On-chain and infrastructure choices for Bitcoin trading - what are you seeing?

Been looking at a few different venues for scaling up some spot $BTC exposure and honestly, the landscape for infrastructure is still all over the place. On the one hand, you've got the big names with deeper liquidity, but their fee structures can get gnarly for anything other than large blocks. Then you've got the smaller, more niche shops that might offer better spreads or specific on-chain analytics integration, but I'm always wary of payout reliability and general operational stability with those. KYC/AML is also a mess; some places want your blood type, others just a selfie, and the timeframes are all over the map.

My main concern right now isn't the price action itself, that's just market noise. It's really about finding a setup that allows for efficient entry/exit without getting bled dry by hidden fees or, worse, getting stuck during a volatility spike because a provider can't handle the load. Anyone else spending more time vetting their broker/exchange than actually trading $BTC lately? What criteria are you prioritizing outside of just 'low fees'?