Best crypto apps and exchanges in the US for immigrants

Step by step

1. 1

   Start with your documents

   An SSN opens the most doors: every exchange on this page accepts it. With an ITIN, Binance.US and Webull accept it, and both also want a US photo ID such as a driver's license, state ID or green card. If you have an SSN but are not a citizen, a green card holder or on an eligible visa, eToro still opens a crypto-only account. Webull also needs a green card or a visa such as E, F-1, H-1B, L-1, O-1 or TN.

2. 2

   Check that it works in your state

   New York is the hardest: Crypto.com, Kraken, Uphold, OKX and Binance.US do not open accounts there. Binance.US also skips 11 more states, including Texas, Georgia, North Carolina, Ohio and Washington. Gemini works in all 50 states, DC and Puerto Rico, and Robinhood in every state. eToro is not available in Nevada and Hawaii.

3. 3

   Count the full price of a buy

   The cost is the fee plus the spread, the gap between the buy and sell price that is built into the quote. A simple buy costs 1.875% plus a spread on Coinbase, 0.8% plus a spread on Crypto.com and 1% plus a spread in the Kraken app, and Webull builds a 1% spread into the price. On a $500 buy, every 1% is $5.

4. 4

   Use the trading screen for lower fees

   Exchanges with an order book charge less when you place your own order. Binance.US charges 0% for orders that wait in the book and 0.02% for orders that fill right away, OKX 0.20% and 0.35%, Kraken Pro from 0.40% and 0.80%, and Gemini ActiveTrader from 0.60% and 1.20%. The screen takes a few minutes to learn, and you set the price you pay.

5. 5

   Pay by bank transfer, not by card

   Card payments add a lot: 3.99% on Binance.US, and 2.99% on top of the 0.8% fee on Crypto.com. Bank transfers (ACH) are free on Binance.US. On Kraken, dollar deposits from a bank need a US-issued SSN, and in Texas they are not available.

6. 6

   Make sure it has the coins you want

   Bitcoin and ether are on every exchange here. For other coins the lists differ: Crypto.com has 400+, Binance.US 200+, eToro 150+, Gemini 90+ and Webull 70+. A coin being listed does not make it a good buy: each one carries its own risks.

7. 7

   Know what is not protected

   Crypto in an exchange account is not insured by the government the way dollars in an FDIC-insured bank are, and SIPC does not cover crypto that is not a security. A crypto payment usually cannot be reversed. Anyone who asks you to move your crypto to "protect" it, or to pay them in crypto, is a scammer.