Cex is simple. Very simple. Perhaps in their attempt to be simple and welcoming, they’ve gone a little too far.  However overall, we think their presence in the Bitcoin world is a good thing and we would recommend them as an exchange.

Cex.io as an organisation, originally known as Ghash.io, was one of the largest Bitcoin mining pools.   So large they had a hash rate of around 40% of the total Bitcoin hash rate and for a few hours reached above 51% at one point causing major concern in the Bitcoin community.  Cex.io exchange was set up by the Ghash team and later the Ghash pool was closed by the team.

The Cex.io website is focused on absolute simplicity with as much trimmed away as possible.  The homepage lists some of the exchanges key features that customers can expect but at no point does it feel pushy or aggressive. 

CEX registration

The registration process is quick and you will be asked to verify your identity.  Cex.io applies KYC (know your customer) and AML (anti money laundering) regulations and there are different stages of verification available which allow higher limits on the amount of money you can trade/purchase.  The process is very easy and the turnaround time is surprisingly quick.

The Cex Buy/Sell page

Once logged in, the default page is the buy/sell.  The minimalism and simplicity of Cex is on full display here.  There are only a few clicks to choose which cryptocurrency and how much you want and you are ready to purchase with a credit card. 

This is the Cex brokerage service which is based on “Fill or Kill” (FOK) orders. Orders are executed in full or not at all.  You are presented with default purchase amounts in your purchase currency and the BTC amounts (or chosen cryptocurrency) are recalculated every 120 seconds.  Cex.io then guarantees that you will receive at least the displayed amount.

The extreme simplicity of this page may be appealing and even useful to some, however I can’t help but feel that the premium that is charged for this convenience is taking advantage of those that choose it.  While the 7% fee is made clear on the “how it works” link, you would be forgiven for believing they were the same as listed in the fee schedule page. Add this to the fee 2.99% charged if using a credit card, then you end up with a whopping fee of almost 10% just for using this page.

Trading Bitcoin on Cex

 For anyone that is doing more than a onetime purchase of a few dollars’ worth of crypto, I would strongly suggest having a look at the Trade page.  The Trade page shows a price and market depth chart for the chosen crypto currency.  These charts will be familiar to those who have seen forex charts or are interested in trading but if you are coming to this page as an alternative to the Buy/Sell page then the only part of the page of interest is the order section pictured below. 

Using a limit order is usually the safest method to purchase and is closest to the Buy/Sell FOK method.  Simply put in the amount you wish to buy and the price you would like to pay and assuming the price is close to or above the current price, your order will be filled fairly quickly once the price hits your order price.  Using this page would drop your fee from 7% to a much more reasonable 0.16%.  That’s an insane 43x less just for using a different page. 

The clean, minimalist look of the site carries through on the Trade page.  The uncluttered, consistent layout makes the page appear simpler than it is.  The page is actually quite well featured and has everything you need and expect to trade well.

Support

The support and information pages are also predictably spartan in line with the rest of the site.  The answers on the FAQs are brief and to the point.  Nevertheless, once again all the important information is covered without feeling overwhelming at all.  If you are absolutely new to using financial websites, this simplicity will make things quicker, but you may want the comforting excess of information an exchange like Binance provides

Professional traders on CEX

There is an API available in the form of REST API , a Websocket API and a FIX API for professional traders who would want to connect this way.

If you are a professional trader Margin trading in the form of leveraged CFD’s is coming soon (as of Jan 2020) on a new platform labelled “Cex.io Broker” on the separate cexbro.com site and promises leverage of up to 10x. 

Review Summary

The fees for the Buy/Sell page seem excessive but I can see how the service can be beneficial for some.  The clean look and feel of the site is one of my favourites, and the longevity of the exchange, without any security breaches is comforting.  Overall, I quite like the Cex.io experience which is why we have it as one of our recommended exchanges. Visit Cex.io here