Crypto.com Exchange Review 2024: Security, Fees & More!

Here at the Coin Bureau, we find ourselves writing and filming quite a bit of content about Crypto.com. After all, they are one of the largest crypto companies in the world, boasting a massively successful platform with over 50 million users. Crypto.com launched one of the most popular crypto debit cards, has a multitude of products, and developed its own blockchain network ecosystem that is growing at an insane pace. Because of that, there are always things changing and new products to be covered, which leads us to this Crypto.com Exchange review that brings you here today.

With that being said, a company spinning so many plates have understandably caused a bit of confusion with their multitude of different products, apps, and features, so out of respect for your time and to make sure you didn't stumble across the wrong article, this review is strictly for the Crytpo.com Exchange, not the Crypto.com platform app. The Crypto.com Exchange is an exchange for crypto trading.

The Crypto.com platform features the Crypto.com debit card, Crypto.com Earn, Supercharger, NFT marketplace, and Crypto.com Pay. If you are looking for information about the Crypto.com platform or the Crypto.com DeFi Wallet, that info can be found in our Crypto.com Platform Review.

Now, with that out of the way, let's get down to the nuts and bolts of what the world-class Crypto.com Exchange offers.

Disclaimer: I use the Crypto.com platform and hold CRO token as part of my personal cryptocurrency investment strategy.

Crypto.com Exchange Summary:

What is the Crypto.com Exchange?

Crypto.com started as a company called Monaco in 2016 before undergoing the brilliant rebrand to Crypto.com in 2018, a smart marketing move on their part after acquiring the domain name for $12 million.

The Crypto.com platform became massively popular, exploding in user adoption thanks to the Crypto.com platform and the Crypto.com debit card, which helped fund the decision to expand even further and launch the Crypto.com exchange in 2019.

If you are interested in the company's history, we go into more detail in the Crypto.com Platform Review linked above. In the interest of brevity, we'll skip all that here and stick with the exchange.

The Crypto.com Exchange is a popular crypto trading platform where customers can trade over 200 spot crypto pairs, over 100 pairs using 10x leverage, over 100 perpetual markets and 7 futures markets. It is a highly secure, regulated, and reputable crypto trading platform that is available via web browser and mobile application, open to users worldwide and US-friendly. Note that Crypto.com has two apps, one for the platform and one for the exchange. Downloads for both can be found on the Crypto.com website.

**Important**- For any app associated with finance or crypto, always use the app download or redirect link directly from the company website and avoid searching in app stores. Scammers can put up false apps that are nearly indistinguishable from the originals, complete with fake reviews and download numbers which have caused millions in stolen customer funds.

In addition to the exchange itself, which supports API integration for things like EA's/bots/algorithms, the platform also offers a way for customers to purchase tokens at a discount in something called The Syndicate. There is a Trading Arena, a VIP programme and something called Supercharger, which is like an airdrop lottery which we will cover in this review.

If you want to see how the Crypto.com Exchange stacks up against other crypto exchanges, feel free to check out our Top Exchanges article where we break down the best exchanges in different categories to help you find the right one to fit your needs.

If you are looking for Guy's take on the Crypto.com Exchange, he happens to have a review of the exchange as well:

Crypto.com Exchange Features:

Great, now that we covered some of the background, let's get into the exchange features. 🕵️

Trading Arena

The Trading Arena is where traders can compete and win exclusive prizes. Trading competitions and a gamified style of Vegas-type trading competitions have become very popular and are common among exchanges like the Crypto.com Exchange, Binance, and KuCoin.

Looking at some of the past events, traders could put their skills to the test and win prizes like $65,000, $100,000 worth of SPS from the Splinterlands Trading Battle, win tickets to Bitcoin Miami, and more. There are also lucky draws and trading races to keep trading exciting and provide skilled traders with more value than simply winning trades.

For those traders with deep pockets, members of the VIP programme may be eligible to enjoy special perks and higher rewards. The VIP Programme will be covered in detail further on. Once traders have registered for a trading competition, they will want to keep an eye on the leaderboard to see how they are stacking up against the competition.

These trading competitions are a great way to attract traders to the platform. They are generally popular among traders who enjoy a bit of competition and fun. This feature is fairly new for Crypto.com and will likely get better; they will have some catching up to do if they want to compete with KuCoin, who, in my opinion, has the best games, perks, and prizes for active day traders.

Supercharger

Supercharger is a feature available in both the Crypto.com App and Exchange, and it is something quite unique that I really like. It is a simple, flexible, and secure rewards platform that allows users to stake tokens that can be withdrawn at any time. In return, they earn popular crypto tokens daily that get deposited directly into their account.

It sort of feels like playing an airdrop lottery that always wins. You simply stake some CRO, and you get drip-fed daily rewards during the rewards period for whatever the reward token is, which can range from Bitcoin and Ethereum to smaller cap coins and newer projects that you may not have even heard of before.

Crypto.com will announce the event, letting you know what the reward token is. If the reward is a token a user wants, they can stake some CRO during the charging period, which can be withdrawn at any time. The reward amount is based on the amount of CRO staked by the user, then paid out daily over the reward period, which can be 10, 30, or 45 days.

Here is a simple two-step infographic on how to participate; it couldn’t be easier:

I also like that this can be done passively. Once you participate in one event, you can select your CRO stake to automatically roll over to the next event. One of the reasons I found this feature great is that it can help diversify your portfolio, and often the reward token is for something I either want to HODL anyway, like BTC or ETH (nothing like free tokens!), or you can get rewarded with small-cap projects before they really take off and enjoy some nice capital appreciation.

If you want to get into the nitty-gritty on how rewards are calculated and all the details on Supercharger, check out Crypto.com’s help section on Supercharger.

The Syndicate

The Syndicate is another unique feature on the Crypto.com Exchange. Users can purchase new coins and tokens listed on the exchange at a deep discount. No need to tell you how rewarding this could be. Imagine if Binance had offered something like this when a token like PancakeSwap (CAKE) launched. I wouldn’t have said no to a piece of that sweet cake goodness at half price as the token saw near-vertical price action.

Normally, the way The Syndicate works is that Crypto.com offers half a million dollars worth of the token to users who can pick up the token for a 50% discount, basically giving average traders VC-style access to discounted tokens. Here is a look at some of the previous Syndicate events:

The Syndicate is a fundraising platform for some of the most promising crypto projects, which list their tokens on the Crypto.com Exchange. CRO holders who stake CRO in the exchange receive priority token allocations and get first dibs at picking up these tokens at a discount. Here is a look at the CRO staking allocation and trading volume requirements that were needed to participate in the Filecoin event:

In order to participate in The Syndicate listing events, users need to:

1. Stake at least 5,000 CRO in their Crypto.com Exchange account.
2. Trade the minimum volume required at their CRO stake level in the past 30 days.
3. Use CRO to subscribe at a 50% discount during the subscription period.
4. Not be a citizen and resident of the United States, China, or Hong Kong (sorry, folks).

Here is a look at a previous Syndicate event for Filecoin to give you an idea of how it looks:

Be sure to keep an eye on the listing event timeline to know when the staking period runs and so you know when you will receive your allocation at the designated distribution time. I don’t know of any other exchanges that offer a feature similar to Crypto.com’s Syndicate. It is a significant attractor to the Crypto.com Exchange for those who want to take advantage of buying crypto at discounted prices.

Crypto.com Exchange VIP Programme

For the caviar-eating, red-carpet-walking crypto guys and gals, the Crypto.com Exchange has a VIP Programme for you!

There are 3 VIP tiers that traders can fall under depending on their 30-day trading volume. Each tier allows them to enjoy some exclusive trading incentives and perks:

This VIP program is in place to entice large volume traders and whales to the platform. Interestingly, the VIP program is only available to retail clients; no institutions are allowed. VIP 3 provides the lowest fees I've seen offered by most crypto exchanges. As if those rock-bottom Crypto.com Exchange fees aren't enough to entice traders, the VIP programme also provides the following benefits:

• Early access to new product launches (beta testing)
• Dedicated VIP account manager and API tech engineer
• OTC Block Trades
• Exclusive research reports
• 50% commission on net trading fees from your referrals
• VIP swag
• Complimentary Crypto.com Visa Card

It must be nice to sit at the cool kid's table with swollen crypto bags and receive all those additional perks. As for me, my version of ballin' out during a bear market is when I get to buy fancy aged cheese instead of the stuff that comes in single plastic wrappers…You know, the ones that aren't legally allowed to even be called cheese? Yeah, you know what I'm talking about.

Yeah, those ones. Not great for impressing the in-laws when you show up with a pack of these instead of the salad they asked you to bring.

DCA Trading Bot

This is a great additional feature to the platform that I quite like as it makes using dollar-cost averaging strategies automated and effortless. In addition, the Crypto.com Exchange has a DCA Trading bot accessible directly from within the platform; no complicated APIs, coding experience, or shady bot download websites are needed.

The bot allows platform users to sell or build their positions by placing orders automatically based on pre-set parameters. This means that you don’t need to constantly watch the charts to jump in at the right time, leaving more time to hang out at the local milkshake establishment, enjoying some cold ones with your friends.

The DCA bot allows users to automatically buy and/or sell crypto regularly over a pre-set time frame. It is useful for investors or traders who want to reduce the influence of volatility and “average” their way into or out of positions.

Once users set up the bot, they can name it and save the template to deploy the bot with the desired settings at the click of a button at a later date. Of course, the bot can be paused, ended, and its settings edited. The best part is this bot works for free. There are no additional fees to use it. If you are interested in automated trading and trading bots, check out our article where we dive into Crypto Trading Bots, and see if they are right for you.

Crypto.com Staking

Customers can perform two staking functions on the exchange: CRO staking to unlock certain benefits or Soft Staking.

Crypto.com Soft Staking offers users a new way to earn rewards up to 4% in interest annually on crypto held on the exchange, such as BTC, LTC, ETH and more. Rewards are offered on a flexible term with no lock-up period required. The max limit is dependent on how many CRO users have staked. Not bad, earning 4% on crypto just sitting there.

Staking CRO on the Crypto.com Exchange provides users with a multitude of benefits such as:

• Earn Rebates- Get a 20%-100% trading fee rebate when fees are paid in CRO.
• Earn interest- Earn up 10% APY on staked CRO when locked for 180 days.
• Participate in The Syndicate- Enjoy discounted prices on crypto.
• Pay Benefits- Maximise PAY rewards for each transaction paid in CRO.
• Get priority discounted access on The Syndicate.
• Enjoy better interest rates while Soft Staking.

Here are the CRO staking benefit levels:

Crypto.com Supported Cryptocurrencies & Markets:

There is an impressive list of Crypto.com exchange-supported currencies and markets for traders to choose from. Regarding rankings, the top exchanges, Binance and KuCoin offer more trading pairs and markets, with Crypto.com being in the middle as they offer more than Coinbase or Kraken.

Crypto.com Exchange has come a long way over the past year and is only getting better all the time, now supporting:

• 200+ Spot pairs
• 100+ Margin pairs that can be traded with up to 10x leverage
• 100+ perpetual markets
• 7 futures markets

With these numbers, most traders will likely find something they fancy trading.

The Crypto.com Exchange supports the following order types:

• Market order
• Limit order
• Stop Loss Limit

Supported Countries

As Crypto.com is one of the most heavily licensed and regulated crypto platforms around, I could not find a designated list of countries that are not supported. Reading the T&Cs, it looks like it is basically supported pretty much everywhere.

Aside from sanctioned countries, what I can make of this is that Crypto.com is available to be used in any country that doesn’t outlaw crypto trading, which is pretty good.

Crypto.com Exchange Fees 

Ah, fees are always a fun topic. Crypto.com Exchange fees come in at a standard 0.4% Maker fee and 0.4% Taker fee for Tier level 1 without the CRO stake discount, placing the Crypto.com Exchange cheaper than Coinbase but slightly higher than Kraken and Binance.

Here is the fee table for Spot and Margin trading:

Here is the fee table for Derivatives trading:

There are two ways that users can lower these fees. The first is by doing A LOT of trading. Naturally, the Crypto.com exchange wants to entice whales and those who intend to trade high volume, so the more you trade, the cheaper the fees. If you trade over two hundred million dollars’ worth in a 30-day period, you can cut those fees down to 0.04% for Makers and 0.1% for Takers.

The other way to save on fees is to stake CRO. CRO staking provides the following discounts:

• Staking below 5,000 CRO= 10% discount on Maker/Taker fees
• Staking 5,000 to 10,000 CRO= 20% discount on Maker/Taker fees
• Staking 10,000 to 50,000 CRO= 40% discount on Maker/Taker fees
• Staking 50,000 to 100,000 CRO= 60% discount on Maker/Taker fees
• Staking 100,000 to 500,000 CRO= 70% discount on Maker/Taker fees
• Staking 500,000 to 1,000,000 CRO= 80% discount on Maker/Taker fees
• Staking 1,000,000 to 5,000,000 CRO= 90% discount on Maker/Taker fees
• Staking over 5m CRO= 100% discount for fee-free trading

Deposits and Withdrawals at Crypto.com Exchange

Fiat, other than USD, is not yet supported on the Crypto.com Exchange, and they just announced USD support through bank transfer via SWIFT, with more fiat support likely coming soon.

Users who are not able to transfer USD via SWIFT have two options for funding their exchange accounts:

1. Use the Crypto.com platform as fiat on and offramp. Crypto.com platform supports fiat deposits via debit/credit card and fee-free bank transfers. Once funded, users can exchange fiat for crypto/stablecoins and transfer them to their Crypto.com exchange account.
2. Send crypto/stablecoins from a different exchange or crypto wallet to fund their Crypto.com exchange.

Note that withdrawals from the Crypto.com exchange to your Crypto.com wallet address will incur a fee unless you use the Withdraw to App Function, which segues us into this pro tip to save you money:

Pro Tip: Use the Withdraw To App function to avoid crypto network fees when moving money between the Crypto.com exchange and Crypto.com platform.

Withdrawing crypto from the exchange to external addresses will incur network fees which are highly variable and dependent on the network and token. Refer to the Crypto.com Exchange Fees Page for information about crypto withdrawal fees.

Security

After experiencing a pretty nasty $35 million hack in early 2022, Crypto.com has upped its security and now boasts some of the industry's highest security standards and accolades.

It is good to see that all users who lost funds were fully reimbursed by the Crypto.com team. They have since significantly boosted their security measures and standards.

The platform drives a Zero Trust and Defence in Depth security strategy across all its systems and platforms. Data privacy assessments are built into the processes that protect and encrypt user information.

Here is a look at some of the security features deployed by the Crypto.com team:

I like that 100% of customer funds are held offline in cold storage, meaning that corporate funds are used for daily customer transactions and exposed to risk. For USA-based users, fiat deposits are held in regulated bank accounts insured for up to $250,000.

Crypto.com was the first crypto company in the world to achieve all of the following security milestones, certificates and compliances:

• ISO 22301:2019
• ISO/IEC 27701:2019
• ISO/IEC 27001:2013
• PCI-DSS v3.2.1 level 1 compliant
• Independently assessed at Tier 4m, the highest level for both NIST Cybersecurity and Privacy frameworks
• Service Organization Control (SOC) 2 compliance
• Engages globally recognized security consulting and audit firms such as Kudelski Security for stress tests and audits

From a customer perspective, the following security features can be utilized:

• Password protection
• Biometrics and pin protection
• 2FA and Multi-Factor Authentication- Authenticator app, SMS, email.
• Whitelisting withdrawal addresses is mandatory and secondary 2FA for withdrawals
• Anti-phishing email codes

The unfortunate hack aside, Crypto.com is one of the most heavily secured platforms, meaning that users should be able to sleep sound at night knowing their funds are as safe as they can be on a centralized platform.

Who is Behind the Crypto.com Exchange?

One thing I like to see is that the original founders of Crypto.com are still on the executive team, meaning they are dedicated to the company, the platform, and the vision. I often feel that too much shuffling of upper management is often a sign of troubles brewing. After all, if things are going well, why hire and fire? To me, a change of upper management can be akin to a losing sports team firing the coach.

Crypto.com was founded by the following members:

• Kris Marszalek- Current CEO
• Rafael Melo- Current CFO
• Bobby Bao- Head of Crypto.com Capital
• Gary Or- Co-Founder

The team is made up of industry professionals with proven track records of success, and all executive and senior management have enjoyed successful previous ventures and high-ranking positions before founding and working for Crypto.com. Here is a bit about the executive team:

As the company expanded and is now a global enterprise, adding new team members was necessary. The Whitepaper highlights the other members of the senior management team, and I must say there is quite an impressive roster of heavy hitters. There is a lot of information about the specific team members that you can check out if you like; I will list the highlights that stood out to me:

• Eric Anziani, COO- 12 years of experience in the financial, retail and technology industries. Previous positions were held at Goldman Sachs, McKinsey, and PayPal.
• Jason Lau, CISO- Multiple award-winning cybersecurity professional with over 20 years of experience. Member of the World Economic Forum expert network, Forbes Technology Council, UN ITU Security and Assurance working group.
• Antonio Alvarez, CCO- Led a successful Anti-Money Laundering program deployed across European and Asian markets at Coinbase. Served as a senior business leader at Visa, Western Union, and American Express.
• Brent Diehl, CBO- 20 years’ experience in international payments. Head of Visa’s CEMEA consultancy division and led expansion efforts at Western Union.
• Steven Kalifowitz, CMO- Earned four Emmy Award nominations and two Emmy awards for his work as a producer at HBO.
• Abhi Bisarya, EVP, Product- over 20 years of experience leading product teams at Google, PayPal and Visa.
• Mariana Gospodinova, EVP, Operations- Previously held the position of COO of Binance Europe and held leadership roles for Paysafe and SysPay.

The list seriously goes on for ages. There are 10 pages in the Whitepaper highlighting the team’s experience and accolades; they have some awe-inspiring talent on the team. The thing that stands out to me is how many higher management members they sniped from Google, Binance, Coinbase, PayPal and Visa, must be a heck of a place to work, and with an all-star roster like that, watch out!

Crypto.com Support

The early days of support weren’t great, to be honest, but after the profitable 2021 bull run that allowed Crypto.com to expand and market like crazy, it is good to see they also invested in scaling and training their support team as it is now fantastic and I can’t find fault with it at all.

I have personally reached out to the Crypto.com team for my account dozens of times, and I have always received a response typically between 10 minutes to 3 hours. I recently had a bit of a complex and unique case that required the collaboration of multiple different support members that lasted over 4 or 5 days.

A team member stayed on the chat with me the entire time, providing progress updates, and they had to be flexible to accommodate the request and worked hard to resolve the issue before a looming deadline, providing me with absolutely stellar support and resolution, so a big kudos to them.

The team can be reached via live chat from within the app or online platform, as well as the email [email protected]. The team is also very active and responsive on Twitter, and they have a well-built-out help centre that should be able to help resolve most questions and queries.

Opening an Account on Crypto.com Exchange

Opening an account on Crypto.com Exchange is pretty straightforward; nothing too crazy here. An account can be opened in about ten minutes should everything go okay with ID verification. You can sign up to the account without submitting any KYC documentation if you just want to poke around and have a look at the platform, but if you want to deposit, trade, or withdraw, you will need to provide the following information:

• First and last name
• Nationality
• Date of birth
• Email
• Mobile number to receive a one-time passcode (OTP)

This will get you to the starter level tier, which will most likely be enough for the average trader as it allows for a $5,000 withdrawal per day. If you need to withdraw more than 5k in each 24-hour period, you will need to pass further account verification.

Users who need to withdraw more than 5k, up to the equivalent to 100 BTC per day, will also need to provide:

• ID Submission
• Selfie

Note that for standard use of the Crypto.com Platform, the ID submission and selfie are a standard requirement, so if you use the Crypto.com app, then open up an exchange account, you will already have the higher level of KYC requirements needed.

User Experience

The trading interface on the Crypto.com Exchange is clean, intuitive, and easy to use, as you would expect from a world-leading crypto exchange. I might even take it a step further and say the effort they put into the UX/UI of the exchange makes them one of the more pleasant exchanges to use.

I took a look at some of the reviews online and could not find much in the way of negative criticisms against the exchange when it comes to issues like slippage, orders not being fulfilled, or dirty deeds like Crypto.com being suspected of wash trading, front running traders, or restricting withdrawals, it seems most traders have a pretty positive experience which is a plus.

It really is a professional-grade, reputable world-class exchange and the order fulfilment is rated very highly thanks to the full revamped upgrades to the matching engine and order management systems undertaken in 2020, which led to a 10x increase in platform performance.

Here is a look at the additional improvements implemented during that time:

When looking at the interface, plenty of technical analysis tools are available as the charting space is powered by TradingView. In addition, I like that the open orders, order history, tools, and the order book are all on the same screen, preventing the need to swap between different screens for different purposes.

I also like that you can swap between spot, margin, and derivatives trading without changing screens or platforms. It is quite a simple and functional platform for trading. I would rate it among the top trading platform interfaces alongside Binance.

Crypto.com Exchange App

While the preferred trading method is using the Crypto.com exchange via web browser for the bigger screen and additional functionality, the Crypto.com exchange also has a mobile app for trading on the go. Remember that Crypto.com has two different apps, one for the Crypto.com platform and one for the exchange.

As far as trading apps go, the Crypto.com Exchange is well designed, functional, and very well laid out, making it easy to use and navigate. Though it is important to note that the app has limited functionality vs the web platform. These are the functions that can be performed on the app:

• Spot Trading
• Margin Trading
• Deposits & Withdrawals
• Stake & Earn
• CRO Fixed Staking
• Soft Staking
• Lending
• The Syndicate
• Supercharger
• Referral Programme
• In-App Account Sign Up
• Account Creation (As a new user or a Crypto.com App user)
• ID Verification
• Account Management

I have used quite a few trading platforms and mobile trading apps in my day. I don’t generally recommend them as a primary trading tool. Any professional trader will likely tell you that trading is not a joke. It is a serious job that isn’t to be done from a mobile phone while standing in line at a Starbucks or stopped at a red light.

Most serious traders have multiple screens and tabs open for multiple data sources. Their TA set-up is marked out well beforehand, and much of their time is spent switching between different tabs on different screens, something not easy to do on a mobile device.

The only time I would personally use mobile trading apps is to monitor open positions while out and place or close the odd trade, but never as a primary trading tool. Though as far as trading apps go, the Crypto.com exchange app is very good, the team designed it to make it as functional as any trading app I’ve used and better than many out there.

If you would like to learn more about technical analysis, we have an article about how to perform technical analysis, and if you prefer video format, Guy also has a great 3 part series on performing TA:

Crypto.com Exchange: Final Thoughts

One of the issues that institutions and traders with large accounts may have with the Crypto.com Exchange is that trading liquidity and volume is pretty low compared to the top exchanges. This could negatively impact traders who place large orders, resulting in order filling being slow, or experiencing slippage.

To be honest, I haven’t actually heard of this being an issue at Crypto.com, I just know that these are issues that can be caused by low volume and have seen that this is a concern that has prevented some firms from opening up institutional accounts at Crypto.com. The good news is that volume is increasing as more users start using the exchange, and since the platform launched its Market Maker Programme attracting liquidity providers, this is becoming less of a concern.

This shouldn’t deter the average retail trader though, as there is still plenty of volume for the likes of us. There are quite a few negative criticisms online about the exchange’s lack of trading pairs and features, allow me to address those. When the Exchange was first launched, it was pretty bare-bones, with few pairs and few features available. It almost seemed like they released an unfinished product.

Most of the negative reviews are from last year, and I must tip my hat to the Crypto.com team as this platform has advanced tenfold in just one short year, so many of the year-old criticisms are no longer relevant.

For me, in full transparency, the Crypto.com Exchange is not my favourite place to trade. Though they are adding more functionality and features all the time, so in time it could be amazing, and I will be keeping an eye on it. Binance offers a more robust platform for serious traders, with more tradable markets, more features, and lower fees, making those the more popular exchanges for serious traders.

I would not be surprised to see the Crypto.com Exchange see high rates of adoption and an explosion in popularity, so definitely worth keeping an eye on it. For now, I keep an account at the Crypto.com Exchange to take advantage of The Syndicate and Supercharger, and I use the Crypto.com Platform almost daily for the reasons outlined in the Crypto.com Platform Review, but as far as trading goes, I’ll be sticking to Binance for now.