FTX Exchange is a leader in centralized cryptocurrency exchanges, specializing in derivatives and leveraged products. This FTX review is an up-to-date, detailed analysis of FTX crypto exchange, containing everything you need to know about FTX and an in-depth evaluation of why people prefer FTX to trade crypto derivatives. 

Let’s dive in.

FTX Review

FTX, a cryptocurrency exchange based in the Bahamas, entered the market in 2019 with the goal of becoming the world’s premier platform for trading tokens. Despite being only a few years old, it is already a leading centralized crypto exchange. FTX valuation is over $32 billion.

Offering innovative products like futures, options, and leveraged tokens helps it stand out from the competition. In comparison to some of its rivals, it also supports a much larger number of cryptocurrencies—over 300.

FTX offers a variety of products that may appeal to both new investors and experienced traders alike. New investors can trade spots on FTX’s platform, while skilled traders can trade futures, equities, and FTX leveraged tokens.

FTX REVIEW: What is FTX?

FTX is a cryptocurrency derivatives exchange that offers futures, leveraged tokens, and OTC trading. The exchange separates itself from its competitors by offering innovative products like derivatives, options, and leveraged tokens. 

It also supports over 300 cryptocurrencies, which is a large base compared to some of its competitors. This enables FTX to be an excellent choice for institutional and retail crypto day traders.

FTX REVIEW: Why FTX Exchange?

FTX helps gain access to the best spot trading practices and enables fund transfers via fiat and stable cryptocurrencies, such as Ethereum, Bitcoin, and Litecoin. It supports a selected range of stablecoins and altcoins.

FTX helps retail and institutional traders diversify their crypto trading portfolios with its trading services. The platform provides multiple trading products and options. Furthermore, FTX services are developed to stay dedicated to professional traders in the market. In other words, the platform offers services to experienced traders.

The FTX platform also runs an OTC service. This service helps interested traders make large crypto purchases. Through the FTX mobile app, traders can buy large crypto volumes and manage their FTX user accounts on the go.

FTX Pros and Cons

Pros

• Trade with confidence: FTX is focused on adhering to compliance regulations in the jurisdictions where it operates. FTX also uses industry-leading security measures, such as a specially designed hot and cold wallet solution.
• Supports futures and margin trading: FTX offers a range of sophisticated features, including support for futures and margin trading. This may be appealing to experienced traders who are at ease with risk.
• User-friendly interface: It’s quick and simple to start trading on the FTX cryptocurrency exchange. You can start trading cryptocurrencies in less than 3 minutes using its straightforward app. Open an account, deposit money into it, and start trading.
• Low fees: FTX charges low fees on all its tradable products and services which are among the lowest on exchanges reviewed by AlteBlock. FTX offers a low trading fee starting from 0.02% to 0.07% for its futures and spot markets which are based on the maker-and-taker model.
• High liquidity: With. FTX high liquidity investors and traders can easily convert their cryptocurrencies to fiat without having to worry about liquidity. Thus, FTX guarantees market-leading liquidity for all its users.
• FTX Staking: FTX features the ability to earn on its exchange platform by staking.  This lets you stake your cryptocurrency for a period of time and earn rewards while doing so.

Cons

• Customer service: Unlike some of its rivals, FTX recommends that customers open a support ticket with their team through an online portal, which is time-consuming.
• Not available in the U.S: FTX does not allow residents of the U.S to trade on its platform. Although, there’s a separate trading platform for U.S investors called  FTX.US
• Limited Staking feature: FTX only supports the ability to stake FTX coin i.e. FTT Token, without the support for staking other cryptocurrencies on its platform.

FTX REVIEW: How to Sign Up on FTX

Step 1

Go to FTX and click on “Create a free account” at the top right corner. On the create account page, enter your email, password, and tick the box to agree to the FTX terms of service, then click on “Create account.”

Step 2

Now fill in the fields with your details, as seen in the screenshot below. Then click “Continue.”

Step 3

Fill in your home address and click “Continue.” On the next page, input your phone number and click on “Send Code.” Then a 6-digit code will be sent to you; input it in the field and click on “Continue.” 

Step 4

Now you’ll need to verify your address. Upload a document from the outlined options with your name, address, and most recent date. 

Step 5

Select where your funds come from from the outlined options and click “Continue.”

FTX KYC

FTX without KYC will limit your account to just a few features, but completing the FTX exchange KYC process will make your account limitless.

Step 1

Now you’ll proceed to verify your identity. Click “Continue.” On the next page, click on “Get Started.”

Step 2

Now select an identification method and click “Next.” On the next page, click “Accept and Continue.” Now you’ll need to submit a clear photo of the front and back of your ID from your computer by clicking on “Choose file.” 

Note: If you don’t have an already taken photo on your PC, you can switch to mobile by clicking on “Other options” and then selecting “Switch to phone.” You’ll need to input your phone number, and a link will be sent to your mobile. Click on it to continue the verification process. 

Step 3

Next up, you’ll need to take a selfie on your PC, click “Continue,” and proceed. You’ll be prompted to take three photos of your face, which will be compared to the ID you submitted. Now click “Continue” to proceed.

Step 4

If you see the below image, your selfie and ID verification has been captured successfully and are under review. Click “Continue” to proceed.

After submitting your KYC documents, verification may take anywhere from 24 hours to a week. Additional information may be requested on a case-by-case basis, in which case you will receive notification via email.

Congratulations! Your FTX account and individual KYC registration are now complete.

FTX License and Regulation

FTX is a brand operated by K-DNA Financial Services Ltd. and regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission, with license number 273/15. FTX offers tokenized stock trading in partnership with K-DNA and FTX Switzerland GmbH, utilizing a German license in concert with FTX Trading GmbH.

FTX Cryptocurrency and Restricted Countries

FTX Cryptocurrency

For the purpose of buying, selling, and trading cryptocurrencies, FTX provides a wide variety of assets. FTX crypto includes:

• Bitcoin (BTC)
• Ethereum (ETH) 
• Dogecoin (DOGE)
• Litecoin (LTC)
• Ripple (XRP)
• Shiba Inu (SHIB)
• Solana (SOL)
• FTX Token (FTT)
• Bitcoin Cash (BCH)
• Tether (USDT)
• Binance Coin (BNB) and more.

FTX Fiat Currency

Users interested in depositing or withdrawing fiat currency directly into the FTX crypto derivatives exchange can use this platform extensively. FTX supports nine fiat currencies that investors can deposit and withdraw via wire transfer. Note, For this, you must pass FTX KYC Level 2. Some of the currencies include: 

• The U.S. dollar
• Euro
• British pound
• Australian dollar
• Canadian dollar
• Swiss franc
• Brazilian real
• Ghanaian cedi and 
• Argentinian peso

FTX Restricted Countries

FTX does not onboard or provide services to personal accounts of current residents of restricted jurisdictions or corporate accounts of entities established in restricted regions.

The restricted regions may include the United States of America, Cuba, Crimea, and Sevastopol, the Luhansk People’s Republic, the Donetsk People’s Republic; Iran, Afghanistan, Syria, and North Korea.  FTX also does not onboard any users from Ontario, and FTX does not permit non-professional investors from Hong Kong to purchase certain products.

FTX REVIEW: How FTX Works

FTX is built by traders for traders. The exchange works like every other exchange. On signing up you get access to a variety of cryptocurrencies that you can use to buy, sell, and trade. Then you have the option to carry out KYC to unlock certain limits on your account. On FTX, users can settle their futures trades in US dollars. 

This means that the platform makes around $300 profit from trades worth $9,000. All trades denominated on FTX are underlined with crypto coins. This helps the platform stay operational and profitable as a crypto exchange.

FTX REVIEW: FTX Token (FTT)

FTT is the native cryptocurrency token of the crypto derivatives trading platform FTX that launched on May 8, 2019. A year after its founding, FTX Exchange introduced an exchange token called FTX Token, or FTT. 

The FTT coin is an ERC-20 standard token that is actively used by ecosystem participants. Initially, FTT was established as a reward for exchange transactions; however, over the years, the list of functions has grown:

FTT is applicable in the creation of leveraged tokens on the FTX Exchange; users can receive VIP discounts in the form of FTT depending on the number of coins they own, and it’s possible to earn rewards for providing liquidity through futures positions.

In order to maintain its value, the exchange regularly buys back and burns its tokens, spending on the purchase of FTX: 33% of trading fees, 10% of the reserve fund, and 5% of other commissions. Some of its use cases include:

• One-third of the commissions received from transactions on FTX are utilized to buy back FTT. Tokens redeemed in this way are burned;
• FTT tokens are used to reduce trading fees and to secure futures positions;
• Profits from massive market movements are distributed among the holders;
• By purchasing a white-label version of FTX’s OTC portal and futures market, institutions and investors pay expenses in FTT tokens;
• By creating leveraged tokens, projects can pay listing fees with FTT;
• Users can stake FTT to benefit from discounts, bonus votes, and blockchain fee waivers.

One benefit of FTX Token (FTT) is commission discounts. Holding $10,000 worth of FTT yields a 15% discount on fees while holding $100,000 of FTT yields a discount of 25%. Members pay a low fee and obtain tighter spreads. Traders use FTT as collateral, and those who are active on FTX Exchange see percentage differences of up to 60%. 

Traders get insurance protection, which ensures a net profit in moments of market volatility, then makes it possible to continue trading even without a margin call. In addition to the fact that FTT is useful for opening positions with leverage, FTT staking also offers perks: discounts, the opportunity to win NFTs, participation in airdrops, bonus votes, and IEO tickets. As of this writing, according to coinmarketcap FTX token price is $24.76 and FTX exchange ranking sits at the third spot with a daily volume of over a billion dollars.

FTX REVIEW: FTX Fees

FTX Trading Fees

FTX derivative exchange offers a low trading fee. FTX maker-taker fees include 0.02% and 0.07% for its futures and spot markets. Do you trade in high volumes and worry about trading fees? 

Well, FTX has got you covered. Its fee structure uses a tiered system that rewards high-volume traders with lower fees. FTX has a tiered fee structure for all futures and spot markets, which is displayed in the table below:

Tier	30 D VOL	MAKER	TAKER
1	0	0.020%	0.070%
2	>$2,000,000	0.015%	0.060%
3	>$5,000,000	0.010%	0.055%
4	>$10,000,000	0.005%	0.050%
5	>$25,000,000	0.000%	0.045%
6	>$50,000,000	0.000%	0.040%

For leveraged tokens, there is a creation and redemption fee of 0.10% and a daily management fee of 0.03%.  Leveraged trading fees are somewhat more complicated, and are calculated based on the time the position is open, among several other factors.

However, there’s also a maker rebate of up to 0.0030% available to FTT holders that stake up to 1 million native FTX tokens (FTT). Holding  FTT comes with certain advantages, like: 

• Discount on Trading Fees: FTX users who hold a certain amount of FTT for a period of time will receive lower FTX futures fees.
• OTC rebates: Users who hold enough FTT will receive rebates from all of their OTC trading on FTX.
• Collateral: FTT can be used as collateral for futures positions.

With the following benefits in place, this increases the utility and demand for FTT coins. The following table displays the current discounts, based on your FTT holdings: 

FTT Holding	Trading FEES Discount	Other Privilege
$100	3.00%	N/A
$1,000	5.00%	N/A
$5,000	10.00%	N/A
$50,000	15.00%	N/A
$100,000	20.00%	N/A
$200,000	25.00%	N/A
$500,000	30.00%	N/A
$1,000,000	35.00%	N/A
$1,000,000	40.00%	Become Tier 4
$2,000,000	45.00%	Become a VIP3
$3,000,000	50.00%	Become a VIP4
$4,000,000	55.00%	Become a VIP5
$5,000,000	60.00%	Become a VIP6

This discounted program makes FTX a better alternative to other similar platforms.

FTX Deposit and Withdrawal Fees

FTX Deposit Fees

Some exchanges might allow you to deposit on their platform, but depositing on FTX is totally free.

FTX Withdrawal Fees

There are no FTX withdrawal fees, except for ETH, ERC-20 tokens, BEP-20 tokens, or small BTC withdrawals. FTX users will pay the blockchain fees for all ETH, and ERC-20 tokens unless they have FTT staked.

For free withdrawals, however, in the case of a user whose fiat/stablecoin deposit/withdrawal volume exceeds their trading volume, FTX reserves the right to charge a withdrawal fee of up to 0.10%.  

FTX Payment Methods

FTX derivatives exchange supports an array of options for deposits, some of which include:

• Wire Transfer
• Cryptocurrency
• ACH (Plaid)
• Direct ACH Deposit
• Debit or Credit Card: It uses Simplex as the online payment gateway for credit card deposits.
• Silvergate Exchange Network (SEN): A third-party payment platform that enables users to make payments.
• Signet: A third-party payment platform that allows Signature Bank’s commercial clients to make payments.

FTX REVIEW: FTX App

The FTX mobile trading app is supported on Android and IOS devices. With the FTX app, users can monitor the markets and trade at ease anytime, anywhere. The FTX Exchange app has a 4.1-star rating and has been downloaded by over 5 million users. FTX’s app includes full-screen chart functionality, orders, positions, and basic chart indicators. 

The functionality of the app is similar to the desktop version. Therefore, traders can edit orders, check trade history, and view market information as usual on a 24/7 basis. Below is a review from a user of the FTX app.

FTX Wallet

FTX Wallet, like any other wallet, is designed to store your assets. The Wallet supports over 400 cryptocurrencies of which you are able to deposit and store your coins. To begin depositing in your wallet you’ll have to complete the know your customer (KYC) process.

For margin traders, the wallet also has margin functionality, which you can enable from your settings to trade on margin. The wallet contains different sections like balances, deposits, withdrawals, positions, fills, conversions, collateral, and p2p.

FTX Card

FTX card is an intelligent concept by the exchange, giving users the ease of spending their crypto anytime, anywhere. The FTX debit cards are linked directly to an FTX account, which lets users convert and pay for goods and services with the crypto balance in their FTX wallets. However, the cards can also be used to make purchases at 80 million merchant locations worldwide that accept Visa.

Some of the FTX card benefits include:

• Zero fees: Your FTX Visa Card is completely free! FTX will not charge any administrative or processing fees.
• Spend Crypto at ease: At the point of sale, the crypto held within your FTX account will automatically exchange the exact amount.

• Anywhere, anytime: Your FTX Visa Card gives you instant access to spend your crypto 24 hours a day, 365 days a year at millions of merchants, globally.
• Security: All of your funds are protected by industry-leading security standards at FTX giving you the peace of mind you deserve.

FTX API

In terms of customization, user-interface simplicity, navigation, and design, the trading platforms utilized by various exchange platforms differ from one another. It is because multiple criteria are used by different exchange platforms while building their trading platforms. 

Regardless of the variations, a good trading platform should be user-friendly, simple to browse, and have essential trading tools incorporated into its API. Users of the FTX exchange platform have access to a perfect trading platform, but it might seem kind of complex if you’re just starting out. If you get stuck, you can visit the FTX Help Center.

Like any other crypto trading platform, the web-based platform’s trading interface includes an order book, buy and sell boxes, order history, and a price chart of several digital coins. The trading platform is intuitive and effective in transaction analysis. FTX also has a GitHub API for developers.

FTX Review Reddit

These consist of FTX exchange reviews, containing both positive and negative reviews from FTX users. Below are some of the top FTX Reddit reviews from its users:

“I think it is a Top 3 exchange with a lot of unique options and good fee reductions. No withdrawal fees, more convenient collateral management Also, and free bots. Their web interface and app are pretty bad though, I hope they update them soon.”

“I’ve had zero problems with FTX, I love the platform. I’ve only contacted support once when I didn’t receive free crypto for my trade and they immediately credited my account, no complaints here.”

“I have been lurking for years and finally decided to take the plunge into crypto. I had researched what I wanted to buy and who I wanted to buy from, and how I wanted to buy it. You know what they say about carefully laid plans tho…

Enter FTX. I thought they had a good reputation and their maker fees are cheap, so I figured why not? I set up everything and verify my identity to level 2 KYC. Says I should be able to do unlimited deposits

I set up my account and try to do a bank transfer. And my troubles begin.

Igo to make a deposit. I run into a limit. I think okay, I’ll try again the next day. Still hitting the limit from the previous day. Figure it needs five business days or something like that to clear. Okay, I think that’s a little funny given when I’m reading their website about limits, so I click the support button to get some help, and now the fun begins.

I start a dialogue with the support person, and they essentially tell me that there’s a limit in place because my account is new, and if I’m “active enough” they’ll remove the limit. I find vague answers when it comes to policies like this to be unprofessional and frustrating. I tried to pin them down, they keep giving me the same answer. I channel my inner Karen and ask to speak to their supervisor. The guy types that this is the supervisor now, and that he has no additional information. I take a screenshot of their website policy showing no deposit limits for customers who have provided the amount of verification I have provided, I take a screenshot of my account having that level of verification. I asked them to explain themselves. They haven’t gotten back to me yet at this point after that one, but quite frankly I’m tired of these guys. They keep asking me to make a wire transfer, which will cost me a fee from the bank, and then a fee from them to accept it. Plus, obviously I still have to make a physical trip to my bank to go do that, and quite frankly I’m not doing that every fucking time I want to transfer some money and buy some crypto, especially when the website is telling me I shouldn’t have deposit limits. Fucking ridiculous how hard is to get this clown show exchange to accept take my god damn money.”

“FTX exchange, is one of the top 10 exchanges to spot trade and top 3 in derivatives according to Coingecko. One of the main advantage of FTX is there are no fees on deposits and withdrawals, except for ETH, ERC-20 tokens, or Omni withdrawals. They only started charging fees for ERC-20 token withdrawals only a month ago because the gas fees were too high for them to cover, before that even those were free. Even now if you stake FTT token on their platform you will get 1 to 1000 fee less withdrawals on ERC-20 tokens depending on how much FTT you have staked.You get level 1 KYC instantly which allows you withdraw up to 2000$ daily, level 2 KYC takes time, I waited 20 days and it was not processed so I just messaged in the official FTX telegram group, the admin immediately forwarded my query to FTX team and I got verified in 2 hours. So this is my experience with the exchange.”

FTX REVIEW: FTX Foundation

The FTX Foundation is a Non-profit charity organization that aims to find and support the most effective solutions to the world’s most pressing problems. The foundation makes grants and investments to improve global health, prevent pandemics, reduce animal suffering, protect the climate, and improve humanity’s prospects of long-term survival and flourishing.

The majority of the Foundation’s funding is provided by Sam Bankman-Fried, an effective philanthropist who started the foundation to save millions of lives and leave a brighter future for generations. FTX users and employees also support the Foundation’s activities, through the FTX Giving program, by contributing to FTX Philanthropy Inc., a non-profit organization organized for tax-exempt purposes.

Through the FTX Giving program, FTX users and employees can contribute to FTX Philanthropy Inc. and support the high-impact charities to which it donates. FTX also contributes 1% of net user fees to FTX Philanthropy Inc. As of this writing, the exchange has contributed over $14,372,674 from user fees and $10,100,677 from user donations, with a daily matching of up to $10,000.

FTX was founded with the goal of donating to the world’s most effective charities. FTX, its affiliates, and its employees have donated over $190 million to help save lives, prevent suffering, and ensure a brighter future. 

Is FTX Legit?

FTX goes all the way to make its users’ funds safe, thus creating a safe and secure environment for users to interact with. To date, there have been no reported hacks or security breaches on the exchange. Some of its security features include:

• A custom-built hot and cold wallet solution.
• Full external backing of all hot wallet funds; 
• Two-factor authentication (2FA) for each account and crypto withdrawal;
• Bug bounty program that rewards cyber security researchers from $0 to $50,000 to look for exploits on its platform.

FTX REVIEW: Conclusion

With this FTX review, you now know that FTX is a widely-known and heavily-used cryptocurrency exchange that allows users to buy, sell, and enter into derivative contracts for coins and tokens. FTX charts first spiked for its Bitcoin options trading. With over 45 FTX leveraged tokens, the exchange attracts the interest of millions of investors and traders around the globe. 

Although the exchange is unavailable for cryptocurrency traders in the U.S. The platform is also considered risky for leveraging altcoins. Despite this, FTX has a solid liquidity level and also has several options to offer its users, even in this bear market. All things considered, the FTX exchange has one of the best offerings for professional crypto traders across the globe.

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