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

Trying to choose between Phemex and Xeggex 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

Xeggex

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Available Countries

United States

Europe

Yes

Latin America

Yes

India

Yes

China

Canada

United Kingdom

United States

Europe

Latin America

India

China

Canada

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.

Xeggex is ideal if:

Great if you're seeking simplicity: XeggeX offers an exceptionally intuitive interface that lowers the learning curve and makes navigating crypto markets approachable.
Ideal for exploring altcoins and niche tokens: The exchange lists a wide variety of low- to mid-cap cryptocurrencies and includes peer-to-peer and liquidity pool features—perfect for diversifying beyond mainstream assets.
A cautious choice due to its recent shutdown: Following a serious security breach and bankruptcy announcement earlier this year, relying on XeggeX now carries elevated risk—relying on self-custody methods is recommended.

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.

Xeggex isn’t ideal if:

Significant unresolved security failures undermined the platform’s reliability, ultimately leading to its collapse and bankruptcy—exposing systemic vulnerabilities.
Trust deeply eroded by withdrawal disruptions, user complaints of missing assets, and reports of blocked accounts—indicating serious operational breakdowns.
Unregulated and lacking transparency, making it ill-suited as a safe, long-term choice—especially when more stable and regulated alternatives exist.

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.

Spot trading fees start at around 0.2%, with tiered reductions based on trading volume and holdings of the native XPE token, which can unlock notable discounts.

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.

XeggeX currently does not offer futures or derivatives markets, so there are no associated maker/taker or funding fees to consider.

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.

As a smaller exchange, XeggeX can exhibit wider spreads on major pairs due to limited liquidity, meaning the difference between buy and sell prices may be noticeably larger than on larger platforms.

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.

XeggeX does not support fiat transactions—there are no deposit or withdrawal methods, meaning all activity is limited to crypto-to-crypto trades.

On-chain Withdrawals

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

Withdrawal fees are generally very low and vary by network, with exceptions such as Ethereum sometimes reaching up to about $0.30 due to network congestion, while other chains may charge negligible or minimal fixed network fees.

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.

Potential hidden costs include crypto conversion spreads, optional KYC express upgrades, or inactivity charges—all of which may apply even though basic use of the platform remains focused on crypto-to-crypto trading.

Real-World Cost Example: “€500 BTC

Example

If you were to purchase €500 worth of BTC (via a supported stablecoin like USDT), you’d incur the base trading fee (around 0.2%), a likely wider spread on a low-liquidity pair, and a modest withdrawal cost depending on the network you choose to send BTC—altogether yielding noticeably higher effective cost than more liquid, fiat-friendly platforms.

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.

XeggeX supports a substantial range of over 550 cryptocurrencies across around 930 market pairs, giving users exposure to both mainstream and niche digital assets in a single platform.

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 exchange focuses on spot trading and liquidity pools, with no standard margin, perpetual futures, options, crypto ETFs, staking, loans, copy-trading, grid bots, or automatic DCA—making it a simpler, crypto-to-crypto environment.

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.

24 h volume and order-book depth (BTC/ETH)

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.

Users have access to basic order types such as market, limit, and trigger (stop) orders; however, advanced tools like alerts, comprehensive charting, native TradingView integrations, or robust APIs and WebSocket feeds are not currently supported.

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.

While the exchange offers its core services broadly, certain features like derivatives or advanced products aren’t available in key markets, such as the United States, limiting access to some functionality based on 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.

XeggeX stands out with its liquidity pool offerings, enabling users to contribute funds and earn rewards, but it lacks common innovative features like launchpads, launchpools, or multiple flexible vs. locked yield-earning models.

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.

XeggeX was established in 2021 by crypto enthusiasts, with some sources indicating Germany as its base, though this remains somewhat ambiguous—its rapid niche focus and limited transparency make its legal structure and headquarters unclear.

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 operated without formal regulatory oversight—no VASP registration, MiCA compliance, or similar licensing was disclosed—positioning it squarely in the unregulated camp.

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

XeggeX utilized a central custodial model with a combination of hot and cold storage, but offered no public proof of reserves, independent audits, or details on the proportion held in cold storage, limiting transparency and user assurance.

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 was no publicly available information about any insurance scheme or specific protection funds set aside to safeguard user deposits in case of loss or breach.

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 February 2025, hackers compromised the CEO’s Telegram account and infiltrated the exchange’s core systems, leading to frozen withdrawals and user balances showing zero—culminating in a bankruptcy declaration by late June.

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.

While the exchange promoted two-factor authentication and encryption, more advanced controls like withdrawal whitelists, anti-phishing systems, segregated sub-accounts, or fine-grained API permissions were either minimal or undocumented.

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.

XeggeX did not maintain any visible transparency mechanisms—no monthly audit reports, no publicly visible wallet addresses, and no formal service-level agreements; communication slowed notably as the bankruptcy process unfolded.

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.

XeggeX does not support fiat deposits; only cryptocurrency deposits via multiple blockchain networks are possible, with no stated minimum or maximum, and the process typically completes in just a few minutes.

Supported Fiat Currencies & Conversion

KYC (Verification Levels)

There are three user tiers

KYC isn’t mandatory for crypto-only trading, but users without KYC face a daily withdrawal cap of around $5,000—verification lifts this limit significantly, unlocking higher withdrawal thresholds for larger-volume users.

Withdrawals

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

Withdrawals are processed swiftly—often within minutes—and support several network types (e.g., ERC-20, BEP-20), although exact limits vary; verified users generally enjoy higher or unlimited withdrawal capacity.

Customer Support

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

Support is handled via a ticketing system with claimed 24/7 availability and typical response within 12 hours; email and platform tickets are primary channels, while response speed and resolution quality are reported to be inconsistent.

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’s interface is natively in English, with fee displays in USD; there are no localized versions or specific regulatory frameworks tailored to other regions.

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.

XeggeX offers both web and mobile (iOS beta and Android) access, with a smooth, intuitive interface, but the app’s stability and recent update cadence are unclear and may vary across platforms.

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.

XeggeX offers a clean and modern interface that’s intuitive for newcomers, featuring toggles between basic and full-screen layouts (plus light/dark themes), giving beginners a comfortable entry point and allowing power users to access more comprehensive views with minimal friction.

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.

The platform is engineered for swift order execution under normal conditions, but experienced disruptions and log-in downtime during critical market events—compounded by stretched support and restoration delays tied to operational chaos during the collapse.

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.

XeggeX did not provide structured educational resources like academies, paper trading simulators, or Spanish-language tutorials, focusing instead on direct trading utility rather than user training or localized guidance.

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.

While XeggeX initially maintained active presence across Discord and Telegram, these channels were abruptly limited or shut down amid the crisis—though remnants of community efforts, including unofficial Discord support, continue to persist. Referral incentives were present but overshadowed by the broader turmoil.

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.

Users benefit from a native TradingView integration and access to liquidity-pool bots via the API, but there’s no formal integration with tax tools or accounting platforms—even though third-party developers have built basic automation tools via the REST API.

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.

XeggeX’s streamlined interface and breadth of niche token offerings made it suitable for crypto-savvy traders interested in altcoin and meme assets—but its fragile infrastructure and lack of educational support or system stability rendered it inappropriate for risk-averse or learning-focused users.