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Poloniex Review 2023
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Sinead Burgess
Cryptocurrency exchanges have been grasping for straws on a daily basis because there is a truckload of new crypto exchanges appearing out of nowhere every month. The problem? The number of crypto traders hasn’t followed suit.
Although Poloniex has taken a hit, just like any other crypto exchange out there, it’s still considered to be one of the best trading platforms that crypto can buy. For one, it has the lowest trading fees in the world. Ok, let’s back up on that. It has the lowest legitimate non-shady trading fees in the world.
Another thing that traders usually welcome with open arms, is the fact that the platform doesn’t mandate verification on profiles. Yes, users are able to verify their profiles and forgo limits because of it, but they can still engage and execute trades with just an email address.
Oh, did we mention that Poloniex was the first crypto trading exchange to surpass $1 billion in trading volumes? Let’s get the details straight.
About the Trading Platform
Poloniex was founded in Wilmington, Delaware by Tristan D’Agosta, back in 2014. In 2019, D’Agosta sold the trading platform to Circle, which stands as the most well known and sought after peer-to-peer exchange. This helped improve Poloniex on all fronts, especially regarding its security and coverage. Before that, the trading platform was not available across the US due to regulation and legislation issues.
Now, the biggest concern for new and potential users is the platform’s somewhat rocky history. Throughout the years, Poloniex hasn’t received the best reviews in regards to customer service and in 2014 it had a breach in security that scared a lot of its clientele to the point of no return. That being said, upon switching ownership in 2019, the platform bloomed to new heights. Today, Poloniex has more features and altcoin support than ever and protects users’ crypto assets with some of the best security infrastructures in the industry.
Bitcoin and Other Supported Cryptocurrencies
One thing that you won’t find at Poloniex is fiat currency to crypto trades. The digital currency platform does support over 60 cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC), Monero (XMR), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), EOS (EOS), Tron (TRX), Litecoin (LTC), Ripple (XRP), Ethereum (ETH), and Tether (USDT), and combines those into over 100 trading pairs.
Now, you might be thinking to yourself – So What? Many exchanges have that at even higher numbers. That might be the case, but not at these low fees.
Trading Fees
The trading fees at Poloniex are directly related to the monthly trading volume. Taker fees and maker fees come at 0.15% and 0.25% for trades over 600 BTC. As you can see, Poloniex supports the lowest of the low fees in the regulated world of cryptocurrency and digital assets, but this doesn’t just apply to low trading fees, it bleeds into margin and futures trading as well.
As aforementioned, the fees are structured around the monthly trading volumes. The low threshold of 50,000 USD per month offers 0.090% trading fees for both takers and makers. There is also the platform’s VIP tier, Poloniex Plus Gold, where makers get charged with zero fees, while takers have to settle for an astronomically low 0.030%. The only popular platform that comes even remotely close to this is Binance. Exchanges such as Coinbase, Coinbase Pro, Kraken, Bitfinex, and Bittrex all have significantly higher fees for both takers and makers.
In regard to margin and futures trading, there is a 0.09% fee on a per-trade basis. Margin trade fees come at some of the lowest fees on the crypto market as well, however, the trading party does have to pay an interest fee to the lending party. Unverified users are able to withdraw $2,000, while verified users can cash out $25,000 in withdrawals on a day-to-day basis.
Deposit and Withdrawal Fees
Seeing as Poloniex wants nothing to do with fiat currencies, the deposits and withdrawals have to be made exclusively in cryptocurrencies and digital goods. The trading platform provides users with the ability to make use of their credit card, debit card, or Simplex for Bitcoin purchases.
Purchases through Simplex are supported in the widow of 50 – 20,000 USD on a day to day basis and cap out at 50,000 USD on a per month basis. Simplex administered a flat fee of $10 or 3.5% of the sum in question. It’s the higher fee that will appear on your balance.
At Pologenix there are no deposit fees, barring the small network blockchain fees. That being said, Poloniex has still to enrol in direct fiat deposits. Users who are used to dealing with fiat will have to make do with pegged currencies or stablecoins.
Withdrawal fees are different on every blockchain network. For example, Bitcoin withdrawals are administered at a 0.0005 BTC flat fee. Which is some of the lowest, no matter where you’re coming from.
Is Poloniex Safe to Use?
There have been many discussions and questions as to whether Poloniex can be considered as a trustworthy trading platform because of its past. The platform did experience a security breach in 2019, that froze the CLAM cryptocurrency, which in turn made the CLAM/BTC, or CLAM-to-anything pairs extremely desirable. The final loss was estimated at $13.5 million.
It’s not like Poloniex threw in the white flag. The trading platform successfully reimbursed all of its users. Naturally, it did take some time to get everything in order and now, it has an unremovable stain on its resume. In order to remedy this, Poloniex has offered a high degree of transparency in order to keep users in the know and in the loop of all meaningful activities at all times.
The trading platform has a FINRA (Financial Industry Regulatory Authority) certificate that proves it to be a legit Automated Trading System (ATS). Poloniex verifies new users by the employment of AML and KYC protocols.
On the user side of things, Poloniex offers users the option for additional layers of protection to their accounts, such as two-factor authentication (2FA) that notifies users on every login attempt by SMS or a third-party app, such as Google Authenticator. The platform recommends using hardware security keys, the likes of YubiKey, as they are safer than your run of the mill SMS codes. Unauthorized login attempts result in a temporary account freezing for which users get an email confirmation. On top of that, user funds are kept in secure cold storage vaults.
Poloniex also supports an API key feature that makes it possible for users to skip the login and two-factor authentication processes. The platform does recommend that upon logging in all API keys should be destroyed so that they don’t end up where they shouldn’t.
Poloniex Support
Poloniex’s customer support team has been somewhat of a weak link in the platform’s offering. However, this service has been greatly improved as of late. Users can search for their own answers by making use of the big FAQ knowledge base, or opt for trollbox or social media platform support. Even though there are options to be had, replies can be quite slow and users have to count on the community to bail them out.
It’s somewhat surprising that a platform of Poloniex’s rank and stature does not feature a direct line through which customers can get in touch with the support teams.
A Few Words Before You Go...
Poloniex’s history is what it is and is here to stay. If you can’t make peace with it and have to continuously look over your shoulder, in fear that someone might snatch your crypto wallet, then the trading experience in itself is not worth it.
Nevertheless, a calm sea never made a good seaman out of anyone. It is through adversity that we grow and improve our weak points. The low trading fees cannot be beaten. Users can enjoy advanced Poloniex trading features, like futures and margin trading, spot trading, stop-limit on orders, IEO launchpad, etc.
The trading platform features high liquidity and a novice user-friendly API. Even beginner traders should have no problems navigating and finding their way around the platform. All in all, Poloniex is somewhat of a niche trading platform, regardless of its size and recognition. It either fits your parameters or it doesn’t. And if it does, you’re in for a real treat.
frequently asked questions
Poloniex is a global platform that is online from almost every corner of the world with the exception of Cuba, Iran, Syria, Sudan, North Korea, as well as unverified accounts in the United States.
Yes, there is a dedicated mobile app available for Android and iOS devices that gives users some flexibility on the go. However, advanced features such as margin and futures trading are off-limits. Mobile app users are able to preview their histories, get notified of changes and have an overview of their account balances.
Yes. Poloniex is an exchange that features a native crypto wallet. This wallet is not the most robust and secure wallet ever made, so be advised not to hold your digital assets on it. It does save a lot of time and it’s very convenient as a quick storage facility from which users can transfer their acquired funds to a third party hardware wallet.
Yes and no, depending on what you are after. If the cap of $2,000 on a per-day basis is enough for you, you can get by with just an email address. Nevertheless, in order to access the platform’s full capability and features, users must verify their account and provide personal documents, such as their date of birth and a government-issued national ID card.