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Review: Poloniex cryptocurrency exchange
Trade 50+ cryptocurrencies on one of the world’s best-known crypto exchanges.
- Good for high speed trading of a wide range of coins, with or without leverage
- Bad for fiat to cryptocurrency trading and not available for US customers
See our full list of pros and cons below.
36
Fiat currencies
115
Cryptocurrencies
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Details
| Product Name | Poloniex Digital Asset Exchange |
|---|---|
| Fiat Currencies | USD, EUR, AUD, CAD, CHF, CZK, DKK, GBP, HUF, ILS & 20+ more |
| Cryptocurrencies | BTC, BCH, ETH, XTZ, ZRX, BNB, ETC, OMG, SNT, WIN & 100+ more |
| Deposit Methods |
Bank transfer (ACH) |
| Trading Fee |
Maker: 0-0.125%
Taker: 0.04-0.125% |
| Deposit Fees | None |
| Withdrawal Fees | Fees vary |
Pros
- One of the largest selections of cryptocurrencies
- Margin trading
- Good liquidity
- Stop-limit orders to reduce risk
Cons
- Negative reviews from the cryptocurrency community regarding withdrawals and customer support
- Customer service seen lacking
- Slow website
Disclaimer: This information should not be interpreted as an endorsement of cryptocurrency or any specific
provider, service or offering. It is not a recommendation to trade.
Learn more about Poloniex
US-based users can no longer trade on Poloniex, and have until 15 December 2019 to withdraw their assets.
To do so, they should go to the new and separate Poloniex USA website to make a withdrawal.
What's in this guide?
What fiat and cryptocurrencies are supported?
- Supported fiat currencies: USD, EUR, AUD, CAD, CHF, CZK, DKK, GBP, HUF, ILS & 20+ more
- Supported cryptocurrencies: Approximately 115 cryptocurrencies
Which payment methods are accepted?
- Bank transfer (ACH)
What's it like to use Poloniex?
1. Getting started
Browse the available features on the homepages.
2. Poloniex markets
Poloniex traders can find a familiar-looking market waiting for them.
3. Margin lending
Poloniex offers margin trading, as well as p2p margin lending.
4. Poloniex support
Find customer support, contact details and helpful guides.
Fees and limits
The fees below are accurate as of 15 November 2019.
Platform trading fees
| Trade volume (30 day average in USD equivalent) | Maker fee | Taker fee |
|---|---|---|
| < $25,000 | 0.15% | 0.25% |
| < $1 million | 0.08% | 0.20% |
| < $2.5 million | 0.05% | 0.15% |
| < $20 million | 0.02% | 0.13% |
| ≥ $20 million | 0% | 0.10% |
Deposit and withdrawal fees
Note that when you make a bank wire deposit on Poloniex, funds will be tokenised as USDC via Circle. There is no fee for the tokenisation.
| Transaction type | Fee |
|---|---|
| Cryptocurrency transfers | Network fees |
| USD bank wire deposits | None, although your sending bank or correspondent banks may charge fees |
| Non-USD bank wire deposits | Varying currency conversion fees from Poloniex's banking partners |
| Bank wire withdrawals | None, although your receiving bank or correspondent banks may charge fees |
| Rejected bank wire deposits | $50 |
Margin interest and lending fees
| Margin trading | Standard trading fees apply |
| Margin borrowing | Poloniex margin lenders set interest rates for the margin traders |
| Margin lending | Poloniex takes 15% of the interest earned by margin lenders |
How fast will my funds be available?
Deposits
1-5 days
Cryptocurrency deposits may take only a few minutes, while fiat deposits may take several business days depending on the currency and your bank.
Withdrawals
1-5 days
Cryptocurrency withdrawals may take only a few minutes, while fiat deposits may take several business days depending on the currency and your bank.
Is Poloniex safe to use?
- Regulation. Poloniex has an AML/KYC policy, and is registered in the Seychelles. It does not serve customers in jurisdictions where it's not appropriately licensed or regulated to offer cryptocurrency trading services. It was formerly owned by prominent Goldman Sachs-backed tech company Circle, before spinning out into a separate company. It still maintains close ties with Circle.
- Verification process. Poloniex traders are required to provide their full name, and Poloniex may ask for additional identification such as a driver's license or passport. In certain circumstances it may require users to submit additional information for enhanced due diligence.
- Security features. Poloniex has insurance coverage for the crypto assets on its platform, it stores a large portion of customer funds offline and follows industry best security practices.
Poloniex was founded in 2014, and experienced its first and only hack a couple of months later, when a large amount of Bitcoin was stolen through an obscure bug in Poloniex's trading software. Losses were socialised among all its users, who were then paid back over time.
The next major issue was in 2019, when an obscure and illiquid cryptocurrency called CLAM, which could be margin traded on Poloniex, experienced a flash crash. The issue was two-fold: firstly the illiquid CLAM markets meant liquidations could not process as normal. Secondly, margin borrowers were using CLAM as collateral for their loans. The result was that margin borrowers could not repay their loans, resulting in a total loss equivalent to 1,800 BTC for Poloniex margin lenders, as the BTC loans were all held in a common pool.
Following the incident, Poloniex committed to reimbursing affected customers through fee rebates, and preventing it from happening again by stopping margin trading on obscure and illiquid cryptocurrencies.
How do I create an account at Poloniex?
What else do I need to know about Poloniex?
Poloniex was founded in the USA in 2014, and for a time it was the world's largest and highest-volume Bitcoin exchange.
But it had difficulty scaling upwards to support growing cryptocurrency demand, and following the Bitcoin boom of late 2017 it was acquired by Circle, which reoriented Poloniex towards becoming a professional and well-regulated cryptocurrency exchange.
The regulatory climate of the USA precluded this though, and in late 2019 Poloniex spun off from Circle as its own company, and barred US customers to focus more strongly on the international markets.
In a nutshell
Pros
- Wide selection. Poloniex offers a wide selection of cryptocurrencies.
- Margin trading. Margin trading is available across a range of pairs.
- Trading APIs. Poloniex trading APIs make it a suitable platform for bot trading and other advanced strategies.
- Margin lending. Poloniex's peer to peer margin lending market offers more ways to earn from cryptocurrency.
Cons
- Middling fees without volume discounts. Unless you can access the volume-based fee discounts, Poloniex's trading fees are not the most competitive.
- Varying liquidity. Poloniex's liquidity varies across its markets, and runs low in some places.
- No direct fiat trading. Poloniex no longer offers direct fiat to cryptocurrency trading.
Compare Poloniex against other exchanges
Frequently asked questions
Disclaimer: Cryptocurrencies are speculative, complex and involve significant risks – they are highly
volatile and sensitive to secondary activity. Performance is unpredictable and past performance is no guarantee of
future performance. Consider your own circumstances, and obtain your own advice, before relying on this information.
You should also verify the nature of any product or service (including its legal status and relevant regulatory
requirements) and consult the relevant Regulators' websites before making any decision. Finder, or the author, may
have holdings in the cryptocurrencies discussed.
