Illustration by Budiarti R.

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Looking to get yourself some digital currencies after seeing the price of Bitcoin surpass $68,000? In order to do that, you’ll need a crypto exchange where you can buy, store and sell them. 

There are hundreds of crypto exchanges in the UK and it could take some time researching all of them to pick the best one so that you don’t lose your hard earned money. We’ve done the legwork for you - in this guide, we’ll review 6 most popular crypto exchanges available to UK users, and provide a list of all crypto-friendly banks.

If you haven’t read our beginner’s guide to cryptocurrencies and how to choose the right platform for your crypto, make sure to check it out.

Best crypto exchanges in the UK

1. Coinbase

Coinbase is home to over 56 million customers. With Coinbase, you have a wide range of cryptocurrencies and other digital assets to choose from.

Minimum deposit:  £2

Fees: 0.5% - 4.5% depending on transaction type, see full fee schedule

Crypto selection: 100+

Wallet: Yes, Coinbase Wallet allows you to store all your crypto and NFTs in one place and earn interest

Supported payment methods: Debit and credit cards, bank transfer, faster payments, SWIFT, SEPA, cryptocurrencies 

Pros:

• Beginner-friendly interface and easy purchase process
• Strong user reviews and security ratings
• Multiple security options for securing user assets
• Its educational Learn platform rewards users with free crypto when they learn about new projects

Cons:

• Coinbase usually suffers a downtime when there’s significant Bitcoin price action
• Limited customer service options
• No access to many altcoins

Best for: beginner investors

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2. Gemini

Gemini is known for its top security level and its beginner-friendly platform that makes getting started easy, though being a bit more expensive than other platforms.

Minimum deposit: £0

Fees: 0.5% - 3.99% - seel full fee schedule

Crypto selection: 50+

Wallet: Yes

Pros:

• Friendly and secure interface for both beginners and professionals alike
• Multiple buying and selling options
• Insurance against online breaches

Cons:

• Relatively high fees for small trades
• Convoluted fee structure
• No linked debit cards available
• Customer support only available via email
• No margin trading or short selling available

Best for: security

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3. Kraken

Founded in 2011, Kraken is one of the older crypto exchanges. The US-based exchange offers a solid range of coins with competitively low fees.

Minimum deposit: varies by cryptocurrency

Fees: 0% - 0.26% - seel full fee schedule

Crypto selection: 50+

Wallet: No

Pros:

• Appeal to experienced traders
• High cybersecurity ratings
• Reasonable fees
• High security

Cons:

• Not beginner-friendly
• Slow account funding
• No tax support
• Questionable customer service

Best for: advanced investors

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4. eToro

Minimum deposit: $50

Fees: 0.75% - 5% of the bid/ask spread, depending on cryptocurrency

Crypto selection: 20+

Wallet: Yes

Pros:

• Accept debit and credit card purchases 
• Straightforward pricing
• Popular crypto selection
• No commissions on unleveraged purchases

Cons:

• You need to convert from GBP to USD
• High fees on some digital currencies
• Limited selection of crypto

Best for: finding new investing strategies

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5. CEX.io

The UK-based exchange is a global crypto ecosystem offering 80+ assets, staking rewards, margin trading, and more.

Minimum deposit: £20 (?)

Fees: 0% - 0.25% - see full fee schedule

Crypto selection: 80+

Wallet: Yes

Pros:

• User friendly interface
• Suitable for both beginners and advanced users
• Secure
• 24/7 customer support
• 
  

Cons:

• Limited coin options (CEX.io offers more tokens)

Best for: low fees

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6. Binance

Binance is one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in terms of market capitalization and trading volume. The US platform has attracted more than 13 million users worldwide.

Minimum deposit: $0 (?)

Fees: 0.015% - 0.10% - see full fee schedule

Crypto selection: 100+ 

Wallet: No

Pros:

• Comprehensive and advanced charting options
• Various transaction types
• One of the cheapest platforms to use
• Massive selection of transaction types

Cons:

• Not beginner-friendly
• No built-in digital wallet
• Binance subsidiary Binance Markets Limited is barred from operating in the UK

Best for: low fees for more advanced users

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List of crypto-friendly banks in the UK

You should know beforehand if your bank lets you transfer money to trade crypto. A crypto-friendly bank should let you:

• Use credit and debit cards that they issue to freely buy and sell crypto
• Complete wire transfers to cryptocurrency exchanges and similar entities
• Cash-out funds from your cryptocurrency investments

Here are banks that ban or make it difficult for users to trade crypto:

• Virgin Money
• Capital One
• TSB
• Lloyds
• Monzo
• HSBC
• Metro Bank
• Nationwide

App-based challenger banks (small, recently created retail banks that compete directly with the longer-established banks in the country, sometimes by specializing in areas underserved by the "big four" banks) that are crypto-friendly:

• Xace
• Orounda
• Cashaa
• Revolut
• Monzo
• Nuri
• Fidor
• BCB Group

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The bottom line

Summing things up, it can be difficult to pick a cryptocurrency exchange that is perfect and fulfills all of your specific requirements. The good part though is the fact that UK residents have access to literally hundreds of Bitcoin exchanges. 

What you need to keep in mind is a lot of them operate without a license, so you need to check if an exchange is regulated by the FCA first, and then check out its fees, features and wallet (read the full guide here).

Have fun trading!