Situation in Ukraine
In 2021 Ukraine adopted the Law on Virtual Assets, defining the legal status and regulation of cryptocurrencies. Work is underway to implement legislation aligned with European standards, including the MiCA regulation.
Ukraine statistics: number of holders, amounts, and the average Ukrainian's portfolio
About 13.5% of Ukraine's population holds cryptocurrencies — roughly 3.78 million people. After the start of the war with Russia in 2022, crypto usage in Ukraine increased further. The Ukrainian government also uses crypto to raise funds for military and humanitarian needs, collecting the equivalent of over $200 million USD.
The average crypto investor portfolio in Ukraine includes mainly Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Tether. Average mining cost for one Bitcoin in Ukraine is about $19,530 USD, one of the lowest in the world thanks to relatively cheap electricity and other resources.
Where is it best to buy cryptocurrency?
For buying, storing, and trading cryptocurrency, it is better to choose large centralized exchanges with a strong reputation — Binance, WhiteBIT, Bybit, etc. Such platforms are responsible for safeguarding user assets and use reliable security systems. They have attested reserves that can cover losses in case of hacks or theft.
Criteria we used when compiling our rating
When compiling the rating, we reviewed each crypto trading service in detail and selected reliable licensed exchanges with a good reputation. We evaluated platforms by the following criteria:
- Number of cryptocurrencies
- asset protection and security
- trading volume, number of visitors, and liquidity
- broad functionality
- reputation and user reviews
- availability of a demo account
Number of cryptocurrencies
The number of cryptocurrencies is one of the key factors when choosing an exchange. A wide selection allows diversification and lowers risks linked to market volatility. It is important that the exchange supports not only major coins like Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), but also a broad range of altcoins including Solana (SOL), Cardano (ADA), Polkadot (DOT), Binance Coin (BNB), and others. These coins are popular due to their technology and growth potential.
Exchanges with many listings are also valued — they are among the first to offer access to new promising projects and to ICOs and other investment opportunities.
An exchange should approach listing new cryptocurrencies responsibly, checking code security, team reputation, market cap, and trading volume. The listing process should be transparent.
Asset protection and security
Choosing a reliable crypto exchange largely determines how safe your funds are. All exchanges in our rating use modern technology to protect personal data and client assets. Security measures used on leading exchanges:
- Two-factor authentication (2FA): virtually all modern exchanges support 2FA, which significantly improves account security.
- Data encryption: data between your device and the exchange is transmitted over a secure protocol, preventing interception.
- Anti-phishing: exchanges actively combat phishing attacks aimed at stealing credentials.
- Cold storage: most crypto reserves are kept on offline devices (cold wallets), making them inaccessible to hackers.
- Insurance funds: some exchanges maintain funds to compensate users in case of hacks or other incidents.
- Regular security audits: professional auditors regularly check exchange systems for vulnerabilities.
Trading volume, number of visitors, and liquidity
High liquidity on a crypto exchange means you can quickly buy or sell the desired amount at the current market price with minimal slippage. Trading volume directly affects this: the more trades on a pair, the higher its liquidity.
The number of visitors does not always correlate with liquidity: for example, if an exchange offers many long-term investment products, many users may come for those rather than active trading.
Broad functionality
- Margin trading: it allows increasing trading size with borrowed funds, which can mean higher profit when successful.
- Futures trading: trading contracts to buy or sell cryptocurrency in the future, for hedging and profiting from expected price moves.
- Stop-loss orders: automatic sale of an asset at a set price to limit losses.
- P2P trading: direct trading between users without the exchange as counterparty, avoiding fees and choosing favorable rates.
- Staking, lending, and other tools for passive income from holding crypto.
- Customizable alerts for price levels or other market events.
- NFT marketplace: buying and selling non-fungible tokens.
- Derivatives: trading derivative financial instruments.
- Social trading: copying trades of successful traders.
- Trading bots: automation of trading.
- Demo account: test account for learning.
Demo account
A demo account on a crypto exchange is very useful for beginners. It lets you practice placing orders in conditions close to real markets and learn all order types. Demo tokens that mimic popular cryptocurrencies and stablecoins are typically used.
Overview of the best crypto exchanges
Our top crypto exchanges:
Binance, Bybit, WhiteBIT, BitMart, OKX, Kraken, Gate.io, HTX, Exmo
Binance crypto exchange
Registered users: 218,701,723. Founder: Changpeng Zhao. CEO: Richard Teng (since August 2018). Co-founder: Yi He. Founded: July 2017, China. Location: Cayman Islands. Site: binance.com. Average daily volume: over $65B. Licenses: several jurisdictions including Malta and Singapore. The world's most visited crypto exchange, over 200M users globally including Ukraine. Wide functionality: spot, margin, futures, staking. Has an insurance fund.
Bybit crypto exchange
Registered users: 43,215,435. Founder: Ben Zhou. CEO: Ben Zhou (since March 2018). Founded: March 2018, Singapore. Location: Dubai, UAE. Site: bybit.com. Average daily volume: over $25B. Licenses: Dubai, Cyprus, Kazakhstan. Serves users from most countries, Ukrainian language supported. Bybit Learn guide for beginners. Three types of trading and passive income options.
OKX crypto exchange
Registered users: 20M. Founder: Star Xu. CEO: Star Xu. Founded: 2017, Seychelles. Location: Victoria, Seychelles. Site: okx.com. Average daily volume: over $1B. License: Singapore. OKX offers a full set of features for crypto traders and investors: spot, margin, futures, staking, launchpad, crypto lending and copy trading. 329 coins and 700+ trading pairs. Fiat via P2P and third-party services. Ukrainian interface available.
Gate.io crypto exchange
Registered users: over 17M. Founder: Lin Han. CEO: Lin Han. Founded: April 2013, China. Offices in several countries including the US. Site: gate.io. Average daily volume: over $65B. Licenses: Hong Kong, Gibraltar, Malta, Italy, Australia, and others. One of the largest exchanges by volume. 1400+ coins and nearly 2500 pairs, minimum deposit $1. Strong security. Mobile app in simplified and advanced versions.
WhiteBIT crypto exchange
Registered users: 2M. Founder: Volodymyr Nosov. CEO: Volodymyr Nosov. Founded: 2018, Ukraine. Location: Ukraine, offices in Lithuania, Poland, Czech Republic, and others. Site: whitebit.com. Average daily volume: over $100M. Licenses: Spain, Lithuania, Poland, Czech Republic, Bulgaria. Ukrainian platform WhiteBIT supports fiat deposit in UAH and quick verification via Diia. 270 cryptocurrencies, margin and futures, staking, demo account. Full-featured app with quick crypto-for-fiat purchase.
Exmo crypto exchange
Registered users: 1M+. Founder: Ilya Sultanov. CEO: Ilya Sultanov. Founded: 2013, Ukraine. Location: Krakow, Poland. Site: exmo.com. Average daily volume: $50–100M. Licenses: Lithuania, Poland. Exmo offers spot and margin trading, quick crypto purchase, staking, and fiat deposits. Simple interface, suitable for beginners. About 20,000 daily users. Full mobile app. High security and a strong community.
BitMart crypto exchange
Registered users: 14,100,000. Founder: Sheldon Xia. CEO: Sheldon Xia. Co-founder: Jessica Yang. Founded: 2017, USA. Location: Cayman Islands. Site: bitmart.com. Average daily volume: over $2B. Licenses: FinCEN, OFAC. Operating since 2017. 1000+ trading pairs. Spot, margin, futures. P2P for fiat. Competitive fees, around 0.25% on average. Convenient mobile app.
Best crypto exchanges for beginners
The best crypto exchange for beginners is Binance. The platform has its own trading academy, one of the most comprehensive guides for newcomers.
Bybit is also suitable for beginners: the interface, registration, and financial operations are very straightforward.
We put WhiteBIT in third place because of the demo token — ideal for getting to know spot, futures, and margin trading.
Interesting facts
Number of people who have invested in cryptocurrency: top 10 countries
Countries with the fewest crypto investors
Some countries have fewer crypto investors due to regulatory barriers, low interest, or limited access to technology:
- Algeria: 994,441 (2.18%)
- Peru: 857,040 (2.49%)
- Singapore: 837,851 (13.93%)
- Iraq: 822,055 (1.81%)
- Myanmar: 784,984 (1.44%)
Countries like Iraq and Myanmar have low crypto ownership, which may be linked to economic instability or limited access to financial services and technology.
Why did Ukrainians choose to invest in crypto?
- Asset protection: some Ukrainians use crypto, including stablecoins, to protect against inflation.
- Support for the armed forces: Ukraine quickly adopted crypto for military and humanitarian fundraising.
- Low mining costs: Ukraine is one of the most attractive places for crypto mining due to relatively low electricity costs.
- Access to international markets and fast transfers.
As of 2024, global crypto ownership covers over 560 million people — about 6.8% of the world population. The level of investment varies by country and is influenced by access to technology, regulation, and financial literacy.