At Atani, we know that, for new users, getting started in the world of trading can seem extremely complex, especially when they encounter the first barrier to entry: creating an account on an exchange. However, nothing could be further from the truth, as creating an exchange account for trading is very simple. In fact, it is a process that you can complete in just a few minutes, including the KYC (Know your Customer) verification that most exchanges apply for new account.
Do you want to learn how to open an account without fear of making a mistake? Well, this guide is designed to guide you step by step in this task.
First of all, what is a cryptocurrency exchange?
Before starting, it is good that you know exactly what a cryptocurrency exchange is and what is its role in the world of cryptocurrencies. So, from Atani we can give you the following definition about exchanges:
Atani Academy – What is a Cryptocurrency Exchange?
A cryptocurrency exchange is an asset market, a space where you and thousands of other people buy and sell cryptocurrencies, in order to obtain profits thanks to the price differences (when buying and selling) that are created by the dynamics of supply and demand of these assets.
That said, exchanges or cryptocurrency exchanges are the equivalent of the traditional stock markets we are used to, such as the IBEX 35, Dow Jones or Nasdaq, only that instead of handling traditional assets (such as commodities, fiat currencies, among others) they handle cryptocurrencies and derivatives thereof (NFT tokens, crypto synthetics and more).
This brings us to the next question: Is this legal? The answer to that is: Yes, it is completely legal, except for those countries that have explicitly prohibited this activity. In that case, you will have to know the regulation of your country to know if it is prohibited or not. However, in most of the world trading cryptocurrencies is legal. In fact, in many countries there are tax obligations that you must comply with if you participate in these markets.
What cryptocurrency exchanges or exchanges currently exist?
There are currently a wide variety of cryptocurrency exchanges operating around the world. In fact, the number is growing year after year. Each platform seeks to attract potential users interested in cryptocurrencies.
Of this large group of exchanges, there are some that are well known in the community. Not only for the time they have been operating, but also for the huge market they manage and others contributions. In that case, we can mention exchanges such as:
- Coinbase Pro
- Binance
- Huobi
- OKX
- Bitfinex
- Kraken
- KuCoin
- Poloniex
- Gemini
- HitBTC
- OKCoin
- Bitstamp
- Upbit
- Gate.io
These are just some of the most important cryptocurrency exchanges worldwide. In fact, Atani offers support for these exchanges and some more as you can see in this image. You can create an account in some exchange and use it within Atani.
IMPORTANT
However, we must make the following remark: not all exchanges that exist are secure. The great interest of people in cryptocurrencies has also created the opportunity for people with bad intentions to scam the mass of people interested in cryptocurrencies.
In this case, we invite you to investigate the exchange, find out how long it has been operating, its security policy and operation, and ask the community about it. Remember: the security of your money in an exchange depends on that exchange, choose one that offers you the best security and has a wide support in that sense.
Steps to create an Exchange account
Create your cryptocurrency wallet
The first step to create an exchange account is to have a cryptocurrency wallet at hand. A cryptocurrency wallet is a special software that allows you to manage, send and receive your cryptocurrency balances. With them, you can then receive payments or make them in a very simple way. In fact, most cryptocurrency wallets are very easy to use.
Wallets can be of two types:
Custodians
In which the money you have in them is controlled by a company that guarantees its availability through its application. This system is identical to that used by commercial banks. That is, the money is controlled by their systems at all times. This type of wallets are usually apps for smartphones (both Android and iOS). But there are also web applications that you can access from any device.
Example of this type of wallets we can mention:
- Blockchain.com, a famous custodian wallet with more than 50 million users. It offers support for multiple currencies and has a high level of security. It also offers the ability to be a simple exchange with the same account.
- Coinbase offers a custodian wallet with a large number of users. It also offers support for multiple currencies and has a recognized level of security. Coinbase Pro, on the other hand, offers you the possibility to open an exchange account and much more.
- Bitso is another example of a custodian wallet. It also offers support for multiple currencies and has very good security. Also in the same account it offers exchange service.
The main advantage of these wallets is that you can make use of them very quickly. In addition, they are easy to use and have very user-friendly interfaces. However, they are more prone to theft through hacks, phishing or other attacks.
Non-custodians
In these wallets, the money is under your control at all times. This type of wallets are very secure, since the control of the coins is on you. For this purpose, these wallets generate a phrase known as seed phrase. This phrase serves to back up the wallet and is generally accompanied by a password that you must enter.
In any case, both the seed phrase and the given password must be jealously guarded. All this in order to avoid losing access to that money. Remember, if you lose your seed, no one will be able to give you back access. This type of wallet can be installed on smartphones (Android or iOS) or on your computer (specific software). But there are also physical devices (hardware wallets) that are extremely secure.
Some well-known non-custodial wallets are:
- Exodus, is a PC and smartphone wallet with a long history in the community. Offer support for multiple currencies and even connection to hardware wallets. It is available for Android, iOS and PC.
- Coinomi, is another well-known non-custodial wallet focused on ease of use. It has an app for Android and PC.
- Samourai Wallet, this is a Bitcoin wallet, the most advanced of its kind with privacy options and much more. It has an application for Android and is free software.
- Trezor is a hardware wallet or physical wallet with support for multiple cryptocurrencies. You can control the wallet through a web application or desktop application. In this wallet it is also possible to create an account that allows you to use it as an exchange.
- Ledger is another well-known hardware wallet with multiple cryptocurrency support and totally free hardware and software. In this wallet it is also possible to create an account that allows you to use it as an exchange.
Choose the wallet that best suits your needs
Choosing a cryptocurrency wallet should meet your needs. If you are careful, activate security options (such as 2FA, confirmation by mail, or others). Also, custodian wallets are a good option to store a certain amount of money. Remember, that custodian wallets are usually free, easy to use, but tend to charge quite high transaction fees. This is especially true in times of high traffic on cryptocurrency networks.
Non-custodied wallets, on the other hand, tend to have higher levels of security. These have more options for receiving payments in other cryptocurrencies. And the ability to adjust payment fees per transaction. In the case of a hardware wallet, the security mechanism is superior to any other wallet.
However, take into account perhaps the characteristics that will have the greatest impact on your decision to choose one or another type of wallet: the control of your money. Remember that in a custodian wallet, the money is not really under your control, and in case of hacking of the platform you can end up losing all your money. In non-custodian wallets, the control is total and, although there is still a risk of hacks, these are minimal if you are careful when handling the device in which you have installed that wallet.
Our recommendation in this case is that you only use custodial wallets with small amounts of money and keep your savings (or large amounts) well protected in non-custodial wallets, if possible, hardware wallets that can only be accessed by you under controlled conditions. This combination will allow you to keep your money in the safest possible way at all times.
Choose the exchange that best suits your needs
The next point is to choose the exchange that best suits your needs. To make it simpler, all exchanges nowadays offer you a large number of trading pairs, good liquidity and advanced trading options. In this sense, it is the small details that make you decide for one option or another.
Good examples of these small details are:
- Offer services in your country. There are exchanges that, because their headquarters are in certain countries, are prohibited from providing services in some regions.
- KYC or Know Your Customer policy. This is essential because if such a policy requires the presentation of documents that are difficult for you to obtain.
- Offer added trading services in your country. Exchanges have evolved a lot, to the point where they now offer other added services in certain countries. For example, the ability to buy or sell cryptocurrencies using bank accounts, credit card, debit card and even cash via peer-to-peer (P2P).
- Number of pairs and the inclusion of new cryptocurrency pairs. Another important point is the number of cryptocurrency pairs offered by the exchange. Exchanges with few pairs limit the trader’s action and the opportunities to make money.
- Security and time in the community. Most exchanges have suffered an attack at some point, and most of them have come out of it unscathed. An Exchange with proven security and constantly evolving is an important factor when choosing to create an account on it. This can only be known in one way: time in the community and the community’s trust in the exchange.
That said, sifting through exchanges is quite an arduous task, but keeping these criteria in mind will make you choose the best one for your particular case.
Creating an account: Chosen exchange Binance
Now we will show you how to create an account on Binance, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges worldwide. To do this, the first thing to do is to go to the Binance homepage.
At this point, to start the account creation process you will need to click on the “Register” button, located at the top right of the website. In a few moments you will see the registration web page where you will have to enter the basic registration data:
IMPORTANT
Remember to choose a secure, unique password and keep it in a safe place, as the security of your account and your money depends on it.
The system will ask you to confirm your data by means of a code sent to the email address you have registered, open your email and enter this code to confirm the registration. Once the code is confirmed you will have an active Binance account as you can see in the following image.
“The first run” in Binance exchange
In this case, Binance allows you to follow their tour for new users or directly jump to the account control panel. Note that among the tour options is the option to send funds to your Binance wallet. This is essential, because in order to trade cryptocurrencies on Binance, the funds must be in the Binance custodian wallet, i.e. you must send money to Binance so that, with that money, the platform allows you to trade.
In any case, the money that is in Binance can be withdrawn at any time using a cryptocurrency transfer (sending that money to the wallet that we invite you to create in the first step) or a bank transfer, if possible.
At this point, choose the option that suits you best. If you want to add the funds at this early stage you can do so, but if instead you want to get to know the platform better before deciding whether to trade with it or not, you can skip the tour and then add the funds. The decision at all times is entirely yours.
In this we will choose the option “Continue to the user panel” to continue with the process of verifying our account.
Verifying our exchange account
Now, we have created our Binance account, however, in order to enjoy all its options we must verify the account through its KYC or Know Your Customer process.
Doing this is very simple and, the first thing you should do is, from the Binance user control panel look for the “Identity Verification” option, which is located in the “Increase your account security” section in the main section of the Binance control panel.
These four options are of vital importance, and we will tell you how to activate them to have maximum security in your account. Now, to start the identity verification you just need to click on the “Verify” link and this will start the process. There we will go to the Identity Data website and we must click on the “Verify” button.
The Selfie time for KYC verification
Once there the process will actually start, the first thing you must do is to choose the country of residence, name, surname, date of birth, address where you live and zip code or post office box. Once you have entered these data, the next screen will ask you to upload one of the identity documents valid for your residence.
You will need to enter clear photographs of the chosen document, both front and back.
Finally, you will be asked to upload a selfie with your identity document, this must be taken with a webcam from your computer or using the Binance smartphone app, the latter being the recommended method. At the end of all these processes you will receive a verification informing you that the process has been successfully completed and that the final verification may take between 2 hours and 3 days maximum.
The result in any case is that the verification has been successfully completed and your account will be active to enjoy Binance services to the fullest.
Securing your Binance exchange account
Other important options within Binance can be seen in this image:
And we explain each of them:
Two-factor authentication (2FA).
This option allows you to activate an authentication system using random authentication code generation applications (such as Google Authenticator or Authy), by SMS (sending an SMS with the authentication code), by email and with the use of a YubiKey. In any case, it is advisable to activate the Google Authenticator, SMS and email authentication options, which leads the system to ask for three different codes every time you want to perform a transaction on Binance. Activation is simple and we recommend using a smartphone to facilitate the whole process.
Anti-phishing code activation
The anti-phishing code system is a security option that affects the security of your email and that we advise you to activate. The idea of this system is that you indicate a code that must be integrated in every email that Binance sends to your account. This way, by seeing the correct code in the email you receive, you can be sure that the email is legitimate and avoid falling into phishing traps. The activation of the system is very simple, and you will only be asked to enter the code and confirm the change in the settings.
Activate whitelist withdrawals
The last option is the activation of whitelist withdrawals. One of the most common security problems of exchanges is the hacking of their users’ accounts (by phishing) and the theft of their funds. The problem is that exchanges can’t do much in this case, because in the end, you have logged in correctly (you have fallen into a trap and given the hacker your login and password).
However, the creation of this feature solves this problem (or makes it more complex to exploit). The withdrawal whitelist is a set of cryptocurrency addresses or bank accounts that you have enabled for withdrawals, all other addresses or accounts are prohibited and, the only way to enable accounts, is by meeting the security requirements that have been enabled on the account.
So, if you combine the 2FA security options (SMS, Authenticator and email) and the anti-phishing system, you will have a great level of security that will prevent this kind of loss.
Sending funds to Binance
To send funds to Binance you have several options:
- You can buy cryptocurrencies by depositing into a bank account, using the P2P service.
- Using your debit or credit card.
- Sending cryptocurrencies directly to the platform wallet that has been created for your account.
In the case of withdrawals from Binance, you have the option to withdraw by bank account (if the option is available in your country or in the P2P system) or withdraw your cryptocurrencies and send them to a wallet under your control (preferably a non-custodial wallet).
In any case, buying cryptocurrencies on Binance is very simple. You just have to register your payment method and select the cryptocurrencies you wish to buy.
IMPORTANT
If the options of payment by bank account, debit/credit cards or any other option of buying or selling does not appear in your Binance system, verify that you are properly verified and that the service is active in your country.
Another important aspect is that bank transfers may take some time to be processed (up to two days), in any case, check the status of the same and in case of failures report them through Binance support channels.
Starting to trade using your exchange account
Finally, now you have created your account, verified it and have a balance in it. So, you can start trading with Binance. The trading options on Binance are diverse:
- Spot trading (or traditional cryptocurrency trading)
- Margin trading
- Futures
- Leveraged Tokens
- Battle
- Stock Token
- Staking Pools
- Liquid Swaps (Liquidity Mining)
- Crypto Loans
- Binance Earn
Each and every one of these systems has its own characteristics, advantages and disadvantages. We invite you to get to know them first, before you start using them and enjoying their services.
In any case, the Binance platform has hundreds of options for you to invest your money and get the most out of it.
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