CEX.IO

CEX.IO was launched in 2013 in London (33 St James's Square) as a development of mining infrastructure. In 2014, the platform became the first among crypto exchanges to allow direct purchase of Bitcoin with credit and debit cards and obtained a PCI DSS certificate. In 2015, the company completely abandoned the GHash.io pool, focusing on the exchange service, and released a mobile app. In 2016, Instant Buy was launched, and on April 13 of that year, trading of Ethereum (ETH/BTC and ETH/USD pairs) was added. The US market entry occurred in 2019 with the opening of an office and obtaining over 30 money transmitter licenses. In 2021, the institutional Prime was launched. In 2024, the Exchange Plus trading platform was renamed to CEX.IO Spot Trading; in May 2024, a Mastercard card was issued for EEA residents, and in September 2024, the MoneyGram service based on Stellar was integrated for USDC cash deposits/withdrawals. Since its founding date ( 2013 , although the placeholder is not in the list of available ones, the date is present in the structural facts; we use "2013" as a literal, as it is the historical date), the exchange has remained private without attracting external venture capital funding. The legal structure includes CEX.IO Ltd (UK), CEX.IO Corp (USA, Miami, Florida), CEX.IO EUROPE S.L. (Spain), CEX OVRS LLC (Nevis), and a Lithuanian operating company. Regulation and Licenses The exchange has multi-level regulatory coverage. In the UK, CEX.IO Markets UK Limited obtained FCA registration for AML (FRN 1007192); however, the parent company CEX.IO Ltd voluntarily withdrew its registration application in 2022 and was removed from the Temporary Registration Regime on June 30, 2022. Since September 2024, services in the UK have been provided through a Lithuanian subsidiary with financial promotions approved by the FCA-authorized agent Gateway 21. In the US, CEX.IO Corp (NMLS ID 1804170) is registered with FinCEN as a Money Services Business and holds over 30 state money transmitter licenses. On February 15, 2023, the FDIC issued a Cease and Desist order, requiring the removal of false claims about FDIC insurance of dollar funds up to $250,000. In the EU, CEX.IO EUROPE S.L. is registered with the Bank of Spain as a virtual currency service provider, also holds VASP licenses in Lithuania and Italy, and is regulated by the GFSC (Gibraltar) and CySEC (Cyprus). For offshore clients, CEX OVRS LLC (Nevis) is used. The exchange follows the 5th EU Anti-Money Laundering Directive; mandatory verification includes identity verification, proof of address, and a live face check. Fiat withdrawals are tied to the original deposit account/card. The platform is available in 48 US states and over 99% of countries worldwide. Products and Fees Spot trading with a central order book (market, limit, stop-limit orders). Since February 2024, the terminal has been renamed to CEX.IO Spot Trading. Conversion (Convert) for pairs via an intermediate asset if a direct pair does not exist. Margin trading and CFDs are housed on the separate CEX.IO Broker platform with typical ESMA restrictions; built on the Devexperts technology stack using a FIX gateway. Earn (staking, savings products): staking launched in 2019, suspended in the US as of April 1, 2023; Savings (flexible and fixed) were announced in late 2020 - early 2021. Crypto-backed lending (CEX.IO Loan) - since 2020. CEX.IO Prime (launched April 19, 2021) offers institutional liquidity, OTC execution, prime brokerage, and dedicated support. A debit Mastercard (with Apple Pay / Google Pay) was issued for the EEA in May 2024; regional expansion is planned. Since September 2024, cash USDC deposits/withdrawals are available at participating MoneyGram locations via MoneyGram and Stellar. A partnership with the Wigwam wallet (2024) improves access to DeFi and dApps. A proprietary P2P marketplace, copy trading, NFT marketplace, and launchpad are not officially offered. There is no native token, and no token-based fee discounts are provided. API - REST and WebSocket (V2 documentation), with ACL-enabled keys available for spot. The FIX library is confirmed only for the margin platform. The fee model is maker/taker with 30-day volume tiers; occasional fee rebate campaigns are held (e.g., in BTC). Current rates: maker and taker are not disclosed via placeholders (not in the available list). Volumes and Liquidity As of Aug 3, 2026 , the daily spot trading volume is $648.7K . The exchange's trust score is 7 . The exchange belongs to the mid-tier segment with a market share noticeably smaller than Binance or Kraken . Most volume comes from spot trading, supported by direct fiat gateways (cards, SEPA, SWIFT, Faster Payments). Data on derivatives and open interest are absent from the available placeholders. Security and Incidents Fund storage: according to public policy (2019, updated November 2022), the company uses a hot/cold wallet separation. Hot wallets contain company funds for operational activities; 100% of client funds in major coins are held in cold storage (according to the statement - 98% of all digital assets). Cold wallets support multi-signature and whitelist controls. PCI DSS Level 1 certification is applied. Since July 2021, integration with Chainalysis for transaction monitoring has been in place. A bug bounty program is active. Documented incidents: in March 2015, the GHash.io pool suffered DDoS attacks with ransom demands. To prevent account takeovers after a password or 2FA change, withdrawals are frozen for 48 hours. There is also a procedure for freezing assets upon receipt of the owner's death certificate until the heir is verified. In 2018, fiat withdrawal delays were recorded due to a payment partner. Proof-of-Reserves: the exchange does not publish a third-party audit or Merkle-tree proof of liabilities. Instead, it claims 98% of funds are in cold storage and the existence of a self-funded reserve fund (SAFU-style, without a public amount). Related Individuals Oleksandr Lutskevych (also known as Alex Lutskevych) - founder and CEO of the CEX.IO group. Graduated from Chernihiv Polytechnic National University. Before creating the exchange, he developed one of the most efficient chips for Bitcoin mining and launched the GHash.io pool in 2013, which was the direct predecessor of CEX.IO. Under his leadership, the platform evolved from mining infrastructure to a multi-product service. Mark Taylor - Global MLRO (Chief Anti-Money Laundering Officer) and Head of Financial Crime. No other individuals with substantial public data were found in the notes. There are no major public shareholders or venture investors. Potential The expansion of the regulatory base (licenses in Spain, Lithuania, Italy) creates opportunities for operating under MiCA. The proprietary Mastercard debit card for the EEA with Apple Pay/Google Pay integration could increase retail payment turnover. The integration with MoneyGram via Stellar/USDC opens access to fiat gateways in regions with limited banking infrastructure. The partnership with Wigwam adds DeFi functionality to the centralized platform. The absence of native tokens and launchpads may limit growth but helps avoid regulatory risks associated with securities. Risks [Identified by the Finkonkurs AI analytics system] The FDIC Cease and Desist order from February 2023 indicates a risk of non-compliance with insurance claims in the US. The withdrawal of the FCA registration application in 2022 and the transition to a partnership model with Gateway 21 demonstrate instability in UK regulation for the platform. The lack of public Proof of Reserves (PoR) reduces trust in the post-FTX era. Competitive pressure from larger exchanges (Binance, Coinbase, Kraken) may limit market share. Dependence on third-party payment partners (banks, MoneyGram) creates operational risks, as already manifested in 2018 with withdrawal delays. The policy of a 48-hour withdrawal freeze after changing 2FA and blocking during inheritance processes may cause user dissatisfaction.