing I wish was offered was a way to easily add a stop-loss or take-profit to an open order rather than having to execute it as a completely new order.





Trading Pairs





FTX might be the best exchange out there in terms of trading pairs. It may not have the extensive catalogues of individual pairs like Binance does, but what it does have is unique ones that no other exchange offers including leveraged tokens, token indexes, options and even pairs based on the U.S. election. For a full list of trading pairs check out FTX.com but here's a few highlights.





Spot: BTC/USD, FTT/USD, ETH/USD, BNB/USD, BTMX/USD

Options: BTC

Leveraged Tokens: XTZBULL, XTZBEAR, LINKBULL, LINKBEAR, ALGOBULL, ALGOBEAR, BTCBULL, BTCBEAR, BNBBULL, BNBBEAR, ETHBULL, ETHBEAR, TOMOBULL, TOMOBEAR

Futures: BTC-Perp, LTC-Perp, ETH-Perp, EOS-Perp, LINK-Perp, ALT-Perp, MID-Perp, SHIT-Perp, EXCH-Perp, PRIV-Perp, etc.





It goes without saying that my favorite has to be SHIT-Perp which is a bucket of low cap coins such as the following.





Security





FTX is a newcomer and therefore hasn't really been around long enough to see it put to the test in terms of security risks. However, so far so good and the exchange offers 2FA which is always a must.





Support





FTX offers a live chat, though hours are restricted and therefore the best options are usually email or Telegram. The issues I've had to contact them about have been minor but I haven't had any complaints. Scanning Twitter suggests a generally positive experience for users who have requested support.





Sign Up and KYC





Signing up on FTX is easy, but there is a KYC component if you want to trade FTT or withdraw more than $1,000 USD. Level 1 KYC does not require any official documents and will double this amount as well as enable FTT trading. Level 2 KYC enables unlimited withdrawals but requires extensive documentation including proof of address, passport and a personal dated photo.





Summary





Overall FTX is positioned as the up and coming exchange in crypto due to it's unique offerings which set it apart from the competition. I think it could stand some improvements in UI and I wouldn't recommend it to a newer trader but for experienced traders seeking reliable and flexible trading across a large assortment of instruments, it's one of the best and I highly recommend it.





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