Poloniex Exchange Review: Features, Fees, Pros, Cons, Security & More | Is Poloniex Worth Using?

Are you in a hurry to start your crypto journey? Hold on, and do your research before you invest. Today we will review – Poloniex – a digital asset trading exchange registered in Seychelles. In this review, we will be discussing in detail Poloniex features, Pros, Cons, and Overall rating

Overview

Table of Contents 

• Introduction
• Account setup and verification
• User interface and experience
• Assets and trading options
• Fees and costs
• Security and safety
• Customer support and resources
• Regulatory compliance and legitimacy
• Community sentiment and reputation
• Pros and Cons summary
• Conclusion and recommendation

Introduction

Are you in a hurry to start your crypto journey? Hold on, and do your research before you invest. Today we will review – Poloniex – a digital asset trading exchange registered in Seychelles. In this review, we will be discussing in detail Poloniex features, fees, Pros, Cons, security, fees, and much more.

It was founded in the year 2013 with its mission to “provide a safe and seamless way to store, transfer, trade and earn digital asset”. Poloniex exchange has been controversial in its field mainly because of its interaction with users and transaction security. Nonetheless, it ceased its services for users in the U.S. in December 2019. But, it is available to the users outside the U.S.

But, what attracted me to Poloniex? It’s wide range of cryptocurrencies, the high liquidity, comparatively lower fees than most other crypto exchange platforms and its advanced trading tools. A special mention to its user-friendly interface which makes both beginners and experienced traders have a smooth trading experience. Now let us discuss more about the nitty-gritties of using Poloniex.

Account Setup and Verification

Let us learn how to create an account on Poloniex

1. Log on to Poloniex.com and enter your email address
2. Enter an alphanumeric password
3. Enter the OTP sent to your email ID
4. You are now level 1 verified. However, to increase the withdrawal limit and enhance security we need to complete level 2 verification
5. Click on Level 2 verification. Select your Country. Enter details like name, date of birth, and address. Enter your mobile number. Click [Continue]
6. Upload a Government issued Photo ID like Passport, driving license, or identity card. You can capture the front and backside of the ID card using a web camera
7. Capture your selfie using a web camera
8. The verification can take up to a few minutes. 
9. Also, install Google authenticator on your mobile app and enable 2FA to secure your account, and then you’re good to go! 

User Interface and Experience

Just like many other platforms where you can exchange cryptocurrencies, Poloniex has its own website for trading. Their website is extremely user-friendly and easy to use. It shows you graphs of how the prices of different cryptocurrencies are changing at present over time. You can also choose different time periods to see how the prices have changed. In fact, you can use different tools to figure out what might happen with the prices in the future! 

On this website, you can place different kinds of orders to buy or sell cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Monero, and Tether. 

Do you know Poloniex is really popular for trading Tether?This is because a lot of people use it exclusively for that. You will also have the lending option to trade on Poloniex, which is something you can’t do on other websites.

Assets and Trading Options

The exchange offers more than 400+ cryptocurrencies. It also provides NFT. Some of the popular cryptocurrencies are:

• Bitcoin
• Ethereum
• Litecoin
• Luna
• Bitcoin Cash
• Tether
• Cosmos
• BNB
• Shiba Inu
• Dogecoin

Fees and Costs

Now, we come to the most important aspect – Poloniex fees. It has thought carefully about how they would charge fees from its users so that it’s fair for everyone. Instead of having just one fee for everyone, they have set different Poloniex deposit fees and Poloniex withdrawal fees depending on things like how much you’re trading or what’s happening in the market.

While they haven’t given exact numbers, Poloniex always aims to keep its fees competitive and low as compared to other crypto trading exchanges. Hence, they want their fees to be among the cheapest in the industry.

Poloniex has made sure that their fees work well for everyone, whether they trade a little or a lot. This is to make sure that everyone can trade fairly.

When you withdraw cryptocurrencies from it, they have different kinds of Poloniex withdrawal fees. For example, if you’re withdrawing Bitcoin, the fee would be 0.0005 BTC. This is relatively higher than other platforms which usually charge about 0.000075 BTC. So, Poloniex’s fee for Bitcoin withdrawals is about 566.67% higher than the industry average.

Security and Safety

To keep everything safe, Poloniex has two ways to prove who you are when you log in/withdraw. In fact, you need to confirm with an email when you want to take money out. Most of the funds that Poloniex looks after are kept safe in cold storafe and not online. They also keep updates for anything strange happening on their website.

In 2014, Poloniex exchange got hacked. This took away about 12.3% of all the Bitcoin that was there. This is a major issue and might make you think twice about using Poloniex. Then, in 2020, it got hacked again. Even though Poloniex managed to keep going after these hacks, it’s still something to be careful about, especially if you have a lot of funds with them.

Poloniex also got in trouble with the security regulators of the United States. In August 2021, the SEC said Poloniex was running a digital asset exchange without permission, and Poloniex had to pay more than $10 million to settle things. Even though Poloniex is doing better now, this is a sign that maybe it’s not the safest platform for cryptocurrency trading.

Customer Support and Resources

Poloniex has a dedicated customer support section where you can browse different categories of queries. It has also a live 24/7 chat support section that can assist you with emergency queries. But, there is no phone support. 

Poloniex mostly helps its users through email. Whenever you need help, you have to fill out a simple form to ask for it. They also have a section with answers to the FAQs.

Most of the time, Poloniex expects you to take care of things yourself on their website. However, if you don’t prefer looking for answers on your own, you might want to use another exchange that gives you more ways to get help.

Regulatory Compliance and Legitimacy

Poloniex is an authentic platform where you can trade cryptocurrencies. But it got hacked twice as mentioned before and went through a SEC Regulatory action.

You can withdraw bulk from Poloniex each day, but only up to $10,000. This will not need you to prove your identity. But if you want to withdraw more than that, you have to upload your ID and go through a process called KYC.

Community Sentiment and Reputation

Although Poloniex doesn’t have good reviews from users in general, it’s important to know that relatively poor customer support is a problem for many cryptocurrency exchanges. If someone hacks your account or if you transfer cryptocurrency to the wrong place by mistake, it’s difficult to get your funds back no matter which exchange you use.

Pros and Cons Summary

Advantages

• 24/7 customer support
• User-friendly Interface
• Wide range of cryptocurrencies options
• Advanced tools and useful trading features
• Option to trade in a more independent way with Poloni DEX

Disadvantages

• Has had security issues before
• Extra fee of 3.5% if you use Simplex Payment for buying cryptocurrencies
• You can’t use it in the United States
• Many complaints about customer service in the past
• You can’t trade your regular money like dollars

Conclusion and Recommendation

In conclusion, Poloniex offers various trading features and wide range of cryptocurrency options for users. While it boasts user-friendly interfaces, a wide range of cryptocurrency options, and advanced trading tools, it’s important to consider the pros and cons. The platform has faced multiple security breaches in the past. Also, additional fees may apply for certain transactions. Moreover, Poloniex is not available in the United States, and its customer service has got mixed reviews. 

We’d recommend this platform since it has low trading fees and over 400 different cryptocurrencies that you can trade. It also lets you do margin trading, lend cryptocurrencies, and has multiple ways to trade. But, we’d also suggest you consider the security factor since Poloniex as discussed does not have a good reputation with its security. 

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