Phemex vs Bigone: Fees, Security, Features & Which to Choose (2025)

Trying to choose between Phemex and Bigone 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

Phemex

Bigone

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Available Countries

United States

Europe

Yes

Latin America

Yes

India

Yes

China

Canada

United Kingdom

United States

Yes

Europe

Yes

Latin America

Yes

India

Yes

China

Yes

Canada

Yes

United Kingdom

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Phemex is ideal if:

Fast-paced traders value it: With ultra-low latency and deep liquidity, Phemex's high-performance trading engine offers smooth execution and stability.
Tech-savvy users benefit: Advanced tools—like copy trading, bots, and DeFi-style earning products—empower both automation and strategy innovation.
Privacy-conscious users find appeal: Flexible KYC policies and a streamlined onboarding style suit those preferring minimal verification barriers.

Bigone is ideal if:

Strong security foundations — BigONE deploys cold wallet reserves, multi-signature storage, and enforced two-factor authentication, making it a solid pick if asset protection is your priority.
Flexible services ecosystem — Offers margin and futures trading, copy trading, staking, lending, and liquidity mining—all within a single platform, ideal for users who want diverse earning and trading options.
Beginner-friendly features — With demo accounts, low minimum deposits, an intuitive interface, and mobile access, it provides a gentle entry point for new traders keen to learn hands-on.

Phemex isn’t ideal if:

Fiat-focused users may face limits: Fiat deposit and withdrawal services are unavailable or heavily restricted in numerous countries, reducing accessibility for those relying on bank transfers.
Newcomers could feel overwhelmed: The platform’s advanced features and high-leverage tools offer power—but may feel complex if you’re new to trading.
Risk-averse investors might be uneasy: Derivatives and high-leverage products carry greater risk, making Phemex less suited to those seeking lower-volatility exposure.

Bigone isn’t ideal if:

Not fully regulated transparency — The exchange doesn’t clearly disclose its regulation structure or provide detailed company background, which could raise trust concerns for users seeking fully licensed platforms.
Fiat limitations affect access — Lacks direct fiat deposit support in many regions and doesn’t allow bank/card funding in most cases, making it inconvenient for users who prefer traditional payment methods.
Security breach history — Recently suffered a significant hack targeting its hot wallet, temporarily halting trading and deposit services—which may deter those prioritizing operational resilience.

Fees & Total Costs

Spot Maker/Take

Spot trading fees start at 0.1% for both maker and taker on the base VIP tier and can decrease via VIP-level benefits tied to trading volume or asset holdings; using the Phemex Token (PT) grants additional discounts—around 20% off spot fees—and those can stack with VIP reductions.

BigONE charges a flat 0.2 % for both maker and taker orders on spot trading, and applies discounts through its tiered VIP system—higher levels (Bronze to Challenger) qualify for lower maker/taker fees based on privilege points earned via volume, referrals, or holdings, with fees notably reduced at top tiers

Futures/Derivatives

Futures (perpetual contracts) begin with a maker fee as low as 0.01% and a taker fee of 0.06%, with lower rates available through VIP status; funding rates vary according to market dynamics and are applied periodically, affecting long or short positions depending on current rates.

For perpetual futures contracts, BigONE charges 0.02 % maker and 0.06 % taker fees, with funding rate payments exchanged between long and short positions at regular intervals and no additional platform fee for funding itself

Average Spreads on Liquid Pairs

Phemex delivers tight spreads on major spot pairs like BTC/USDT and ETH/USDT, thanks to deep order-book liquidity and efficient execution, although the exact average spread fluctuates with market conditions and isn’t publicly standardized.

While BigONE-specific spread data is scarce, the exchange’s BTC/USDT and ETH/USDT pairs are generally expected to align with tight spreads seen across highly liquid platforms—typically well below 0.1 % for such major pairs

Fiat Deposits & Withdrawals

Fiat deposits are facilitated via third-party gateways such as MoonPay or Banxa, often with fees imposed by those services; withdrawal in fiat is limited or restricted depending on jurisdiction and may incur fixed charges or banking delays driven by external banking partners.

methods, fees, timings

On-chain Withdrawals

Crypto withdrawals carry network-dependent fees, which vary by chain and congestion

fixed vs dynamic fees (BTC, ETH, TRX, etc.)

Hidden Costs

Hidden costs may include markups from third-party fiat gateways, potential inactivity penalties (if any), and premium-tier services like expedited KYC—but generally, Phemex avoids additional charges beyond trading, withdrawal, and external service fees.

Implicit costs can include exchange rate conversion within OTC trades, inactivity charges (none publicly indicated), expedited KYC processes (not clearly associated with extra cost), or fallback spreads embedded in peer-to-peer OTC fiat conversions—so while not labeled as fees, these can quietly affect overall costs.

Real-World Cost Example: “€500 BTC

Example

Suppose you convert €500 via OTC into USDT or BTC (with a typical provider fee of ~2 %), then place a spot trade paying ~0.2 % spot fee and accept a spread of ~0.05 %; if you then withdraw BTC on-chain (0.0005 BTC fee), your total cost would roughly include

Crypto Offering & Trading Features

Number of Coins & Pairs

Phemex offers several hundred tradable assets across hundreds of spot and futures pairs; among the top by volume you’ll typically see major pairs like BTC/USDT, ETH/USDT, XRP/USDT, SOL/USDT, DOGE/USDT, ADA/USDT dominating the leaderboards.

BigONE supports over 500 cryptocurrencies across more than 170 trading pairs, with its top-20 by volume typically including heavyweights like BTC/USDT, ETH/USDT, XRP/USDT, and SOL/USDT.

Product Range

Phemex delivers a wide product mix including spot and margin trading, perpetual futures, automated copy-trading, grid-trading bots (spot and futures), DCA and Martingale bots, essential lending/borrow via margin, plus crypto earn products and launchpad functionality.

You’ll find a broad suite of offerings—spot, margin trading (up to 10×), perpetual futures (up to 100× leverage), structured products (like dual investment), lending, staking, liquidity-mining, copy-trading, grid-bots, and DCA-style automated tools.

Liquidity

Phemex sees substantial daily volume usually in the hundreds of millions USD, with order-book depth in BTC and ETH strong enough to support sizable trades without excessive slippage, reflecting healthy active liquidity.

The 24-hour trading volume is in the high hundreds of millions of dollars, and for key pairs like BTC and ETH, order book depth is robust enough to ensure smooth execution on sizable trades.

Tools

The platform includes full order-type support such as limit, market, stop and OCO orders, real-time alerts, advanced interactive charts powered by TradingView, and robust API with WebSocket for seamless automation and live data.

BigONE supports a full range of order types—including limit, stop, TP/SL, OCO, post-only and reduce-only—along with trading alerts, advanced charting (TradingView integration), and both REST API and WebSocket access for automating or building strategies.

Geographic Restrictions by Product

Certain services—especially derivatives—are restricted in countries like the United States, United Kingdom, parts of Canada, China, and other regions, while spot and earn products may remain accessible depending on local laws.

Some advanced products—especially derivatives—are not accessible in restricted regions such as the United States and China, limiting access based on user location.

Innovation

Phemex continually expands its ecosystem with launchpad or launchpool-style token sales, and layered earn programs offering both flexible (withdraw anytime) and locked (higher yield) options to fit different investor preferences.

The platform includes innovative features like flexible versus fixed staking options, launchpad/launchpool alternatives, and other evolving income opportunities to help users engage with new projects or yield mechanisms.

Security, Regulation & Custody

Operating Entity & Jurisdiction

Phemex began in 2019 and is operated under entities such as Phemex Technology Pte. Ltd. in Singapore and Phemex Limited in the British Virgin Islands, placing it under those legal jurisdictions.

BigONE is operated by One Trading Limited, founded in 2017 and registered in Seychelles; it also operates under the regulated entity BigONE Eurasia based in Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC), which is governed by the Astana Financial Services Authority.

Licenses/Registration

While Phemex holds an MSB registration with FinCEN in the U.S., it currently lacks MiCA or equivalent EU licensing and is not authorized to operate in several regulated regions.

The AIFC-based segment of BigONE holds licenses for operating as an investment exchange, clearing house, trading facility, and custodian—indicating formal oversight in that jurisdiction, though global licensing appears limited.

Custody

The exchange maintains full custody of user assets and provides a self-verifiable Merkle-tree proof-of-reserves (PoR) tool that shows assets are backed 1

BigONE maintains a mixed custody model with segregated cold and hot wallets, employs multi-signature safeguards, and claims 100 % asset reserves with a mechanism enabling users to track reserves—though external audit or formal Proof of Reserves verification remains unpublished.

Insurance & Protection Funds

There is no publicly disclosed insurance or user protection fund; security relies on reserve mechanisms and risk controls but does not include third-party insurance coverage.

The platform holds an internal insurance reserve pool which it drew upon to fully compensate users after a security breach, acting as a form of self-insured protection.

Incident History

Phemex has not reported any major hacks, though it temporarily suspended a hot-wallet after an internal security review; it also faced regulatory scrutiny in Canada and the UK for compliance issues.

In July 2025, BigONE endured a supply-chain attack targeting its hot wallet, resulting in a $27 million loss—private keys remained intact, the threat was contained, and full user compensation was made from internal reserves.

Risk Controls

Users benefit from standard safeguards including mandatory two-factor authentication, IP or address whitelists, anti-phishing protection, segregated sub-accounts, and granular API permission controls.

Security measures include mandatory two-factor authentication, real-time wallet monitoring, cold-hot wallet separation with multi-signature use, encrypted key management, and a public bug bounty program to surface vulnerabilities.

Transparency

Phemex offers monthly-updated PoR data, public disclosure of partial cold wallet addresses, and reserve ratios, demonstrating a commitment to transparency though without formal SLAs or comprehensive monthly financial reports.

While BigONE communicates openly during incidents and allows reserve tracking, it currently does not publish regular reports, maintain a public wallet address, or offer formal service-level agreements.

Deposits, Withdrawals, KYC & Support

Fiat Deposit Methods

Phemex supports fiat deposits via bank transfers (SWIFT, SEPA, ACH, FPS) and third-party services like MoonPay or Banxa; minimums generally start around $50, maximums reach very high limits, and processing typically takes from instant (via e-wallet) to 1–3 business days for transfers.

BigONE doesn’t support traditional fiat deposits directly through bank transfer, card, or e-wallets; instead, users rely on its OTC desk, where they can use channels like Alipay or WeChat Pay to convert fiat to crypto for trading. No official minimums or maximums are advertised, and timings depend on third-party provider processing.

Supported Fiat Currencies & Conversion

KYC (Verification Levels)

There are three user tiers

BigONE features two identity verification tiers

Withdrawals

limits, times, networks (TRC20/ERC20/BEP20, etc.)

limits, speeds & networks

Customer Support

chat 24/7, email, response times, knowledge base

The exchange offers 24/7 multilingual assistance via live chat and ticketing/email, though it lacks a direct call center; users can also consult an extensive FAQ and support library through the help center for self-service.

Languages & Localization

The platform’s interface and support are primarily in English, with fees typically shown in USD or equivalent fiat; some content and interfaces are localized for major regions, though comprehensive local regulation compliance varies by jurisdiction.

BigONE’s interface supports over a dozen languages, including English, and displays trading figures in widely used currencies such as USD and EUR, but local regulatory nuances aren’t highlighted or tailored for specific jurisdictions.

App Quality & Stability

The Phemex mobile app is generally regarded as stable and regularly updated, offering seamless feature parity with desktop—though exact crash rates aren’t disclosed, user feedback reflects a smooth, reliable experience.

The BigONE mobile app—available on iOS and Android—is reported to be stable and smooth, with fast loading times, no significant lags or crashes noted, frequent updates, and a responsive UI that supports real-time trading and charting.

Experience, Performance & Ecosystem

UX/UI

The platform offers a clean, intuitive interface with a low entry barrier for newcomers, while also featuring an advanced “Pro” layout tailored to seasoned users that surfaces more chart tools and analytics—all accessible without overwhelming either group.

BigONE delivers a clean and intuitive interface that’s approachable for newcomers yet robust for advanced users; mobile and web platforms provide streamlined default views for quick trades and a more advanced layout (pro-style) for detailed charting and order control.

Performance

Known for its fast order execution and robust infrastructure, Phemex handles volatility with minimal downtime, though during peak surges KYC and account approval may experience slight delays—performance remains solid overall.

Order execution is generally fast and consistent, with minimal delays under normal conditions; even during high-volatility spikes, the system scales reliably, and KYC processing experience remains responsive without long queue delays—even in peak bull markets.

Education

Phemex Academy offers a rich library of beginner-to-advanced tutorials, while a fully functional Testnet simulator lets users practice trading risk-free; however, Spanish-language educational materials are limited or not as comprehensive.

The platform offers educational resources like a learning center and trading guides, though a full demo or simulator isn’t currently available; Spanish content is moderate—translated basic materials exist but in-depth tutorials are primarily in English.

Community

Users can join lively communities via Telegram or Discord, participate in referral programs offering significant bonus pools and commissions, and access forums where updates and peer tips circulate regularly.

BigONE nurtures an active community with official channels on Telegram and Discord, maintains a robust referral rewards program offering fee discounts, and engages users through social updates rather than formal forums.

Integrations

Phemex’s interface embeds native TradingView charts, supports integration with external bot frameworks, and appeals to algorithmic traders via API access, though dedicated tax or accounting tool integrations are limited.

There’s a built-in TradingView terminal for advanced technical analysis, supports integration with external trading bots via API, though it doesn’t offer native tax or accounting tools; users typically export data for external bookkeeping.

Who Each One Is Best For

Phemex stands out for active, tech-savvy or algorithmic traders seeking powerful tools, automation access, and derivatives options; it’s less ideal for ultra-beginners or those requiring local-language education or deep tax integrations.

This platform suits a wide range—from beginner users who value simplicity and educational support to intermediate traders who want tools like grid bots and copy-trading, but power users seeking full tax or accounting automation may need complementary tools.