If you’re stuck at home trying to find new ways to make money online, why not join the cryptocurrency revolution? With countries around the world announcing massive stimulus programs to support the economy during the COVID-19 pandemic, the financial endgame is upon us.
As countries start to monetize deficits and pump that money into stock markets, no-one knows how the market will respond to this financial move. A sudden loss of faith in central banking due to a hyperinflationary event could send the global financial system into a death spiral.
In this case, owning alternative financial instruments, such as cryptocurrency, can help you protect your wealth. Buying and selling cryptocurrency is a great way to earn money and increase your wealth, using an alternative financial instrument.
In this article, we’ll unpack the offering from CEX.io, one of the world’s oldest cryptocurrency exchanges.
What Is the CEX.io Exchange?
Founded in 2013, CEX.io is one of the most established crypto exchanges. It’s a popular BTC marketplace, and it also offers a full trading platform and brokerage. You get access to all the major cryptos, including BTC, BCH, ETH, and XRP.
As a newcomer to the site, you have the option of using the trading platform or the brokerage. Unless you’re a skilled day trader, then we recommend you start with the brokerage option. Trading without a strategy is like gambling, and you’ll lose all your money quickly if you take a chance on something you don’t understand.
How Do You Start with CEX.io?
CEX.io is one of the few exchanges that allow you to purchase cryptocurrency using your credit card. Other options for funding your account include wire transfer, SEPA transfer for EU residents, or ACH transfer for US residents.
With CEX.io, you have two options for purchasing cryptocurrency.
CEX.io Brokerage Service
The brokerage service on offer at CEX.io is a unique way to make money buying and selling crypto.
With the brokerage service, you open an account, and the CEX.io trading team trades cryptocurrencies on your behalf. However, it’s important to note that the fees involved with the brokerage are quite high and come with a significant premium.
The brokerage utilizes Fill-or-Kill orders (otherwise known as FOK orders). These orders execute immediately, with no lag, and they get a complete fill each time. This order type is different from the traditional limit, market, or stop orders you place on a trading platform.
As a result, beginners get an excellent way to make money through trading BTC or other cryptos, with less risk involved than trading yourself on the open exchange. You don’t need to complete a trading course or understand how the markets work to use the CEX.io brokerage.
However, the downside of using the brokerage is the high fees involved with trades. The difference between trading yourself and utilizing the brokerage can amount to an extra 7% of the transaction in fees. That’s a considerable charge, but it’s worthwhile if you don’t have the first clue about trading the crypto markets.
CEX.io Trading Platform
If you’re an experienced day trader, then you’ll enjoy the CEX.io trading platform. The trading fees are much lower than using the brokerage. At 0.25%, they aren’t the cheapest fees, with other platforms like Binance offering 0.01%. However, it’s a 6.75% saving on the fees charged by the brokerage.
The CEX.io trading platform is reasonably functional, with tools for technical analysis, and the ability to change to market or limit orders. The exchange offers platform users decent levels of liquidity, and you should get good fills on your entries and exits.
Speculators will enjoy the margin trading on offer for BTC and ETH, allowing you to trade CFDs. CFDs are derivative products that have exposure to the underlying asset price.
What Cryptocurrencies Does CEX.io Support?
The brokerage supports the following cryptocurrencies
- Bitcoin (BTC)
- Ethereum (ETH)
- Ripple (XRP)
- Bitcoin Cash (BCH)
- Bitcoin Gold (BTG)
- Dash (DASH)
- Stellar (XLM)
- Litecoin (LTC)
- Tron (TRX)
- BitTorrent (BTT)
- MetaHash (MHC)
- Ontology (ONT)
- Ontology Gas (ONG)
- Cardano (ADA)
- Neo (NEO)
- Gas (GAS) Cosmos (ATOM)
- Basic Attention Token (BAT)
- Tezos (XTZ)
- Matic Network (MATIC)
It’s possible to purchase all your favorite cryptos using US Dollars, provided you complete the ID verification process for KYC and AML. CEX.io allows for payment in GBP, EUR, and RUB for specific cryptos, check with the exchange as the list changes.
The trading platform supports the following cryptocurrencies.
That’s not as much on offer as we would expect to see, but these four coins have the most significant daily volume and the highest rates of volatility. CEX.io offers trading between each asset, for example, BTC/ETH, BTC/XRP, and so on.
CEX.io also supports the following cryptocurrencies for account deposits.
- Bitcoin (BTC)
- Ethereum (ETH)
- Ripple (XRP)
- Bitcoin Cash (BCH)
- Litecoin (LTC)
- Tether (USDT)
- Tezos (XTZ)
- Matic Network (MATIC)
- Basic Attention Token (BAT)
You can fund your account using the following fiat currencies
- USD
- EUR
- GBP
- RUB
Pay for cryptocurrency using the following payment methods.
- Credit / debit card
- Wire transfers (including SEPA)
- Domestic bank transfer (ACH)
What Fees Does CEX.io Charge?
The charge to use the CEX.io brokerage is steep at 7%. That means that if you deposit $1,000 with the brokerage, they take $70 before the money even lands in your account.
With the trading platform, you pay fees based on adding or taking liquidity to or from the market. Taking liquidity (selling on the bid) has a fee of 0.25%, while providing liquidity (selling on the ask), has a fee of 0.16%. If you decide to open a margin account, you pay an additional 0.5% fee.
To trade on the platform, you’ll need to fund your account using a wire transfer, SEPA transfer, or a credit card. The wire and SEPA transfers have no charge, buts there’s a 2.99% fee if you fund your account using a card.
When withdrawing from your account, CEX.io charges you 3%. You also get a service charge of anything up to $25, depending on the amount requested.
CEX.io offers the following types of accounts.
- Identity verified accounts – Buy up to $1,000 in BTC per day
- Address verified accounts – Buy up to $10,000, withdraw up to $50,000
- Enhanced Corporate verified accounts – No limitations on buying or withdrawals
If you want to verify your account, you’ll need to provide CEX.io with a copy of your government-issued photo ID, as well as other personal information. Address verified accounts require proof of your physical address, such as a utility bill in your name.
CEX.io Customer Support
According to Trustpilot, CEX.io has a rating of “Great.” That’s a significant rating, and the interesting part is that it’s the most accurate snapshot of the customer experience. People that leave reviews on
Trustpilot is genuine buyers or users of a product, in this case, the CEX.io trading platform or brokerage. Therefore, it’s impossible to drop fake ratings or comments on the Trustpilot platform, giving you a good idea of what people are saying about the service. A search on Reddit doesn’t reveal much about user experiences on the trading platform or brokerage.
When it comes to using the official support channels for the brokerage and trading platform, we got prompt responses within 24-hours from the support team. The support staff were knowledgeable and attended to our query quickly. In both cases where we contacted support, we got the right answer to resolve our issue.
Who Are the CEX.io Team?
This London-based crypto exchange started as a cloud mining provider and Bitcoin exchange. There was a point in 2014 where the CEX.io mining pool, otherwise known as, “Ghash.io,” was so large and influential it held 42% of total Blockchain mining power.
However, CEX.io shut down its mining pool in 2015, shifting its sole focus to the exchange business. CEX.io has registration with the FINCEN regulators, and it applies the standard AML (anti-money laundry) and KYC (know your customer) policies.
Therefore, you’ll need to identify yourself using a form of photo ID before you can make purchases in the brokerage or withdraw from your account.
The Bitcoin Tester Conclusion
CEX.io is a fantastic option for a full-service cryptocurrency exchange. The trading platform features advanced features and accurate price action, and the fees are reasonable. The brokerage is an excellent idea for newbie traders that want to make money while they learn how to trade for themselves.
The fees for using the brokerage are high, but we’re sure you’ll make a decent return on your money, although no performance sheets were available at the time. Still, 7% seems high, especially when you think that the average hedge fund charges a 2/20 model, and most passive investments have fees of less than 5% per annum.
CEX.io offers something for everyone and every skill level of crypto-investor or trader. It’s one of the few regulated exchanges, and it works with most reserve fiat currencies.
As a reminder, you should be paying taxes on the profits you make trading crypto. US-facing exchanges offer you anonymity when buying cryptocurrency. If the exchange receives an order to hand over its records to the FBI, IRS, SEC, or another US government department, it is under the obligation to do so, trade accordingly.
CEX.io vs Most Popular Bitcoin Exchanges
CEX.io vs Coinbase
CEX.io and Coinbase are two of the leading cryptocurrency exchanges. Coinbase operates out of the US, while CEX.io has offices in London. Which platform is the best option for purchasing crypto? Which platform has the best trading venue? Join us as we examine everything you need to know about CEX.io Vs. Coinbase.