Separate the product from the marketing
A crypto exchange is a venue that matches or fills orders in digital assets and usually also holds customer funds. Compare it as a custody-plus-market-access product, not as a generic “trading app”.
Start with the legal entity named in the terms, the markets it actually onboards, and whether you would be a customer of that entity. Do not infer availability from a global homepage or from an affiliate advertisement.
What to verify before opening an account
Identity: official domain, operating entity, and whether the product is an exchange, broker wrapper, or hybrid.
Custody: who holds assets, how withdrawals work, and what happens during an outage. If the operator does not publish a current custody or proof-of-reserves statement, treat that as missing evidence rather than a positive.
Cost: maker/taker fees, spreads, deposit and withdrawal fees, and conversion fees. A headline “zero fee” claim is incomplete until spread and funding costs are visible.
Jurisdiction: onboarding rules, product restrictions, and whether promotional activity is allowed in your market. TopPick.pro keeps research visibility and partner CTAs as separate decisions.