CEX.IO products and account structure
Sections ↑CEX.IO combines a hosted crypto wallet, instant purchases and an order-book trading platform. Eligible customers can fund a wallet, exchange assets and transfer balances into other supported products. The practical distinction is between buying at a quoted conversion price and submitting an order to Spot Trading, where execution depends on the selected order and market.[2]
Existing EU/EEA accounts currently have withdrawal and account-management access only. New EU/EEA onboarding is unavailable. The broader product descriptions below apply where the customer’s regional account permits them.[18]
At a glance01
Product map
| Service | Account operation and scope |
|---|---|
| Wallet and Instant Buy | Fiat-funded purchases credit crypto to the CEX.IO Wallet. Instant Buy displays a quote and payment cost before confirmation; Spot Trading provides a separate order interface. Converting a wallet balance is a new exchange transaction.Source 2 |
| Spot Trading | Market, limit and stop-limit orders, an order book, pending orders, trade history and charts. Select the intended account and pair, and check Buying Power before submitting; funds must be available in the account used.Source 3 |
| Margin Trading | The mobile guide describes BTC, ETH or USDT funding, long/short positions, 1×–20× leverage and Market or Trigger orders for eligible regions. Exposure uses borrowed funds secured by collateral. Exact available leverage and margin conditions must be checked in the selected account.Source 4 |
| Staking and Savings | Eligible users transfer supported assets to a dedicated Earn account. These subscriptions have their own reward and redemption treatment; holding an ordinary trading balance does not itself enrol the customer.Source 2 |
| Institutional services | The site offers CEX.IO Prime and services for businesses. Access, execution arrangements and commercial terms require the relevant business onboarding; a retail rate is not an institutional quotation.Source 1 |
The current homepage explicitly excludes US and EEA customers from Staking and Savings. General Earn descriptions should be read within those regional limits.[1]
Trading charges, fee credit and inactive accounts
Sections ↑Pricing & charges02
Pricing references and the amount actually charged
| Cost | Published treatment |
|---|---|
| Spot maker/taker reference | The current US Ethereum purchase page quotes starting maker 0.16% and taker 0.25%. At those rates, a $10,000 fill costs $16 or $25. This is a published US reference, not confirmation of every pair or customer’s current tier.Source 5 |
| Current account rate | Spot Profile → Fee Schedule shows the customer’s 30-day-volume pricing and can vary by day of week. Trading Conditions specifies tick size, minimum/maximum order amounts, lot size and fee currency. Check these together before calculating an order’s cost.Source 6 |
| Instant Buy | The US purchase page describes a price markup plus payment processing, giving roughly 2.99% as a card-funded example. Treat that as indicative: the displayed quote, asset quantity and final total determine the proposed transaction’s cost.Source 5 |
| Fiat withdrawal examples | The homepage lists SEPA €2.99 and Faster Payments £2.99, each with a 20-unit minimum. Its PayPal example is 3.99% plus $5. Route availability and the final account quote remain location- and verification-dependent.Source 1 |
| Margin costs | The app guide identifies opening/closing and rollover fees. It does not supply a complete current account tariff, settlement schedule or liquidation model. Confirm those product terms before committing collateral; the spot commission above is not the margin rate.Source 4 |
Trading Fee Balance is promotional USDC credit, kept separately from ordinary funds. It can pay Spot Trading commission but cannot be withdrawn, moved or used to buy assets. CEX.IO converts the credit’s value into the fee currency at the applicable rate; any uncovered fee comes from the trading account. Finances shows each accrual and expiry when hovered over or tapped, while order details separate fee-credit deductions from real-balance charges. A displayed promotion amount therefore measures a potential discount, not withdrawable cash.[7]
Pricing & charges03
Inactivity and deactivation differ by contract
| Scope | Rule in the inspected regional terms |
|---|---|
| UK and OVRS inactivity | After over 12 months without login or other account activity, fees can follow 31 days’ notice. The 180-day inactivity stage allows reactivation communications.Source 8 |
| Monthly maintenance | Individuals: greater of 0.3% or £30 (UK), USD30 (OVRS). Businesses: greater of 0.5% or £100/USD100. These are minimum amounts, not caps; deductions stop at zero.Source 8 |
| UK and OVRS deactivation | After over 24 months since login or listed activity, 31-day notice can precede deactivation and balance transfer. Fees may continue on remaining funds. Reactivation is free but requires a support request and potentially refreshed KYC.Source 8 |
| US statutory dormancy | State-law dormancy and notice govern. Where lawful, a one-time fee is the lesser of USD25 or remaining balance, immediately before actual authority remittance; reporting alone does not trigger it. Inactivity does not itself transfer ownership to CEX.IO.Source 8 |
Fiat funding, crypto transfers and withdrawal holds
Sections ↑Regional comparison04
Funding routes and controls
| Route | Practical requirements |
|---|---|
| Cards and mobile wallets | Visa/Mastercard and linked Apple/Google Pay require at least identity verification. The payment guide limits new card customers, for three months after verification, to $1,000 daily and $3,000 monthly before standard method limits apply.Source 9 |
| Bank and online payment routes | The guide identifies ACH for US customers, SEPA for European countries and Faster Payments for the UK; Faster Payments is currently withdrawal-only. PayPal purchases are US-only. These route descriptions do not restore trading or deposits to restricted EU accounts.Source 9 |
| Verification-dependent limits | The public Limits and Commissions page has separate identity/address requirements and provider/country qualifications. Its full dynamic tariff was not exposed in the inspected public text. Use the account’s current currency and payment-method limits before sending funds.Source 10 |
| Crypto network selection | API Processing Information lists supported blockchains, current deposit/withdrawal availability, minimums and external withdrawal fees. A coin ticker alone is insufficient: the chosen network must be supported. Transfers between CEX.IO Wallet and Spot are documented as free.Source 11 |
| Card and PayPal withdrawal hold | A credited purchase or deposit may be usable for eligible trading while its amount remains unavailable for withdrawal. The hold guide gives a usual 3–7 business days, with variations, and shows an available-withdrawal date. This is separate from the security hold after changing 2FA.Source 12 |
| Fiat withdrawal workflow | In Wallet, select USD, EUR or GBP, choose an available destination, enter the amount and check the net receipt and commission. Confirm with 2FA; an email records the request. Daily/monthly limits still apply, and confirmation is not proof that the recipient bank has credited it.Source 13 |
CEX.IO Pay is an internal transfer to another CEX.IO User ID, described as instant and free. It does not create a blockchain withdrawal to a private wallet. The app guide excludes the UK, EEA and some US states; verify the recipient ID and the account’s availability before confirming a transfer.[4]
Custody, account protection and recovery
Sections ↑Protections & eligibility05
What the account protections cover
| Area | Scope and limitation |
|---|---|
| Hosted wallet | After a purchase, crypto remains in the CEX.IO Wallet until sold, converted or withdrawn. The US purchase guide distinguishes withdrawal to an external self-custody wallet. A balance displayed on the exchange is therefore not equivalent to holding the receiving wallet’s private keys.Source 5 |
| US custody disclosure | Corp. describes segregated customer funds, mostly cold crypto storage and licensed custodians. Fiat can be partly held in regulated, fully reserved stablecoins instead of bank deposits. It also discloses licence-related surety bonds, but says individual credential breaches are uninsured.Source 8 |
| United States protection | CEX.IO Corp. states that it is not a FINRA member or registered broker-dealer, and that crypto is not FDIC- or SIPC-insured. Its money-services and state-licensing disclosures should not be read as a per-customer insurance policy.Source 14 |
| United Kingdom protection | The UK disclosure confines FCA registration to AML/CTF supervision. It states that cryptocurrency services do not carry Financial Ombudsman Service or Financial Services Compensation Scheme protection. Registration does not represent FCA approval of investments or guaranteed recovery of balances.Source 15 |
| 2FA and recovery hold | Withdrawals require two-factor authentication. Changing or restoring the 2FA method restricts withdrawals for 48 hours. This account-security delay is distinct from card/PayPal settlement holds and can affect a planned transfer even when the balance is otherwise available.Source 13 |
| Connected devices | Profile → Security → Session Manager lists device name, IP address, location and last activity. It can terminate one session or all sessions except the current one. Review connected sessions after losing a device or seeing an unfamiliar login.Source 16 |
For an unexpected authorisation email or unsolicited 2FA notification, the security guide recommends ending active email sessions, changing the CEX.IO password and removing unrecognised connected devices. It directs unresolved cases to chat support. These recovery actions address account access; they do not establish that a disputed transfer will be reversed.[17]
Current regional access and verification
Sections ↑Regional comparison06
Where the service can be used
| Account or condition | Current scope |
|---|---|
| EU/EEA | The current Europe privacy policy explicitly prohibits new onboarding. Existing residents’ accounts are strictly for available fiat/crypto withdrawals and account management, including balances and history. The OVRS policy also bars new EEA customers and describes limited transition/exit access for former users.Source 18 |
| US residents | CEX.IO Corp. serves only US jurisdictions where it is licensed. State availability must be checked during onboarding. A supported US state does not make every globally advertised product available to that account.Source 14 |
| UK residents | The UK account route is CEX.IO Markets UK LTD under its applicable terms. Its account entity and AML registration are separate from the Spanish application and the Nevis service route.Source 24 |
| Other countries | CEX OVRS LLC offers services only to eligible customers in certain other jurisdictions, subject to restrictions, applicable law and its terms. The existence of a local-language page or accessible app does not establish an accepted residence.Source 26 |
| General exclusions | The 10 September 2026 list excludes, among others, Canada, India, Japan, Singapore, Russia and Belarus. It is an illustrative selection, not the complete list; individual asset, product and US-state restrictions also apply.Source 19 |
| Identity and age | Customers must be at least 18 and complete identity verification before deposits, buying or trading. Accepted original identity-document photographs need required Latin-character information and liveness checks. Residence, rather than a temporary travel location, is the relevant country field.Source 20 |
Verification can require review beyond the guide’s normal five-minute expectation. Expired documents, missing information and image quality can delay approval; compliance may separately request evidence of source of funds. The FAQ provides a Resubmit route for changes such as a new name, expired identity document or changed residence.[20]
Support, complaints and service interruptions
Sections ↑Official contact routes
Account supportWebsite
https://cex.io/Source 21
Scope Secure website or mobile-app chat. The official-channel guide says social-media accounts do not handle support.
Published general contact and complaintsWebsite
https://cex.io/contactsSource 22
Scope Lists [email protected] and a Submit Your Complaint form. Use the secure chat route for account troubleshooting; this page also provides entity correspondence addresses.
Business enquiriesEmail
Travel Rule enquiriesEmail
Service statusWebsite
At the 20 October 2026 check, the status page scheduled ecosystem maintenance for 24 October, 05:00–07:00 UTC, posted on 19 October. It also retained a VELO withdrawals maintenance incident opened on 30 September. Check the specific asset/network and service component before a time-sensitive transfer. The general site being available does not establish that every withdrawal rail is functioning.[23]
The API documentation explains that a WebSocket connection can end after an instruction but before its response reaches the client. Reconnecting does not guarantee recovery of that response: query account state or transaction history to establish the result before resubmitting. No dependable telephone order-execution route was established in the inspected support material.[11]
Legal entities and the limits of registration
Sections ↑Entities & regulation07
Entity and permission map
| Entity | Jurisdiction and role | Published position |
|---|---|---|
| CEX.IO Corp. | United States; principal business address in Miami | NMLS 1804170. The US legal page limits service to jurisdictions where licensed; it does not establish nationwide or global product permission.Source 14 |
| CEX.IO Markets UK LTD | United Kingdom; company 15140258 | FCA cryptoasset-business registration, FRN 1007192, for certain activities under the Money Laundering Regulations.Source 24 |
| CEX.IO Europe S.L. | Spain; NIF B72550395, Madrid | Its CNMV application for MiCA crypto-asset-service-provider authorisation remains under review. An application is not an authorisation; current access restrictions are set out above.Source 25 |
| CEX OVRS LLC | Nevis; registration L 22275 | Other eligible jurisdictions, subject to its terms and local law. A corporate registration number is not proof of a financial-services licence.Source 26 |
For a UK customer, the practical regulatory distinction is the scope of the registration: CEX.IO’s own disclosure says it concerns anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorist-financing supervision, and does not constitute FCA authorisation, approval or endorsement. Use the exact entity and reference number when checking a contract or complaint route.[15]
Company background, activity and platform changes
Sections ↑At a glance08
Scale and identity facts
| Measure | Evidence and interpretation |
|---|---|
| Company scale | The current homepage says the business began in 2013 and has served more than 15 million users, with over $7.5 billion in deposits. These are company claims about cumulative scale; a current independently measured active-trader count is not supplied.Source 1 |
| Reported exchange activity | CoinGecko’s About section, inspected 20 October 2026, reported about $40.81 million in 24-hour volume, 264 coins and 664 pairs. This is a moving reported-market snapshot; it does not audit customer activity or prove executable depth for a particular order.Source 30 |
| Spot platform history | Exchange Plus launched in December 2022 and was subsequently renamed CEX.IO Spot Trading. The official rebrand notice points to trade.cex.io and says the old plus.cex.io domain remains a route to the trading platform.Source 27 |
| Website versus account operator | The contact page identifies CEX.IO LTD, UK company 08757996, as website operator. That role is distinct from the US, UK Markets, Spanish and Nevis account entities identified in the legal pages.Source 22 |
- Operator
- Regional entities: CEX.IO Corp., CEX.IO Markets UK LTD, CEX.IO Europe S.L. and CEX OVRS LLC
- Exchange model
- Centralised
- Service scope
- Regional account and product restrictions
- Client types
- Retail clients; Institutional clients
- Pricing publication
- Public and quoted pricing
- Funding scope
- Crypto and eligible USD/EUR/GBP routes
- Custody and asset handling
- Hosted exchange wallet
- Client eligibility
- KYC; restricted EU/EEA access
- Support
- Secure web/app chat; complaint form
- Authorisation and registration scope
- UK AML registration; Spanish MiCA application pending; US state scope
Exchange metadata checked 20 Oct 2026Source 14Source 24Source 25Source 26Source 18Source 2Source 4Source 9Source 21
Covered contracting entities
CEX.IO Corp.
- Jurisdiction
- United States
- Covered services
- Licensed US jurisdictions
- Client and location scope
- US residents
CEX.IO Markets UK LTD
- Jurisdiction
- United Kingdom
- Covered services
- UK account services
- Client and location scope
- UK residents
CEX.IO Europe S.L.
- Jurisdiction
- Spain
- Covered services
- Restricted EEA account access
- Client and location scope
- Existing EEA accounts
CEX OVRS LLC
- Jurisdiction
- Nevis
- Covered services
- Other eligible jurisdictions
- Client and location scope
- Terms and country restrictions
Order controls, API authority, records and Earn
Sections ↑At a glance09
Trading and automation controls
| Capability | Documented behaviour |
|---|---|
| Order validity | Market orders offer Max Slippage. Limit orders default to good-till-cancelled and can use good-till-date or immediate-or-cancel through Advanced settings. Review the confirmation’s total and fee. A stop-limit trigger does not guarantee a fill if its limit cannot be matched.Source 3 |
| API permissions | Read is the default. Trade permits dealing; Funds Internal moves balances between Spot subaccounts; Funds Wallet moves balances between Wallet and Spot. An empty IP whitelist allows access from any IP. Match permissions to the intended integration.Source 6 |
| Key activation and changes | Creation requires 2FA and exposes the secret once; activation requires an email code. Editing permissions or allowed IPs deactivates the key until reactivated. Deletion requires 2FA. Revoking access should be followed by a separate check of existing orders.Source 6 |
| API withdrawal and cancellation | Current Spot API documentation explicitly says external withdrawals are unsupported. Cancel All Orders can be scoped to selected account IDs. The API’s network/withdrawal information is informational and does not itself confer external transfer authority.Source 11 |
| Mobile and devices | The FAQ documents iOS and Android use, with iOS 15.2/Android 7.0 minimums at inspection. Mobile verification requires a personal device. Web and app access do not establish that every desktop chart setting or order-entry feature is synchronised.Source 20 |
At a glance10
Records and subscription operations
| Function | Practical detail |
|---|---|
| Spot statements | Reports → Statements generates Balance or Transactions CSVs, filtered by period, account/subaccount, currency and transaction type. The guide permits 30 statements per month and makes each generated statement available for 30 days. Save needed files before that download window expires.Source 28 |
| Fee-credit records | Selecting the Trading Fee account supports a separate fee-credit report. This helps reconcile promotional offsets with commissions actually paid from the ordinary account, rather than treating the credit as a deposit.Source 28 |
| US tax documents | The August 2026 guide establishes a downloadable 2025 Form 1099-DA PDF through Statements and Reports → Tax Reporting on web, or Statements in the app. This is a specific US reporting year, not a promise of a completed 2026 tax form or global tax coverage.Source 29 |
| Earn rewards and redemption | The current onboarding guide describes hourly reward calculation after moving assets to the dedicated Staking/Savings account, with a route to transfer back. It does not establish immediate blockchain settlement for every asset. Review the selected subscription’s current redemption conditions and rate.Source 2 |
| Support AI | Regional privacy policies describe AI-assisted support with access to a human agent. They explicitly exclude support AI from final decisions on onboarding, account restrictions or transactions. This is customer-service assistance, not delegated trading or withdrawal authority.Source 18 |
Sources & further reading
- CEX.IO products, company scale and payment examples CEX.IO · Accessed 20 Oct 2026
- Getting Started CEX.IO · 16 Sep 2026 · Accessed 20 Oct 2026
- Spot Trading: Placing a New Order CEX.IO · 31 Aug 2026 · Accessed 20 Oct 2026
- Getting Started with CEX.IO App CEX.IO · 16 Sep 2026 · Accessed 20 Oct 2026
- Buy Ethereum in the United States CEX.IO · Accessed 20 Oct 2026
- Spot Profile Page and API Key Guide CEX.IO · 31 Aug 2026 · Accessed 20 Oct 2026
- Trading Fee Balance at Spot Trading CEX.IO · 31 Aug 2026 · Accessed 20 Oct 2026
- Regional Terms of Use CEX.IO · Accessed 20 Oct 2026
- Payment Methods at CEX.IO CEX.IO · 31 Aug 2026 · Accessed 20 Oct 2026
- Limits and Commissions CEX.IO · Accessed 20 Oct 2026
- CEX.IO Spot Trading API Documentation CEX.IO · Accessed 20 Oct 2026
- Guide on Withdrawal Hold CEX.IO · 31 Jul 2026 · Accessed 20 Oct 2026
- How to Withdraw Fiat Funds CEX.IO · 31 Aug 2026 · Accessed 20 Oct 2026
- United States Legal and Privacy CEX.IO · Accessed 20 Oct 2026
- United Kingdom FCA Cryptoasset Registration CEX.IO · Accessed 20 Oct 2026
- Where Can I See My Connected Devices? CEX.IO · 31 Aug 2026 · Accessed 20 Oct 2026
- Unexpected Authorisation Email CEX.IO · 31 Aug 2026 · Accessed 20 Oct 2026
- Regional Privacy Policies CEX.IO · Accessed 20 Oct 2026
- Unsupported Countries and Territories CEX.IO · 10 Sep 2026 · Accessed 20 Oct 2026
- Identity Verification FAQ CEX.IO · Accessed 20 Oct 2026
- CEX.IO Official Channels CEX.IO · 31 Aug 2026 · Accessed 20 Oct 2026
- Contact Us CEX.IO · Accessed 20 Oct 2026
- CEX.IO Service Status CEX.IO · Accessed 20 Oct 2026
- United Kingdom Legal and Privacy CEX.IO · Accessed 20 Oct 2026
- EEA Legal and Privacy CEX.IO · Accessed 20 Oct 2026
- Other Jurisdictions Legal and Privacy CEX.IO · Accessed 20 Oct 2026
- Exchange Plus Rebranding to CEX.IO Spot Trading CEX.IO · 31 Aug 2026 · Accessed 20 Oct 2026
- Spot Trading Reports: Statements CEX.IO · 2 Sep 2026 · Accessed 20 Oct 2026
- Tax Reporting for U.S. Users CEX.IO · 31 Aug 2026 · Accessed 20 Oct 2026
- CEX.IO Markets and Reported Volume CoinGecko · Accessed 20 Oct 2026
This profile reports dated public information, including exchange-published services and terms. It does not independently test or guarantee trading, custody, pricing or withdrawals. Inclusion is not an endorsement. Permissions and protections apply only to the named legal entity, service and client category; check the current official records and your contract.
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