I started out with Coinbase.com then started using the “Advanced Trading” platform in order to reduce fees. After a few weeks, I was doing more research about fees and found that Crypto.com seemed to offer even lower fees and used a platform more similar to the one I use for stockmarket transactions, so more familiar.
I opened a Crypto.com account and made a few trades. Eventually I learned that Crypto.com has another platform called “Crypto.com Exchange” and started using that. I found it charged even lower fees. The two are linked together (i.e. Crypto.com and ‘Crypto.com Exchange) and downloadable transaction records (in .csv format) are available that cover both platforms.
Crypto.com Exchange is still my current go-to for transactions on a centralized exchange. I have not yet tried depositing money from an outside source (bank, debit, or credit card), nor have I tried withdrawing money to an outside source. The learning will continue….
Crypto.com uses ‘hosted’ ‘hot’ wallets. This means that they are managing (‘hosting’) the wallet and that it is online (‘hot’). There are no obvious extra fees for this management service, but it’s likely that some of the transaction fees goes to that and, of course, they’re holding the currency and likely finding ways to profit thereby. I have transferred from the Crypto.com ‘hosted’ wallet to and from a ‘cold’ wallet and found that there are transfer fees charged. For me, it’s not economical or smart to transfer small amounts of crypto to a ‘cold’ wallet.
Cold wallets are created using software and I’ve tried Phantom, MetaMask, and Crypto.com Onchain (formerly Crypto.com DeFi). Each software has different features. I have used the same wallet addresses on all of these softwares. I will elaborate further on ‘cold’ wallets in the future.
When I did transfer to a ‘cold’ wallet, I did a few experiments of making some swaps on decentralized platforms. This is where fees, spreads, and crypto values are most mysterious. I’ve been looking at Solana blockchain records in an attempt to understand these transactions and have found it difficult, but I’m still working on that – in part because of capital gains/losses that I want to be able to report.
Each of these steps, from Coinbase to Crypto.com to Crypto.com Exchange, and to a cold wallet was a significant learning experience. There is so much to learn about how blockchains work, how crypto tokens are created, about how the markets respond to newly issued tokens and to news releases. Back to it……
Thanks, Jim.
(Note: Sorry, but this shall not be construed as advice or recommendations, just my experiences)