Cex. IO cryptocurrency exchange launched in early 2013 in the UK as a holding company for GHash.io, one of the largest bitcoin pools. To date, its hash has grown so much that it controls about 42% of Bitcoin's hashing power. The company was founded by developers of Ukrainian origin - Oleksandr Lutskevich and Oleksandr Ushapovsky.
Service Development
An exchanger feature was then added to the site to help users buy and sell pool shares using bitcoin. Thanks to cloud services, the exchange makes it easy and convenient to start and leave mining. Users do not need to buy equipment for the reproduction of cryptocurrency when joining the pool, and the exchanger makes it easy to dispose of the funds earned when leaving it.
By September 2014, Cex's user base reached over 200,000 accounts. The exchange began accepting deposits in US dollars, euros and Russian rubles through bank transfers, credit cards and SEPA from users around the world who wanted to buy bitcoins or GHash shares.
After dividing bitcoin into 2 categories and appearing ascash (BCH), the exchange announced that it is now allowed to sell and buy a new cryptocurrency on the site.
However, the company stopped all cloud development in January 2016. For this reason, all questions about how to mine in Cex. IO are no longer relevant today. According to the developers, this is done in order to better focus on services as a platform for exchanging and trading cryptocurrencies.
Strengths of service
According to reviews, Cex. IO has one of the best range of features available, guaranteeing full support for novice users. The site is surprisingly easy to use, yet offers a variety of services and trading pairs.
The exchanger supports transfers made with credit cards from most countries. The service offers margin trading on BTC/USD, BTC/EUR, ETH/BTC and ETH/USD with good loss protection tools. In comparison, Cex competitors like Bitstamp or Coinbase do not have margin trading.
The platform processes orders via fill-or-kill (FOK), making transactions faster and easier for beginners. Even such advanced trading platforms as Kraken do not offer such functionality to their users today. This is repeatedly noted in reviews of CEX. IO-2017 as a strength of the site.
The exchanger also has a mobile application for Android, which has 100,000 downloads from Google Play to date. The service also offers an API for third-party developers to createcustomized tools. It is worth noting that most of the leading crypto exchanges see additional benefits in this.
Easy registration via social media accounts available: users can log in with their Facebook, GoogleID, VK and Github accounts.
New trending digital denominations are actively added to trading. More recently, the addition of Zcash and Dash, two increasingly popular privacy-focused cryptocurrencies, could be seen.
By browsing the buy and sell page available to unregistered visitors, you can easily get the latest conversion rates. For example, you can quickly find out how many bitcoins you get for $100, $200, $500, or $1,000. Many users like the transparency offered by the Cex. IO exchange, especially compared to other exchanges where you only see the rates after you have registered.
To date, there are no known breaches of security policy or theft of customer funds. The Cex developers did a good job with such guarantees, while other major exchanges (such as Coinbase, Poloniex, Bitstamp and Bitfinex) experienced relatively serious thefts (although in most cases the money was returned to users).
Weaknesses of CEX
As users note in their feedback about Cex. IO, sometimes there are delays in card verification when working with the platform. Presumably, this is due to the large influx of new users.
In addition, there is often a lack of timely customer support. At the same time, the administration of the exchange issued an official statement, which states that additional personnel for customer support have already been recruited and trained, so quick responses to all tickets are expected soon.
Currently, only seven cryptocurrencies are supported by the service. This is a small number compared to other leading exchanges such as Bitfinex or Bittrex. However, this is slightly more than what is offered in Coinbase, and about the same as in Bitstamp.
Credit and bank transfers are not supported from certain countries. However, Explication Localbitcoins p2p functionality is available, which will work from anywhere.
Buggy's mobile app only offers a few services available through the website. However, it received only 3 out of 5 points in the PlayStore. At the same time, the site does its best to help all novice bitcoin traders.
Interface
The site has an excellent design compared to other exchanges (such as Coinmama or Bitfinex). Beginners easily navigate from the login page to the trading panel. Operators automatically provide security that allows automatic activation of two-factor authentication via SMS and email (2FA). Although this protection looks very simple, it keeps accounts secure for logging in and out. For those who do not trust suchsystem, there are additional options. A good alternative to SMS 2FA is the Google Authenticator app, which Cex users can now customize to their liking.
As already noted, reviews of the Cex. IO exchange note its advantage in that it uses a fill-or-kill (FOK) model to fill orders. This means that when you place an order, it is processed immediately in full. If execution cannot be reached immediately, it is cancelled.
According to statistics, the highest traffic on CEX.io (14.3%) comes from the USA. Other countries that bring in large numbers of visitors include Russia (5.4%), Turkey (5.3%), the UK (4.5%) and France (3.2%). 30% of traffic comes from mobile devices.
Mobile application
The Cex mobile app is available for both Android and iOS. Through it, you can deposit bitcoins, ethereums and litecoins into your account using a QR code. You also have the option to set market order limits directly in the app.
Users can view balances, active orders and price changes. You also have the ability to initiate, manage and cancel orders, as well as use real-time data from different exchanges to analyze the cryptocurrency markets.
Since the app's release (December 2015), Cex. IO's user feedback has been both positive and negative. Some tradersmark it as a convenient tool for maintaining contact with the market. Others have expressed frustration with the poor interface and limited functionality. Common negative reviews report intermittent failures in order processing, as well as not displaying detailed charts and difficulty logging in.
The app also only offers a subset of the services available through the website. For example, you will not be able to margin trade through the app.
API functionality
In addition to the mobile app, the team has made an Application Programming Interface (API) available for developers to create custom trading and fund management apps. The API comes in three flavors:
- Rest - to access market data;
- WebSocket - for professional traders;
- Fix- for institutional traders.
The trading API option is limited to 600 requests per 10 minute interval. Developers will need to contact support to increase this bandwidth.
Market positioning
According to official data and reviews, Cex. IO controls 0.78% of the global foreign exchange market. The exchange ranks 15th on the list of cryptocurrency exchanges in terms of trading volume. CEX. IO has less traffic than most major exchanges (such as Coinbase, Kraken, Bitstamp and Poloniex). Nevertheless, the service surpasses almost all of them in terms of traffic from Russia.
Besides buying and selling cryptocurrencies, Cex has one of the best tradingplatforms. It supports margin trading using 1:2 and 1:3 leverage. Features such as auto-borrowing and negative balance protection make it relatively accessible for beginners.
Getting started on Cex
How to work on Cex. IO? Before you can use your credit card to buy cryptocurrencies, you need to submit your credit card details for verification. To validate your card, you must fill out a form in which you need to provide the name contained on the card, its number and expiration date. In addition, the exchange requires you to upload three color photographs of yourself to prove ownership of the card (credit card in hand by both parties, as well as ID).
After submitting these photos and completing the form, you will be asked to verify that the information you provided is up to date and valid. You will also give permission to the service employee to view your personal information.
If everything meets the requirements of the exchange, you will receive an email notification letting you know that your card is ready for use on the exchange. If any of the information you provided is incorrect, the Compliance Officer will contact you for clarification.
The verification process may take several hours or up to one day. However, some users report that they wait longer than one day.
Fees & Commissions
There are three types of fees on Cex: transaction fees, deposit/withdrawal feesfunds and commissions with margin trading. The site charges users a higher fee than most other exchanges.
All transaction fees are paid by the buyer (the trader who responds to the offer). The seller who put up an offer on the platform does not pay transaction fees. The fee is a percentage of the value of the transaction, and they range from 0.10% to 0.20%. The higher the involved volume, the lower the interest rate.
Deposits via bank transfer and crypto wallets are free. Withdrawal of Cex. IO funds is carried out in the same ways as the deposit. Withdrawing money via bank transfer costs from 30 to 50 USD, depending on the FIAT currency, and up to 1% for transfers via cryptocurrencies.
