Gemini is a top crypto exchange that has been around since 2014, and it gives traders a safe place to trade their digital assets. It also offers a user-friendly trading experience with a simple buy/sell function.
The crypto exchange has many other advantages, such as allowing traders to earn up to 8.05% APY and availability in all US states. However, it also has its fair share of shortcomings, such as charging higher trading fees and not offering crypto derivatives.
The good news is that if Gemini does not work well for you, there are many other good alternatives out there. Here is an overview of 8 of the best Gemini alternatives you should try.
Gemini Alternatives & Competitors
1. Bybit
Bybit is a Singapore-based P2P and crypto derivatives trading platform founded in 2018. It offers some of the most advanced trading tools in the market. Also, it is famous for its top-notch security and for having almost no downtime.
The Bybit trade engines can handle up to 100,000 per second and have some of the most advanced trading tools, including multiple chart types and indicators. Better still, they have a testnet that allows traders to practice risk-free using fake digital assets.
Traders get access to dozens of trading pairs for their spot market, while the derivatives market includes Inverse Perpetual, USDT Perpetual, and Inverse Futures. Traders can also trade these contracts with margin as the exchange supports maximum leverage of 100x.
Bybit uses a maker-taker fee model that rewards market makers and discourages market takers. Market makers get a 0.025% rebate, and takers pay 0.075%.
2. Phemex
Phemex has been live since 2019 and has its headquarters in Singapore. It currently has over 2 million registered traders, and its daily trading volume averages over $3 billion, making it one of the largest exchanges globally.
Phemex allows for both spot and contract trading and supports over 50 crypto pairs for their spot market and over 40 contracts pairs for their contracts trading. The contracts include USD-M Perpetual and Coin-M Perpetual. Also, traders can trade these crypto derivatives with up to 100x leverage to amplify their earnings.
You can trade on their spot market without paying any fees if you are a premium member or are even on the trial package. Other traders pay 0.1% per transaction. Their derivatives market uses the maker-taker model, where market makers get a 0.025% rebate and takers pay a 0.075% fee.
3. Kraken
Kraken is a US-based crypto exchange and one of the few licensed to operate in the market, given the strict financial regulations in the USA. The platform is one of the oldest crypto exchanges globally, as it has been live since 2011.
Traders can use the primary Kraken platform or the Kraken Pro, which is more suitable for experienced traders. However, all traders can access the spot and derivatives market, allowing for leveraged trading with a margin of up to 50x.
Kraken supports more than 100 different digital assets, allowing traders to form dozens of trading pairs. Also, their asset catalog will include both primary coins and altcoins.
The fees on Kraken will depend on the platform you are using. Traders using the main platform will pay 1.5% for instant purchase of all crypto pairs and 0.9% for stablecoins. Those on the Kraken Pro platform get a tiered maker-taker fee system where the fees start from 0.16% and 0.26% in maker and taker fees, respectively.
4. PrimeXBT
PrimeXBT is based in Seychelles like many other top-tier exchanges, and it has been in operation since 2018. Although it only supports 7 crypto assets, the list includes the largest coins based on their market capitalization.
The exchange focuses more on spot trading, and they currently do not support crypto derivatives. However, traders can open leveraged positions with a maximum margin of 100x. Additionally, the exchange supports several other products like copy-trading and earn-interest to ensure traders still have enough options to earn from their crypto.
Another perk that PrimeXBT users will appreciate is that the platform also offers some highly advanced trading tools. The platform uses TradingView preloaded with dozens of the most popular indicators, in-depth market analysis tools, and some intelligent drawing tools.
PrimeXBT has a flat rate fee structure, and traders will pay 0.05% per transaction when buying or selling crypto.\
5. Binance
Binance is one of the largest exchanges globally despite the fact it came into the market in 2017. The exchange already has over 25 million registered users, and its daily trading volume averages over $40 billion.
Besides its large size and popularity, Binance also has one of the broadest product offerings, including highly liquid and robust spot and derivatives markets. The platform supports over 600 digital assets to allow traders to form hundreds of trading pairs.
Its derivatives market includes several futures and options contracts and leveraged tokens. Binance allows traders to open positions with a margin for both their spot and derivatives market, using maximum leverage of 20x.
Binance uses the maker-taker fees system for both their spot and derivatives markets. Maker and taker fees for spot trading start at 0.1% for low-volume traders. Futures trading fees start at 0.0200% maker and 0.0400% taker fees.
6. Cex.io
Cex.io is one of the few regulated crypto exchanges that are available globally. The exchange has been around since 2013, and it is licensed in all jurisdictions where it operates. Also, it offers some highly advanced trading to suit the more experienced traders.
Traders using the Cex.io platform get access to over 100 digital assets, including popular coins and some less-known tokens. Traders can use these assets for spot or margin trading with a maximum leverage of 3x.
Users can also stake crypto on the platform to earn interest or use the assets to get crypto- collateralized loans.
Fees on the platform use the maker-taker structure, and they are also based on your 30-day trading volume. Traders with a volume of less than $10,000 will pay 0.25% taker fees and 0.15% maker fees.
7. Paxful
Paxful has been around since 2015. It currently has over 5 million registered traders and has already traded billions of dollars since its inception.
Paxful is mostly a P2P platform, so you should not expect to get aces to popular crypto products like derivatives. However, the exchange also gives you a free lifetime wallet maintained by BitGo, which can be handy for holding your digital asset.
The exchange uses standard security features and has KYC and AML standards to help protect users and their assets. Traders will also love that the platform gives them more than 350 payment methods to make it easy to buy crypto.
Paxful will not charge you any direct fees for buying BTC, but you should be ready to pay anywhere from 1% to 5% in transaction charges.
Conclusion
Gemini is a top crypto exchange that gives traders a highly liquid spot market and allows them to earn a high yield on their idle assets. However, the high fees and lack of derivatives mean it will not work for everyone.
There are many other good alternatives, and you just need to find one that suits all your needs. The 8 crypto exchanges above are a perfect starting point when searching for a good Gemini alternative.
Contents