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

Trying to choose between Phemex and Lbank 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

Lbank

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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

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.

Lbank is ideal if:

Altcoin & Meme Enthusiast Fit: With hundreds of altcoins and a dedicated “Meme Zone,” it's ideal for traders chasing emerging tokens and meme-driven trends.
Passive Income Friendly: Offers optional staking, Launchpad & Launchpool features, plus copy-trading tools—great for users looking to earn without nonstop manual trading.
Fiat On-Ramp Simplicity: Supports instant fiat buying, P2P options, and broad fiat access via multiple gateways—making entry smooth for beginners and casual investors.

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.

Lbank isn’t ideal if:

Support-Dependent: If you're looking for fast, multi-channel customer service, LBank may feel too limited—it mainly relies on email and live chat, with slow response times.
Beginner Unfriendly: Without demo accounts, structured tutorials, or an extensive FAQ, newbies might find it hard to get started confidently.
Skeptic by Nature: If you prefer exchanges with independent audits or top-tier regulation, LBank's lack of transparent audits and lower-tier licensing may raise red flags.

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.

LBank charges a flat maker and taker fee of approximately 0.10% on spot trades—fixed regardless of your trading volume and without discounts linked to its native token, LBK.

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.

Futures trading on LBank involves a maker fee of around 0.02% and a taker fee of about 0.06%, though there is no specified funding rate disclosed for perpetual contracts.

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 exact numbers fluctuate moment-to-moment, spreads on highly liquid pairs like BTC/USDT and ETH/USDT tend to remain tight due to deep market liquidity and efficient order execution.

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.

You can deposit or withdraw fiat via diverse third-party gateways—such as cards, bank transfers, or digital wallets—where LBank itself charges no extra fees, but gateway fees usually range from 1% to 5%, with processing times depending on the provider.

On-chain Withdrawals

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

Crypto withdrawals incur network fees determined by the blockchain (e.g. fixed small BTC fee like ~0.0001 BTC), which can rise in times of congestion—fees vary by asset and must be checked at the time of withdrawal.

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.

There are generally no inactivity or account maintenance fees, but costs may arise during currency conversions and expedited KYC—since certain payment gateways may tack on surcharges not directly outlined by LBank.

Real-World Cost Example: “€500 BTC

Example

If you buy €500 worth of BTC, you’d face the ~0.10% fee on the spot trade, a minor spread embedded in the market rate, and a dynamic withdrawal fee (e.g. ~0.0001 BTC)—all combining into a modest overall cost.

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.

LBank lists over 900 cryptocurrencies across around 1,100 trading pairs, with the top 20 by volume dominated by major tokens like BTC/USDT, ETH/USDT, SOL/USDT, XRP/USDT, and UGOLD/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.

The platform supports a broad suite including spot, futures (perps), options, crypto ETFs, staking, crypto loans, P2P, copy trading, grid bots, and automated DCA strategies.

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.

Daily volume averages a few billion dollars (e.g. $4–5 billion), with BTC/USDT and ETH/USDT showing deep order-book liquidity and tight pricing, reflecting robust market depth.

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.

Traders benefit from limit, market, stop-limit, and OCO orders, price alerts, advanced charting (TradingView integration built in), plus full API and WebSocket access.

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.

Derivatives and other advanced products are unavailable in certain jurisdictions, and services like futures or options may be restricted depending on local regulation.

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.

LBank adds value through its launchpad and launchpool initiatives for new token launches, and offers both flexible and locked staking/earn options for users with varying liquidity preferences.

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.

LBank is operated by LBK Exchange Limited and related entities, founded around 2015/2017, with headquarters registered in the British Virgin Islands—though it maintains a significant business presence in Hong Kong or Indonesia.

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 platform holds multiple registrations—including as a Money Services Business with FinCEN (U.S.) and FINTRAC (Canada), AUSTRAC in Australia, plus VASP registrations in Lithuania and Italy—in addition to participating in Korea’s CODE VASP Alliance.

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

LBank uses cold storage for the majority of user assets, employs cryptographic proof-of-reserves mechanisms, and has partnered with Elliptic for transaction monitoring, but there’s no public percentage of assets stored offline.

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.

There is no general user-asset insurance; the internal “Insurance Fund” only covers futures liquidation deficits, leaving users fully exposed in case of hacks or platform failure.

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.

Remarkably, LBank has not experienced any verified major security breaches to date, maintaining a clean track record with no hacks reported.

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.

Users benefit from strong security features like two-factor authentication, anti-phishing mechanisms, withdrawal whitelists, customizable withdrawal limits, and a dedicated Incident Response Team for rapid support.

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 LBank offers proof-of-reserves and maintains regulatory registrations, it lacks regular public transparency reports, visible wallet addresses, or formal SLAs for security response times.

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.

Users can fund via bank transfer, credit/debit cards, and e-wallets through various third-party providers; deposits are generally fast and fee-free on LBank’s side, though daily min/max thresholds depend on the payment partner and can take a few minutes to process in most cases.

Supported Fiat Currencies & Conversion

KYC (Verification Levels)

There are three user tiers

No KYC is required to trade, but completing verification enables higher withdrawal limits (e.g. from 0.5 BTC up to 5.5 BTC per day) and unlocks access to fiat services and special features.

Withdrawals

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

Withdrawal limits rise significantly post-KYC, processing speed depends on network status, and withdrawals via ERC-20, TRC-20, BEP-20, and others follow dynamic, blockchain-determined fees visible at the time of withdrawal.

Customer Support

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

Support is available around the clock via live chat and email, though some users report response delays; a detailed knowledge base and FAQs help address common issues.

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.

The platform operates in native English with fiat values shown in multiple currencies (€, $), and while localized for global users, regulatory frameworks vary widely—some regions see limited features.

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.

LBank’s mobile app (iOS and Android) is feature-rich and generally stable, though specific metrics like crash rates aren’t publicly disclosed; the interface receives regular updates to support evolving features.

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.

LBank features a clean, intuitive interface that’s easy for beginners to navigate while still offering pro-level tools; although there’s no formal “Lite” or “Pro” toggle, the design flows naturally from simple trading screens to advanced panels as needed.

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.

Thanks to recent core matching engine upgrades, order execution is noticeably faster and more stable; platform downtime during extreme volatility has been minimal, and KYC processing scales reasonably well even in 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.

LBank provides an educational academy with glossaries and guides, though it lacks a live demo or simulator; content is improving in localization, with support pages and FAQs available in Spanish.

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.

The platform supports active communities via Telegram and Discord, and rewards engagement through a structured referral and ambassador program that includes peer networks, campus partners, and a points-through-activity system.

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.

LBank integrates native TradingView-style advanced charts and offers full REST/WebSocket APIs for external bots or tax/compliance tooling, though no built-in tax accounting features are currently advertised.

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.

LBank is ideal for altcoin enthusiasts and active traders seeking fast execution, reward channels through referrals and gamified points, and a globally intuitive interface—while more casual users or accountants might miss simulator tools or integrated tax tracking.