For some of us we choose a particular exchange because they have a good reputation, no KYC policy, a competitive commission rate, excellent UI or something else...
Why do you use the exchange you do?
different exchanges for different purposes:
-coinbase pro for fiat gateway. they have ultra fast free bank transfers and i've been verified for years already.
-kucoin and binance because no-KYC accounts and low fees (0.1% or less on each side).
-bitmex for leveraged futures. i would prefer kumex (kucoin) because they openly allow USA customers but bitmex is necessary for the liquidity.
to hedge BTC/USD value i usually trade USDC on binance/kucoin. when i want to cash out, i transfer USDC to coinbase pro and convert to USD. that saves me 0.4% per trade.
What would be the key issues that might or will make you choose an alternative exchange to start trading on?
KYC implementation. coinbase pro is the only exchange i'm verified on. i would prefer to avoid it anywhere else. i don't trust exchanges to protect my data. plus, the less data they have to hand over to the IRS etc the better.