Web3 is thriving all over the world, and so are scammers and hackers. The crypto community in 2024 has seen some of the most notable events, including Bitcoin breaking the $100,000 mark, the market bull run and increasing crypto adoption worldwide, and Trump’s promise to create a strategic Bitcoin reserve in the US.
The community has also seen some of the biggest hacks against crypto exchanges and scams in the crypto industry in 2024. According to Chainanalysis, more than $2.2 billion was lost to hackers in 2024, a 21.07% annual increase in these incidents.
1. CME Group
According to Forbes, the $85 billion Chicago-based CME Group is not suitable for retail investment since it has been dealing in butter and eggs since 1898, but Forbes rated it highly because the high-level regulatory features provided by the CFTC provide basic security in volatile cryptocurrency markets. Key differences between CME Group and traditional brokerage accounts like Schwab and Fidelity include Micro Ether alternatives with $300 minimum contract values, as well as Micro Bitcoin futures options with Fidelity.
At the top, CME Group has the highest weighted score of 7.7, with an 8 in BTC-ETH holding, a 6 in regulation, a 10 in transparency, and a 10 in auditing power.
2. Coinbase
The only major public cryptocurrency exchange operating in the US is Coinbase, and its customers accept higher costs to achieve perceived security through fees and transaction fees. Eight million active users make BitGo’s bitcoin storage the largest global reserve, worth around $245 billion in current market cap.
Coinbase has a perfect score of 7.6 from Forbes, with a weighted score of 10 for BTC-ETH holdings, 8 for regulation, 6 for transparency, and 10 for auditing power.
3. Bitstamp is
a global exchange headquartered in the United Kingdom with a significant presence in Europe. Since its founding in 2011, Bitstamp has operated as a Luxembourg-based cryptocurrency exchange. Bitstamp operates as the most enduring cryptocurrency exchange in the world. On this platform, users trade between fiat currencies and bitcoin and multiple alternative crypto assets, including Ripple, Bitcoin Cash, and Algorand, Stellar, and USD Coin, along with Ethereum, Litecoin.
Bitstamp has a weighted score of 6.8, with a 10 for transparency and a 10 for auditing power.
4. Binance
Binance was founded in 2017 by Changpeng Zhao, a popular software engineer, investor, and entrepreneur. The exchange began to grow within the first 6 months of its existence, becoming one of the largest crypto exchanges in the world.
Now that CZ has stepped down as CEO, Binance is at a turning point in 2025, and many predict it will grow exponentially when it comes to its customer base. Binance had a weighted score of 6.7, with a 10 for BTC ETH holdings and a zero for auditing power.
5. Robinhood
Robinhood continues to come under scrutiny for its “meme hub” investment approach, as it currently owns $15 billion worth of DOGE coins and a new “dogwifhat” product in addition to its existing products Shiba Inu, PEPE, and BONK.
Following the July 2022 acquisition of Luxembourg-based Bitstamp, Robinhood has begun a post-acquisition separation period to secure board approvals for operational integration. It has a weighted score of 6.6 with a high of 10 in auditing power.
6. Bitbank
At number 6 is Bitbank, a centralized cryptocurrency exchange founded in 2016 and registered in Japan. Its consistently high ranking is due to its transparency, audited finances, and crypto assets.
With a weighted score of 6.1, bitbank scores a stellar 10 in transparency and 8 in auditing power.
7. Upbit
At number 7 is Upbit, a centralized cryptocurrency exchange founded in South Korea by Song Chi-hyung in 2017. Upbit is known for its extensive trading options for cryptocurrencies.
With a weighted score of 6, Upbit scores an impressive 10 in transparency and 8 in BTC-ETH assets.
8. Bitget
At number 8 is Bitget, a centralized cryptocurrency exchange founded in 2018 and registered in the Seychelles.
Bitget is known as one of the largest crypto copy trading platforms offering a wide range of trading services, including spot and futures trading.
Bitget performed poorly, scoring 8 in BTC-ETH assets and 0 in auditing power.
9. Deribit
At number 9 is Deribit, a major player in offshore derivatives with an overall weighted score of 5.5. The Dubai-based exchange allows its clients to speculate on asset prices through leveraged betting, focusing solely on options to provide token buyers with defined buy or sell terms over specific timeframes.
It received a high score of 8 in BTC-ETH holdings but a poor score of 2 in auditing power.
10.
Gemini At number 10 is Gemini, an exchange founded in 2015 by the Winklevoss Twins that makes security and safety a key parameter for its customer service. In fact, Gemini came into the limelight after it made it easier for customers to buy and store Bitcoin by introducing a private key mechanism and a double-layered password protection system.
With a weighted score of 5.5, the company achieved a high score of 8 in BTC-ETH holdings but performed poorly in transparency with a score of 4.