If you want to buy coins to use I'd go with Coinbase at least to get started. If you want to day trade Kraken looks really promising if they are supported in your jurisdiction. Bitstamp has a decent track record though their local give me pause. Coinsetter is also pretty well put together if all you want to do is pair trade but you can't do true exchange on there.

I've tried coinmkt but I don't like it. Their fees aren't great their deposit and withdrawal methods are limited and there are fees on deposits and withdrawals at least there were when I gave it a try.

>Bitstamp has a decent track record though their local[e] give me pause.

I'd say Bitstamp has a very good track record, and what's wrong with Slovenia? It's probably about on the level of the Czech Republic in terms of economic freedom, development, level of corruption (relatively low), output, business practices, etc. Would doing business with a Czech company make you nervous?

In business culture, Slovenia looks toward Germany more than toward the former Eastern Block (of which it was never a part).

I mean, Bitstamp's owners are public people. I feel pretty confident that they're not going to run off with their depositors money. Is there something else that you're concerned about?

But I agree, if you want to just buy coins, Coinbase is a good start. And Kraken is looking very good, too, particularly if you're a serious trader (that's who they appear to target).

I don't disagree my reservation is more about having to do an international wire transfer to get money in and out of Bitstmap. Also since they are outside of the US you are going to have to submit FBAR paperwork to the US government if your account with them ever gets over 10k at any time during the year. In the unlikely chance something did go wrong legal remedies would be more difficult since they are outside the US.

Ah, ok. So it's more because they're outside of the U.S. (your jurisdiction). That makes reasonable.

I thought the "locale" comment was about Slovenia, a country that not many people are informed about and unfairly associate with former Eastern Block crime syndicates.

And yes, the international wire fees do add up. Do any U.S. exchanges currency offer ACH?

Coinbase is ACH, CampBX took personal Checks up until 3 weeks ago. My primary bank offers wires within the US but not internationally. Doing wires is just a headache you typically have to call the bank on the phone and it just doesn't give me a confident feeling in general.

I would be a little cautious with Coinbase. There was a recent post on HN[1] in which someone had a 5 figure transaction be approved on the site, but never received his funds. The slow response from Coinbase wasn't too encouraging, but the more troubling issue is that a large sum of money like that can just appear in the system without anyone noticing. It indicates that their level of accounting and auditing isn't up to the standards of even most brick and mortar businesses let alone a financial institution.

[1] - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6929705

I've never had a problem with them and it looks like that customers issue was resolved. All exchanges have problems esp with the huge growth in customer base they are experiencing. The thing that sets them apart is how they deal with them.

Coinbase. They've got $31m in combined funding from Y-Combinator and Andreesen Horowitz, among others. I like to place my bets where veteran investors have some cash and reputation on the line.

Part of the problem is leaving funds laying around in exchanges, when it's trivial to transfer to your own wallet (though admittedly non-trivial to secure it, it's a tradeoff).

If you quickly transfer in, exchange, and transfer out you don't need quite as much trust.

Bitstamp have proved their good intentions and competence. They also have the most to lose at this point as the market leader. Had zero problems with transfers from there, very quick support replies, seem to be in good relations with their bank. I trust them. Karaken also look promising, but it's a new exchange.

Anyway, best bet is to use several exchanges to take advantage of arbitrage opportunities and to distribute the risk.

I've used coinmkt more and more in the past week. I like them, seem to still be working things out, but if you trade multiple currencies they're a good bet. Being based in the USA doesn't hurt either.