Thanks this is great input and apologies for posting on wrong discussion forum.
Don't worry, it's not such a big deal. There is a "Move Topic" button (I usually click it on the bottom of the page, bottom-left side) you can use to move it to the right board although I am not sure whether your current rank allows moving topics.
I've heard about Kraken years ago when I was intensely following an altcoin project, but haven't heard very much of it. Here is my personal suggestion:
First of all, there are two kinds of exchanges: centralized and decentralized. Centralized ones are more convenient, but pose lots of risks and privacy issues. They are easy to use but most of them collect your personal data and send it to authorities and intelligence for various purposes. Moreover, most of them nowadays have KYC policies which means that, depending on the exchange you're going to use, you may wake up one day having your account locked until you provide the exchange personal details such as ID card, passport, selfie pictures or whatever they request.
There's more to it than that - exit scams are a thing, some exchanges get hacked and lots of users are affected. Decentralized ones are not perfect, don't get me wrong! But I prefer less convenience over privacy and security of my funds. I have been staying away from centralized exchanges specifically for these purposes. Some of them have been abusive in my case and I have lost money because I was not willing to provide them personal documents.
Ever since the last abuse, I have moved definitively to decentralized exchanges. They are only a little bit less convenient, the list of coins is probably much smaller than Kraken's, there aren't a
lot of offers and trades may take from a few minutes to hours. But remember one thing: the more users there are on the exchange, the more convenient and closer to the feeling of a currently centralized one it gets! Decentralized = peer-to-peer. It's like us exchanging Bitcoin and Ethereum between us with an escrow, but the escrow is the exchange itself.
Two DEXs (Decentralized Exchanges) I usually recommend are Atomic DEX and Bisq. Atomic DEX is my favorite one as it's very simplistic (as long as you know how to use a mobile wallet, you're basically good to go!) and trades are usually done within 15 mins. Bisq may be a bit harder for you if you are new to the crypto space (and I guess you are), but once you get the hang of it you'll love it!
Centralized exchanges are good for traders. If timing is vital for your trades, then decentralized exchanges are not the best solution (although Waves Exchange allows you to do trades much faster but I believe it is not fully decentralized). For centralized exchanges, Binance is the most popular one. But still, I advise you to give DEXs a try too! Good luck
