CEX.IO: Buy, Trade and Mine Crypto

There are a lot of different exchanging and trading platforms available on the market right now, and each Bitcoin exchange has its strengths and weaknesses.

The main thing to focus on in evaluating these companies is their current performance and capabilities because very often there are significant shifts in a matter of months.

The industry is fresh, and a lot can change in a short period.

CEX.IO is one of the top performers in the industry and is well-known worldwide. There is a lot that must be known about an exchange before deciding whether or not to trade with it, and below we have delved into many of the relevant details for making these decisions.

Usually, the key details that must be discussed to evaluate an exchange are the security details, the cost of using it, and the simplicity of the platform.

Preparing the CEX.io review, we have assumed that the user of the platform has an average level of expertise in the cryptocurrency community.

CEX.io: History of the Company

Founded in 2013, CEX.IO initially started off as a shared mining pool and Bitcoin exchange, but later doubled down on its trading capabilities and dropped the mining venture.

At the time, they did hold 42% of the total network mining power, which makes it even more unbelievable they chose to shut it down.

The company is regulated by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network and follows all of the necessary laws in regards to Know Your Customer and Anti-Money Laundering.

CEX.io Buying and Selling Your Cryptocurrency

One thing that makes CEX.IO unique when compared to other exchanges is the FOK (fill-or-kill) orders it uses.

FOK orders are either executed immediately at the quoted price or abandoned. The goal of these orders is to mitigate against any potential liquidity issues in the market.

Rather than having to wait while your order is executed, you know right away whether it has been completed and can adjust your price if it hasn’t. Most other exchanges would have you wait for your order to go through at the desired rate.

CEX.IO charges a premium for this service, which is a 7% fee when you buy Bitcoin. This is comparatively higher than with most exchanges, but it also includes all the other expenses you would expect to pay within the platform.

They are guaranteeing 100% of an order being executed, and that needs to come at some cost otherwise the business will take losses.

The overall mechanics of the site are quite simple.

You enter a trade – it could be a buy or a sell – and the system freezes the quoted price for 120 seconds. In this time, the system is designed to execute your order if it is offered at the same rate or better, but if the pricing gets lower, the order will eventually be killed.

If the order can be met, you are confirming the trade and the system is verifying you have the necessary funds to execute the transaction.

Upon all of this being confirmed, the system adjusts the balance in your account and matches your order with the opposing buy or sell.

CEX.IO: Trading

The first thing new users need to understand about trading on CEX.io is your enjoyment and capabilities are entirely going to depend on which type of account you select.

Several different account types will determine the available deposit/withdrawal tools and limits for them.

Basic Accounts only can deposit/withdraw $1,000 a day and $3,000 a month. This is often enough for a casual user, but anyone who is thinking of doing more trading will soon move past this.

Once you get verified by CEX.IO, you may deposit/withdraw an unlimited amount of fiat, but there are specific limits for each payment option.

That would typically be enough for the average investor, but in case you are entirely entering the day-trading world, there is an individual business option. This option allows for even higher fiat deposit/withdrawal limits.

After thinking about your verification options, it is time to look at the fees.

Hidden charges are a constant nuisance in the Bitcoin trading world, which can mostly be traced back to the problem of it being a mostly unregulated industry.

CEX.IO has no hidden fees, all of them are stated in their Fee Schedule section.

The trading fees on CEX.IO are based on a taker-maker model, where the market taker is charged 0.1-0.25%, while the maker – 0-0.16%. The amount of fees to be collected depends on your monthly trade volume.

Trading on CEX.io is not complicated but does require some research to ensure that all orders are correctly executed, and there is no confusion for any of the customers taking part.

In general, trading on CEX.IO platform is performed in merely three steps:

1. Choose the trading pair. Default sets BTC/USD.
2. Press the ‘Market’ button. For that, you’ll need to scroll down a bit and select this option among the following: Limit, Market and Margin trading.
3. Choose the amount of cryptocurrency you wish to buy or sell and press the ‘Place order’ button. You can set a custom price – the amount that you want to spend. In case it significantly differs from those set on the market, you will get the corresponding message. Another good thing is that you see the precise fee you will need to pay.

CEX.IO: Margin Trading

This option is only offered on specific platforms because of the extra risk it entails for the company and its customers.

Margin trading is the method of trading with borrowed funds. We’ve all seen real-world examples where increased debt led to instability, and this applies to the trading world as well.

CEX.IO offers margin trading with 1:2 and 1:3 leverage on the most popular trading pairs (BTC/USD, BTC/EUR, ETH/BTC, ETH/USD, BCH/BTC, and BCH/USD). Sharp traders who are looking to make a go of it won’t be content merely buying and holding, so margin trading opens up a whole new market for CEX.IO to go after.

The main features of margin trading with CEX.IO is the automatic borrowing of funds and lack of requirement for an extra account. They make it as simple as possible to start your margin trading journey. They also guarantee a stop loss, similar to how their FOK orders work so that you won’t lose more than your entered amount.

Long and short positions are both available on the CEX platform, which leaves traders open to bet in either direction and receive leveraged returns.

CEX.IO: Cross-Platform Trading

Some traders find it very important to have cross-platform trading capabilities to ensure they always have access to their funds and cryptocurrencies.

CEX.IO has done an excellent job on the rollout of their cross-platform trading feature, and it is now possible to trade through the main website, the mobile app, REST API, or WebSocket (a computer communications protocol).

This is considered quite robust for the exchange and is above the market standard.

CEX.IO: Affiliate Program

A great way to make some money in the crypto space without taking any extra risk is by participating in an affiliate program. These programs are designed to use the most essential resource any company can have: happy customers.

Many people hear the term affiliate and think of someone trying to sell something no one needs, but it can be quite the opposite.

Affiliate programs usually create a win for three different parties. You have the company who is getting a new customer, the referring individual who is getting a fee for their services, and the new customer who is now getting value from a trusted source.

The CEX.io affiliate program gives up to 30% payout for every transaction fee the referred user pays. This can work out to be a hefty amount, especially if you get a few friends trading on the platform.

If you’re enjoying your use of the CEX.IO platform, then you should consider sending around some invites to the exchange, so you can get a little passive income going.

CEX.IO: Payment Options

Payment options end up being one of the more critical factors for beginners who are looking for convenience.

The payment methods permitted with CEX.io are credit/debit card, wire transfer (including SEPA) and Crypto Capital.

The benefit for many customers is the ability to use their credit card or debit card, but this can be more expensive than a wire transfer, so it is critical to estimate the importance of speed vs cost.

Regarding the locations that payments are accepted from, most places are fine, but there is a small list of countries that are not currently allowed to deposit/withdraw fiat currencies. The same applies to several states in America.

CEX.IO: Security Capabilities

There are two key aspects to consider with security: privacy of the user and the safety of their assets. In this age, we need to be extremely cautious with both of these, since risks are much more significant than they used to be.

One concern many new users have regarding security is the safety of their information when they get verified. Giving an exchange your driver’s license and passport information feels like a risk. But at the same time, they should see verification as proof that CEX.IO isn’t a fly-by-night operation for those who do not follow the rules.

Very little information is required for the first tier of verification, but as your desired contribution limit increases, you will be forced to provide scans of documents or photos of yourself holding your driver’s license.

This has become a reality for many of the exchanges, so you might not have the chance to escape it.

CEX.IO has a perfect record when it comes to security, and there have been no complaints in regards to the theft of coins.

One of the most significant concerns when investing in cryptocurrencies isn’t the price of the coin, but whether or not it is possible to protect them from theft effectively.

Although past performance is no guarantee of future outcomes, there is no reason to believe CEX.IO is more vulnerable to attack than any other exchange currently in operation, especially allowing for the fact that CEX.IO offers an opportunity for cold storage of your cryptocurrency funds.

Reputation is a subjective measure of the quality of security, but CEX.IO’s reputation for efficiently delivering service is quite strong.

CEX.IO: Overall Rating

Having gone through all the various aspects of CEX.IO, you should now be coming to your conclusion.

The real advantages with CEX.IO are the reliability of the orders and robustness of the margin trading and cross-platform trading features. These end up being advantages for both beginners and experts.

Reliability is always the key, and those remain significant strengths of the platform. There may be higher fees in exchange for these advantages, but that is a trade-off many will be willing to accept based on their preferences.

Overall, our CEX.io review comes with a final rating of 9.1!