Making the jump from spot trading to futures trading is a big one. When I started trading futures, finding a good exchange to trade on was one of the hardest decisions, with every exchange advertising advanced features, high leverage, and low fees. But who can you really trust?
That’s why I’ve used my years of experience trading crypto futures to painstakingly test almost every major exchange over the last 2 years with FXEmpire. I risked my own money and spent hours trading on each platform, testing every feature to help you find the exchange that suits your needs best.
Since everyone has their own priorities, I’ve broken things down into several categories to help you find the best exchange for your own preferences.
When making a list of the best exchanges for futures trading, I had to consider a wide range of factors. These were some of the key criteria that I used to rank each exchange:
| Exchange | Ranking | Taker/Maker | Available Crypto | Accepts Fiat | Payment Methods | KYC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bybit | 4.6 Read Review | 0.1% / 0.1% | 482 | Yes | +2 | Yes |
Crypto.com | 4.3 Read Review | 0.5% / 0.25% | 432 | Yes | +5 | Full KYC Required |
YouHodler | No Rating Read Review | 0.3% / 0.3% | 97 | No | +5 | Yes |
BTCC | No Rating Read Review | 0.3% / 0.2% | 279 | No | Optional KYC (Required for Fiat Services) | |
Binance | 4.8 Read Review | 0.1% / 0.1% | 447 | Yes | +1 | Yes |
MEXC | 4.6 Read Review | 0.01% / 0% | 2179 | Yes | +3 | No |
My personal favorite exchange to trade futures is Bybit. It’s one of the most popular exchanges among futures traders, and I’ve personally used it for over half a decade. It offers an advanced trading platform with a wide range of markets without cutting corners on security and regulatory compliance. It offers full Proof of Reserves, robust security measures, and EU licensing for total peace of mind.
I tested Crypto.com in early 2026, and since then, it has quickly become one of my favorite exchanges. It offers a cutting-edge trading platform, with a dedicated interface for advanced users, all without sacrificing security and transparency. Its licensing in major regions makes it a secure platform and an ideal choice if you’re looking to trade advanced strategies using API integration.
I was pleasantly surprised by YouHodler when I tested it in early 2026. It might not be the first name that comes to mind when you think of futures trading. But its MultiHODL feature simplifies high leverage trading, making it accessible for everyone, regardless of experience level. YouHodler is ideal for new traders who are looking to start trading with leverage without being overwhelmed by the complex interfaces on competing exchanges.
Based on my first-hand experience reviewing BTCC in late 2025, I found the exchange competed with other top-tier exchanges, offering some of the highest leverage in the industry whilst still being secure and stable. It also offers low trading fees and free, instant deposits via bank card. If you’re looking for an exchange with high leverage that doesn’t compromise on security or trading experience, BTCC is the one for you.
As the world’s largest exchange, naturally, Binance has the deepest liquidity in the industry. It’s a popular choice among futures traders for its advanced trading platform, range of markets, and security. I’ve been using Binance for over 5 years now, and when we tested the exchange in late 2025, it performed well, ranking as one of the best exchanges we’ve reviewed.
MEXC has had the lowest fees in the industry for several years now, with zero maker fees and industry-low taker fees. This, combined with its high leverage of up to 200x, makes it ideal if you want to trade high-leverage or high-frequency strategies without paying an arm and a leg in trading fees. When we tested MEXC in mid-2025, it scored highly for its low fees, high leverage, and advanced trading platform that offered a wide range of technical indicators and flash close for quickly exiting positions.
Futures trading lets you speculate on the price of a cryptocurrency without actually buying or selling the crypto itself. The most common type of futures trading is perpetual futures, or perps. When you open a perpetual futures trade, you’re simply trading futures contracts with no expiry date, which makes them ideal for longer-term trades. Perps also enable much higher leverage than other trading instruments, but this also comes with a much higher risk of liquidation.
If you’re looking to start trading futures, it’s important to know all the fees that apply, especially since futures trading fees are slightly different from spot and margin trading. The main types of fees to consider are:
Trading futures comes with much more risk and considerations than spot or margin trading. If you don’t fully understand the risks before you start trading, it can be a recipe for disaster. Here are the main factors to consider:
Futures trading is one of the hardest things to get right in crypto, and it’s not something to throw yourself into without putting in the hours to learn and practice. Even if you’re a profitable spot trader, it doesn’t mean you’ll automatically be profitable trading futures. The combination of leverage, liquidation risk, and fast paced nature of futures makes the learning curve steep and expensive if you don’t put in the hours demo trading.
If you’re a beginner and you’re determined to make it work, I strongly suggest spending 2-3 months learning the markets and practicing on a demo account with virtual money. Spend the time getting comfortable trading with leverage and understanding how it can impact your trades. When you’re consistently profitable, move over to a live account with a small amount of money you’d be comfortable losing. Stick to 2-3x leverage in the beginning and treat it as a paid learning stage instead of a money-making exercise.
Trading Volume and Open Interest tell you a lot about how reliable an exchange or specific market will be to trade. Trading volume tells you the total value of contracts traded over the last 24 hours. High volume means the market is liquid, so your orders are more likely to get filled quickly at the price you want. Low-volume markets can cause problems, since wide spreads and poor liquidity make it harder to enter and exit positions.
Open Interest is simply the total value of all futures positions that are currently open on the exchange. High Open Interest combined with rising prices suggests that money is flowing in and there is a greater chance the trend continues. Falling Open Interest suggests traders are closing positions, and momentum may be slowing down.
Shennon Hewa is a crypto trader and crypto journalist based in London. Active in the crypto space since 2017, he specializes in scalping, derivatives day trading, and swing trading. At FXEmpire, he has reviewed dozens of crypto exchanges and has extensive knowledge of platform strengths and weaknesses.
At FXEmpire, we strive to provide unbiased, thorough, and accurate exchange reviews by industry experts to help our users make smarter financial decisions.