The current @steemitblog challenge is to write about our favorite exchanges.

My primary interest is with utility tokens. So, I am 100% powered up and will be HODLing on to my STEEM until I become a dolphin. (NOTE: I have withdrawn money for the purpose of creating communities and various tests ... I also employ @dustsweeper.)

Since I am interested in utility tokens, my favorite exchanges are steem-engine and the internal exchange.

I enjoy playing the internal exchange. I prefer to receive my rewards as a 50/50 SP/SBD split as an excuse to play the internal market.

My only complaint with the internal market is that while I have a need to buy STEEM with SBD, I rarely have a need to buy SBD for STEEM.

That same complaint lies with the tokens on Steem Engine. Such tokens are often given as rewards; so I don't see a compelling reason to buy any of them.

I've built up a fortune of 293 STEEM over the last several years. I will be HODLing on to this steem until I have 5000. I average under four cents a post; So, I suspect it will take another seven to ten years of posting on SteemIt before I reach my investment goals.

I am interested in decentralized finance. When I get to the position where I've reached my power up goal, I will probably use swap the tokens about through decentralized mechanisms.

I recently used a decentralized program called Swap App to move HIVE into my STEEM account. Most people who joined SteemIt before March were airdropped a HIVE account. Swapping money is just a matter of transferring funds from my wallet to @swap.app with a memo directing where the money goes.

Swap.app lets users send STEEM to a BTC address, but does not have a reverse transaction.

All of the big exchanges are, by the very nature of exchanges, centralized. If one's goal is to play with utility tokens while supporting decentralized commerce, I actually believe that it is best to used decentralized tools to move the funds about.

I created a coinbase account for its BTC wallet when I joined SteemIt. As there is no direct way to move tokens between steemit and coinbase, I decided to open a Bittrex account as well.

Both my Bittrex and Coinbase wallets are empty. Oh well.

I believe the most important attribute of a wallet is that the company should have a physical and legal presence in the country where one lives. That way, if things go wrong, you can take legal action against the exchange.

I still believe the real action will occur if people start accepting crypto in regular day to day activities.

The current @steemitblog challenge is to write about our favorite exchanges.

My primary interest is with utility tokens. So, I am 100% powered up and will be HODLing on to my STEEM until I become a dolphin. (NOTE: I have withdrawn money for the purpose of creating communities and various tests ... I also employ @dustsweeper.)

Since I am interested in utility tokens, my favorite exchanges are steem-engine and the internal exchange.

I enjoy playing the internal exchange. I prefer to receive my rewards as a 50/50 SP/SBD split as an excuse to use the exchanges.

Since I am interested in utility tokens, I like exchanges geared toward utility exchanges and ecommerce.

I've built up a fortune of 293 STEEM over the last several years. I will be HODLing on to this steem until I have 5000. I average under four cents a post; So, I suspect it will take another seven to ten years of posting on SteemIt before I get into the situation where I consider withdrawing funds.

Since I am interested in decentralized finance, I think I will be more likely to use decentralized programs to shift my funds about.

I recently used a decentralized program called Swap App to move HIVE into my STEEM account. Most people who joined SteemIt before March were airdropped a HIVE account. Swapping money is just a matter of transferring funds from my wallet to @swap.app with a memo directing where the money goes.

Swap.app lets users send STEEM to a BTC address, but does not have a reverse transaction.

All of the big exchanges are, by the very nature of exchanges, centralized. If one's goal is to play with utility tokens while supporting decentralized commerce, I actually believe that it is best to used decentralized tools to move the funds about.

I created a coinbase account when I joined SteemIt. As there is no direct way to move tokens between steemit and coinbase, I decided to open a Bittrex account as well.

Both my Bittrex and Coinbase wallets are empty. Oh well.

I believe the most important attribute of a wallet is that the company should have a physical and legal presence in the country where you live. That way, if things go wrong, you can take legal action against the exchange.

I still believe the real action will occur if people start accepting crypto in regular day to day activities.

Of course since I still have seven to ten years of blogging on SteemIt before I reach my goal of becoming a dolphin (a dolphin has $800 in STEEM); I suspect that the crypto landscape will change radically before I have need of an exchange.

My thoughts on the different exchanges and wallets I use.

1. The Internal Exchange is a hoot. But I rarely have a need to sell STEEM for SBD.

2. I like Steem-Engine but don't see a compelling reason to buy and of the tokens.

3. I have a coinbase account. I was not able to log in today and I don't know a good path for moving funds between Coinbase and STEEM.

4. Bittrex has a better design than Coinbase and has trading pairs that involve STEEM.

5. I really like swap.app as it allows trades between STEEM, LEO, HIVE and BTC. I will always chose this class of decentralized exchange over a centralized one.

Having spent a few hours contemplating exchanges, I actually came to a very bizarre conclusion. The best exchange is the informal network that people make between family, friends, coworkers and local small businesses. If you know people interested in crypto; then the informal trades that you make with your friends are the best and most productive trades.

PS: Dear curator, I decide to switch from 100% powerup for this post back to the 50/50 split so that I can get SBD that I must trade thru an exchange.