Best Crypto Tools: The Ultimate Checklist for 2023
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The crypto industry is filled with people who consistently profit, and those who consistently lose.
One deciding factor separating the winners from the losers is that they use the best crypto tools available in the market.
While networking with other investors in the industry should be an ongoing task, there is some luck involved with meeting the right people and finding out about top trading tools.
On the other hand, experimenting with different tools that fit your needs is something you can take action on now, and it will likely change the way you operate for the better.
It can be the difference between discovering the next hidden gem that can double your portfolio, or following the herd and buying overpriced cryptocurrencies.
In this guide, I’ll provide you with a checklist of the best crypto tools to use in 2023 that will completely transform the way you interact with the crypto sphere.
Let’s begin!
1. Best Exchanges
Why Does it Matter to Choose the Best Exchanges?
The first step to profiting big is choosing reliable exchangesExchange
Online platforms on which individuals can buy and sell cryptocurrencies.
- Liquiditydefines the ease at which an asset can be bought or sold. If there is a lot of liquidity, then there will always be a buyer or seller waiting on the other side of your order request.
Liquidity
The measure of how quickly an asset can be exchanged for usable currency. - The second factor is security. When your money is on an exchange, you are trusting them to hold your funds, so you better hope that their security is up to par. Exchanges are constantly under attack. A recent example is Cryptopia who had hackers siphon millions from the exchange. Although these funds have now been reimbursed, imagine waking up one morning to all of your funds being stolen from the exchange. Not good!
- The third factor is fees. Top traders in the industry are aware of fees, including them in their profits. Because of this, I will recommend exchanges that aren’t only liquid and secure, but also cheap.
And the Best Exchanges are:
Binance
At the time of this writing, Binance has the most volume in the market. This means they have the most money being transacted and are the most liquid. They also have the most users and have never been hacked. With a clean track record, reliable team, and lots of liquidity I am confident in recommending Binance as one of the exchanges you must use.
Coinbase Pro
Coinbase Pro offers less trading pairs than Binance, but is very well trusted, especially by larger investors. They are US based, FDIC insured, and have never been hacked. FDIC insured means that US users are insured for up to $250,000 (of your USD wallet) if something unfortunate were to happen.
BitMEX
Are you a risk taker? Then BitMEX is for you. They offer up to 100x leverage, which means high risk, high reward. They are Hong Kong based and have also never been compromised by hackers. BitMEX is a good alternative to spot trading exchanges such as Binance and Coinbase Pro.
2. Best Decentralized Exchange
What is a Decentralized Exchange (DEX)?
A decentralized exchange serves the same function as a centralized exchange, like the ones mentioned above, but the technical infrastructure is decentralizedDecentralized
Distributed amongst its users rather than controlled by one group or within one certain area.
Why use DEXs in addition (or instead) of Centralized Exchanges?
The advantage of decentralized exchanges is that the users do not need to deposit funds to the exchange, so they can keep their funds secure in their wallet.
Ultimately, users maintain greater security when using DEXs, but they are often more difficult to use and have less liquidity.
What are the best DEXs?
IDEX
IDEX is one of the oldest decentralized exchanges that is still running today. They are web-based and have a sleek user interface. They also have enough liquidity where the average trader will have no issues getting their orders filled.
3. Trading Platforms
What is a Trading Platform, and How will it Help Me?
Trading platforms are some of the best crypto trading tools for bringing your trading to the next level by streamlining it. Instead of having multiple windows open to trade across various exchanges, you can now trade on multiple exchanges all from one platform! This can help you take advantage of market opportunities quicker and closely monitor the market better.
How to find the best crypto trading platform find below!
What are the Best Trading Platforms?
Coinigy
Coinigy is arguably the most widely used trading platform in the market. They began in 2014 and have been growing since. They support 45+ exchanges, trading charts, and quality support. 45+ exchange is more than any other platform, which gives a solid advantage to Coinigy users over non-Coinigy users.
They also have historical data which can be purchased and used by developers to experiment with their own trading strategies. It’s one of the industry’s best crypto trading tools.
Tradedash
Tradedash supports both Bittrex and Binance which are reliable, and amongst the largest exchanges in the market, so liquidity isn’t an issue. Unlike Coinigy, which is web-based, Tradedash is a desktop application. This means that users’ private keysPrivate Key
Private keys are used to spend cryptocurrencies.
Encryption
Transforming data into unrecognizable code that can only be decoded with the exact decryption key.
4. Charting Tools
How will a Charting Tool Help Me?
A charting tool is a tool which allows you to visualize different trading indicators and draw trend lines to visualize the market. Practice with these trading indicators and trend lines will ultimately grow your skills in technical analysis (TA) which is what many traders use to stay ahead of the curve. If you are a pro at TA, then you can win big and for that, you need to use crypto analytics tools like those.
What are the Best Charting Tools?
TradingView
Tradingview is a huge company which offers live trading charts for both crypto and stocks. They are one of the largest charting providers, with more technical indicators than you will ever need. They have both free and premium functionalities. All the best traders use Tradingview as their main cryptocurrency tool for charting.
Cryptowat.ch
Cryptowat.ch is owned by Kraken, a major exchange. It is completely free and allows you to not only chart across various coins but also visualize 10+ charts in one view. I highly recommend checking it out, you have nothing to lose with those free cryptocurrency charts!
5. Market Data
It’s crucial to find platforms which offer near real-time, accurate information regarding price action, circulating supplyCirculating Supply
The volume of coins being held and spent at a given time for a given cryptocurrency.
Total Coin Supply
A measure that describes how many coins of a given cryptocurrency can exist (after all mining is completed, if applicable).
Why is Market Data Important?
The process of drawing in market data requires integrating with various exchanges, normalizing data, and calculating average prices, all while making sure there are no errors. Having an accurate pulse on the market, with accurate data, is a mandatory requisite for becoming a profitable investor or trader.
What are the Best Places for Market Data?
Coinmarketcap
Coinmarketcap is the most used site in the market for checking prices, volumeTrade Volume
A measure of how frequently and how heavily a cryptocurrency is bought and/or sold during a given time period.
API
Application Programmer Interface. A type of toolkit provided for developers for creating applications.
OnchainFX
OnchainFX offers data like Coinmarketcap, but also offers more unique statistics. Users can see coins categorized as scams, top gainers, top losers, or view other figures which predict future market cap in the year 2050. You can also customize your own dashboard! OnChainFX is slowly becoming one of the most trusted sources for market data. I highly recommend checking it out.
CryptoCompare
CryptoCompare is a site that has been around for a long time in the industry. They offer reliable market data as well as tools to track your portfolio and informative articles to learn about new developments and different coins. With a following as large as theirs, it’s worth considering CryptoCompare.
6. Never Miss a Hard Fork, Airdrop, Swap or Block Halving
Rather than relying on news articles to gather all of your information, use a couple of trusted calendar services to look ahead. They will let you view upcoming events at a quick glance.
Why is this important?
When a coin is halving (like Bitcoin in the first part of 2020), the price increases, or if a hard fork is occurring, there is a chance to get free coins. The point is, all of these events can impact the price of coins, or are ways to get free money. So you may as well take advantage. It can turn into big bucks!
Some of My Favorite Calendar Tools are:
CoinMarketCal
CoinMarketCal is one of my favorite crypto trading tools because it will help you buy the rumor and sell the news - which is how many traders profit. It’s a great calendar that shows you upcoming current events on different coins. You can search your own coin too! You can use it to buy the rumor and sell the NEWS.
Coindar
Coindar is another service similar to CoinMarketCal which has a sleek interface and lets you view major events happening soon at a glance.
7. Network Statistics
Don’t let negative news articles tell you that Bitcoin transactions are decreasing, or fees are too high. Go see this data for yourself. From using the below crypto tools, you will be able to see firsthand how active Bitcoin’s network is and how active a coins’ development team is.
Why is this important?
If you see lots of transactional activity on Bitcoin’s network, it can be an indicator for future price movement. Understanding how active Bitcoin’s network (or any other cryptocurrency’s network) is and validating a team’s development activity, will give you an edge over most traders.
To Gather Coin Insights, I highly recommend:
BitcoinVisuals
In my opinion, this site is a super underrated crypto tool. BitcoinVisuals is great for keeping up with the king of crypto, Bitcoin. Quickly see median fee costs per transactions, hashrateHash Rate
The number of hashes a miner performs over a given period of time.
CryptoMiso
This applies to all coins, not just Bitcoin. If a project’s development isn’t active, then it may be dead. Check up on a coin’s Github with CryptoMiso to confirm that they are still active. Ensuring that open-sourcedOpen Source
A term used to describe software that is made available online so that any individual can view its code and submit improvements.
8. News Aggregators
How will News Aggregators help me Profit?
With hundreds of news sites spewing thousands of articles a day and Twitter influencers spreading contradictory opinions, having a source that can aggregate all of this data in one view will be very helpful for feeling a quick pulse on the market and seeing news laid out in one place with these crypto analytics tools.
Top News Aggregators used by the pros are:
CryptoPanic
I love CryptoPanic. It’s a comprehensive, free news aggregator that also allows you to customize your own dashboard for price alerts! It really saves a lot of headaches when it comes to keeping up with big news, you won’t regret this one. It’s an excellent crypto analysis tool for news.
FAWS
FAWS vs CryptoPanic comes down to choice of preference with UI. Some think that FAWS is sleeker and easier to read, but both are excellent. Check it out and see how you like it.
9. Research Reports
Research reports are generally long, in-depth, but highly valuable documents providing fundamental analysis, technical analysis, and opinions on the past, current, and future market.
My Favorite Report Is:
Crypto Research Report
Crypto Reserach Report has a quarterly report which goes in depth. They go through interviews, statistical analysis, fundamental analysis, and the future outlook for the market. Click here for a free example. It’s also free to sign up. Gaining a more formal perspective on the market can only give you an advantage.
10. Trading Bots
Trading bots are pieces of software which allow you to set certain parameters defining when the bot should trade on your behalf. Basically, the bot will execute trades automatically on your behalf based on the strategy you create. If you create the right strategy with a reliable bot, you can rake in profits while you sleep, and you can use them as crypto prediction software! Although many bots are unreliable, I have a couple in store that are highly recommended.
The Best Bots in the Market are:
HaasOnline
HaasOnline has been around for 5 years now and has cemented a name for themselves in the industry. They have hundreds of technical indicators to choose from, a sleek user-interface, and reliable performance. They also allow you to set up arbitrageArbitrage
The practice of buying and selling the same coins on different exchanges at the same time to take advantage of price differences.
For a more in-depth look at HaasOnline, read our full review.
Gekko
Gekko is a free, open-source trading bot that can be downloaded from Github. It supports 14 major exchanges and is one of the most used platforms to date. Since this is open-source you will need to manually download some requirements to use Gekko. They have easy to follow instructions to help you install Gekko, in addition to YouTube videos. Overall, you do not need to be a tech guru to get started.
11. Crypto Tax Tools
Tax season is a headache for everyone, but even more so for cryptocurrency traders. Crypto tax tools will help organize your trades and tell you how much you owe on taxes in an automated fashion.
The Best Tax Tools are:
Cointracking.info
Cointracking.info allows you to import all of your historical transaction data manually or via API. From here, they calculate your performance and can spit out a tax report that you can send right to your accountant.
There’s really no other crypto tool like it. It’s great for staying organized. Also, besides being a tax tool, Cointracking is an excellent portfolio tracker. It’s the most popular one in the industry and makes life so easy.
Token Tax
TokenTax is more focused than Cointracking. Token Tax is strictly a tax-focused piece of software which will calculate your crypto taxes in addition to your full income. It basically takes the place of TurboTax and will save you hours of time.
12. Portfolio Trackers
How will Portfolio Trackers help me profit?
My favorite tool of all - portfolio trackers! Portfolio trackers are the most used crypto tool of any, and will help you keep a pulse on your portfolio. At a quick glance, you can check the total value of your investments, the 24-hour change in value of your portfolio, and view the performance of individual coins that make up your portfolio. If you notice one particular coin hurting your portfolio, then you can assess what to do about that.
My Favorite Portfolio Trackers are:
CoinStats
CoinStats is also mobile only, but you can import all of your trades automatically via API. This can save you hours of headache. Mostly comes down to preference on this one.
Cointracking
I know I mentioned Cointracking before, but it’s worth bringing up again. They are the most popular web-based tracking service, while also being affordable. They are integrated with mostly any exchange you would need and calculate your historical data automatically upon importing your trades. Most traders use Cointracking as one of their main cryptocurrency tools.
Blox
If you prefer a more professional web-based solution, then Blox may be for you. There is both a free and premium version. For free, you can set up automatic tracking and the creation of multiple portfolios for up to $50,000 AUM (assets under management) or 100 transactions. So, if your portfolio surpasses those metrics, then you will need premium. In my opinion, this is a great deal.
13. Portfolio Rebalancing
What is Portfolio Rebalancing?
Many sophisticated traders take advantage of portfolio rebalancing, as it helps mitigate risk and maintain profit generation. Portfolio rebalancing will automatically buy and sell assets in your assets based on portfolio weight. For example, if you want your Ether holding to always be worth 10% of your portfolio, but Ether rises in price, increasing its worth to 30% of your portfolio, it will automatically sell some Ether to balance out your portfolio. My personal background is in the hedge fund industry, and I can tell you firsthand that even hedge fund managers use rebalancing tools on their portfolio. Traders of all experience levels can take advantage of these rebalancer crypto tools.
How will it help me profit?
It will help protect you from overholding rising assets, to continue generating profit. In our Ether example, most people would not sell their Ether if it became worth 30% of their portfolio from 10%, but with crypto’s volatility, this can happen quite often. As it does, you can be shaving profits over and over, while still maintaining a healthy Ether holding making up 10% of your holdings.
What are the Best Rebalancing Tools?
Shrimpy
Shrimpy is a great FREE rebalancer and backtester. This means you can not only rebalance, but also test different strategies via backtestingBacktest
Backtesting is the method of running your trading strategy on historical data to find out how well it would have performed.
3Commas
3Commas is not free, while Shrimpy is. 3Commas has some additional features though. You can set it to rebalance every 12 hours for example, and they also offer general portfolio management tools, while allowing you to manually trade from their platform.
However, you should think twice before choosing 3Commas.
Binance CEO, Changpeng Zhao (CZ), has recently warned his Twitter followers that he is “reasonably sure” that API key leaks occur on the cryptocurrency trade platform. In this post from December 28, 2022, Zhao advised users to disable any API key they have put in 3Commas.
The actual incident occurred on December 9, 2022, when Binance suspended a user’s account that reported losing some funds. That customer believed that a leaked API key was used “to make trades on low cap coins to push up the price to make profit.”
14. Best Wallets
Why Choosing the Best Wallets is Important
In the crypto sphere, your wallet is like your bank. Reliable wallets, means better protection from hackers. There’s no faster way to lose all of your money than a hacker stealing your private keys (which grants them access to your funds), or sending your coins to the wrong recipient because of a poor wallet user-interface or security.
Here are the best wallets around:
Mycelium
Mycelium is my personal favorite Bitcoin wallet. It is mobile only, but super simple to use. Be sure to write down your seed-phrase when setting up your wallet, and you are good to go! Go check it out, highly recommended.
Metamask
Metamask is one of the most popular Ethereum wallets. What’s great about Metamask is that it is web-based as a Chrome or Brave browser extension. It allows you to easily send Ether and ERC-20 tokens to decentralized applications on the web. Most dApps also function with a Metamask wallet.
MEW
MEW, short for MyEtherWallet is one of the most trusted and user-friendly wallets for Ethereum and ERC-20 tokens. It is also compatible with hardware wallets such as Ledger and Trezor, and allows users to swap coins thanks to their partnerships with Changelly, Simplex, Kyber Network, and Bity.
They are always improving their product and have excellent reviews.
Read more: Is Myetherwallet Safe?
Ledger Nano S
The Ledger Nano S is my favorite hardware wallet. Unlike Exodus and Mycelium, the Ledger Nano S is a hardware wallet, which means that it is disconnected from the internet and safe from hackers. They have excellent support, a large user base, and supports over 1,000 coins and tokens. The Ledger Nano S is not free, but if you have over $500 invested in crypto, then I recommend it.
Exodus
When the cryptocurrency world first began, you needed to download a unique wallet for each type of coin you held. Thanks to Exodus, this is no longer the case. It supports 100+ coins, allows you to purchase coins, and has easy backup functionality. Simply put, it’s easy to use, user-friendly, and very popular. Using Exodus will save you lots of headache.
15. Best Mining Tools
What is Mining?
Mining warrants a longer explanation. But put simply, it is a way to take part in the network by helping to validate transactions and secure the network. You generally download a piece of mining software for a specific coin, and off you go. In return for your work, you are rewarded with coins!
Is Mining Profitable?
Well, it depends on several factors. It depends on which coin you are mining and how strong your computer (mining rig) is. If you mine at a coin early on, which can earn you 1000s of coins, and the price increases in value, then it can be extremely lucrative.
How can I mine?
Nicehash
I recommend starting with Nicehash. Nicehash is a cloud mining company. This means that you don’t need to worry about having your own mining hardware, instead, you can experiment mining at different networks using the Nicehash network. Many cloud mining companies are unreliable, but Nicehash I can safely recommend. Go have fun with it, see what happens.
Read Coinbureau’s full review of NiceHash here.
16. Mining Calculators
What is a Mining Calculator?
As I mentioned before, mining profitability depends on several factors. Not only does it depend on which coin you choose to mine at and the cost of your hardware, but you must also consider how powerful your hardware is as well as your electricity costs! Figuring this out can be a huge headache, but thanks to mining calculators, you can speculate on which networks will yield you the most profits.
Whattomine
Whattomine is a great site where you can enter various mining parameters, select a coin, and see your predicted income across different time frame. It’s a really amazing tool that will help you speculate from a mining point of view. Here’s an example for Bitcoin.
CryptoCompare
We already mentioned CryptoCompare, but it’s worth nothing that they do have a mining calculator. The mining calculator similar is to Whattomine, but they do not offer as many coins or parameter inputs. It’s a reliable, yet simpler version of Whattomine.
17. Block Explorers
What is a Block Explorer and why would I use one?
A block explorer is a user-interface which allows you to interact with blockchains and view transactional data on a network. If you send a friend Bitcoin, or a friend sent you Bitcoin, you can actually check on the status of that transaction by typing in your Bitcoin wallet (public) address or transaction ID. From here you will see if it has been sent, how many confirmations the transaction has, and if it has been delivered to the recipient.
There are a lot more info that a block explorer can provide:
- The number of outstanding and past transactions on the network
- The current block height
- Transaction sizes
- Largest wallets, number of coin holders ...
What are the best Blockchain Explorers?
Blockchain.com
Blockchain.com’s block explorer can access data on BTC, ETH, and BCH’s blockchain. Next time you take part in a transaction, use blockchain.com to gain peace of mind that the transaction is sent and it’s pending on the network. It will save you lots of stress.
Etherscan
Etherscan is the goto block explorer for Ethereum and ERC-20 tokens. Here you can check on your transactions, as well as view network hashrate, current block height, block data, market cap, and more. If you are sending Ether transactions or simply want to check on the network status, Etherscan is the way to go.
Find the Best Blockchain Explorer for Any Coin you Want
Every coin has its own block explorer. To find a coin’s block explorer, I recommend going to Coinmarketcap.com, searching for a coin, and then clicking on “Explorer” to the left. Alternatively, if a coin is not listed on Coinmarketcap, then you should be able to find its block explorer directly from their website, or by Googling “Coin name + block explorer.” Beware of deceiving websites, though.
Which of these crypto analytics Tools is your Favorite?
The best approach for testing out different strategies and tools that work for you is by taking a hands-on approach. Having even heard of these crypto tools gives you a huge advantage over other investors. The next step is taking action and throwing yourself in the fire. Try the tools I suggested - most are free and if they’re not, most have a trial period. Once you decide which tools suit you best, which order to use them in, and ultimately create a routine for yourself, you will notice improvements in your investment strategies.
If you’re just starting with Bitcoin and Cryptocurrencies, make sure to go through our:
- Course on How to Invest in Bitcoin securely and effectively.
- “Blockchain for dummies” guide.
- The 11 Best Cryptocurrencies to Buy
After you go over these resources, this guide will suddenly become much more valuable to you.