I came across tradeup.net through a detailed review by a trader friend. The other exchanges I mentioned I’ve known about for a while, mostly from other reviews too.
Do you have a trader friend? You can ask them for help with trading, at least some basic analysis techniques. It will help if you're close enough with your friend.
Regarding trading exchanges, if your country has a legal exchange platform, you can try it first with fiat after learning a few things.
If not, to avoid the risk of losing money after depositing, choose an exchange with the best reviews. After browsing several, try to find the one that's most convenient for you. I use Binance.
We’re not super close — just chat now and then, and I follow his channel. That’s why I haven’t really bombarded him with newbie questions 😅 But yeah, good point about checking local exchanges first. Really appreciate the advice!