CEX.IO Review

CEX.IO began operations in 2013 as a Bitcoin exchange and cloud mining provider. As of January 2015 the cloud mining operations were shuttered and CEX.IO operates only as a cryptocurrency exchange. This CEX.IO review will take a look at what the crypto exchange has to offer and whether or not it is worth using their platform.

What is CEX.IO?

CEX.IO is a cryptocurrency exchange based in the United Kingdom with offices in the United States, Cyprus, Gibraltar and Ukraine. They are registered with FinCEN and adhere to KYC and AML policies. CEX.IO offers both a trading platform and a brokerage service for the buying, selling and trading of a variety of cryptocurrencies. They are available to countries from all around the world with the exception of the following countries which aren’t supported:

• Afghanistan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Burundi, Central African Republic, Cuba, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Guam, Guyana, Guinea Bissau, Iran, Iraq, Japan, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Lebanon, Libya, Mali, Pakistan, Puerto Rico, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, Uganda, US Virgin Islands, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Yemen and Zimbabwe

CEX.IO is available in the U.S except the states of New York, Texas and Virginia.

Both fiat-to-crypto and crypto-to-crypto transactions can be made at CEX.IO. The fiat currencies accepted are USD, EUR, GBP and RUB. Deposits can be made using cryptocurrency, credit/debit cards, bank transfers (ACH, SEPA, or SWIFT), Skrill (EUR and GBP), Epay, Qiwi and Advcash.

In order to buy and trade cryptocurrencies at CEX.IO you will need to open an account. This is a relatively simple process that consists of the following steps:

• Go to the registration page by clicking the “Create Account” button in the upper-right corner
• Provide your email address a password, select your country of residence from the drop-down list and accept the CEX.IO Terms of Use and Privacy Policy
• Click “Create Account”
• Confirm your email address by clicking the “Confirm email” button in the mail sent to your email account
• Provide your name and date of birth
• Click “Next” to complete account setup.

Once you have created an account CEX.IO login is just a matter of clicking the “Sign in” button and entering your email address and password. This is the basic account and you will be limited to $100 daily deposit and withdrawals.

There are an additional 4 four account types at CEX.IO that will provide higher limits and access to additional service by completing different verification processes:

• Identity: Up to $3000 daily deposits and $10,000 daily withdrawals
• Address: Up to $10000 daily deposits and $50,000 daily withdrawals
• Enhanced: Unlimited deposits and withdrawals and additional payment methods available
• Corporate:  Unlimited deposits and withdrawals. Top-tiered account for enterprises

CEX.IO Fees

There are a number of fees users of CEX.IO will have to pay for various transactions. There is a 2.99% fee for deposits made using Visa and MasterCard debit and credit cards. The deposit fee is 3.99% for Skrill and 0.99% for Qiwi.

Withdrawal fees for Visa are 2.5% + $1.20 service charge and a commission up to $3.80. For MasterCard the service charge is 1.8% + $1.20 and commission is 1.2% + $3.80. SWIFT withdrawal fees are 0.3% + $/€/£25. Qiwi withdrawal fee is 3.99% with Skrill and Epay both having 1% withdrawal fees.

The trading platform at CEX.IO uses a maker/taker fee schedule. The highest fee you will pay is a maker fee of 0.16% and a taker fee of 0.25%. The fees will decrease as trading volume goes up. This is a competitive fee and in-line with other crypto trading platforms.

Looking at CEX.IO vs Coinbase fees, credit card fees are less at CEX.IO while Coinbase has the better exchange fee.

CEX.IO Services

CEX.IO offers a number of different services traders and investors can take advantage of. These include:

 Instant Buy:  This is CEX.IO’s brokerage service. Users can buy cryptocurrencies with one of the accepted fiat currencies with a couple of clicks. CEX.IO has made the process very simple so even new users will have no difficulty understanding it but they do charge a 7% fee. As the service is based on Fill-or-Kill orders the customer is assured that they will receive not less than the agreed amount of crypto for the agreed price.

• CEX.IO Trading Platform: The trading platform is better suited to more experienced traders who want to trade using market and limit orders. Users are able to analyze price charts and make crypto-crypto transactions as well as crypto-fiat.
• CEX.IO Broker: CEX.IO Broker is a service for margin trading. Users can trade cryptocurrency Contracts for Difference (CFDs) with up to 100x leverage. With CFDs rather than trading the actual cryptocurrency you are trading the difference in price between your entry and exit points.
• CEX.IO Loans: Get a CEX.IO loan secured by using your cryptocurrency as collateral
• CEX.IO Staking: Hold selected coins and tokens in your account and earn rewards. The current cryptocurrencies available for staking are Free TON, Zilliqa, Ontology, Tezos, Polkadot, NEO, MATIC, Cosmos, Cardano, MetaHash and Tron. Depending on the cryptocurrency, estimated annual returns range from 3% to 20%. CEX.IO Staking is currently not available to residents of the U.S.

Crypto Loan

One of the services offered by CEX.IO is crypto lending. Borrowers can obtain loans ranging from $500 all the way up to $100,000 automatically based on their collateral but it is possible to request a higher amount. The interest rates on a BTC loan begin at 8% and LTV varies from 30% to 60%. The minimum term for loans is 7 days. To get a loan your account will also have to be verified to the Address stage.

Cryptocurrency Exchange

The CEX.IO cryptocurrency exchange allows users to by crypto using either fiat currencies or cryptocurrencies. There are a variety of payment methods available including bank and wire transfers, credit/debit cards, Skrill, Epay, Qiwi and Advcash.

CEX.IO Withdrawal

You can withdraw from your CEX.IO account in fiat currency or cryptocurrency. The amount you can withdraw at CEX.IO depends on the method being used and the verification tier of your account. Using Visa the minimum withdrawal amount is $20 and the maximum is $50,000. Minimum withdraw for MasterCard is $20 and the maximum is $2500. Without verifying your account you are limited to withdrawing $100 per day.

The process for withdrawing cryptocurrency from your CEX.IO account to another wallet is easy.

 Open the Finance page and click the “Withdrawal” button next to the cryptocurrency you with to withdraw.

• Enter the amount you want to withdraw
• Provide the destination wallet address
• After double-checking that all information is correct put a checkmark to confirm it
• Click the “Withdraw” button and enter the 2FA code
• A confirmation email will be sent to you. Confirm the transaction by following the link in the email. The confirmation link expires after 30 minutes
•  
• After confirming the transaction it will be sent to the blockchain and once confirmed by the blockchain the funds will be credited to your wallet.

 The procedures for withdrawing fiat currencies vary depending on the method being used. Details for each method are available on the CEX.IO site.

Cryptocurrencies

There are currently around 80 cryptocurrencies supported by CEX.IO. Bitcoin, Ethereum, Cardano, Tether, Ripple, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, Link, Stellar, Tron and Dash are some of the better known cryptos that are available on the platform. Although the selection of cryptocurrencies isn’t as large as at some exchanges, most of the better known and popular coins are supported.

Is CEX.IO Safe?

CEX.IO holds customers crypto funds in cold storage and custody accounts. They make use of full data encryption and two-factor authentication. In addition they hold a PCI DSS certificate which indicates CEX.IO has met certain requirements relating to its handling of customers’ credit card information. They adhere to KYC and AML requirements and are registered with FinCEN. CEX.IO is a safe exchange to trade on.