Best Online Brokers for Crypto Trading in 2024

Learn about the best brokers to start trading crypto

Fact checked by Will Baker

According to our research, Fidelity Investments, Interactive Brokers, eToro, and Robinhood are the best online brokerage platforms for trading cryptocurrencies in 2024. We researched 24 online brokers and trading platforms and evaluated them based on several criteria critical to a robust cryptocurrency trading experience, including fees, types of crypto assets offered, number of physical coins available to trade, mobile app experience, trade experience, and additional features. And with the price of Bitcoin touching new all-time highs of over $73,000 in March, it’s important to know which brokers may be best for you to invest in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

Warning

This review promotes virtual cryptocurrency investing within the EU (by eToro Europe Ltd.), UK (eToro UK Ltd.), and US (by eToro USA LLC). Cryptocurrency investing is highly volatile, unregulated in some EU countries and the UK, not subject to EU or UK consumer protections, and not supervised by the EU or UK regulatory framework. Investments are subject to market risk, including the loss of principal.

Best for Active Traders and Best Mobile App for Advanced Traders: Interactive Brokers

• Fees: 0.12% to 0.18%
• Account Minimum: $0
• Currencies: 4

Open Account

Why We Chose It

Best for Active Traders

Interactive Brokers is one of the most popular multi-asset online brokerages among active traders because it offers a suite of advanced trading tools and services, combined with low fees for cryptocurrency trades.  

Best Mobile App for Advanced Traders

Interactive Brokers has managed to bring its professional trading dashboard from web to mobile, offering a mobile app for sophisticated traders looking to execute advanced trading strategies in the global crypto asset market. 

Pros & Cons

Pros

• Offers advanced technical analysis and charting tools

• Provides customers access to market research reports 

• Comparatively low fees

Cons

• Only supports trading for four cryptocurrencies 

• May be intimidating to beginners

Overview

Founded in 1977 by Thomas Peterffy, Interactive Brokers is one of the most established online brokerage platforms in the markets. The Greenwich, Connecticut-based brokerage firm provides comprehensive access to the global financial markets, offering a wide range of asset classes for its customers to trade. From stocks, bonds, and commodities to derivatives, mutual funds, and cryptocurrencies, Interactive Brokers covers almost every corner of the investment universe. 

Interactive Brokers introduced crypto trading in 2021, offering four leading cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), to its customer base. In addition to its wide range of tradable assets, Interactive Brokers stands out for its advanced trading platform, targeting experienced and professional traders. Market research reports, advanced charting tools, a broad suite of technical indicators, and a sophisticated mobile trading dashboard make Interactive Brokers the go-to option for advanced traders looking to trade cryptocurrencies. 

For more information, read our full Interactive Brokers review.

Best for Ease of Trading and Best Mobile App for Beginners: Robinhood

• Fees: 0%
• Account Minimum: $0
• Currencies: 15

Open Account

Why We Chose It

Best for Ease of Trade

Robinhood has emerged as one of the most popular trading platforms for retail investors in the U.S. thanks to its beginner-friendly, gamified user experience and its zero-commission fee model, allowing anyone to get started in the financial markets. 

Best Mobile App for Beginners

Robinhood has managed to attract millennial and Gen-Z traders and investors with its simple and easy-to-use mobile trading app, which has helped to lower the barriers to entry for first-time investors. 

Pros & Cons

Pros

• Simple and easy-to-use trading platform

• Zero trading fees or commissions

• Offers cryptocurrency trading and crypto ETFs

Cons

• Limited number of supported cryptocurrencies

• Crypto trading available in all states, except Hawaii

Overview

Robinhood was founded by Vlad Tenev and Baiju Bhatt in 2013 to lower the barriers to entry for investors in the United States by offering a very user-friendly trading experience combined with a zero-commission fee model and no deposit minimums. 

The appealing nature of no trading fees and no account minimums helped Robinhood rise quickly through the ranks in the competitive online brokerage market as an increasing number of younger investors opted for the trading app over traditional online brokerage accounts. 

Robinhood rolled out crypto trading in 2019, initially only in five states, with seven cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH). Additional crypto assets were added in the years to follow, enabling Robinhood users across the U.S. to now trade 15 digital currencies and tokens.  

In 2023, Robinhood launched crypto trading support in the European Union, enabling its European customers to use the beginner-friendly trading app to invest in crypto assets. 

For more information, read our full Robinhood Review.

Best for ETFs: Fidelity Investments

• Fees: 1%
• Account Minimum: $1
• Currencies: 2

Open Account

Why We Chose It

Fidelity Investments has been at the forefront of digital asset adoption on Wall Street, which is reflected by its support for crypto and crypto ETF trading on its popular online brokerage platform. 

Pros & Cons

Pros

• Provides a broad selection of crypto ETFs

• Offers commission-free Fidelity crypto ETFs 

• Provides educational material

Cons

• Comparatively high trading fees

• Only supports two cryptocurrencies for spot trading

Overview

Founded in 1943 and headquartered in Boston, Fidelity is one of the largest financial services companies in the world and offers one of the most popular online brokerage platforms in the U.S. The online brokerage platform offers a wide range of asset classes and investment products, enabling its customers to manage most, if not all, of their investment needs on one platform. 

Fidelity is also one of the most crypto-friendly companies on Wall Street, having started mining Bitcoin back in 2014 and launching an institutional crypto custody and trading platform called Fidelity Digital Assets in 2018. The full-service broker also provides its customers with the option to add crypto investments to their 401(k) via its Digital Assets Account (DDA). 

Fidelity stands out among other brokerage platforms that support crypto trading by offering a wide selection of crypto ETFs, from recently launched spot Bitcoin ETFs to a Metaverse ETF and more. For investors primarily interested in digital asset ETFs, Fidelity is the best option. 

For more information, read our full Fidelity Review.

Best for Social Investing: eToro

• Fees: 1% + variable spread
• Account Minimum: $10 (for U.S. residents) 
• Currencies: 80+

Open Account

Why We Chose It

Best for Social Investing

eToro is a beginner-friendly, multi-asset brokerage and social investing platform that enables you to trade a variety of cryptocurrencies and copy other traders’ trades automatically using the platform’s social trading feature. 

Pros & Cons

Pros

• Social trading feature enables users to automatically replicate trades of successful traders

• Offers ready-made Smart Portfolios, making it easier to invest in a basket of crypto assets

Cons

• Relatively high commission plus variable market spreads add to trading fees

• Only available in 47 states

Overview

eToro was founded in 2007 in Tel Aviv by brothers Ronen Assia and Yoni Assia, along with David Ring. Starting out as a forex trading platform, eToro introduced its innovative social trading feature in 2010, allowing users to automatically copy the trades of successful traders on the platform. 

In 2013, eToro added support for stocks and commodity trading and became one of the first online brokers to offer Bitcoin trading. Four years later, in 2017, eToro expanded its cryptocurrency trading offers with the addition of XRP, Litecoin, and a suite of other digital currencies and tokens. In the same year, eToro also launched in the United States and quickly rose to popularity among retail traders and investors thanks to its social investing feature and easy-to-use trading platform. 

For more information, read our full eToro Crypto Review.

The Bottom Line

With the price of Bitcoin reaching new all-time highs to begin the month of March, it’s critical to choose the best broker for crypto trading that matches your personal preferences and needs as an investor. If you are a beginner looking to dip your toes into crypto for the first time, a beginner-friendly trading app with no fees or minimum, like Robinhood, may be a good place to start. Alternatively, if you’re looking to copy more experienced crypto traders’ trades, eToro’s CopyTrader feature may be appealing to you.

More experienced traders looking to execute more advanced trading strategies in the crypto markets will appreciate what Interactive Brokers brings to the table with its selection of technical analysis indicators and charting tools and comparatively low trading fees. Traders who are looking for a broker that offers a social trading experience will find what they need on eToro’s platform. Finally, if you are most interested in investing in crypto ETFs, Fidelity is your best choice as it offers a suite of Bitcoin ETFs for its customers. 

Compare the Best Online Brokers for Trading Crypto

Company	Fees	Account Minimum	Currencies	New Spot Bitcoin ETFs
Fidelity Investments	1%	$1	2	Yes
Interactive Brokers	0.12% to 0.18%	$0	4	Yes
eToro	1% + variable spread	$10	80+	Yes
Robinhood	0%	$0	15	Yes

What Is a Crypto Broker?

A crypto broker is an online platform that enables traders and investors to buy and sell cryptocurrencies. Popular examples include Robinhood and eToro. 

Unlike crypto exchanges, which are typically not regulated, online brokerages offering crypto trading support are generally regulated financial services companies, assuring investors that their funds are safe and that their investments are compliant with existing regulations. 

Additionally, online crypto brokers are typically easier to use than crypto exchanges, which typically come with a high learning curve for first-time users. 

How to Get Into Crypto Trading

Starting with crypto trading using an online crypto broker involves only a few steps. Let’s take a look at them. 

• Choose a broker: Select an online brokerage account that suits your preferences and needs as an investor. 
• Set up an account: Create an account with the online broker and deposit funds. In the case of online brokers, that will typically be dollars (or any other fiat currency). 
• Buy crypto: Choose the cryptocurrencies you want to invest in after researching each asset to ensure you know what you are buying and are happy with the level of risk you are taking.  
• Securely store your crypto investments: When buying crypto using an online broker, you are often given the choice between storing your investments with the broker or withdrawing them to a personal crypto wallet. Choose whichever option you feel more comfortable with after educating yourself about the pros and cons of self versus third-party crypto custody.  

Pros & Cons of Crypto Brokers

Now, let’s take a look at the benefits and drawbacks of trading crypto using an online crypto broker. 

Pros

• A familiar look and feel: Investors used to buying and selling securities via an online broker will feel more at home trading crypto on the same platform than on a crypto exchange. 
• Regulatory compliance: Online crypto brokers are typically regulated, ensuring compliance with existing regulations of all investments made via the platform. 
• Customer support: While crypto exchanges often lack effective customer support, online brokerages, especially large established ones, typically provide high-quality customer support. 

Cons 

• Limited control of funds: Holding your crypto assets with a broker means that you typically can’t access your cryptocurrencies to spend them online or deploy them on decentralized finance protocols. 
• Limited cryptocurrency support: Most online brokers tend to only offer a handful of cryptocurrencies to trade, limiting the potential for investors to build a broadly diversified crypto portfolio.  

Alternatives to Crypto Brokers

Crypto brokers provide an easily accessible and familiar avenue for trading cryptocurrencies. However, they may not be for everyone. Alternatively, you could also trade cryptocurrencies on centralized or decentralized crypto exchanges. 

• Centralized crypto exchanges: If you are looking to earn investment income through staking or lending, creating an account on a centralized crypto exchange would be the more suitable option. 
• Decentralized exchanges (DEXs): If you want to trade a wide range of digital assets and feel comfortable using a Web3 wallet, you could also trade crypto on decentralized exchanges (DEXs). 

How to Store Cryptocurrency

As a cryptocurrency trader or investor, you have the choice between storing your cryptocurrency investments on an online trading platform or in a personal crypto wallet. 

While the convenience of holding your crypto assets on an exchange or with an online broker may be appealing, storing your digital assets in a crypto wallet to which only you have access is widely considered the more secure option. 

When it comes to crypto wallets, you have the choice between software and hardware wallets. Software wallets are applications you can download on your smartphone or computer to store your assets, while hardware wallets are physical devices used to store the private keys that provide you access to your crypto holdings. 

The right crypto storage solutions will depend on your personal preferences and level of technical expertise, but holding your digital asset investment offline in a hardware wallet is arguably the safest option for most crypto traders and investors. 

Frequently Asked Questions

What Is Crypto Trading?

Crypto trading refers to actively buying and selling cryptocurrencies to generate regular trading profits. Unlike crypto investing, which involves buying and holding digital assets for the longer term, crypto trading focuses on short-term profits and typically involves following market trends and the use of technical analysis indicators to determine entry and exit price levels. 

Cryptocurrency trading takes place on dedicated crypto exchanges or online brokerage platforms and can be done via the spot or crypto derivatives markets. 

Should You Use a Broker for Crypto?

When it comes to trading cryptocurrency, you have the choice between using a broker or a crypto exchange. If you already have an account with an online broker that supports crypto asset trading, it’s probably easiest to also use it to trade digital currencies and tokens. The familiarity, convenience, and ease of use speak for using a broker to trade crypto. Moreover, brokers are regulated financial services companies that provide a high level of security and regulatory compliance. 

Crypto exchanges are typically less regulated and come with higher security risks, as they are popular targets for hackers looking to steal cryptocurrency. Moreover, they are typically a bit more difficult to use than popular online brokers, such as Robinhood and eToro. Having said that, crypto exchanges usually also provide additional investment options, such as staking and interest-bearing accounts, allowing crypto traders and investors to earn yield on their crypto assets.

Is Crypto Trading Profitable?

Crypto trading can be profitable if you have an in-depth understanding of what drives price movements in the crypto market and are able to apply technical analysis in an effective manner. Deploying adequate risk management strategies is also an essential piece of the puzzle to limit downside risk in this highly volatile market.  

It’s important to note that while the elevated volatility of cryptocurrencies can create a potentially lucrative environment for traders, it can also lead to steep trading losses for unskilled traders, especially when leverage is being used.

What Is Spot Trading in Crypto?

Spot trading in crypto refers to buying and selling actual cryptocurrency with immediate delivery as opposed to trading crypto derivatives, such as perpetual swaps, which enable you to speculate on the price of the underlying asset without actually owning it.

How We Choose the Best Brokers For Crypto Trading

Cryptocurrency traders aim to profit from price fluctuations, leveraging market analysis and trading strategies. However, cryptocurrency trading carries risks of extreme volatility, regulatory uncertainty, and security vulnerabilities. To help our readers find the best platform to meet their needs, we researched 24 online brokers and evaluated them based on a number of criteria critical to cryptocurrency trading, including fees, available crypto assets, trading and research tools, plus additional features.

Read the original article on Investopedia.