With the value of cryptocurrency rising and the need to buy and sell is at high volume, users may find themselves confused as to what centralized exchange they should go after. Whether it is finding the best security or special features that users may enjoy, there are numerous factors to consider when choosing the right exchange. Here are a few signs you should look out for when finding the right crypto exchange:

Volume

When it comes to centralized exchanges, volume is king. Volume is the amount of money going in, out, and around the exchange, whether people are buying, selling, or perpetual futures trading. The amount of volume dictates the market’s trust in an exchange. 

Volume also translates to the amount of users in the exchange and their average spending power. When there is more volume, more people trust that the exchange delivers. In an exchange with low-volume, there are reasons that users are not using their exchange such as it being unregistered, illiquid, bad user-interface, and many more.

Liquidity

Liquidity in centralized exchanges refers to how easily an asset can be bought or sold at a stable price. It's characterized by a deep order book where there are many buy and sell orders at various price levels, leading to a narrow bid-ask spread. High liquidity means large orders can be executed without significantly moving the price (low market impact), trades are completed quickly, and there's generally high trading volume. 

This liquidity is vital as it leads to lower trading costs, more stable prices, efficient markets reflecting true price information, and increased investor confidence. Exchanges enhance liquidity through market makers, liquidity pools, and trading incentives, ensuring that assets can be traded smoothly and efficiently.

Depending on the exchange, high liquidity exchanges will offer the most accurate price with minimal spread and depth. However, illiquid exchanges are easily subjected to price manipulation, positive spreads, and thin order book depth.

Security

Good security in centralized cryptocurrency exchanges is achieved through a combination of technical, procedural, and educational measures. Funds are predominantly stored in cold wallets, offline to minimize the risk of cyber theft. This can be in a form of a protection fund and proof-of-reserves

Exchanges are also expected to have a multi-signature feature, meaning that transactions need approval from multiple parties, adding another layer of protection. Two-factor authentication also ensures that users must confirm their identity through at least two methods before accessing their accounts or moving funds to avoid malicious entities hijacking user accounts.

An exchange’s compliance with Know-Your-Customer and Anti-Money Laundering regulations helps in solidifying the exchange’s collaboration with the government to prevent illicit activities and verifying user identity. 

Exchanges also educate users on security best practices to prevent falling for phishing scams. They might run bug bounty programs, encouraging white hat hackers to reveal security flaws in exchange for rewards.

There are numerous exchanges that offer all the features above. However, Bitget stands on top when it comes to delivering excellent service to their users. In the third quarter of this year, these are their achievements:

• Bitget reached 45M users, ranking as the 4th largest crypto exchange globally, with a major focus on accelerating financial freedom.
• The exchange led in APAC trading, accounting for 31% of trading volume and 26% on weekends, driven by retail activity.
• Maintain a $400 million protection fund, prioritizing the safety of their user’s assets

Additionally, they’ve also achieved multiple partnerships with credible organizations and platforms such as:

• Foresight Ventures and Bitget committed $30M to support TON blockchain development and Telegram-based projects.
• Bitget named among top 12 finalists for Digital Currency Exchange of the Year at Australia’s 2024 Blockies Awards
• The company elaborated its token-discovery strategies through on-chain data and community insights with Nansen Research.
• Bitget secured a strategic partnership with LALIGA to promote Web3 adoption across Eastern, SEA, and LATAM regions.

Lastly, Bitget not only aims to develop the future of cryptocurrency trading, but also their own talents. Recently, Min Lin, the former Regional Vice President for Latin America and Head of Business Development at Binance, was appointed the Chief Business Officer for Bitget. This marks Bitget's initiatives to strengthen its presence in key regional markets.

While there are numerous factors to consider when choosing the best centralized exchange for you, it is important to fragment your portfolio to different wallets as it is not advised to keep all your assets in one place. Doing adequate research and understanding your priorities as a user will help you discern the best crypto exchange for you to trade on.