Bitcoin exchanges are websites where you can buy, sell or exchange your bitcoins for other digital currencies or traditional currencies like the United States Dollars or Euro.

What you should look out for before using any bitcoin exchanges.

You should always do a little homework before you use any bitcoin exchanges. Here are some things you should look out for.

Payment Methods: What are the payment methods available on the exchange? Do they allow payments via credit cards, debit cards or wire transfer from your bank? You should always remember that buying bitcoin with credit cards will require your identity verification and it comes with a premium price as there is a higher risk of fraud and high transactional fees. Meanwhile, buying bitcoin through the wire transfer payment option will take significantly longer as it takes time for banks to process.

Verification Requirements: Most of the bitcoin exchanges require some sort of ID verification in order to make withdrawals and deposits. Verification can take up to a few days, it protects the exchange against all kinds of scams and money laundering. Although some exchanges will allow you to remain anonymous.

Reputation: One of the best ways to find out about an exchange is to search through reviews from well-known websites or forums like Reddit or BitcoinTalk.

Trading Fees: Trading fees can differ, it all depends on the exchange you use. Most bitcoin exchanges should have fee-related information on their websites. Make sure you understand deposit, transaction, and withdrawal fees.

Geographical Restrictions: Make sure the exchange you want to join allows full access to all platform’s functions and tools in the country you live in because most exchanges are only accessible from certain countries.