FTX vs Bybit 2022: Top Crypto Trading Platform Comparison!

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As crypto users and traders ourselves here at the Coin Bureau, we know what a difficult and time-consuming task it can be to spend hours scouring through the hundreds of exchanges, looking for the perfect one to match our needs.

Let’s face it, not all crypto exchanges are created equally, and different crypto trading platforms have strengths and weaknesses in different areas.

One of the ways that we aim to help our community is by doing the research and testing of dozens of different exchanges to streamline the process to help fellow crypto enthusiasts find which exchange is best to suit their individual needs.

As you are on a journey to find the perfect crypto exchange, you may find this article useful:

Best Cryptocurrency Exchanges 2022

We also have in-depth dedicated reviews for both of the exchanges in this article if you want to learn more about them:

Bybit Review

FTX Review

For our US-based readers, I recommend checking out our FTX US review as that is one of our top picks for traders located in the United States.

In today’s article, we will be doing a head-to-head comparison between FTX, one of the top three largest exchanges in terms of trading volume and user base, vs Bybit, the #11 ranked exchange that is one of the fastest growing crypto trading platforms in the world with its sights set on breaking into the top 10.

This article will help you determine if you should go for the licensed and regulated, highly respected and trustworthy FTX exchange, or if it is worth signing up to Bybit to see what all the excitement is about and why this is one of the most promising exchanges around that has become a trading haven for professional and amateur traders alike who are interested in KYC-free trading.

Page Contents 👉

FTX vs Bybit Summary:

 

FTX

Bybit

Headquarters:

Nassau, Bahamas

Dubai

Year Established:

2019

2018

Regulation:

Regulated by the Securities Commission of the Bahamas and Cyprus Securities and Exchanges Commission.

FTX holds licenses which allow them to operate in Australia, the Bahamas, Gibraltar, the UAE, Germany, Switzerland, the EEA, Japan, South Africa and more

None

Spot Cryptocurrencies Listed:

275+

300+

Native Token:

FTT

BIT

Maker/Taker Fees:

Lowest:  0.00%/0.04%

Highest: 0.02%/0.07%

Lowest: 0%/0.02%

Highest: 0.1%/0.1%

Security:

Very High

High

Beginner-Friendly:

Advanced trading concepts can be confusing for beginners.

Advanced trading concepts can be confusing for beginners. Good platform to learn how to trade.

KYC/AML Verification:

Yes

None for crypto trading and withdrawals.

KYC needed for crypto purchases, Launchpad and Earn access

Fiat Currency Support:

USD, EUR, GBP, AUD, HKD, SGD, TRY, ZAR, CAD, CHF, BRL.

Yes, crypto can be purchased with 50+ fiat currencies through various integrated partners.

Deposit/Withdraw Method

ACH Bank Transfer, Wire Transfer, PayPal, Credit/Debit Card

FTX offers full fiat on and offramp capabilities

Deposit- Purchase crypto via bank card or transfer via third-party companies. P2P.

Withdrawal- Crypto only

FTX vs Bybit

Further in this article we will take a closer look at each exchange individually, but first, we want to give you an overview of our findings by comparing FTX versus Bybit.

FTX is one of the newer exchanges in crypto and has seen astronomical expansion, unlike anything we have ever seen. Being founded in 2019, FTX has managed to do what no other exchange has done before, and that is dethroned Coinbase to hold the #2 position for the largest and most popular exchange behind Binance. The fact that FTX managed to do this in just a few short years is a testament to what a fantastic platform FTX has built.

A Look at the FTX Homepage Image via FTX

The historic rise to one of the top spots was the result of an aggressive marketing campaign and by simply being one of the best cryptocurrency exchanges ever created, offering a second-to-none professional-grade trading platform for spot and derivatives, and a plethora of other features which will be covered throughout this article.

FTX Inline

FTX Inline

The rise in user adoption experienced by FTX certainly came as a shock to the crypto community as they seemingly overnight, rocketed past major players like KuCoin and OKX and disrupted the crypto exchange industry with its impressive platform and product offerings, which were instantly recognized by new and experienced crypto traders who were eager to sign up to the platform.

Bybit, on the other hand, was a little slower to start really picking up traction and are now following in a similar trajectory, surpassing much of the competition and is one of the very few exchanges that has managed growth despite the 2022 bear market. These market conditions have seen most exchanges drop in users and trading volume, resulting in layoffs and slowing expansion, while Bybit recently celebrated hitting the 10 million user milestone. The fact that Bybit has been able to grow despite these brutal market conditions is a clear indication of what a fantastic platform they are offering.

bybit navigation

A Look at the Bybit Homepage

Bybit’s primary attractions, aside from the incredibly powerful trading engine and seamless trading interface, are the fantastic selection of products they have on offer, KYC-free trading, and the trading contests along with sign-up bonuses.

Now that we have a bit of a back story for each exchange, let’s break into some of the products and features on offer.

FTX vs Bybit: Products Offered

FTX and Bybit are quite different platforms in terms of target users and products offered. Both of these exchanges have top-performing trading platforms with trading and matching engines that are of the highest quality that you will find from any crypto trading exchange.

Both Bybit and FTX are highly attractive for those who like to actively trade crypto Spot and Futures markets and feature tradeable assets like leveraged tokens, NFTs, and FTX offers volatility tokens and tokenized stocks which have been a powerful factor contributing to their rising success. 

FTX Products

A Look at Some of the Products on FTX

From a pure trading perspective, these two exchanges are neck in neck with similar performance and a professional-grade trading platform but FTX takes a slight win in the fact that they offer a few more tradeable asset types.

Where they start to differ is in their other offerings and features which will be explored today. Here are some of the products and features FTX has on offer:

  • Fully licensed and regulated exchange
  • Up to 20x leverage
  • Full fiat on and offramp services with bank account support
  • Spot, Futures, Tokenized Stocks, Leveraged Tokens and Volatility Tokens
  • FTX crypto debit card
  • Staking section
  • FTX pay
  • NFT marketplace
  • Trading rewards and competitions
  • Quant Zone
  • IEO Launchpad

Here is what Bybit brings to the table:

  • Up to 100x leverage
  • VIP, broker, and Affiliate programs
  • Ability to buy crypto via card or bank transfer
  • DAO participation
  • Leveraged tokens
  • Trading bots
  • Launchpad
  • Spot + Derivatives trading
  • Advanced analytics and educational section
  • Copy trading
  • Earn
  • Rewards hub and trading contests
  • NFT marketplace

After using both exchanges, I have to say that trading on both platforms is an enjoyable experience. These two exchanges are both operating at a very high level, which is evident in their flawless trading platforms and trade execution, advanced order types on offer, and the fact that both platforms have attracted institutional and professional traders from around the world.

Where FTX really shines is its impressive list of tradeable assets, innovative products, and their sterling reputation as one of the safest exchanges in the world with multiple licenses and regulatory compliance, and one of the few major exchanges that has never been successfully hacked.

Where Bybit shines is in the technology and high performance of its trading interface, its offering of some of the best sign-up bonuses in the industry, fantastic trading contests and prizes, and as one of the best exchanges that offers KYC-free trading.

bybit products

A Look at Bybit’s Products

Coin Bureau readers can take advantage of the safety, security, and reputation of FTX along with its impressive selection of tradeable assets while enjoying an exclusive 10% trading discount for life and the first $30 in trading fees covered by using our FTX Sign-Up Link.

If you want to take advantage of Bybit and see for yourself why it has become an oasis for crypto traders, you can win up to $4030 in USDT rewards and take advantage of their $0 Spot trading fee promotion using our Bybit Sign-Up Link

There is also nothing saying you can’t use more than one crypto exchange, especially since Bybit does not support fiat withdrawals. It isn’t uncommon for traders to have accounts at both FTX as a fiat on and offramp and one at Bybit for trading and access to newly listed altcoins.

Alright, that covers the products and key features at a glance, now let’s jump into how else these two stack up.

FTX vs Bybit: User Friendliness

I feel that it is useful to start this section off by highlighting the distinction between being beginner-friendly and user-friendly. Many exchanges like KuCoin, Binance and Gate.io feature advanced trading interfaces and concepts that are not meant to be beginner friendly as they cater more towards experienced traders and crypto users.

Bybit is another platform that falls into that category. The Bybit platform features quite a few advanced concepts and users can access an advanced trading interface which new users may find overwhelming, but the platform is very user-friendly for those of us who have been around the crypto block a time or two and once you get used to the platform.

Bybit analytics

Some of the Useful Data That Can be Found on the Bybit Markets Page

FTX is in an interesting position where they are certainly not as beginner friendly as Kraken and SwissBorg, who, in my opinion, take the top spots for being the most beginner-friendly, but FTX is also not as complicated to use as platforms like KuCoin and Binance.

The reason I say that this is interesting is that I find FTX has the best UI/UX of any crypto exchange I’ve come across that offers advanced trading features and products. The design team behind FTX did a brilliant job balancing advanced and complex trading options and features in the most beginner and user-friendly way possible.

FTX markets page

A Look at the FTX Markets Page

The UI/UX I just mentioned is referring to the general platforms themselves outside of the main trading interfaces. When we take a look at the actual trading screens, there is little difference between the trading performance, order types, and navigation of the trading screen when comparing FTX to Bybit.

Both of these platforms pride themselves on having a first-in-class trading platform, matching and trading engine and there is no clear winner between these two. You cannot beat being flawless, and that is essentially how trading on both of these platforms feels.

If we take a look at the Bybit trading interface:

bybit trading screen

A Look at Bybit’s trading screen

And we take a look at the FTX trading interface

FTX trading screen

A Look at the FTX Trading Interface

We see that both of these trading platforms look and function very similar, though they are laid out slightly differently.

Both crypto exchanges use Tradingview for their charting capabilities which has become the gold standard in the crypto industry. The Tradingview integration leads to both these platforms being suitable for the most hardcore technical analysis traders while being simple enough to cater to those with simpler trading needs.

If you find the charting interfaces shown above to be overwhelming, Bybit also offers an easier “Once-Click Buy” feature that looks like this:

one click buy

The Easiest Way to Buy Crypto on Bybit

While FTX offers a similarly simple “Convert” feature that looks like this:

FTX Exchange

Convert is the Easiest Way to Swap Assets on FTX

While these one-click buy, swap, and convert features are very convenient and common on most crypto exchanges, learning how to navigate these platforms and use the trading interface will be a huge benefit to you over time as you will be able to save a substantial amount on fees. The convenient one-click buy crypto options often come with some hefty fees and purchases are often facilitated through third-party companies that charge an arm and a leg.

Learning to use the trading interfaces even at the most basic level by hitting the “buy” and “sell” buttons will not only save you money on fees, but it can also help you get in and out of the markets at better prices by using things like limit orders and getting lower spreads when compared to “swap,” “convert,” or “buy now” type features.

Fortunately, Guy has this great video where he shows you how to get started with FTX and use it like a pro:

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Between these two platforms, while there is no winner from the perspective of using the trading interface itself, for general platform navigation and useability, I do find FTX to be the more user-friendly platform. It is laid out and designed in a way that I find not only more aesthetically pleasing but just easier to use in general.

FTX vs Bybit: Fees

Fees have become very competitive in the crypto exchange industry with exchanges like Binance, FTX, and KuCoin being the leaders in the space offering the lowest fees.

In case the previous paragraph didn’t give it away, FTX does slightly edge out Bybit in the fees category and offers some of the lowest fees in the industry.

But that doesn’t mean that Bybit fees are high, certainly not in the traditional sense. A platform like Bybit doesn’t become as popular or grow as fast as it has by gouging users with high fees. The fee difference between these two exchanges varies by fractions of a percentage.

Here are the fees offered on Bybit:

bybit fees 2

Image via Bybit

Bybit certainly resides on the “very low” end of the scale for fees and offers far lower fees than most of the other exchanges out there.

But when compared to FTX fees:

FTX fees

Image via FTX

We see that FTX beats them in this category. Where FTX becomes even more competitive in the race for the lowest fees is in the fact that traders can reduce their fees a further 60% depending on how many FTT tokens they hold as you can see below:

FTT Discount

Discount Tiers for Holding FTT Tokens Image via FTX

Another area where FTX shines over Bybit in the fees category is when it comes to purchasing crypto.

The largest criticism and weakness of Bybit is that they do not natively support crypto purchases or bank deposits. Purchases on Bybit are facilitated through third-party companies which charge between 1-3% in fees depending on the method and payment provider used.

Bybit recently announced zero fees on Euro SEPA transfers which is good, but the other “buy crypto” options will cost you. Note that KYC is also needed to purchase crypto on Bybit, which is why most users only deposit crypto to trade without the need for KYC.

Compare this to purchasing crypto and depositing funds on FTX which can be done completely fee-free which is sweet. FTX does not rely solely on third-party companies which is why there are multiple options to deposit fiat and purchase crypto on the platform without fees.

Pro Tip: Be sure to check with your bank before making crypto purchases or deposits at any exchange as they may charge additional fees. Make extra sure that you won’t have your card blocked if you use it to purchase crypto. If you are selecting a credit card, be sure the transaction won’t count as a cash advance and be hit with a nasty fee.

Those are things I have seen happen multiple times to crypto users and even experienced the card blocking myself after my bank took a hard-nosed, anti-crypto approach and decided to block any and all crypto-related transactions (so naturally, I changed banks).

FTX vs Bybit: Security

Now onto the ever-important topic of security. This is an important consideration because it doesn’t matter if you are using the best exchange in the world, if they experience a hack and all your funds get stolen…Well, nothing else about the exchange really pertains to you once you’ve got no crypto left to use it.

Crypto exchange security is something I place a strong emphasis on when conducting these reviews, and while I try and remain as unbiased as possible during these reviews, there is no sugar coating or getting around the fact that FTX is considerably more secure than Bybit on multiple fronts.

Crypto Security

Security is Important! Choose an Exchange with Good Security Measures in Place. Image via Shutterstock

I do like to highlight that out of the top six exchanges, FTX and Kraken are the only two to have never fallen victim to a successful hack. Bybit has also never been hacked, though they are a smaller target, but kudos to both platforms there.

A large difference between the two is that FTX users get some extra peace of mind as FTX is one of the few exchanges that sets aside company profits to reimburse customers in the unfortunate event of a hack resulting in loss of funds. Bybit has insurance to cover shortfalls in the event of a futures contract settlement, but nothing to protect users against a security breach.

FTX users have access to the following security options to help take the security of their accounts to the next level:

  • 2FA for login, account changes and withdrawals
  • Minimum password complexity
  • Secondary withdrawal password
  • 24-hour lock features
  • Whitelisting withdrawal addresses
  • Whitelisting IP addresses
  • Manual review process for suspicious or large withdrawals
  • Email notification for suspicious activity.

FTX has also taken things a step further partnering with Chainalysis to monitor suspicious transaction activity and provide round-the-clock platform monitoring, and every large withdrawal goes through a manual review from the FTX security team.

Alongside the offer to reimburse customers in the event of a hack, FTX also has a backstop liquidity fund in place to help compensate for any losses on the platform that were not deemed to be the fault of the user.

If we switch gears now to Bybit, I wouldn’t say the platform lacks in security to a degree that it should be avoided. Like FTX and most exchanges, Bybit takes the #1 most important step in crypto security, and that is that they keep the majority of funds in cold storage wallets and out of the reach of hackers.

bybit security

Image via Bybit

Bybit also implements multi-signature authorization requirements for withdrawals and the movement of funds on the platform to prevent internal bad actors from making off with funds.

From a customer point of view, Bybit offers its users the following security features:

  • 2FA
  • Biometric login for mobile app

In the security category, FTX is the clear winner and Bybit has some serious improvements that can be done here. For starters, introducing basic security features to secure user accounts would be nice to see such as whitelisting and additional withdrawal passwords.

Personally, I prefer using exchanges like Binance and FTX knowing they have insurance in place to reimburse customers if the exchanges do get hacked. This is not a requirement from exchange companies by any means, so it is nice to see them go above and beyond in offering this service.

Great, now that we have covered a bit of head-to-head, let’s dive into each one a little more in detail.

FTX Overview

What is FTX

As I am sure you’ve already gathered, FTX is a cryptocurrency exchange that features derivatives/futures, spot crypto, margin trading, tokenized stocks, volatility and prediction markets with options to use leverage.

FTX was founded in May 2019 by Sam Bankman-Fried (currently the CEO) and Gary Wang (currently the CTO), with the headquarters located in the Bahamas. FTX has been expanding at what feels like an impossible pace, being one of the fastest-growing and most successful cryptocurrency exchanges in the world.

FTX Logo

Image via Shutterstock

FTX has been playing leapfrog with “OG” crypto exchange Coinbase for the #2 spot after an aggressive marketing and fundraising campaign that saw FTX with a blistering $1 billion valuation after revenue soared 1,000% in 2021.

Part of the FTX marketing campaign saw the company purchase the naming rights for the NBA Arena in Miami, sign deals with America’s Major League Baseball, and signed the largest naming rights deal in eSports history, acquiring the naming rights for eSports organization TSM.

FTX is on a mission to not only provide white-glove crypto services, offering a second-to-none crypto trading platform but also to become a household name in crypto, a mission that they are making great progress on.

Cryptocurrencies Offered

FTX offers over 250 perpetual and quarterly futures markets and over 100 spot markets including the majors like Bitcoin and Ethereum, along with others such as Polkadot, Avalanche, Chainlink etc. Because the FTX platform and founder Sam Bankman-Fried also have close ties with Solana and heavily support the network, FTX is the best platform to trade SOL-based tokens like Star Atlas tokens ATLAS and POLIS, the popular Move-to-Earn game StepN (GMT).

FTX Products

Here we will cover a high-level overview of the products on FTX. We do cover these more in-depth in our dedicated FTX review if you want a more thorough look.

Trading Platform

FTX initially set out with the intention of creating the best derivatives-focused crypto exchange specializing in futures markets for serious traders.

They were hugely successful in that endeavour and have become the #1 exchange for derivatives trading and has since expanded the platform to offer a similar top-tier trading experience for spot markets, volatility and leverage tokens, margin trading, and tokenized stocks.

ftx futures trading

A Look at the Futures Trading Interface on FTX

The trading interface on FTX is very intuitive and well-designed, attracting traders from all skill levels and supports advanced trading features and order types. It is clear why FTX has attracted retail and professional traders from around the globe.

One of the largest criticisms against FTX is that they lowered the amount of leverage available from 100x to 20x, so if you are a fan of high leverage, Bybit will likely be the place for you. I have a suspicion that this decision to lower leverage was forced on them as we’ve seen similar action undertaken from each of the major regulated exchanges as Binance also reduced their leverage, Coinbase doesn’t even offer it and Kraken only offers 5x.

One of the drawbacks of playing friendly with regulators, I guess.

Something I would like to draw attention to is the uniqueness and the clear amount of effort FTX placed in their platform design and experience.

ftx stats

A Look at the FTX Stats Page

I love Binance, don’t get me wrong, but one thing I’ve noticed after reviewing dozens of crypto exchanges is how platforms like Binance, KuCoin, Bybit, Gate.io, and countless others look like they all just essentially copied and pasted each other’s designs to create their own platform which is not unique in any sense of the word. Take a look at the image below, even the menu navigation icons look the same between these platforms.

crypto layouts

A Look at the Similar Layouts of Multiple Crypto Exchanges

I guess that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. If it works, why not copy it? It’s not like the second person who ever needed to use the wheel after it was invented was going to go out of their way thinking they could design something better, so many of these crypto exchanges likely just simply copied what works. But it is still nice to see that FTX did not take the same approach and designed their entire platform from the ground up.

Moving onto the trading platform itself, one of the greatest strengths of FTX is the ability to customize the trading interface and move the different objects and elements around. Once you have set the layout the way you like, you can lock it so it stays just the way you like it.

FTX Unlock Layout

Have a specific layout in mind. Unlock and get creative! Image via FTX.com

FTX does feature all the order types and advanced settings for order parameters that anyone would need regardless of how complex or simple your trading requirements are. And, as mentioned, thanks to the Tradingview integration, FTX is able to meet the demand of the most demanding technical analysis traders who like to mark up their charts and light em’ up like a Christmas tree.

FTX Leveraged Tokens

Leveraged tokens are a fantastic addition to the crypto industry and have become so popular that they are now offered on many of the major exchanges, including Bybit.

The leveraged tokens on FTX are tokens that reflect the actual price of the underlying token, but with a predefined leveraged component that provides users with responsible and reasonable amounts of leverage without the associated risks that come with margin trading.

FTX Leveraged Tokens

Leveraged Tokens Can be Very Powerful. Image via FTX

For example, one of the leveraged tokens is the BULLUSD, which is basically a long BTC token that also includes leverage of 3x. That means for every 1% move in BTC the BULLBTC token moves 3%. So, a 1% BTC increase equates to a 3% BULLBTC increase. The same is true for declines, with a 1% BTC decline equating a 3% BULLBTC decline.

I am a big fan of leveraged tokens and think they provide the perfect balance of leverage without the risk of blowing your accounts as most traders who use too much leverage end up doing.

FTX Volatility Contracts

FTX has a number of volatility-based derivatives that allow traders to trade on the volatility that exists in the markets. This can be done for profit, or some traders like to use these contracts as a hedge against other open positions.

There are two volatility-based products available on FTX – the MOVE contracts and the BVOL tokens. These products are unique to FTX and some of the products that attract users to the exchange.

The MOVE contracts represent the movement of an asset over a specified period of time and traders can select daily, weekly, or quarterly, then speculate on the volatility during that time.

MOVE Contracts

MOVE contracts speculate on volatility. Image via Medium

As an example, if BTC moves $100 over a 1-day period, the MOVE contract is then valued at $100.

BVOL tokens track the volatility of Bitcoin. They get their price data from the FTX MOVE contracts and BTC perpetual futures contracts.

BVOL tokens can be used to go either long or short, depending on where you think the price of Bitcoin is headed and how strong the move will be. BVOL tokens reflect the daily returns of 1x long volatility of BTC, whereas iBVOL (Inverse BVOL) reflects the daily returns of 1x short the volatility of BTC.

FTX Prediction Markets

The Prediction markets on FTX are another innovative product that entices the risky fun-loving folk who like to bet. Instead of speculating on a financial asset, the prediction markets allow users to speculate on the outcome of some real-world events.

Prediction Market

Can you Make the Right Guess? Image via Shutterstock

If you predict right, you win, you predict wrong, you lose your bet, easy as that. This one is a bit of fun if you aren’t someone prone to gambling addiction and going irresponsibly “all in.” Betting on the outcomes of things like political outcomes and world events while putting crypto on the line has become a popular feature for users on FTX.

FTX Tokenized Stocks

Tokenized stocks are an exciting concept that intrigued many traders when they were introduced. Being able to trade stocks and crypto on one platform? Yes, please!

The history of tokenized stocks is an interesting one and I am afraid that I do not have an answer as to why Binance had to cease its tokenized stock offerings while FTX was allowed to continue theirs. Binance was the first platform to offer this product but it was short-lived after regulatory pressures resulted in Binance removing it from their platform.

This has left FTX to be the best place to trade these instruments with popular stocks such as Apple, Tesla, and Netflix being featured on the platform as well as funds like some of the products offered by Ark Invest and Bitwise. There are over 80 stocks, ETFs, and managed funds tokenized on the platform.

FTX Staking

This is the first category where I can finally say FTX warrants a lot of improvement. Platforms like Binance and KuCoin absolutely dominate in offering a multitude of ways that users can earn passive income on their crypto holdings. Many crypto platforms offer an impressive selection of fixed and variable term earn products and offer investments that are high or low-risk with some impressive APYs for investors. Bybit also blows FTX out of the water with their Earn offerings.

FTX staking

A Look at the FTX Staking Page

It is quite clear that this is not a product that FTX has prioritized as they are more focused on the trading side of things, but it is still a shame as this is one of the largest features that attract crypto users to certain platforms. FTX only offers staking as a way for users to earn an APY on holdings, and staking is only available on the following assets:

  • FTT
  • SRM
  • SOL
  • RAY

Whether or not FTX will ever decide to be competitive in the “Earn” department is yet to be seen.

FTX Exchange Quant Zone

The FTX Quant zone provides a place where traders can build and share their own trading strategies for others to follow or automate.

Here traders can create and predefine trading rules and have their trades automated in a similar fashion to the auto trading or bot trading products on other platforms. FTX is quite strong in this area as there is a large amount of customization and flexible options that can be utilized.

quant zone

A Look at the Quant Zone Customizable Trading Parameter Setup Screen. Image via help.ftx

The major difference between the Quant Zone on FTX and what is available for auto trading on other platforms is that FTX can support some incredibly advanced strategies. While other platforms offer more plug-and-play basic and simple automation solutions, tech-savvy traders on FTX can enter basic lines of code to really specify variables like trigger conditions and values.

Image via help.ftx

Fortunately, traders who do not want to create their own strategies can simply copy many of the strategies created by other traders instead.

FTX IEOs

The FTX IEO platform allows users to acquire tokens from early projects before they are accessible to the average crypto investor outside of the FTX ecosystem.

This is similar to the launchpads featured on other exchanges where users can gain access to deep discounted token sales for some promising up-and-coming projects. Thanks to FTX’s relationship with Solana, its massive user base and plenty of liquidity, FTX attracts some pretty high-calibre projects to their IEO launchpad.

IEO FTX

Some of the EIOs on FTX

Getting into tokens early before they hit mainstream adoption is the key to those 10x and 100x gains we all dream of in crypto. Tokens like Serum, Maps.me, Star Atlas, and IndiGG definitely have some promising upside potential that FTX IEO users could benefit from. To participate in IEOs, each project campaign is different, but generally, users will need to:

  1. Reach KYC level 2 verification on FTX
  2. Need at least 150 FTT staked on FTX
  3. Prepare funds in USD or stablecoins for bidding
  4. Stake FTT to lock in ticket allotment 24 hours before the IEO
  5. Await the results.

The more FTT tokens users stake the more tickets they can earn. Here is a look at some of the incredible ROIs enjoyed by participants in the FTX launchpad:

ieo roi

The Performance of Some of the IEOs on FTX

FTX has one of the better performing and more promising launchpads among the major exchanges, nearly as good as the launchpads founds on Binance and KuCoin

FTX NFTs

FTX has a well-laid-out NFT marketplace that is fantastic for Solana and Ethereum-based NFTs.

FTX Market

A Look at the FTX Marketplace for NFTs 

As with NFT marketplaces on other major platforms, the FTX marketplace has become a very popular place for NFT enthusiasts looking to buy, mint, and sell popular NFTs

FTX Crypto Card

Crypto cards have become incredibly popular, with exchanges like Crypto.com and Binance dominating the crypto debit card space.

I am a huge fan of crypto cards and have a slight crypto card addiction myself, having ordered and used nearly every one that I can get my hands on.

While the Crypto.com and Plutus cards are my favourite as they provide attractive cashback rewards, free Spotify and Netflix subscriptions along with no fees on ATM withdrawals, foreign exchange fees, and have no annual fees, crypto cards are fantastic for those who enjoy travelling, spending crypto, and are very useful for anyone who gets paid in crypto.

ftx card

Some of the Benefits of the FTX Card

The FTX card works with Visa, meaning it is accepted anywhere that Visa is accepted. With this card, users can spend using the crypto held in their accounts and it will automatically transfer to fiat for the merchant at the moment of purchase. This is the preferred way to do it as many crypto cards require users to pre-load the card with fiat first.

With the FTX and Binance card, the crypto gets to stay denominated as crypto until the moment of purchase which is often preferred by many crypto card users as they expect the value of their crypto to increase over time. The FTX card has no fees, but also doesn’t have as many perks as most of the other crypto cards on the market, making it not as good as other cards available. I feel like FTX needs to put a bit more imagination into their card product if they want to compete with the likes of Binance and Crypto.com

If you are in the market for a crypto debit card, be sure to check out our article on the Top Crypto Debit Cards.

Types of Accounts and FTX Fees

FTX has standard accounts for average users and VIP accounts for professional and high-net-worth traders, as well as corporate accounts.

For standard and corporate accounts, users will need to pass KYC verification to access certain limits and access various features. Here is a look at the differences between an unverified account and KYC levels 1 and 2:

ftx kyc levels

Image via FTX

The VIP accounts provide traders with the following benefits:

  • Lower trading fees
  • Dedicated account managers
  • Flexible API limits
  • Direct access to senior developers
  • An option to provide inputs on new FTX products
  • FTX customized VIP swag and access to VIP meet-ups
  • Admin whitelisting of withdrawal addresses

In order to qualify for VIP1, you need to either have a 30-day volume of at least $150m, or a 30-day maker volume of at least $40m.

To qualify for VIP2, you must constitute at least 5% of the 30-day exchange volume.

For standard accounts, users can also create multiple subaccounts to manage different pools of money for different trading strategies and general account management purposes.

FTX fees follow a tiered structure similar to most other exchanges and follows a standard Maker/Taker fee model with discounts based on 30-day trading volume as shown below:

FTX fees

Image via FTX

As mentioned, FTX offers some of the best discounts in the industry for holders of FTT tokens to lower the already very low fees. Users who are happy to hold FTT can reduce their trading fees by up to an additional 60%.

Even without the fee discounts, FTX is one of the cheapest crypto exchanges in the industry. For traders who take advantage of even the lowest levels of discounts, FTX easily becomes one of the leaders in the space for rock-bottom fees.

FTX Security

As mentioned in the Security section above, FTX is one of the most secure exchanges in the industry and places a very strong focus and commitment to the security of customer funds.

FTX has never suffered from a known hack and they keep a company treasury well-funded to reimburse customers in the unlikely event of a successful hack that results in loss of customer funds. FTX also conducts round-the-clock monitoring of platform security and works with cybersecurity firms to ensure robust security protocols and procedures are in place.

Along with offering one of the most highly secure crypto trading platforms in the industry, users on FTX can also take the following measures to further ensure the security of their accounts:

  • 2FA for login, account changes and withdrawals
  • Minimum password complexity
  • Secondary withdrawal password
  • 24-hour lock features
  • Whitelisting withdrawal addresses
  • Whitelisting IP addresses
  • Email notification for suspicious activity.

Bybit Review

What is Bybit

Bybit is a cryptocurrency spot and derivatives trading exchange that offers numerous products and features outside of simple trading such as Earn, Launchpad, Copy Trading, and more. The professional-grade trading platform along with an impressive selection of features and products has turned Bybit into a popular crypto hub. This highly-rated crypto exchange recently celebrated hitting the 10 million traders milestone and has been one of the fastest-growing crypto exchanges since its launch in 2018.

bybit

bybit

This crypto exchange has had a very impressive growth trajectory thanks to its incredibly powerful and seamless trading and matching engine and effective marketing campaigns. Bybit also offers some of the best trading competitions and sign-up bonuses, which have been attracting new users in droves to the platform.

Bybit has become a trading oasis for traders from all walks of life from amateur to professional, and even institutions have jumped on the Bybit ship as it offers a second-to-none trading platform every bit as effective as the top-rated exchanges like FTX and Binance.

Currently sitting as the #11 largest exchange in the world in terms of trading volume, Bybit is quickly moving up in the ranks and is on the doorstep of breaking into the highly competitive world of the top 10 exchanges, an impressive feat that is a testament to what a top-notch crypto trading exchange Bybit is.

Bybit is highly respected and has a fantastic reputation within the crypto community thanks to their continuous and selfless efforts to advance and benefit the entire industry with their Bybit educational academy Bybit Learn, which is a fantastic resource for anyone looking to up their crypto knowledge.

Bybit also goes to great lengths to progress the entire crypto community by releasing fantastic reports regularly on the state of crypto and highlighting important developments in the industry. There are many comprehensive analytic reports and tools accessible to anyone on the Bybit platform.

Cryptocurrencies Offered

Bybit has a respectable selection of over 300 crypto assets to trade on the spot market and nearly 300 derivatives products, one of the better selections among the unregulated crypto exchanges falling behind only KuCoin and Gate.io.

bybit assets

A Look at Some of the Assets Available for Trading at Bybit

Bybit is also known for listing new project tokens earlier than much of the competition, benefitting Bybit users with first dibs on many early project tokens.

On Bybit, traders can access the most popular cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum, along with many of the smaller tokens like Tezos, Cardano, Polkadot and more.

Bybit Products

We cover Bybit’s products in more detail in our Bybit review, but here is a high-level overview of the most prominent features.

Trading Platform

As mentioned, the trading interface, matching and trading engine on Bybit are all of the highest grade and quality, which is one of the reasons Bybit has become such a powerhouse in professional trading circles. Bybit claims that it can handle 100,000 transactions per second and takes lengthy measures to ensure there is no server downtime.

Bybit has proven over the years to be able to provide a seamless trading experience, boasting a record of over 99% uptime. It is a great place to trade for traders looking for both simple and advanced order functionality and order types. Thanks to the Bybit academy and demo accounts, this is also a great platform for those looking to learn how to trade.

bybit trading screen

A Look at Bybit’s trading screen

With the Tradingview integration, the charting functionality on Bybit can meet the needs of any style of trader, even the most hardcore technical analysis traders who like to use multiple indicators and charting setups. The trading interface also provides users with the ability to swap to a standard depth chart and customize their charting layouts.

Bybit is praised for providing a flawless trading experience. There isn’t anything negative to be pointed out here as I have never encountered any issues with the platform myself, nor have read or heard of any glaring issues with regard to trading functionality.

Bybit Leveraged Tokens

Similar to the leveraged products found on Binance, FTX, and KuCoin, Bybit also offers leveraged tokens for trading.

leveraged tokens

A Look at Some of the Leveraged Tokens on Bybit

Leveraged tokens provide traders with responsible access to leverage, up to 5x, all without liquidation or margin risks. Leveraged tokens are a popular product that have become widely adopted among traders as they can be traded while avoiding the complexities of margin trading. We explain how leveraged tokens work in more detail in our FTX review.

Bybit Launch

With many of the major exchanges starting their own launchpads, Bybit was not about to miss out and also released Bybit Launch.

launchpad

A Look at the Bybit Launchpad

With so many exchanges featuring launchpads now, the launchpad space has become quite over-saturated with most platforms not being able to support or feature high-quality projects. Especially as we are in the depths of a bear market, there are just not enough promising, high-quality projects looking to launch, and the few that are can take their pick of being featured on the best launchpads like the ones on Binance and KuCoin where they can gain the most exposure and raise the capital needed.  

The result has been many exchange launchpads rarely listing new projects, and as the exchanges themselves are desperate to find new projects, they are featuring projects that don’t seem very promising or of high quality.

Binance and KuCoin are the obvious exceptions here as the leaders in the launchpad space, theirs are still pumping along. I was surprised to find that the Bybit launchpad is also remaining very active and popular, attracting deep-pocketed investors and high-quality projects. The future for Bybit looks bright, and as they are rapidly growing, their launchpad is remaining active and popular for users and new projects alike.

Note that users will need to pass KYC on Bybit to access the launchpad.

Bybit Earn

Bybit has one of the better Earn platforms outside of the top 5 exchanges, providing traders with multiple opportunities for passive income on their crypto holdings.

bybit earn

A Look at Bybit Earn

There are earn features available for flexible and fixed terms, along with high and low-risk Earn products suitable for crypto holders with different goals and risk appetites.

Bybit NFT Marketplace

Like many of the top exchanges, Bybit also offers a well-designed and easy-to-use NFT marketplace for users to buy and sell NFTs

bybit nfts

The Bybit NFT Marketplace

The NFT marketplace on Bybit is pretty good, one of the better ones I’ve seen outside of the top handful of exchanges. Users on Bybit can buy and sell NFTs with zero fees in the digital art, collectible, GameFi and Metaverse niches.

Bybit Copy Trading

Copy trading is one category where Bybit has become a very strong player in the industry. Copy trading became an instant success on Bybit and has attracted thousands of users to the platform, with the copy trading platform already seeing nearly 300k users.

bybit copy trading

Bybit is a Great Place for Copy Trading 

Because Bybit is known for attracting professional and highly skilled traders, there is a great selection of traders for those looking to copy trades to choose from.

Traders on Bybit who allow their trades to be copied by the community get to enjoy 10% of the profits earned by each of their followers which can lead to highly lucrative trading activities. If you are interested in earning extra income by allowing others to copy your trades, or just looking for passive income opportunities by following other traders, Bybit is definitely a platform worth checking out.

Types of Accounts and Bybit Fees

Bybit offers only one main account type with a tiered structure similar to most other exchanges.

Alongside the main account, traders can also open subaccounts and there are also custodial trading subaccounts for users who want to entrust their funds to a team of professional traders.

As far as fees go, Bybit fees follow the standard Maker/Taker model, meaning that they charge traders different fees for either adding liquidity to the books or taking it off the books.

Bybit’s tiered structure has the following fees:

bybit fees

Bybit’s Fee Structure

The fees on Bybit are quite reasonable in terms of being easy on the bank account, but exchanges like KuCoin, Binance, and FTX still edge them out with slightly lower fees.

Bybit Security

Bybit utilizes cold storage solutions to protect customer funds via offline cold wallets that are secured in an air-gapped environment to reduce the likelihood of successful hack attempts. Funds also require multiple signatures from key staff members before they can be moved so one bad actor cannot run off with customers’ crypto.

The website is also SSL encrypted and users can take advantage of 2FA and biometric login for the mobile app for added layers of security.

Newsletter Inline

Newsletter Inline

FTX or Bybit: Conclusion

FTX was able to absolutely dominate the exchange industry and skyrocket to the #2 position in a few short years due to the fact that they are simply an incredibly solid, secure, and trustworthy exchange that offers the best platform for derivatives traders and houses a fantastic selection of tradeable markets and assets.

FTX is also one of the most regulated and licensed exchanges in the world, which only bolsters its reputation as a professional-grade, safe and secure crypto exchange, and one that I would not hesitate to recommend to anyone.

The FTX exchange operates at an incredibly high level, resulting in it taking a win over Bybit in the following areas:

  • Ranks higher in terms of safety and security
  • Insurance to protect customer funds
  • Lower fees
  • Better selection of tradeable markets and assets
  • Higher quality of projects in the IEO Launchpad
  • Higher levels of liquidity for whales and institutional traders
  • VIP and institutional accounts

Where Bybit takes a win over FTX is in the following areas:

  • Offers higher leverage
  • Has a more robust Copy Trading platform
  • Offers KYC-free trading
  • Better selection of Earn products

As far as pure trading performance, there are no noticeable differences between these two, both exchanges are operating at the highest level in terms of their trading and matching engines.

For the average user not looking to access irresponsibly high levels of leverage and isn’t concerned with Copy trading or KYC-free trading, FTX is one of the best exchanges in the industry and will likely be the more preferred and suitable choice for most traders.

FAQs

Is FTX better than Binance?

As Binance is the #1 rated exchange in the world by both user base and trading volume by over 5x that of FTX, it is common consensus that FTX is not better than Binance.

Where FTX does have an edge over Binance is when it comes to Derivatives trading and tokenized stocks. Aside from that, Binance has a significantly better selection of tradeable assets, better coin support, a vastly superior earn section in terms of more products on offer, and a better crypto card that offers cashback.

Binance has held an ironclad grasp on the top position by simply offering the best platform suitable for the highest number of users by offering the most products and a fantastic selection of markets and assets along with a top-quality trading interface.

Are FTX fees high?

Not at all, FTX is one of the leaders in the “who has the lowest fees” game. FTX becomes even more friendly once users hold the FTT token which can reduce the fees by an up to additional 60% and using our sign-up link can further reduce the already rock bottom fees by another 10%.

Is FTX a good crypto exchange?

Yes, FTX is one of the best exchanges in the crypto industry. They are the fastest growing exchange and is currently rated the #2 top exchange in terms of user base and trading volume.

FTX is especially popular with active and professional derivatives traders as they offer a top-tier trading interface and a fantastic selection of tradeable assets and markets. It is also one of the most regulated, licensed, and reputable exchanges in the industry and is highly secure.

Is Bybit a good crypto exchange?

Bybit is among the fastest-growing unregulated exchanges and is one of the best places to trade without needing to provide KYC. Bybit recently hit the 10 million user mark, an impressive feat, thanks to their top-tier trading platform, impressive selection of tradeable assets, second-to-none copy trading platform, and high leverage available.

Bybit has attracted active traders from all over the globe who also enjoy participating in trading contests and who wish to take advantage of their industry leading sign-up bonuses.

Providing financial education to those who need it most has always been a passion of mine. While working as a Financial Advisor, I had my eyes opened to the world of crypto and its potential to help make the world a better place. I believe that blockchain technology can build a brighter future and am excited to be part of it.

If you enjoy the hours of research I put into my articles and find them entertaining and insightful, please consider sending a tip as it really helps me out and I greatly appreciate it. BTC, ETH, LTC, XRP, BNB, DOT, SOL, VET, XLM, ALGO, AVAX, LINK, USDC, USDT, MATIC can be sent to tayler88.crypto


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