Pdax vs Stormgain: Fees, Security, Features & Which to Choose (2025)

Trying to choose between Pdax and Stormgain This side-by-side comparison reveals total cost (fees + spreads), security & licenses, coins/derivatives, deposits/withdrawals, and app quality. In 2 minutes you’ll see who wins for beginners, active traders, and long-term holders. Clear pros/cons, a quick verdict, and safe links to get started.

Last updated on August 16, 2025

Pdax

Stormgain

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United States

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Europe

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Latin America

Yes

India

China

Canada

Yes

United Kingdom

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Pdax is ideal if:

Locally integrated experience Enables seamless PHP deposits and withdrawals through banks and e-wallets, making it highly convenient for users in the Philippines.
Regulated and secure Operates under the supervision of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, with features like two-factor authentication and cold storage to protect your assets.
User-friendly and inclusive Offers an intuitive interface, low minimum deposits, and access to crypto, bonds, and collectibles—perfect for both beginners and everyday investors.

Stormgain is ideal if:

Beginner-friendliness meets power – A minimalist, intuitive interface plus demo account makes it easy to learn and explore advanced trading features privately.
All-in-one crypto toolkit – Combines spot, perpetuals, indices, crypto wallets, and cloud mining in one platform for users seeking versatility in one place.
High-leverage edge, higher risk – Offers substantial leverage and innovative tools, ideal for experienced self-directed traders—but demands careful risk control.

Pdax isn’t ideal if:

Not ideal for advanced traders Lacks access to derivatives, margin trading, staking, or passive income tools—so seasoned traders may find its offerings too limited.
Highly localized to the Philippines Designed for Filipino residents with PHP-only support and local IDs, making it inconvenient for international users.
Potential technical hiccups Historical reports of service outages during peak activity suggest possible reliability concerns for time-sensitive trades.

Stormgain isn’t ideal if:

You want broad token access – With only a handful of spot-available coins, it’s not suited for users hunting for diverse crypto holdings.
You prefer regulated platforms – As an unlicensed operation, it may not align with users who prioritize oversight within regulated environments.
You avoid high-risk strategies – Its ultra-leveraged tools are geared toward high-risk trading and may overwhelm those who prefer lower-risk, conservative approaches.

Fees & Total Costs

Spot Maker/Take

Maker orders cost around 0.4 % while taker orders are about 0.5 %, and there are no volume-based discount tiers or native-token rebates.

StormGain doesn’t use a traditional maker-taker tiered model—with trading fees generally structured as flat percentages that may vary by pairing instead of volume-based tiers or discounts tied to holding a native token.

Futures/Derivatives

PDAX currently does not offer derivatives or futures trading, so maker/taker fees and funding rates are not applicable.

Futures trades typically incur a performance-based cost—where only profitable trades are charged a commission, plus a daily funding (swap) rate applies to open positions.

Average Spreads on Liquid Pairs

Specific spread data isn’t publicly listed, though local liquidity suggests competitive spreads similar to other regional spot-only platforms.

Spreads are built into the execution price and vary by market conditions, but generally remain competitive on the most liquid BTC/USDT and ETH/USDT pairs.

Fiat Deposits & Withdrawals

Fiat transactions are available via bank transfers, e-wallets, and over-the-counter options; PDAX itself charges little to no platform fee, though third-party processing fees may apply, and settlements typically complete within hours to a day.

Fiat can be funded via credit/debit cards or SEPA (in some regions); card payments carry a moderate fee and are processed almost instantly, while SEPA transfers are fee-free or low-cost but take one to several business days.

On-chain Withdrawals

Withdrawal fees vary by cryptocurrency and blockchain—for example, BTC withdrawals cost around 0.0004 BTC, while other tokens each have set blockchain-based fee rates adjusted dynamically by network conditions.

Withdrawals involve both a fixed network fee and a small percentage fee, e.g. for Bitcoin it’s a fixed BTC amount plus a fractional percent, similar for Ethereum and other supported networks.

Hidden Costs

There are no known inactivity or express KYC fees, but users should account for potential currency conversion charges and third-party processing fees that may not be explicitly itemized.

Additional potential costs include currency conversion charges when depositing or withdrawing in non-base currencies and expedited refund or closed-account processing fees for certain administrative actions.

Real-World Cost Example: “€500 BTC

If you were to convert €500 (equivalent to PHP), you’d incur roughly a 0.5 % trading fee plus any spread embedded in the quote, and then pay a blockchain withdrawal fee—like 0.0004 BTC—if you choose to withdraw, though exact totals depend on the real-time exchange rate and network conditions.

If you use a card, you’d pay the purchase fee embedded in the execution rate (equivalent to a flat percentage), plus the spread, and then incur the standard withdrawal cost (fixed network fee + percentage) when sending to an external wallet—totaling one overall cost that combines those elements.

Crypto Offering & Trading Features

Number of Coins & Pairs

PDAX offers over 64 cryptocurrencies overall, including the top 20 by volume—major names like BTC, ETH, USDT, USDC, BNB, SOL and ADA—paired primarily with PHP for easy access.

StormGain offers around 80 cryptocurrencies, with the top 20 by trading volume typically including BTC, ETH, USDT, LTC, XRP, ADA, BNB, DOT, SOL, DOGE, LINK, MATIC, BCH, APE, AVAX, SHIB, UNI, LTC, TRX, and XLM paired mostly with USDT or BTC.

Product Range

The platform focuses on spot trading and also provides tokenized government bonds, collectibles, and access via an OTC desk for Prime users, but does not support margin, perps, options, ETFs, staking, lending, copy trading, grid bots, or automated DCA.

The platform supports spot and perpetuals trading, a built-in crypto wallet, cloud mining, but doesn’t offer margin, options, crypto-ETFs, staking/earn programs, loans, copy-trading, grid bots, or automated DCA features.

Liquidity

While exact 24-hour volumes and order-book depth data aren’t public, PDAX is known to maintain solid local liquidity, especially for major pairs like BTC/PHP and ETH/PHP, backed by visible order-book depth in Pro mode.

StormGain’s liquidity on BTC and ETH pairs is moderate—enough to handle retail-level volumes with minimal slippage; exact numbers aren’t published, but order book depth is sufficient for standard-sized trades without major price impact.

Tools

PDAX supports basic tools such as limit, market, and stop-limit orders, Pro mode with order book and depth chart, advanced TradingView charts (with indicators like RSI and MACD), and offers API/WebSocket access for developers.

Traders can place common order types like limit, stop-loss, and OCO; they have access to basic alerts and charting powered by a native implementation similar to TradingView, plus API and WebSocket access for advanced or automated trading.

Geographic Restrictions by Product

All trading services, including spot markets, are strictly limited to the Philippines—there is no availability for residents elsewhere, and derivative products are not offered in any region.

Certain services—most notably perpetual derivatives—are unavailable in regulated regions (for example, not accessible to users in the U.S., U.K., and some EU jurisdictions), limiting product availability by country.

Innovation

PDAX includes features like an OTC Prime trading desk for institutional-level access, tokenized “Hold & Earn” bonds, and collectible offerings, but does not currently feature launchpads, launchpools, or flexible vs locked earn programs.

While there’s no launchpad or launchpool, StormGain differentiates itself with on-platform cloud mining and occasional flexible earn opportunities, allowing users to earn by holding with option of flexible withdrawal rather than long-term locking.

Security, Regulation & Custody

Operating Entity & Jurisdiction

Operated by Philippine Digital Asset Exchange, Inc., founded in 2017 and headquartered in Taguig (Greater Metro Manila), the platform is incorporated under Philippine law.

StormGain is operated by StormGain LLC, officially registered in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and has its main operational base in London, UK, founded around 2019/2020, combining offshore registration with a London presence for its global operations.

Licenses/Registration

PDAX is licensed by and fully compliant with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas as a virtual currency exchange, operating under BSP Circular guidelines.

The platform runs without formal licensing or registration under any major financial regulator (such as VASP or MiCA), operating outside the regulatory frameworks commonly applied to crypto services.

Custody

PDAX uses custodial wallets (holding private keys for users), and while there’s no public proof-of-reserves or audit reports, they emphasize internal security protocols for asset protection.

StormGain uses its own custodial wallets with most customer funds stored in cold storage and the remainder in hot wallets for operations; it does not publish proof-of-reserves reports or details on auditing or the percentage held in cold storage.

Insurance & Protection Funds

Digital assets on PDAX are not insured under any deposit protection scheme, as crypto holdings are not classified as insured deposits by Philippine regulators.

There is no publicly disclosed third-party insurance or user fund protection scheme, meaning user assets are not safeguarded by insured pools or similar mechanisms.

Incident History

There are no publicly known major hacks, platform-wide freezes, or regulatory penalties affecting PDAX.

There are no publicly known major security breaches, freezing events, or regulatory penalties reported, but the lack of regulatory oversight and complete transparency means incident details—if any—are not widely documented.

Risk Controls

The platform supports strong security features such as two-factor authentication, anti-phishing measures, and a dedicated risk and compliance team to enforce AML and safeguard operations.

StormGain supports two-factor authentication (2FA), enforces strong encryption, and stores funds across hot and cold wallets; however, it lacks more advanced safeguards like IP or withdrawal-address whitelisting, sub-account divisions, or granular API permission settings.

Transparency

PDAX does not currently publish monthly proof-of-reserve reports or maintain publicly visible wallets, though they do communicate via their Help Center and Learning Hub on security topics.

The platform does not offer public monthly reports, a publicly viewable wallet, or service-level guarantees; transparency around reserve levels or operational metrics remains limited.

Deposits, Withdrawals, KYC & Support

Fiat Deposit Methods

Deposits in PHP are available via bank transfers, e-wallets, online channels, and OTC partners; minimums and fees vary by channel, and processing times range from near-instant to a few hours or up to a day depending on method.

You can fund your account using credit/debit cards or SEPA transfers (in supported regions), with minimums starting around USD/EUR 50, and card deposits are processed instantly while SEPA may take 1–3 business days.

Supported Fiat Currencies & Conversion

KYC (Verification Levels)

PDAX offers four account tiers—Basic, Verified, Premium, and Prime—with escalating daily, monthly, and annual transaction limits tied to each level.

StormGain allows basic trading with minimal or no KYC; more advanced access—like higher deposit/withdrawal limits—requires submitting identity verification, but exact tiers and thresholds are not publicly detailed.

Withdrawals

Crypto withdrawals are subject to tiered daily limits based on your account level, typically processed within minutes but occasionally taking up to an hour; networks such as ERC-20, TRC-20, and others are supported with fees assigned per token.

limits, timing & networks

Customer Support

Support is available by email and support tickets with variable response times; there is no live 24/7 chat, but users can access a knowledge base for self-help.

StormGain offers 24/7 live chat, email support, and an extensive help center (knowledge base), with response times usually quick though occasionally slower during peak periods.

Languages & Localization

The platform is fully localized for the Philippines, with a native English/PHP interface, showing fees only in PHP and tailored to compliant local regulation.

The interface is fully available in English, and transaction data (like balances and fees) appear in local currency (e.g., EUR or USD) where applicable, with region-appropriate regulatory disclaimers shown.

App Quality & Stability

The PDAX mobile app is generally stable and user-friendly, with regular updates visible in app stores and few reports of crashes among regular users.

Its mobile app boasts a high user rating (around 4.3 on Google Play with 97k+ reviews), is regularly updated, and maintains stable performance with few reported crashes.

Experience, Performance & Ecosystem

UX/UI

PDAX offers a gentle learning curve with its toggleable Lite (Convert) mode for beginners and Pro mode showcasing order books and depth charts, enabling users to seamlessly transition from simplified to more advanced tools

learning curve & modes

Performance

Users generally enjoy responsive order execution under normal market conditions, though occasional reports hint at brief downtime or slower processing during sharp volatility spikes—typical of regional exchanges with growing demand

latency & stress resilience

Education

The platform includes a rich “PDAX Learn” section featuring crypto basics, market insights, and educational content; however, there’s no dedicated demo or simulated trading environment, and Spanish-language content is currently absent

academy, demo, Spanish content

Community

PDAX maintains official presence on Discord, Telegram, and Facebook, and runs engaging referral and reward programs—like PDAX Quests and influencer promos—to encourage peer participation and user-driven growth

forums, messaging, referrals

Integrations

The platform comes equipped with TradingView-powered charts but currently lacks direct integrations for external trading bots, tax tools, or accounting services, limiting advanced automation and financial tracking options

tools & tax workflows

Who Each One Is Best For

PDAX is ideal for everyday Filipino users and crypto newcomers seeking a familiar, regulated, PHP-based experience; seasoned traders seeking derivative trading or deep automation may find its ecosystem less aligned with their advanced strategies.

This platform shines for beginner-to-intermediate traders seeking simplicity, demo practice, cloud mining, and in-built charts—less ideal for advanced users seeking tax integrations, multi-bot automation, or granular customization.