Coinbase: Best Overall
Coinbase is the biggest and most respected Bitcoin platform in the United States. It offers both an exchange and wallet in one, making it one of the easiest places to start with Bitcoin. Coinbase also supports Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, and Litecoin.
Once you sign up and connect your bank account, you can easily transfer funds in and out of your account and convert them to Bitcoin and back to dollars at will. Coinbase charges a variable percentage fee of 1.49% for U.S. transactions from a bank account or Coinbase USD wallet. Purchases with a credit or debit card add on a 3.99% fixed fee.2
The Coinbase wallet is very secure, accessed through the Web app or mobile app, utilizes two-factor authentication, and keeps redundant digital and paper backups of data “in safe deposit boxes and vaults around the world.” Plus, cash balances are insured up to $250,000 against theft or a breach in online storage. Further, Coinbase holds 98% of customer currencies offline to keep them safe from malicious hackers.3 This is further evidence as to why Coinbase is a leader in digital currencies in the United States.