5 Best Crypto Day Trading Platforms
The rise of the interest in cryptocurrency asset class has provided day traders with a perfect tool to expand their universe of options.Cryptocurrencies are volatile and prone to high and sudden price jumps (drops, as well, of course), meaning they open various profit opportunities.
A few years back, day trading cryptocurrencies wasn’t possible. The reason was the slow transaction processing times and the high fees. Today, things are different thanks to the ever-evolving Blockchain technology and the increasing competition between the different crypto platforms.
Among the numerous benefits of the competitive digital asset trading niche are:
- Lower costs, services with ever-improving quality, higher security
- More convenient and competitive terms (zero commissions, no withdrawal fees, ability to deposit funds with fiat currency, and more).
The abundance of service providers makes it difficult for users to find the best and most reliable. The following list contains the top 5 best crypto day trading platforms that offer the best products and services.
See Also: Best Crypto App for Beginners
Best Crypto Day Trading Platforms
The crypto day trading platforms in this list are very diversified in their profile. You will find proven platforms for trading CFDs and stocks, commission-free day trading crypto apps, and crypto-native exchanges.
All share similar characteristics that distinguish them from the rest of the service providers in the niche. These include industry-leading security, competitive trading fees, intuitive UI and UX, demo account options, excellent customer support, and most importantly, а transparent and credible service.
1. Interactive Brokers Crypto – Best Crypto Day Trading Platform from a Brokerage Company
Interactive Brokers needs no introduction. IB is one of the leading and most established brokerage service providers globally. Here, I won’t focus on its history and reputation, but will instead go through its crypto offering.
The Interactive Brokers Crypto offering allows day traders to seamlessly access crypto markets through a professional-grade desktop and intuitive mobile and web platforms.
The supported assets are BTC, ETH, LTC, and BCH. However, there are also cryptocurrency futures contracts that you can trade from the same platform. Holders of retail investor accounts can take advantage of limit, market and stop orders. The minimum order size is .00000001 for any cryptocurrency. Trading hours are from 3 AM EST Sunday to 4 PM EST Friday.
The commissions are between 0.12% and 0.18% of trade value. The minimum fee that you will be charged, however, is $1.75 per trade. There are no additional added spreads, markups, or custody fees.
However, bear in mind that crypto trading on Interactive Brokers is available only to retail investor accounts from the US as of now. All cryptocurrency trade execution and custody are provided by Paxos Trust Company.
All stocks, options, futures, spot currencies, bonds, and funds trades are executed by Interactive Brokers.
2. Robinhood Crypto – Best Crypto Day Trading Platform for Beginners
For less than a decade, Robinhood became one of the top 5 most valuable fintech startups globally. How? By bringing commission-free stock trading to the masses. The service provider’s popularity and undisputed success forced many brokerage service providers to introduce $0 commission fee policies.
But Robinhood didn’t stop only with trading CFDs for free.
Today, crypto day traders enjoy the app because it allows them to trade digital assets at no cost. Furthermore, it allows fractional trading, meaning you can start with just a single dollar.
On Robinhood, you can trade various digital currencies, including BTC, ETH, DOGE, LTC, ETC, BCH, and BSV.
While Robinhood shines when it comes to commission fees and supported assets, it can’t match the functionalities of advanced day trading platforms like TradeStation or IBKR. With Robinhood, you can buy and sell crypto via iOS, Android, and a web platform. However, you won’t be able to take advantage of sophisticated trading tools or charting features.
Furthermore, currently, Robinhood doesn’t allow holders of retail investor accounts to transfer their cryptocurrency assets into or out of their Robinhood Crypto account. However, the platform claims its team is working to provide those abilities for the supported assets.
All-in-all, Robinhood is the best place to trade crypto if you are a beginner or a day trading enthusiast with limited capital who wants to avoid paying commission fees.
3. Phemex – Best Crypto Platform for Day Trading
Phemex is a great crypto day trading platform with low fees, advanced functionalities and strong wallet security. The company was founded by a former senior executive at Morgan Stanley and currently has over 2 million users. The connection to over 30 liquidity providers ensures good trade executions.
The Phemex crypto app is a good choice for crypto day traders because, similar to day trading in the stock market, users who add liquidity to the order book receive a rebate credited to their account (0.025%), while at the same time, traders who remove liquidity from the order book are charged for the trade execution (0.075%).
Besides crypto futures, traditional crypto spot trading is available for a reasonable transaction fee of 0.1%. At the moment, over 220 cryptocurrency pairs are tradeable with Phemex.
The less active trading days are also well-rewarded since Phemex offers APY rates of up to 11%. In addition, the free Phemex Academy, Sub-accounts for quantitative traders and OTC trading are available.
4. Kraken – Best Crypto Day Trading Platform for Leveraged Trading
Now, if you want to day trade on a native crypto exchange, then the following two suggestions are for you. First, Kraken is one of the most established cryptocurrency trading platforms globally. Over the years, it has built a stellar reputation and is today known for its reliable service and competitive offerings. Furthermore, Kraken is probably the best place to start trading crypto if you put security on the top of your priorities.
Kraken lists over 50 digital currency options and trading pairs, and you can open an account with as little as $10. While the fees for instant crypto buyers are a bit high, for day traders, they are kept at reasonable levels. The fee terms depend on the tier of the account and range anywhere between 0.16% maker and 0.26% taker fee for accounts up to $50,000, to 0.00% and 0.10%, respectively, for accounts over $10m. The fees for stablecoins, FX pairs, and futures contracts are also very competitive and in line with the industry’s best standards.
Kraken also offers up to 5x leverage, and eligible clients can access up to $500,000 with rollover fees of 0.22% per 4 hours and up to 0.2% for account opening.
Another thing that you will surely notice is Kraken’s design. Personally, I think this is the exchange with the best UI and UX out there, so if you value these things much, then give it a try. You won’t be disappointed.
In a nutshell, Kraken is well suited for crypto beginners, new traders, and also professional cryptocurrency traders.
5. TradeStation – Best Crypto Day Trading Platform for Advanced Traders
TradeStation is one of the leading trading platform providers globally. Its state-of-the-art trading technology and online electronic brokerage services offer active individual and institutional traders in the U.S. and worldwide access to advanced stock, ETF, options, futures, mutual funds, and CFD trading.
TradeStation is an excellent choice for day traders as it offers a combination of a reliable and highly functional platform to trade cryptocurrency with lots of advanced features. These include advanced order routing and execution functionalities, auto-limit prices, a market depth analysis tool, a consolidated order book, advanced charting and technical analysis tools, and more.
The platform is also available for iOS and Android devices.
On TradeStation, users can trade a limited number of crypto assets, including BCH, BTC, ETH, and USDC. It offers various trade analysis functions and a customizable interface, making it a perfect choice even for more demanding traders.
In terms of trading commissions, TradeStation charges a 0.3% maker fee and a 0.3% taker fee for accounts below $100,000. For accounts in the $100,000 – $1m range, the fee drops to 0.1%, while bigger accounts are charged 0.05%. There are no additional fees.
Customer support is available 24/7 via telephone, while the online chat isn’t always active.
The platform is also suitable for long-term investors who want to complement their trading activities with the opportunity to earn interest on their crypto holdings. TradeStation offers a 6% daily accrued interest rate.
Best Platform for Day Trading Cryptocurrency: Conclusion
The platforms where you can trade crypto nowadays come in all shapes in sizes. There are solutions designed specifically for beginner retail investors looking for an intuitive web and mobile app experience to trade crypto conveniently.
There are also platforms for beginner traders who don’t have that much capital for day trading crypto at the start of their journey. On the other end of the spectrum, there are also exchanges that cater to the needs of sophisticated trading profiles looking to start day trading Bitcoin and take advantage of professional trading and order management features and margin trading offerings.
While several factors are set-in-stone when choosing the best place for day trading crypto, including reputation, fee policy, depth of their offering, and more, in the end, the choice depends on your personal preferences. However, if you wonder which is the best crypto day trading platform, the suggestions on this list should be your go-to options.
FAQ
What is a crypto trading platform?
It is a place (i.e., a market venue or a service like an exchange or a broker) where you can buy and sell digital currencies. There are various types of platforms where you can trade crypto. Some offer only crypto trading services, while others also support conventional assets like stocks, bonds, forex, and more. Most crypto-only day trading platforms offer a range of crypto-related services, including interest-earning accounts, wallets, and more.
What is a cryptocurrency exchange?
A crypto exchange is a designated market where you can trade digital currencies. There are two types of cryptocurrency exchanges – centralized and decentralized. The former is run by an exchange operator who sets the price of the listed assets, connects buyers and sellers, and takes care of trade execution and settlement, asset storage, and more. Decentralized exchanges don’t have a designated operator, and the prices there are determined from natural market mechanisms like supply and demand.
What does it cost to trade Bitcoin?
It depends on the day trading platform and its terms. For example – how many Bitcoins do you want to buy and the payment method you prefer (a debit card payment, a bank transfer, etc.). In addition, there are service providers that claim not to charge you anything for Bitcoin trading (although, in most cases, they factor a small trading fee in the Bitcoin price they quote you). In contrast, others charge a fixed sum (i.e., $1 per transaction), a fixed, or a dynamic percentage (in the case of maker-taker pricing models).
What is Bitcoin Cash?
Bitcoin Cash (BCH) is a cryptocurrency that steps on the fundamentals of Bitcoin (BTC) but aims to improve its usability and ease its mainstream adoption by providing more utility in everyday life. It was initially started as a hard fork of Bitcoin by miners and developers who wanted to make the asset more scalable. Compared to Bitcoin, BCH significantly speeds up the transaction verification time and lowers the processing fees.
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