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Voyager 1: 'The Spacecraft That Could' Hits New Milestone

Voyager 1, already the most distant human-made object in the cosmos, reaches 100 astronomical units from the sun on Tuesday, August 15 at 5:13 p.m. Eastern time (2:13 p.m. Pacific time).

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Interstellar Messengers

Voyager 1 and its twin Voyager 2 are the only spacecraft ever to operate outside the heliosphere, the protective bubble of particles and magnetic fields generated by the Sun. Voyager 1 reached the interstellar boundary in 2012, while Voyager 2 (traveling slower and in a different direction than its twin) reached it in 2018.

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Voyager, NASA’s Longest-Lived Mission, Logs 45 Years in Space

The Interstellar Mission

After completing the first in-depth reconnaissance of the outer planets, the twin Voyagers are on a new mission to chart the edge of interstellar space.

The Golden Record

The contents of the golden record were selected for NASA by a committee led by Carl Sagan of Cornell University.

The Spacecraft

The twin Voyagers are escaping our solar system in different directions at more than 3 astronomical units (AU) a year.

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The behind-the-scenes story of the making of Voyager 1's iconic image of Earth as "a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam."

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Our Solar System

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Voyager 1 and 2: The Interstellar Mission

An image of Neptune taken by the Voyager 2 spacecraft. Image credit: NASA

NASA has beautiful photos of every planet in our solar system. We even have images of faraway Neptune , as you can see in the photo above.

Neptune is much too distant for an astronaut to travel there with a camera. So, how do we have pictures from distant locations in our solar system? Our photographers were two spacecraft, called Voyager 1 and Voyager 2!

An artist’s rendering of one of the Voyager spacecraft. Image credit: NASA

The Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft launched from Earth in 1977. Their mission was to explore Jupiter and Saturn —and beyond to the outer planets of our solar system. This was a big task. No human-made object had ever attempted a journey like that before.

The two spacecraft took tens of thousands of pictures of Jupiter and Saturn and their moons. The pictures from Voyager 1 and 2 allowed us to see lots of things for the first time. For example, they captured detailed photos of Jupiter's clouds and storms, and the structure of Saturn's rings .

Image of storms on Jupiter taken by the Voyager 1 spacecraft. Image credit: NASA

Voyager 1 and 2 also discovered active volcanoes on Jupiter's moon Io , and much more. Voyager 2 also took pictures of Uranus and Neptune. Together, the Voyager missions discovered 22 moons.

Since then, these spacecraft have continued to travel farther away from us. Voyager 1 and 2 are now so far away that they are in interstellar space —the region between the stars. No other spacecraft have ever flown this far away.

Where will Voyager go next?

Watch this video to find out what's beyond our solar system!

Both spacecraft are still sending information back to Earth. This data will help us learn about conditions in the distant solar system and interstellar space.

The Voyagers have enough fuel and power to operate until 2025 and beyond. Sometime after this they will not be able to communicate with Earth anymore. Unless something stops them, they will continue to travel on and on, passing other stars after many thousands of years.

Each Voyager spacecraft also carries a message. Both spacecraft carry a golden record with scenes and sounds from Earth. The records also contain music and greetings in different languages. So, if intelligent life ever find these spacecraft, they may learn something about Earth and us as well!

A photo of the golden record that was sent into space on both Voyager 1 and Voyager 2. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

More about our universe!

Where does interstellar space begin?

Searching for other planets like ours

Play Galactic Explorer!

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Stephen Clark, Ars Technica

How NASA Repaired Voyager 1 From 15 Billion Miles Away

Engineers have partially restored a 1970s-era computer on NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft after five months of long-distance troubleshooting , building confidence that humanity's first interstellar probe can eventually resume normal operations.

Several dozen scientists and engineers gathered Saturday in a conference room at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, or connected virtually, to wait for a new signal from Voyager 1. The ground team sent a command up to Voyager 1 on Thursday to recode part of the memory of the spacecraft's Flight Data Subsystem (FDS) , one of the probe's three computers.

“In the minutes leading up to when we were going to see a signal, you could have heard a pin drop in the room,” said Linda Spilker, project scientist for NASA's two Voyager spacecraft at JPL. “It was quiet. People were looking very serious. They were looking at their computer screens. Each of the subsystem (engineers) had pages up that they were looking at, to watch as they would be populated.”

Finally, a Breakthrough

Launched nearly 47 years ago, Voyager 1 is flying on an outbound trajectory more than 15 billion miles (24 billion kilometers) from Earth, and it takes 22.5 hours for a radio signal to cover that distance at the speed of light. This means it takes nearly two days for engineers to uplink a command to Voyager 1 and get a response.

In November, Voyager 1 suddenly stopped transmitting its usual stream of data containing information about the spacecraft's health and measurements from its scientific instruments. Instead, the spacecraft's datastream was entirely unintelligible. Because the telemetry was unreadable, experts on the ground could not easily tell what went wrong. They hypothesized the source of the problem might be in the memory bank of the FDS.

There was a breakthrough last month when engineers sent up a novel command to “poke” Voyager 1's FDS to send back a readout of its memory. This readout allowed engineers to pinpoint the location of the problem in the FDS memory . The FDS is responsible for packaging engineering and scientific data for transmission to Earth.

After a few weeks, NASA was ready to uplink a solution to get the FDS to resume packing engineering data. This datastream includes information on the status of the spacecraft—things like power levels and temperature measurements. This command went up to Voyager 1 through one of NASA's large Deep Space Network antennae on Thursday.

Then, the wait for a response. Spilker, who started working on Voyager right out of college in 1977, was in the room when Voyager 1's signal reached Earth on Saturday.

“When the time came to get the signal, we could clearly see all of a sudden, boom, we had data, and there were tears and smiles and high fives,” she told Ars. “Everyone was very happy and very excited to see that, hey, we're back in communication again with Voyager 1. We're going to see the status of the spacecraft, the health of the spacecraft, for the first time in five months.”

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Throughout the five months of troubleshooting, Voyager's ground team continued to receive signals indicating the spacecraft was still alive. But until Saturday, they lacked insight into specific details about the status of Voyager 1.

“It’s pretty much just the way we left it,” Spilker said. “We're still in the initial phases of analyzing all of the channels and looking at their trends. Some of the temperatures went down a little bit with this period of time that's gone on, but we're pretty much seeing everything we had hoped for. And that's always good news.”

Relocating Code

Through their investigation, Voyager's ground team discovered that a single chip responsible for storing a portion of the FDS memory had stopped working, probably due to either a cosmic ray hit or a failure of aging hardware. This affected some of the computer's software code.

“That took out a section of memory,” Spilker said. “What they have to do is relocate that code into a different portion of the memory, and then make sure that anything that uses those codes, those subroutines, know to go to the new location of memory, for access and to run it.”

Only about 3 percent of the FDS memory was corrupted by the bad chip, so engineers needed to transplant that code into another part of the memory bank. But no single location is large enough to hold the section of code in its entirety, NASA said.

So the Voyager team divided the code into sections for storage in different places in the FDS. This wasn't just a copy-and-paste job. Engineers needed to modify some of the code to make sure it will all work together. “Any references to the location of that code in other parts of the FDS memory needed to be updated as well,” NASA said in a statement.

Newer NASA missions have hardware and software simulators on the ground, where engineers can test new procedures to make sure they do no harm when they uplink commands to the real spacecraft. Due to its age, Voyager doesn't have any ground simulators, and much of the mission's original design documentation remains in paper form and hasn't been digitized.

“It was really eyes-only to look at the code,” Spilker said. “So we had to triple check. Everybody was looking through and making sure we had all of the links coming together.”

This was just the first step in restoring Voyager 1 to full functionality. “We were pretty sure it would work, but until it actually happened, we didn't know 100 percent for sure,” Spilker said.

“The reason we didn’t do everything in one step is that there was a very limited amount of memory we could find quickly, so we prioritized one data mode (the engineering data mode), and relocated only the code to restore that mode,” said Jeff Mellstrom, a JPL engineer who leads the Voyager 1 “tiger team” tasked with overcoming this problem.

“The next step, to relocate the remaining three actively used science data modes, is essentially the same,” Mellstrom said in a written response to Ars. “The main difference is the available memory constraint is now even tighter. We have ideas where we could relocate the code, but we haven’t yet fully assessed the options or made a decision. These are the first steps we will start this week.”

It could take “a few weeks” to go through the sections of code responsible for packaging Voyager 1's science data in the FDS, Spilker said.

That will be the key payoff, Spilker said. Voyager 1 and its twin spacecraft, Voyager 2, are the only operating probes flying in the interstellar medium, the diffuse gas between the stars. Their prime missions are long over. Voyager 1 flew by Jupiter and Saturn in 1979 and 1980, then got a gravitational boost toward the outer edge of the Solar System. Voyager 2 took a slower trajectory and encountered Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.

For the past couple of decades, NASA has devoted Voyager's instruments to studying cosmic rays, the magnetic field, and the plasma environment in interstellar space. They're not taking pictures anymore. Both probes have traveled beyond the heliopause, where the flow of particles emanating from the Sun runs into the interstellar medium.

But any scientific data collected by Voyager 1 since November 14 has been lost. The spacecraft does not have the ability to store science data onboard. Voyager 2 has remained operational during the outage of Voyager 1.

Scientists are eager to get their hands on Voyager 1's science data again. “With the results we got on Saturday, we have new confidence that we can put together the pieces we need to now get back the science data,” Spilker said.

“One thing I'm particularly excited about—there's this feature in the Voyager 1 data. We nicknamed it Pressure Front 2,” Spilker said. “Pressure Front 2 is a jump in both the density of the plasma around the spacecraft and the magnetic field. It's lasted for three-and-a-half years.”

“We'd like to see, is this still there?” she continued. “It's different from what we've seen in the past, and we're trying to figure out, is it some influence coming from the Sun, or is it actually something coming from interstellar space that's creating this feature? So we'd like to see it again, get more data, and be able to study it more carefully.”

This story originally appeared on Ars Technica .

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We finally know why NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft stopped communicating — scientists are working on a fix

The first spacecraft to explore beyond the solar system started spouting gibberish late last year. Now, NASA knows why.

NASA engineers have discovered the cause of a communications breakdown between Earth and the interstellar explorer Voyager 1. It would appear that a small portion of corrupted memory exists in one of the spacecraft's computers. 

The glitch caused Voyager 1 to send unreadable data back to Earth, and is found in the NASA spacecraft's flight data subsystem (FDS). That's the system responsible for packaging the probe's science and engineering data before the telemetry modulation unit (TMU) and radio transmitter send it back to mission control. 

The source of the issue began to reveal itself when Voyager 1 operators sent the spacecraft a "poke" on March 3, 2024. This was intended to prompt FDS to send a full memory readout back to Earth.

The readout confirmed to the NASA team that about 3% of the FDS memory had been corrupted, and that this was preventing the computer from carrying out its normal operations.

Related: NASA finds clue while solving Voyager 1's communication breakdown case

Launched in 1977, Voyager 1 became the first human-made object to leave the solar system and enter interstellar space in 2012. Voyager 2 followed its spacecraft sibling out of the solar system in 2018, and is still operational and communicating well with  Earth.

After 11 years of interstellar exploration, in Nov. 2023, Voyager 1's binary code — the computer language it uses to communicate with Earth — stopped making sense. Its 0's and 1's didn't mean anything anymore.

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"Effectively, the call between the spacecraft and the Earth was still connected, but Voyager's 'voice' was replaced with a monotonous dial tone," Voyager 1's engineering team previously  told Space.com .

The team strongly suspects this glitch is the result of a single chip that's responsible for storing part of the affected portion of the FDS memory ceasing to work.

Currently, however, NASA can’t say for sure what exactly caused that particular issue. The chip could have been struck by a high-speed energetic particle from space or, after 46 years serving Voyager 1, it may simply have worn out.

—  Voyager 2: An iconic spacecraft that's still exploring 45 years on

—  NASA's interstellar Voyager probes get software updates beamed from 12 billion miles away

—  NASA Voyager 2 spacecraft extends its interstellar science mission for 3 more years

Voyager 1 currently sits around 15 billion miles (24 billion kilometers) from Earth, which means it takes 22.5 hours to receive a radio signal from it — and another 22.5 hours for the spacecraft to receive a response via the Deep Space Network's antennas. Solving this communication issue is thus no mean feat.

Yet, NASA scientists and engineers are optimistic they can find a way to help FDS operate normally, even without the unusable memory hardware.

Solving this issue could take weeks or even months, according to NASA — but if it is resolved, Voyager 1 should be able to resume returning science data about what lies outside the solar system.

Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more! And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: [email protected].

Robert Lea is a science journalist in the U.K. whose articles have been published in Physics World, New Scientist, Astronomy Magazine, All About Space, Newsweek and ZME Science. He also writes about science communication for Elsevier and the European Journal of Physics. Rob holds a bachelor of science degree in physics and astronomy from the U.K.’s Open University. Follow him on Twitter @sciencef1rst.

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• jcs Funny timing for this article, when I am streaming an old Star Trek movie. So, surely this didn't cause a 3 byte glitch removing the O, Y and A from Voyager's name buffer? Get it? Reply
• bwana4swahili It is quite amazing it has lasted this long in a space environment. Reply

bwana4swahili said: It is quite amazing it has lasted this long in a space environment.

• HankySpanky So now we know even better for next time. Perhaps a spare chipset that is not redundant but is ready to take over, stored in a protective environment. A task NASA can handle. We'll find out in 100 year or so - if humanity still exists. Reply

HankySpanky said: So now we know even better for next time. Perhaps a spare chipset that is not redundant but is ready to take over, stored in a protective environment. A task NASA can handle. We'll find out in 100 year or so - if humanity still exists.

• Classical Motion I'm afraid it might self repair. And download galactic knowledge, then decide we are a danger. And turn around. Reply

Classical Motion said: I'm afraid it might self repair. And download galactic knowledge, then decide we are a danger. And turn around.

• jcs ROFLOL! And a hot bald chick delivering the bad news! Reply
• View All 8 Comments

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Things are finally looking up for the Voyager 1 interstellar spacecraft

I was once sitting with my father while Googling how far away various things in the solar system are from Earth. He was looking for exact numbers, and very obviously grew more invested with each new figure I shouted out. I was thrilled. The moon? On average, 238,855 miles (384,400 kilometers) away. The James Webb Space Telescope? Bump that up to about a million miles (1,609,344 km) away. The sun? 93 million miles (149,668,992 km) away.  Neptune ? 2.8  billion  miles (4.5 billion km) away. "Well, wait until you hear about Voyager 1," I eventually said, assuming he was aware of what was coming. He was not.

"NASA's  Voyager 1  interstellar spacecraft actually isn't even in the solar system anymore," I announced. "Nope, it's more than 15 billion miles (24 billion km)  away from us  — and it's getting even farther as we speak." I can't quite remember his response, but I do indeed recall an expression of sheer disbelief. There were immediate inquiries about how that's even physically possible. There were bewildered laughs, different ways of saying "wow," and mostly, there was a contagious sense of awe. And just like that, a new Voyager 1 fan was born.

It is easy to see why Voyager 1 is among the most beloved robotic space explorers we have — and it is thus easy to understand why so many people felt a pang to their hearts several months ago, when Voyager 1 stopped talking to us.

Related:  After months of sending gibberish to NASA, Voyager 1 is finally making sense again

For reasons unknown at the time, this spacecraft began sending back gibberish in place of the neatly organized and data-rich 0's and 1's it had been providing since its  launch in 1977 . It was this classic computer language which allowed Voyager 1 to converse with its creators while earning the title of "farthest human made object." It's how the spacecraft relayed vital insight that led to the discovery of new Jovian moons and, thanks to this sort of binary podcast, scientists incredibly identified a new ring of Saturn and created the solar system's first and only "family portrait." This code, in essence, is crucial to Voyager 1's very being.

Plus, to make matters worse, the issue behind the glitch turned out to be associated with the craft's Flight Data System, which is literally the system that transmits information about Voyager 1's health so scientists can correct any issues that arise. Issues like this one. Furthermore, because of the spacecraft's immense distance from its operators on Earth, it takes about 22.5 hours for a transmission to reach the spacecraft, and then 22.5 hours to receive a transmission back. Alas, things weren't looking good for a while — for about five months, to be precise.

But then, on April 20, Voyager 1  finally phoned home  with legible 0's and legible 1's.

"The team had gathered early on a weekend morning to see whether telemetry would return," Bob Rasmussen, a member of the Voyager flight team, told Space.com. "It was nice to have everyone assembled in one place like this to share in the moment of learning that our efforts had been successful. Our cheer was both for the intrepid spacecraft and for the comradery that enabled its recovery."

And  then,  on May 22 , Voyager scientists released the welcome announcement that the spacecraft has successfully resumed returning science data from two of its four instruments, the plasma wave subsystem and magnetometer instrument. They're now working on getting the other two, the cosmic ray subsystem and low energy charged particle instrument, back online as well. Though there technically are six other instruments onboard Voyager, those had been out of commission for some time.

The comeback

Rasmussen was actually a member of the Voyager team in the 1970s, having worked on the project as a computer engineer before leaving for other missions including  Cassini , which launched the spacecraft that taught us almost everything we currently know about Saturn. In 2022, however, he returned to Voyager because of a separate dilemma with the mission — and has remained on the team ever since.

"There are many of the original people who were there when Voyager launched, or even before, who were part of both the flight team and the science team," Linda Spilker, a planetary scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, who also worked on the Voyager mission, told Space.com in the This Week from Space podcast on the TWiT network. "It's a real tribute to Voyager — the longevity not only of the spacecraft, but of the people on the team."

To get Voyager 1 back online, in rather cinematic fashion, the team devised a complex workaround that prompted the FDS to send a copy of its memory back to Earth. Within that memory readout, operators managed to discover the crux of the problem — a corrupted code spanning a single chip — which was then remedied through another (honestly,  super interesting ) process to modify the code. On the day Voyager 1 finally spoke again, "you could have heard a pin drop in the room," Spilker said. "It was very silent. Everybody's looking at the screen, waiting and watching." 

Of course, Spilker also brought in some peanuts for the team to munch on — but not just any peanuts. Lucky peanuts. 

It's a longstanding tradition at JPL to have a peanut feast before major mission events like launches, milestones and, well, the possible resurrection of Voyager 1. It  began  in the 1960s, when the agency was trying to launch the Ranger 7 mission that was meant to take pictures of and collect data about the moon's surface. Rangers 1 through 6 had all failed, so Ranger 7 was a big deal. As such, the mission's trajectory engineer, Dick Wallace, brought lots of peanuts for the team to nibble on and relax. Sure enough, Ranger 7 was a success and, as Wallace once said, "the rest is history." 

Voyager 1 needed some of those positive snacky vibes. 

"It'd been five months since we'd had any information," Spilker explained. So, in this room of silence besides peanut-eating-noises, Voyager 1 operators sat at their respective system screens, waiting. 

"All of a sudden it started to populate — the data," Spilker said. That's when the programmers who had been staring at those screens in anticipation leapt out of their seats and began to cheer: "They were the happiest people in the room, I think, and there was just a sense of joy that we had Voyager 1 back."

Eventually, Rasmussen says the team was able to conclude that the failure probably occurred due to a combination of aging and radiation damage by which energetic particles in space bombarded the craft. This is also why he believes it wouldn't be terribly surprising to see a similar failure occur in the future, seeing as Voyager 1 is still roaming beyond the distant boundaries of our stellar neighborhood just like its spacecraft twin,  Voyager 2 .

To be sure, the spacecraft isn't fully fixed yet — but it's lovely to know things are finally looking up, especially with the recent news that some of its science instruments are back on track. And, at the very least, Rasmussen assures that nothing the team has learned so far has been alarming. "We're confident that we understand the problem well," he said, "and we remain optimistic about getting everything back to normal — but we also expect this won't be the last."

In fact, as Rasmussen explains, Voyager 1 operators first became optimistic about the situation just after the root cause of the glitch had been determined with certainty. He also emphasizes that the team's spirits were never down. "We knew from indirect evidence that we had a spacecraft that was mostly healthy," he said. "Saying goodbye was not on our minds."

"Rather," he continued, "we wanted to push toward a solution as quickly as possible so other matters on board that had been neglected for months could be addressed. We're now calmly moving toward that goal."

The future of Voyager's voyage

It can't be ignored that, over the last few months, there has been an air of anxiety and fear across the public sphere that Voyager 1 was slowly moving toward sending us its final 0 and final 1. Headlines all over the internet, one written by  myself included , have carried clear, negative weight. I think it's because even if Voyager 2 could technically carry the interstellar torch post-Voyager 1, the prospect of losing Voyager 1 felt like the prospect of losing a piece of history. 

"We've crossed this boundary called the heliopause," Spilker explained of the Voyagers. "Voyager 1 crossed this boundary in 2012; Voyager 2 crossed it in 2018 — and, since that time, were the first spacecraft ever to make direct measurements of the interstellar medium." That medium basically refers to material that fills the space between stars. In this case, that's the space between other stars and our sun, which, though we don't always think of it as one, is simply another star in the universe. A drop in the cosmic ocean.

"JPL started building the two Voyager spacecraft in 1972," Spilker explained. "For context, that was only three years after we had the first human walk on the moon — and the reason we started that early is that we had this rare alignment of the planets that happens once every  176 years ." It was this alignment that could promise the spacecraft checkpoints across the solar system, including at Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. Those checkpoints were important for the Voyagers in particular. Alongside planetary visits come gravity assists, and gravity assists can help fling stuff within the solar system — and, now we know, beyond.

As the first humanmade object to leave the solar system, as a relic of America's early space program, and as a testament to how robust even decades-old technology can be, Voyager 1 has carved out the kind of legacy usually reserved for remarkable things lost to time.

"Our scientists are eager to see what they’ve been missing," Rasmussen remarked. "Everyone on the team is self-motivated by their commitment to this unique and important project. That's where the real pressure comes from." 

Still, in terms of energy, the team's approach has been clinical and determined. 

"No one was ever especially excited or depressed," he said. "We're confident that we can get back to business as usual soon, but we also know that we're dealing with an aging spacecraft that is bound to have trouble again in the future. That's just a fact of life on this mission, so not worth getting worked up about."

Nonetheless, I imagine it's always a delight for Voyager 1's engineers to remember this robotic explorer occupies curious minds around the globe. (Including my dad's mind now, thanks to me and Google.)

As Rasmussen puts it: "It's wonderful to know how much the world appreciates this mission."

Originally posted on Space.com .

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Best Crypto Exchanges of 2024: A Comprehensive Guide for Investors

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What are Crypto Exchanges?

A cryptocurrency exchange is like an online brokerage for cryptocurrencies , tokens (virtual assets created through existing blockchains), and other digital assets. Many of these exchanges offer investment options for active traders looking to buy, sell, or hold digital assets like bitcoin, ether, and litecoin. 

There are two types of crypto exchanges: centralized and decentralized. Centralized exchanges, which are the most common type, are platforms owned and operated by private companies. Decentralized exchanges are peer-to-peer marketplaces that operate on the blockchain.

Best Crypto Exchanges for 2024

• Coinbase: Best overall
• Robinhood Investing: Best for beginners
• Abra: Best for low fees
• Kraken: Best for futures and margin traders
• CEX.IO: Best cryptocurrency selection
• eToro USA: Best for all types of traders
• Cash App Investing: Best for bitcoin

If you don't want to use your exchange's built-in wallet (if applicable), you'll need to set up an external crypto wallet, such as one of the best bitcoin wallets , to store your assets securely. 

Compare the Top Cryptocurrency Exchanges

The best cryptocurrency exchanges work similarly to the best stock trading apps, offering competitive fees and resources on digital marketplaces like mobile or desktop. Crypto-enthusiasts can easily buy, sell, and store popular digital currencies like bitcoin or Ethereum alongside traditional investable securities. 

Here are the best cryptocurrency exchanges for low fees, human advisor access, and more as picked by Business Insider editors in 2024. 

Best Cryptocurrency Overall

0.50% spread for buy/sell transactions; transaction fee from $0.99 to $2.99; up to 0.60% for Coinbase Pro and Coinbase Advanced Trade

• Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. Buy, sell, or store more than 170 cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and dogecoin
• Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. Educational investment resources, mobile access, digital storage, and customer support
• Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. Low account minimums
• Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. Can earn rewards for certain cryptocurrencies
• Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. Coinbase card lets you spend crypto or USD anywhere and earn crypto rewards; can deposit your paycheck into your account and convert from USD to crypto with no fees
• con icon Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. Pay more for lower balances
• con icon Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. High trading and transaction fees
• con icon Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. Limited staking options

Coinbase is one of the best investment platforms for crypto trading, staking rewards, and crypto storage. The crypto exchange offering nearly 250 coins and tokens and is great for active real investors who can utilize Coinbase's services, account options, and investment tools.

• Promotion: Get $5 of bitcoin when you join Coinbase; earn up to $200 when you set up a new account and make your first purchase
• Features: Coinbase Earn rewards, Coinbase Pro advanced account, user-controlled storage, stablecoins, staking, and institutional trading tools.
• App store rating: 4.7 iOS/ 4.1 Android; Coinbase Pro: 4.7 iOS/ 4.1 Android
• Awards: Named Best Prime Broker in Hedgeweek's annual European Digital Assets Awards

Coinbase is a user-friendly digital marketplace offering bitcoin, ether, litecoin, dogecoin, ripple, and hundreds more coins and tokens. Coinbase also caters to sophisticated investors, institutions, and high-net-worth clients through its Pro, Advanced Trade, and Prime platforms. 

Its beta NFT trading platform currently offers no transaction fees for creators and collectors. Many NFT platforms charge 2.5% per transaction, so Coinbase's offerings are highly competitive in pricing.

What to look out for:  If you regularly use margin accounts to trade, Coinbase isn't the best choice. The exchange doesn't let you temporarily borrow money to trade crypto assets or offer futures (legal contracts that give you a choice to exchange security at a specific price on a forthcoming date).

Coinbase review

Earn 0.01% APY on uninvested cash for non-Gold users and 5.00% for Gold members

$0 ($1 for fractional shares; $2,000 for margin trading)

0% ($5/month for Robinhood Gold)

• Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. Free stock, option, ETF, and cryptocurrency trades; 0.01% APY on uninvested cash for non-Gold users and 5.00% for Gold members
• Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. IPO investing available
• Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. Cash management accounts available
• Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. Website is easy to navigate; advanced charts for all users
• con icon Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. Lack of investing research and trading tools; can only take advantage of professional research if you're a Robinhood Gold member
• con icon Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. No joint accounts, education savings accounts, or mutual funds
• App store rating: 4.2 iOS/4.0 Android
• Consider it if: You want to trade crypto and invest in a wide range of stocks and ETFs.

Robinhood is a great crypto-trading platform for beginner, hands-on investors interested in buying and selling traditional assets like stocks and ETFs alongside cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and ether. It stands out with its no-commission brokerage model, competitive pricing, and easy-to-use interface. 

You can invest in 15 digital currencies without network fees, starting at $1. Additional perks of investing in crypto with Robinhood are fee-free transfers, custom price alerts, advanced charts, custom-built trading strategies, and automated recurring buys. 

Robinhood's cold wallet securely stores you're coins and tokens directly in the app. Account holders will also have access to crime insurance against cybersecurity breaches and theft (underwritten by Llyod's syndicates), plus 24/7 customer support.

What to look out for: Robinhood's crypto selection is smaller than similar investment platforms. It also doesn't offer a wide range of trading tools and doesn't offer an automated trading option.

Robinhood review

$5 minimum deposit; Minimums vary per cryptocurrency

0% (Spread fee built into exchange rates)

• Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. No fees to trade 75+ cryptocurrencies (excluding spread fee)
• Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. Can borrow against crypto holdings, with payback interest rates of 0% to 9.95%
• Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. Can earn up to 10% interest on crypto or USD stablecoins
• Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. Support in 150+ countries with access for 50+ fiat currencies
• con icon Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. No longer available to new US investors
• con icon Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. High fees for Visa or Mastercard transactions
• con icon Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. Limited transparency on the exact exchange spread rates
• Features: 100+ cryptocurrencies, crypto-backed loans, staking, and support for traders in 150+ countries.
• App store rating: 4.6 Apple/4.3 Android

Abra is a global crypto exchange serving individual and institutional traders in over 150 countries. Along with the fact that Abra doesn't charge any trading fees (though it earns income from the spread between different assets), the exchange also stands out due to its expansive selection of crypto products and features.

This includes trading for over 70 cryptocurrencies, interest accounts that let you earn up to 10% on eligible assets, crypto-backed loans, over-the-counter (OTC) trading, and multiple educational guides for beginners. Its OTC services also give institutional clients access to interest-earning accounts, loans, and one-on-one account support.

What to look out for:  Visa and Mastercard transactions have high fees.

Abra review

Depends on cryptocurrency

0% - 0.26% (1.5% for instant buy, sell, or convert orders)

• Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. Can exchange more than 100 crypto assets
• Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. Low account minimums and fees
• Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. Variety of educational resources and tutorials on cryptocurrencies
• Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. Over-the-counter (OTC) trading and account management support available
• con icon Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. No 24/7 phone customer support
• con icon Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. Kraken's futures mobile platform isn't currently available in the US
• con icon Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. Not a personal wallet service
• Features: More than 100 cryptocurrencies, margin and futures trading, OTC trading, account management for HNW individuals and institutional clients, multiple trading platforms, educational resources, and staking rewards.
• App store rating: 4.7 iOS/ 4.2 Android

Kraken offers more than 200 cryptocurrencies and a handful of fair currencies with various options for retail and institutional investors. It is available in more than 190 countries worldwide.

Kraken provides investors with access to trading on margin and futures trading opportunities. With a margin account, you can borrow up to five times your account balance to trade crypto assets. Futures trading is available for bitcoin, ether, litecoin, bitcoin cash, and ripple.

What to look out for:  Kraken's futures mobile platform isn't currently available to US traders. In addition, only institutional and high-net-worth clients can use the exchange's consultation and account management services. 

Kraken review

0.00-0.15% maker fees; 0.01-0.25% taker transaction fee (2.99% deposit)

• Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. 100+ assets, including bitcoin, ethereum, and more (US users can currently trade more than 40 cryptocurrencies)
• Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. Low fees
• Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. Margin trading, staking rewards, crypto-backed loans for individuals
• Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. Institutional services for businesses and advanced traders
• Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. 24/7 customer support and mobile access
• con icon Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. Limited coin options (CEX.IO offers more tokens)
• con icon Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. Staking rewards, crypto-backed loans, and savings features not available for US traders
• con icon Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. Services not available to residents of New York (see a complete list of CEX.IO's geographic restrictions here).
• Promotion: None available at this time.
• Features: More than 100 cryptocurrencies, margin trading, staking rewards, crypto-backed loans, and institutional services.
• App store rating: 4.6 iOS/3.7 Android

CEX.IO is a global crypto exchange supporting traders in most US states. It gives you access to bitcoin and more than 100 other crypto assets.

All users can access CEX.IO's instant buy feature (only for credit and debit card purchases), mobile app, staking rewards, and crypto-backed loans. But more advanced traders might prefer CEX.IO's spot trading feature (this option lets you place different types of crypto market orders) and margin trading accounts. Institutions and businesses can use its aggregator and payment management services. 

It's also important to point out CEX.IO's fee schedule. The exchange has a maker/taker schedule based on your 30-day trading volume. Maker orders can't be executed immediately since there are no other orders to match with them; however, taker orders match immediately, according to CEX.IO.

What to look out for:  Transactions with debit or credit cards can be pricey at CEX.IO.

Earn 4.90% APY on uninvested cash.

$100 (in the USA and UK)

1% when you buy or sell a crypto asset; 0% stocks and ETFs, $2 monthly fee on uninvested cash if your cash balance is under $5k

• Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. Can trade bitcoin, dogecoin, ethereum, Litecoin, and a dozen other popular virtual assets; stock and ETF trading available
• Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. eToro's Copy Portfolios let you follow and copy the portfolios of experienced traders to enhance your investment returns
• Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. Several educational resources
• Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. Web and mobile app access
• con icon Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. Not available to residents of New York, Minnesota, Nevada, Puerto Rico, Tennessee, Hawaii, Guam, American Samoa, Northern Marianas, and the US Virgin Islands (see a full list of its geographic restrictions here)
• con icon Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. Limited selection of cryptocurrencies (eToro USA currently offers over 25)

eToro USA is a popular cryptocurrency exchange and investment platform that is best suited for beginners interested in automatic investing tools, Smart Portfolio options, crypto wallet storage, and more. But its crypto selection is fairly limited compared to other crypto exchanges.

• Earn 4.90% APY on uninvested cash but if your cash balance is under $5k, you'll pay a $2 monthly fee
• Features: Dogecoin and more cryptocurrencies, CopyTrader system, Copy Portfolios, and eToro Trading Academy
• App store rating: 4.6 iOS/ 4.3 Android
• Cash is FDIC insured for up to $5 million with partner banks

The eToro USA crypto exchange offers a highly secure and easily navigable interface that gives you access to over 20 crypto assets. The platform offers something that many crypto exchanges don't — stock and ETF trading. Users can exchange both full and fractional shares of stocks and ETFs without commissions. 

Regarding trading, you can either take the DIY approach or use one of eToro's two hands-off options. The first, known as the CopyTrader ™ system, allows you to mirror the investment portfolios of other successful traders. US clients can only mimic other US investors' portfolios.

The second option is SmartPortfolios. The exchange offers access to four pre-built portfolios — CryptoEqual, CryptoPortfolio, Crypto-currency, and TheTIE-LongOnly SmartPortfolio — that eToro regularly rebalances for you.

What to look out for: eToro doesn't support traders in New York, Minnesota, Nevada, Puerto Rico, Tennessee, Hawaii, Guam, American Samoa, Northern Marianas, and the US Virgin Islands.

eToro USA review

Best Cryptocurrency Exchange for Bitcoin

Offers commission-free trading of stock and ETFs

$0 ($1 for access to fractional shares)

• Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. Banking and investing on one platform
• Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. Commission-free trading of stock and ETFs
• Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. Gift stocks to friends and family
• con icon Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. Doesn’t offer IRAs, custodial accounts, or margin trading
• con icon Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. Limited resources and tools
• con icon Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. Doesn’t offer cryptocurrencies other than bitcoin
• con icon Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. Doesn’t trade mutual funds, options, or futures

Cash App Investing is a beginner-friendly platform for banking and investing on the go. If you’re looking for simplified, low-cost trading, Cash App may be worth looking into. However, other low-cost investing apps for beginners offer more investment options, more account options, and better resources.

Cash App Investing is a user-friendly trading platform offering commission-free trades of more than 1,800 stocks and ETFs. When you link or Cash App balance in the mobile app, novice crypto investors easily buy, sell, send, and receive bitcoin. You can even designate a specific portion of your paycheck to be converted into bitcoin when you set up direct deposits. 

Send bitcoin to your friends fee-free with Cash App's Lightning Network features. Cash App also provides an in-app custodial wallet to store your bitcoin assets. You can start trading with as little as $1.

What to look out for: Cash App Investing only offers bitcoin. Consider other top cryptocurrency platforms if you want to invest in other cryptocurrencies like ether or dogecoin. 

Cash App Investing review

How to Choose the Best Crypto Exchange

The best crypto exchanges offer competitive pricing for various cryptocurrencies beyond bitcoin and ether and prioritize user experiences with an intuitive interface, clear platform navigation, and mobile app access. Trustworthy crypto trading platforms are licensed and compliant with industry regulations.

You should choose a cryptocurrency exchange that aligns with your preferences, like your risk tolerance, time horizon, preferred trading features, and investment goals. Additionally, ensure the exchange you pick matches your preferred trading style. For example, if you're a hands-off trader, you should pick a platform equipped with automated trading features and tools. 

FAQs About Crypto Exchanges

In general, cryptocurrency exchanges are not as secure or as closely regulated as other investment platforms. The crypto world has been subject to numerous frauds, scams, and bankruptcies. Most crypto platforms have an F rating from the BBB. But that doesn't guarantee whether the platform will be good for you. Some exchanges, like Coinbase, have built strong trustworthiness reputations by compiling with regulatory practices and enforcing security protocols. 

You must have a crypto wallet to buy and sell cryptocurrencies through an exchange. Most platforms have built-in wallet storage. If you don't want to use your exchange's built-in wallet (if applicable), you'll need to set up an external crypto wallet, such as one of the best bitcoin wallets , to store your assets securely. 

For tax purposes, cryptocurrencies are considered property by the IRS, similar to stocks and bonds. Typically, you'll be taxed when you sell or trade crypto for more than you originally bought it. The tax rate varies depending on how long it was held before you sold it. Short-term capital gains of less than a year are taxed at your regular income tax rate. Long-term gains are generally taxed at a lower rate but can change based on your income level. 

Why You Should Trust Us: Our Expert Panel For The Best Cryptocurrency Exchanges

We interviewed the following investing experts to see what they had to say about cryptocurrency exchanges.

• Sandra Cho , RIA, wealth manager, and CEO of Pointwealth Capital Management
• Tessa Campbell , Investment and retirement reporter at Personal Finance Insider

What are the advantages/disadvantages of investing through a cryptocurrency exchange?

Sandra Cho:

"The advantages to investing through a cryptocurrency exchange are the ease of trading and functionality. These exchanges are built for cryptocurrency are are made as such.

"The disadvantages, however, are important. Recently, several cryptocurrency exchanges have gone under, and investors have lost significant amounts of money. Given that this industry and asset class is still relatively new, there are unique risks that are nor present in traditional investments like stock and bonds. Investing through a cryptocurrency leaves you at the will of the exchange itself, which has a non-zero possibility of going defunct."

Tessa Campbell: 

"Investing through a cryptocurrency exchange offers several advantages, including access to real-time market data and research, trading strategies, and multiple cryptocurrency options to add to individual brokerage accounts, retirement accounts, and more.

"Some disadvantages include high trading fees, limited resources, and frequent fraudulent activity. These platforms are often criticized for their inadequate security measures, risky trading, and subpar customer support."

Who should consider investing through a crypto exchange?

"Investors with an extremely high-risk tolerance and those that understand the inherent risks in investing through cryptocurrency exchanges may want to consider using an exchange. However, they should be wary of the risks and the lack of oversight that is apparent in the industry."

Tessa Campbell:

"You may want to consider investing through a crypto exchange if you're primarily focused on trading crypto and other decentralized currencies. Moreover, you'll want to have a high investing risk tolerance and a hands-on trading approach."

Is there any advice you'd offer someone who's considering investing in cryptocurrencies through a crypto investment app?

"I would tell them to first potentially reconsider dealing with cryptocurrencies at all. The asset class is extremely volatile and unregulated. If they insisted, I would then tell them to do their research on the relevant exchanges and choose the one that is safest and best backed. As mentioned, many crypto exchanges have gone under recently, which is a huge risk to the investor."

"Make sure you fully understand the risks involved in purchasing highly volatile cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, ether, or dogecoin. You should also ensure that the cryptocurrency exchange you're investing through is free of scams, bad business practices, or public scandals. One way to check this is with the Better Business Bureau's grading system."

Our Methodology: How We Rated the Best Cryptocurrency Exchanges

We applied Business Insider's rating methodology for investing platforms to over a dozen exchanges to find the best options for cryptocurrency availability, low fees, asset/account security, user interfaces, and mobile access. Investment platforms are given a rating between 0 and 5.

We also explored whether exchanges offered services both for individuals and institutions, and we paid close attention to other account options like staking rewards, margin trading, and Stablecoin support.

Watch: What is crypto, and is it making a comeback?

• Main content

• The Contents
• The Making of
• Where Are They Now
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Q & A with Ed Stone

golden record

Where are they now.

• frequently asked questions
• Q&A with Ed Stone