The Top 5 Best and Worst Translated Crypto Exchanges
Tags: Ethereum, Crypto, Exchange, Cryptocurrency

When choosing which crypto exchange to trade on, many factors go into this decision, one being which language you speak and the country in which you are located. If you’re a native-English-speaking US citizen, and you’re highly involved in the crypto sphere, you know that most crypto exchanges aren’t located in the US or in a native-English speaking country, and many of them aren’t run by native English speakers. So we’ve decided to analyze some of the top crypto exchanges to find the 5 best and worst crypto exchanges when it comes to the English language.

For this, it’s best to discuss the criteria used for this ‘study’. Basically, the first thing we looked at was where the exchange is based because obviously, we’re looking at how well the site is translated into English or written in English. We decided to look at exchanges not based in a native-English speaking country as those are the exchanges that are less likely to be run by native English speakers. Once it’s known that the exchange is not based in a native-English speaking country, we decided to analyze things that are generally read by users such as the FAQ section, terms of use/service, support, and other miscellaneous things like blogs and number of other languages supported.

The criteria used to analyze a website is as follows:

Grammar mistakes Correct vocabulary Punctuation General syntax Understandability Miscellaneous Extras

So with that out of the way, let’s get to the juicy bit, which exchanges are the best and the worst for English?

The Best

1. UPbit (South Korea)

In the fifth position, we have UPbit, an exchange that operates mainly in Southeast Asia but is based in South Korea. The crypto exchange’s legal documents are all professional and completely understandable, and their FAQ section is comprehensive and sounds like a native speaker wrote it, with one or two possible mistakes. In all, the English on the website is well-done and the tone of voice is completely professional. They also offer the website in Korean as well as Indonesian. They have a relatively new blog in English as well as all of their socials are run in English.

2. BitMart (The Cayman Islands)

Taking the next spot is BitMart, an exchange registered in the Cayman Islands but which has offices throughout the world. Again, as with all of the top spot holders, the English on their website sounds as a native speaker would, the FAQ section is well-organized and thorough, and all of their social media are run in superb English. BitMart takes the fourth spot over UPbit because their website seems to be more comprehensive, they run more active social media in English, as well they have several social media available in other languages. They also offer more languages on their website as they offer 8 languages in total.

3. Liquid by Quoine (Japan)

In third place, we have Liquid by Quoine. The liquid is a Japan-based exchange and has earned a spot in the top three for its use of English on its site. Not only does the English read as native-level, it has its own style which lends the website an inspiring tone and sets it apart from those in the fourth and fifth spot because they took some extra liberties to play with the English a bit and not just have the translation be brief and professional, utilitarian-like. They offer 5 languages on their website as well as run an active YouTube channel in English.

4. Huobi (China)

Our runner-up is Huobi, a crypto exchange based in China. We won’t lie, we were very impressed when we clicked onto their website because the English was incredible; it was well-written, flawless, professional, and flowed well. Their FAQ section is well-organized and the English were clearly either written by a native speaker or translated and proofread by one. Huobi is offered in 13 different languages and runs a blog on Medium mostly in English, but also sometimes writes articles in one of the other 12 languages available.

5. Binance (First based in China, then Japan, and now currently in Malta)

Taking the top spot is none other than Binance, one of, if not the most, well-known crypto exchanges on the market today. From the immediate first contact you have with the website, it's immediately understood that the website was written by a native speaker. Binance has been in English since the beginning and has many offices around the world (including in the US), so it’s not hard to conceive that the English on their website would be flawless. Binance only takes the top spot over Huobi because it’s available in 14 different languages, one more than Huobi. Binance also runs an active blog teeming with press releases, weekly reports, as well as other interesting subjects.

The Worst

5. IDAX (Mongolia)

Not the worst out of the bunch, the IDAX exchange based in Mongolia takes spot to number five because taking a look at the first page and then through the FAQs, the countless mistakes will hit you straight away. Despite the mistakes, the website is mostly understandable and the FAQ section includes lots of visuals, so they made sure to cross their i’s and dot their t’s where their faulty English was concerned. But it still takes the fifth spot because their English could be a lot better and more concise.

4. p2pb2b (Estonia)

The next spot down is occupied by Estonian exchange p2pb2b. This exchange’s web page and FAQ section contain more mistakes than IDAX’s and therefore ranked higher on the worst list. This exchange uses many pictures as well, so if you don’t exactly understand the English, you can always follow along with the visuals.

3. FatBTC (The Seychelles)

Our bronze medalist, FatBTC, is a Seychelles-registered crypto exchange. They take spot number 3 for the sheer fact that, what little written material they do have on their site is riddled with spelling, grammar, and punctuation mistakes. Their website is confusing and it’s not clear where to go if you’re looking for a FAQ section. Once you find it (hint: it’s in the ‘Help Center’), you probably won’t find what you need, and this leads us to worry that their customer service might not be that great and you might encounter language barriers.

4. ZB.COM (China)

One of China’s biggest exchanges, ZB.COM surprisingly came in second on the worst list. The website is simply swamped with weird grammar mistakes, a multitude of spelling mistakes, and the syntax is clearly not a native speaker. That being said, the website does at least try to have a plethora of information for English speakers available. That being said, it might take some time to figure out what all of it is saying.

1. Sistemkoin (Turkey)

This was, honestly, the funniest encounter during the research period. We clicked onto this Turkey-based exchange’s site and the first page is translated flawlessly, so we were expecting that this might even be a contender for the top spot on the best exchanges list… until we clicked farther into their site looking for their FAQs and found that nothing else is translated from Turkish, only the first page. So basically, the Sistemkoin exchange wins the award for the worst translated exchange because it’s not really translated at all. Hopefully, sometime in the future they’ll have the entire exchange in English and we can review it, but until then it will hold the top spot for the worst translated exchange.

Disclaimer: We’re not commenting, at all, on on the actual quality of the exchange, just how well the English can be understood on the site and how comprehensive the site’s offering is in English.

So, after having to look at a countless number of exchanges to ascertain how good the English are, we noticed some common themes and translation (or simply English) mistakes that were made are:

Using the wrong tense

English verb tenses are proliferated and nuanced. We have rules for which tense to use, but those rules then come with about 3 million exceptions (exaggerating, but you get it). The problem here, is usually an only native speaker or near-native speaker understands and can maneuver those nuances, which is why a native speaker can tell when you’ve had your work translated, or it was at least written by a non-native speaker.

Using too many big words

The more big words you use, the smarter you sound. Makes sense, right? Well actually, no. Big words usually come with a nuance such as we only use that word after a certain word, or only in a specific context. This means that if you translate, or have a non-native write your content, native speakers read it and understand it wasn’t written by a native because you’ve used too many big words and not in the right way. Sometimes the simplest option is actually the best option, so consider it before using large, academic words.

Forgetting articles or adding ‘the’ in too many places

An easy tell to know if a text was translated or proofread by a native speaker is article use. Are there missing articles? Is the word ‘the’ added in seemingly random places? If the answer to one or both of these questions is yes, then chances are a native English speaker will pick up immediately that the text wasn’t written by a native.

Legal document translation

Almost all of the crypto exchanges we reviewed had all of their legal documents translated, which is something that we would recommend at the very least. Making sure your English users (native and non-native) can fully understand the legal terms with which they are using the exchange is crucial and can help prevent future mix-ups and problems.

That being said, no website was so singularly horrible in their English that it couldn’t be understood through some tough, thorough thought. As we said, most exchanges definitely had all of their legal documents professionally translated or written by a native speaker, but then when you went to click on the support sections or the FAQs, the English disintegrated and became confusing.

There were also many other exchanges considered that had many mistakes, but proportionally less than those mentioned. All are generally understood to a native English speaker but even then, the problem that not having clear English presents is that if you only offer a few languages, English tends to be the default language for foreigners who don’t speak any of the other languages offered. Clear, concise, and understandable English can help attract foreigners to your exchange that wouldn’t come if they couldn’t understand the English available. You’re only doing yourself, your team, and your exchange a favor by having your exchange professionally translated or, at the very least, proofread.

And if you need any help proofreading or translating your exchange, look no further than PolyTranslate.