Cryptocurrency is a complicated and elusive topic in Pakistan. While reports show that Pakistanis are enthusiastic about cryptocurrencies, the regulatory regime maintains the status quo and does not seem to be in a hurry to address the growing industry.
For example, Pakistan ranked 3rd in Chainalysis’ Global Crypto Adoption Index 2020-21 and showed the highest growth in cryptocurrencies during this period. At the same time, despite talks of bans on cryptocurrency, nothing concrete has been done in this direction.
This has left Pakistan in a regulatory limbo as far as cryptocurrency trading is concerned. Apart from occasional statements and reports, nothing is set in stone as far as crypto regulation in the country is concerned.
For example, there have been arrests made on the charges of money laundering via bitcoin and cryptocurrency mining being essentially banned but at the same time, regional governments such as in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have passed resolutions to legalize cryptocurrency in the country.
Either way, it is a fact that cryptocurrency trading has a market in Pakistan which is catered to mainly by global exchanges that are available in the country. We have here compiled a list of some of the best cryptocurrency exchanges in Pakistan though you should remember that in the absence of proper legislation, the cloud of uncertainty will always hang over your crypto investments.
Top 6 Cryptocurrency Exchanges in Pakistan
The cryptocurrency industry in Pakistan is in a nascent stage. Hence, most of the trading is done on global exchanges that offer their services in the country.
Binance
Binance is a popular cryptocurrency exchange in several countries including Pakistan. On a basic level, it offers over 350 cryptocurrencies for trading. Whether it is perpetually in-demand BTC or something more niche like ILV, Binance has it all.
If you find spot trading too basic, you can try margin trading, P2P trading, swap farming or just check out the derivatives on Binance. It has also introduced strategy trading where you can replicate trading strategies to trade like a pro.
In addition, Binance has an NFT marketplace where you can explore several NFT collections including fan tokens and open mystery boxes. On the security front, Binance is a KYC-compliant exchange and end-to-end encrypts all data to make sure only the users can access their data.
Features
✔️Largest cryptocurrency exchange
✔️Over 350 cryptocurrencies available
✔️Native coin is BNB Coin
✔️Mandatory KYC verification
Pros and Cons
✅Large coin collection ❌Not compatible with needs of beginners
✅Supports several order types ❌Regulatory issues in many places
✅Strategy Trading available
✅NFT marketplace
Trading Fees
Binance has multiple levels depending on the 30-day trading volume. The maker-taker fees are charged as per this trading volume which begins at 0.10% for both maker and taker. However, you can get a 25% discount by using BNB for payments.
Binance fees breakdown
Customer Reviews
Binance is relatively safe for trading
Binance’s customer support is not the best
Why We Picked It
Binance has a great selection of cryptocurrencies- from the most popular coins to niche ones. It supports multiple order types and has even introduced strategy trading for trading like a pro.
Kraken
San Francisco-based Kraken is another cryptocurrency exchange popular in Pakistan. Here, you can create an account for free and then easily buy and sell 200+ cryptocurrencies.
It also offers some good staking opportunities for interested users. You can invest in bonded or flexible products as per your liking and earn some good rewards.
For seasoned traders, Kraken has a Pro version with more advanced trading options. Here, you can do spot and margin trading with lower spreads as compared to the basic version. You can do margin trading with upto 5x leverage on Kraken Pro and even trade 70+ futures contracts.
To maintain transparency, Kraken publishes its Proof-of-Reserves audit results on its website which can be verified by anyone. It also runs a bug bounty program where anybody who reports a bug is rewarded as per the severity of the vulnerability reported.
Features
✔️200+ cryptocurrencies available
✔️Has two versions- Basic and Pro
✔️Spot, margin and futures trading available
✔️Publically available proof-of-reserves reports
Pros and Cons
✅Decent coin selection ❌Costly Kraken Instant Buy
✅Lower fees on Kraken Pro ❌Reports of losses due to account hacks
✅Staking opportunities
✅Bug bounty program
Trading Fees
Fees on Kraken Instant Buy are determined by dynamic factors such as order size, market conditions, and payment method etc., Kraken Pro simply uses the maker-taker model for the same.
Kraken Instant Buy fees breakdown
Kraken Pro fees breakdown
Customer Reviews
Kraken has really fast and smooth withdrawals
ID verification on Kraken can be a tedious process
Why We Picked It
Kraken is a good platform for intermediate and above-level traders due to the several trading types available combined with the low fees especially on Kraken Pro. It is transparent about its reserves and the proof-of-reserves audit reports are available on the Kraken website.
Coinbase
Coinbase, the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency exchange, also offers its services in Pakistan. It is a good place to start your crypto journey due to its simple and minimalist interface. The Coinbase mobile app has good reviews too for its features and ease of navigation.
The platform offers vault protection to keep assets safe in a vault with time-delayed withdrawals. Coinbase holds user assets on a 1:1 basis and is quite upfront about the way it collects and uses users’ personal data.
Coinbase also has a native self-custody wallet that lets you retain control of your private keys. Further, the wallet’s browser extension is compatible with Ledger hardware wallets which provides an additional layer of security to your assets.
Features
✔️Second-largest cryptocurrency exchange
✔️Over 100 cryptocurrencies available
✔️Publicly traded company
✔️2-factor authentication(2FA) and encryption for security
Pros and Cons
✅Minimalist UI ❌Trades can be expensive
✅Self-custody wallet ❌High staking commission
✅Tutorials on crypto trading
✅Cloud services
Trading Fees
Fees on Coinbase are calculated on a dynamic basis taking into account market conditions, transaction size and the selected payment method.
Coinbase fees breakdown
Customer Reviews
Coinbase is a secure exchange for buying and selling cryptocurrency
Network fees are on the higher end on Coinbase
Why We Picked It
Coinbase is a relatively beginner-friendly platform with its simple buy/sell feature. It caters to advanced traders via the Coinbase Pro platform. Coinbase also takes all industry-standard measures such as mandatory 2FA for security.
KuCoin
Check out KuCoin if you want an exchange with a massive cryptocurrency collection. There’s a lot to explore here and you might even find a few gems. KuCoin’s low fees along with the 20% discount it offers for paying with KCS make it an option worth considering.
In order to foster a global crypto community, KuCoin supports over 20 major languages on its platform. Further, it is one of the few centralized exchanges that still allow unverified accounts without KYC verification to trade to a limited extent on the exchange.
However, it is to be noted that unverified accounts do not get the same fraud and hacking protection as verified accounts.
Along with spot, futures and margin trading, you can also lend your crypto holdings to other traders on KuCoin. With KuCoin Earn, you can invest your crypto assets in several flexible and fixed-term products.
Features
✔️More than 700 cryptocurrencies available
✔️Multi-lingual platform
✔️Native coin is KuCoin Token(KCS)
Pros and Cons
✅Enormous crypto selection ❌Complex fee structure
✅Multiple order types ❌Glitchy trading bots
✅Earning opportunities
✅Limited trading without KYC
Trading Fees
KuCoin employs the maker-taker model for determining trading fees. The highest rate is 0.10% and it only goes down from there. Plus, you can get 20% off for using KCS for payments.
KuCoin fees breakdown
Customer Reviews
KuCoin’s massive cryptocurrency collection is a major attraction
KuCoin’s customer service is poor
Why We Picked It
Apart from its cryptocurrency collection, KuCoin is known for the several order types and advanced features it supports. It is available in over 20 languages which has helped it in fostering a global crypto community.
CEX.io
CEX.io is a London-based exchange that prides itself on its simplicity. This is an exchange that seeks to make the cryptocurrency trading process as simple as possible. It boasts of an advanced order matching algorithm and an order book with high liquidity.
Further, CEX.io hosts a good collection of 200+ cryptocurrencies where the trading fees goes down as your trade volume increases. You can also directly buy cryptocurrency with a debit or credit card or via bank transfers though you may be charged service fees and commissions depending on the method used.
CEX.io takes security very seriously and hence practices full data encryption and employs cold storage for crypto assets. It also takes all adequate measures to protect the platform from DDoS attacks.
Features
✔️Over 200 cryptocurrencies available
✔️Heavily regulated platform
✔️Everyone, Traders and Businesses categories for customers
✔️Has a mobile app
Pros and Cons
✅Satisfactory coin collection ❌Low liquidity
✅Inexpensive spot trades ❌Lengthy verification process
✅Staking opportunities ❌High deposit and withdrawal fees
✅Data encryption and cold storage
Trading Fees
CEX.io charges fees as per the 30-day trading volume using the maker-taker system.
CEX.io fees explained
Customer Reviews
Simplicity is CEX.io’s biggest advantage
Deposits and withdrawals can be a problem on CEX.io
Why We Picked It
CEX.io has a simple interface and promises a smooth trading experience. It is a duly licensed and regulated platform in several territories, offers earning opportunities and the fees, atleast for spot trading, are reasonable.
Bitstamp
Bitstamp, which was founded in 2011, is one of the oldest cryptocurrency exchanges out there. It is a heavily regulated platform and holds a whopping 50 licenses and registrations in various jurisdictions globally. Although it only has around 80 cryptocurrencies, Bitstamp makes up for that with its simple maker-taker fee structure.
Plus, Bitstamp is one of the best exchanges if you are new to cryptocurrency. There isn’t anything fancy and it delivers on what it promises- an easy, fast and reliable trading experience. Bitstamp also has a mobile app with which you can trade on the go.
Like most cryptocurrency exchanges, Bitstamp keeps 95% of the crypto assets in offline cold storage and encrypts all personal data. It also enables address whitelisting and transaction confirmations for added security.
Features
✔️80+ cryptocurrencies available
✔️One of the oldest cryptocurrency exchanges
✔️Offline storage for funds
Pros and Cons
✅Low trading fees ❌Limited cryptocurrencies available
✅Easy to navigate ❌No margin trading
✅Solid mobile app
Trading Fees
Bitstamp has quite competitive trading fees which keeps on going down as the trade volume increases.
Bitstamp fees explained
Customer Reviews
Bitstamp is a basic but trusted exchange
Withdrawals can be an issue on Bitstamp
Why We Picked It
Bitstamp has been in the game for a long time and is a heavily regulated platform. While it is not loaded with features, it is easy to use and enough to help you get acquainted with cryptocurrency trading.
Top 6 Decentralized Cryptocurrency Exchanges in Pakistan
If you find the idea of handing over a bunch of your personal information for crypto trading iffy, decentralized cryptocurrency exchanges may be more to your liking.
UniSwap
UniSwap is perhaps the first name that comes up when we talk about decentralized exchanges. This Ethereum-based exchange offers tons of ERC-20 tokens for swapping without needing any sort of identifying information. Get a crypto wallet, fund it, connect it to UniSwap and you are good to go.
UniSwap is somewhat simpler than other decentralized exchanges which makes it less intimidating for users. Even if you don’t have much experience trading crypto on a decentralized platform, you would be able to easily get a hang of UniSwap.
Here, everything is automated and you can create permissionless pools for any ERC-20 token. Further, you can deposit your tokens to provide liquidity to the platform and get a portion of the fees as a reward in return.
Features
✔️Exchange developed on Ethereum blockchain
✔️Utilizes Automated Market Maker system
✔️Works with crypto wallets like Metamask, Trust Wallet etc.
✔️Native coin is called UNI
Pros and Cons
✅Access to ERC-20 tokens ❌No customer support
✅Easy to use ❌No vetting of coins
✅Maintains privacy
✅Trader control over private keys
Trading Fees
UniSwap essentially has three pool fee tiers. The fees are charged as per the nature of the trading pair.
UniSwap pool fees breakdown
Customer Reviews
UniSwap is a simple and standard decentralized exchange
UniSwap has no proper customer support channels
Why We Picked It
UniSwap is a high-liquidity decentralized exchange with reasonable fees and an easy-to-use interface. In other words, you get access to tons of ERC-20 tokens here at a price proportionate to the risk with the pair being traded.
Bisq
Bisq is, honestly, in a league of its own. It is not even a DeFi platform developed on a blockchain like Ethereum or Solana. It is rather a computer application that you need to download and install on your device. Specifically, it is a software released under Version 3 of the GNU Affero General Public License.
Bisq is not governed by any company and is an entirely open-source and community-driven decentralized autonomous organization(DAO). Its servers are scattered all around the world which ensures that there is no single point of failure.
Bisq does not accept any form of fiat currency and therefore, you need to have either Bitcoin(BTC) or Bisq’s native token BSQ for trading on the platform.
Features
✔️Downloadable computer application
✔️Governed as a DAO
✔️Native coin is BSQ
✔️Does not support any fiat currency
Pros and Cons
✅P2P trading ❌BTC or BSQ needed for trading
✅Community-driven platform ❌No educational resources
✅No geographical restrictions
✅User retains control over private
keys
Trading Fees
Trading fees on Bisq are paid in either BTC or BSQ.
Bisq fees breakdown
Customer Reviews
Bisq is a completely decentralized platform
Bisq does not have the best UI
Why We Picked It
Traders who want an exchange that is completely true to the spirit of cryptocurrency would like Bisq. There are no middlemen and you trade on a purely P2P basis. There is no possibility of a central failure since its servers are geographically scattered.
PancakeSwap
PancakeSwap is similar to UniSwap in many ways except that the former was created on the BNB Chain and the latter on Ethereum. Keeping in line with its food-based theme, it has a native token CAKE, syrup pools for CAKE tokens and Initial Farm Offerings(IFOs).
While PancakeSwap earlier used to have a single fee rate of 0.25%, the v3 upgrade has introduced four fee tiers of 0.01%, 0.05%, 0.25% and 1% which are honestly, some of the lowest trading fee rates in the industry.
It allows liquidity providers to set custom price ranges when providing liquidity for better efficiency.
Apart from that, PancakeSwap has lower slippage and greater capital preservation for traders overall. Its cute and colorful design also makes crypto trading a fun experience.
Features
✔️Exchange developed on the BNB Chain
✔️Four tiers for pool fees
✔️Utilizes the Automated Market Maker system
✔️Native coin is CAKE
Pros and Cons
✅Permissionless pools ❌Does not have customer service
✅Instant trading possible ❌Issue of scams and phishing attempts
✅Lower slippage
✅Capital efficiency
Trading Fees
PancakeSwap has four tiers for pool fees- 0.01%, 0.05%, 0.25% and 1%.
PancakeSwap fees breakdown
Customer Reviews
PancakeSwap has a lot to offer to customers
Pancake has no vetting system for coins
Why We Picked It
PancakeSwap has an innovative product suite and its v3 has introduced several improved features such as lower slippage and overall better capital efficiency. Its native token CAKE can be staked in syrup pools to earn some passive income.
Changelly
Changelly is a non-custodial exchange that facilitates anonymous trading that does not require any sort of KYC verification. Its main task is facilitating cryptocurrency trading and it does that quite efficiently. You can check out over 200 cryptocurrencies for trading on Changelly.
It is a simple and hassle-free platform though the onus of ensuring the security of the crypto assets is on the user while using Changelly. In other words, you are responsible for verifying transactions before proceeding with the trades and maintaining the security of your cryptocurrency wallet.
Features
✔️200+ cryptocurrencies available
✔️Crypto-to-crypto and fiat-to-crypto trades
✔️Non-custodial exchange
Pros and Cons
✅Simplicity of use ❌Expensive fiat-to-crypto trades
✅Good crypto collection ❌Fees can be hard to compute
✅Privacy and anonymity
✅Lower fees on crypto-to-crypto
trades
Trading Fees
Changelly has two types of rates- fixed and floating for charging trading fees.
Changelly fees explained
Customer Reviews
Changelly is an easy to use platform
Funds may get locked up at Changelly
Why We Picked It
Changelly has a good cryptocurrency selection and you can trade here without any sort of KYC verification. You can maintain your privacy and retain control of your funds and private keys while trading on it.
dYdX
dYdX is a next-generation decentralized exchange primarily meant for perpetual trading. However, you can still conduct spot and margin trading on Layer 1 of Ethereum. Apart from that, dYdX also supports crypto borrowing and lending. This makes it ideal for traders looking to earn interest on their holdings or longing or shorting assets.
dYdX has implemented StarkWare’s Layer 2 solution which has helped it eliminate gas fees for nearly all types of transactions. This layer 2 solution has also allowed it to ensure better security and privacy on the platform via zero-knowledge rollups.
Further, dYdX has its own collection of NFTs called Hedgies. These are 4,200 unique NFTs developed with the ERC-721 standard.
Features
✔️Exchange developed on Ethereum blockchain
✔️Focuses on perpetual trading
✔️Spot and margin trading on Ethereum Layer 1
Pros and Cons
✅No Ethereum gas fee ❌Derivatives are risky
✅No fees on low-value trades
✅Withdrawals are fast
✅Supports crypto lending
Trading Fees
dYdX does not charge any fees for trades below $100,000 in value over a 30-day period.
dYdX fees breakdown
Why We Picked It
dYdX is great for perpetual trading and even supports spot and margin trading on Ethereum’s Layer 1. The fees here are competitive, there is barely any wait time for withdrawals and even learning resources are available.
Balancer
While Balancer may seem similar to other Ethereum-based decentralized platforms, it has certain features that set it apart from other DeFi projects. For example, Balancer has, among other things, multi-token pools where you can add like eight tokens in one pool.
It is an open and accessible platform where you can swap assets in a trustless and permissionless environment. It also has a native token BAL which is used for compensating liquidity providers for providing liquidity to the exchange.
Apart from that, Balancer has managed to reduce gas fees to a certain extent and offers more capital efficiency than several other places. Here, investors can choose the amount of exposure for every asset in their portfolio enabling them to regularly create new trading strategies.
Features
✔️Exchange built on the Ethereum blockchain
✔️Utilizes Automated Market Maker system
✔️Native coin is BAL
Pros and Cons
✅Customizable liquidity pools ❌Not very beginner-friendly
✅Portfolio manager which is automated
✅Capital efficiency
Trading Fees
Balancer fees explained
Why We Picked It
Balancer allows cryptocurrency trading in a trustless and permissionless environment. You can deposit as many as eight tokens in its public or private pools. Pool creators get the freedom to set their own fee range.