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Phemex Review: The Pros and Cons of This Exchange

Phemex is a cryptocurrency exchange platform offering many options for trading. Here is everything you need to know about Phemex exchange.

  • Dean Fankhauser
    By
  • Posted
  • Read Time6 minutes
  • Our score

Phemex review

Our take

3.5

Are you looking for a professional-grade crypto exchange that offers both options trading and Bitcoin spots? If so, look no further than the Phemex exchange. 

This innovative platform boasts a unique zero-fee trading model, which means you'll never get charged for transaction fees. Yet, you'll gain access to a variety of futures from Bitcoin to Chainlink Perpetual and Ethereum

The brainchild of former Morgan Stanley elites, including Jack Tao, the exchange envisions providing the highest-quality security and tools for serious derivatives trading. You can even short with Phemex, and it provides exposure to specific assets. 

In this Phemex review, let's take a closer look at this cryptocurrency exchange and how it's revolutionizing the way cryptos get traded. 

What Is Phemex?

Founded in 2019, Phemex represents one of the most recent additions to the cryptocurrency and derivatives exchange market. Despite its recent introduction to the scene, Phemex has already made significant headway in providing consumers with the crypto trading tools they need.

In its short time, Phemex has made significant waves. More impressive, the exchange already competes with big names such as Binance, ByBit, and BitMex.

Will Phemex replace any of these exchanges? Not necessarily. But we think it could give them a serious run for their money.

Apart from being a crypto exchange, Phemex is also a derivatives exchange. What does this mean? A derivative financial product mirrors the same price or value as target crypto.

That means if you're dealing in Bitcoin, the derivative matches the actual price of a real bitcoin. This approach permits you to speculate on Bitcoin's price without the need to buy or sell.

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The Allure of Phemex to Experienced Investors

As you can imagine, these types of features have made Phemex quite popular with experienced traders who want to transact with leverage. Of course, you must remember that leveraged financial instruments prove highly risky.

But that's also part of their allure because they come with the potential for more rapid profits. That is if you don't lose your money first. The best investors understand these risks and weigh them against potential positive outcomes with care. 

As already mentioned, Phemex has drawn from Morgan Stanley's talent, one of the most reputable business banks in the US. What was their goal in coming together to create Phemex?

They wanted to realize a secure and reliable crypto scene on a par with traditional finance opportunities. In the process, they've made it their goal to become the world's most reliable exchange for derivatives and cryptocurrency.

For this reason, Phemex is more than just a crypto trading hotspot. It also bridges the gap between traditional finance and digital currency. 

How? By offering products such as interest rates, stock indexes, energy, Forex, and other commodities. These products and services are structured to lower and simplify the entry barrier for less-experienced traders. 

The result? Phemex's architects claim they've built the most user-friendly platform. But does the platform really live up to all of the hype?

Let's take a look at the platform's most frequently asked questions (FAQs) to give you a better sense of what the exchange offers. Then, we'll compare its pros and cons.

How to Create an Account with Phemex

Getting started with Phemex exchange is much easier than you might think. It involves six simple steps. These steps include:

  1. Navigate to the Phemex.com web page

  2. Click on the registration page tab

  3. Add your contact information, including your email address and a password

  4. If you have an invitation code, enter it

  5. Click on the "Continue" button to get a verification email and code

  6. Enter the code in the next window that appears

As you can see, it's surprisingly simple to register with Phemex. Like other derivatives exchanges, you don't have to complete a Know Your Customer (KYC) policy to begin.

How Does Phemex Exchange Work?

After you've created an account and logged into your account, you can start purchasing cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoins. You can buy six different cryptos using multiple portals.

These portals permit you to quickly pay with SEPA, bank transfer, credit card, and more. Although convenient, you should remain aware that each of these payment processors charges unique fees.

For this reason, buying Bitcoin at a broker will still prove cheaper. Remember that if you don't yet have Bitcoin, you can purchase it with various easy payment methods from places such as Bitvavo. The most affordable exchange in Europe, you'll only get charged 0.25 percent in fees.

Which Cryptos Can You Trade at Phemex?

We've talked about Bitcoin a few times, but which other cryptocurrencies can you transact in at Phemex? It's currently possible to deposit any of the following digital currencies:

  • Chainlink

  • Ethereum

  • Ripple

  • Tron

  • USDT

  • Litecoin

  • Tezos

  • Cardano

  • Ontology

  • Tron

  • NEO

  • Bitcoin Cash

After you've made a deposit, you can start using them to make spot trades. You can also use your assets to purchase perpetual contracts.

What Do Fees Look Like With Phemex?

Which other fees do you need to know about? You should also know about funding fees. These charges get applied every eight hours. 

How will the system decide if this funding fee is positive or negative? This decision gets influenced by multiple factors.

What does it mean if the funding fee is favorable? The long positions will pay a percentage to the shorts.

How about if it’s negative? The shorts will pay longs. This is a fee paid between traders and not charged by Phemex at all.

What other fees do you need to know about? For starters, there are no overnight fees. 

As for withdrawal fees, you'll pay the standard minimum of a 0.0005 network transaction for Bitcoin. That means Phemex doesn't charge any withdrawal fees on top of BTC's cut.

What Do Maker-Taker Fees Look Like With Phemex?

Expect trading fees of -0.025 percent for makers and 0.075 recent for takers. What do negative market maker fees mean? Phemex exchange rewards users for adding liquidity to the platform's order book. 

That said, the takers' fees are higher because the platform maintains a strong focus on filling the order books and creating higher liquidity. These differences in maker-taker fees remain a common theme among many other exchanges as well.

How Safe Is Phemex?

Once upon a time, blockchain was lauded as unhackable. But such is no longer the case. In recent years, more security holes have appeared in the smart contract and digital currency platforms.

How safe and secure is Phemex in this context? The exchange makes safety one of its highest priorities. Rest assured that all assets are 100 percent stored on cold wallets. 

All withdrawals get carefully monitored by the Phemex team. These withdrawals require approval by two human offline signatures.

As you can see, the lessons learned by Phemex's founders in Wall Street risk management haven't gone unused. The platform can quickly detect any malicious actions and take rapid action to protect users’ assets.

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Frequently Asked Questions About Phemex

What do you need to know about this platform to make an educated decision about whether it's right for you? Here are the questions more frequently asked by prospects and customers.
How Do You Deposit Bitcoin at Phemex?

What happens if you already have Bitcoin you've purchased from another exchange? How do you deposit it at Phemex? It requires just a few steps:

  • Log into Phemex
  • Navigate to "Assets" and click on "Deposit"
  • Click on "Continue"
  • You'll see a unique Bitcoin wallet address
  • At the withdraw page of your exchange or wallet, enter this address 
  • Enter the amount you'd like to send to Phemex
  • Click "Continue" and confirm the transaction when you receive the email notification

As you go through this process, copy the wallet address with great care. Remember that any mistakes present in the address could lead to your BTC being lost forever.

If you've correctly completed the steps above, you'll receive one confirmation on the network. Your BTC deposit will get verified, which opens the door to trading on Phemex.

What Do You Need to Know About Perpetual Contracts at Phemex?

Many customers have questions about perpetual contracts and how they work. Let's take a closer look at the differences between futures contracts and perpetual contracts.

Futures contracts are agreements with specific expiration dates. Unlike futures, perpetual contracts don't expire. For this reason, you can buy and sell perpetual contracts as well as close them whenever you'd like. 

When transacting at Phemex, the Bitcoin perpetual contract is referred to as BTC/USD. Each of these perpetual contracts is valued at $1. In other words, when you buy $1,000 worth of BTC/USD contracts, it's the equivalent of purchasing $1,000 of Bitcoin.

What Are the Three Options for Perpetual Contracts?

There are three ways to place orders for perpetual contracts. They include:

  1. Market orders
  2. Limit orders
  3. Conditional orders

How does each of these different arrangements work? Here's what you need to know.

Market Orders 

Market orders are executed directly from the order book. They are filled at the optimal available market price. 

Limit Orders 

What about a limit order? Begin by setting a price (a.k.a. the limit price). This limit price permits you to only sell and buy at a specific price.

What happens if your limit price does not get reached? Then, the order won't fill. 

Conditional Orders 

Conditional orders are similar to limit orders. But instead of setting a limit that must be achieved, you enter a "trigger price." With a trigger price, your order won't be filled until your specified price gets triggered. Advanced and professional traders rely on this option.

What Do You Need to Know About Phemex Membership?

To benefit from Phemex's zero trading fees model, the exchange offers a premium membership. 

How much will you pay for membership? Plans start at:

  • $9.99 for 30 days
  • $19.99 for 90 days
  • $69.99 for 365 days

When you become a premium member, you'll gain access to conditional spot orders. You'll also enjoy the ability to gift premium trials to friends and hourly withdrawals with no limits. Remember that without a membership, the standard fee costs 0.10 percent.

Pros & Cons of Phemex

  • Top tier exchange and wallet security
  • Developed by eight former employees of Morgan Stanley
  • No KYC for small withdraws
  • Industry trend-setting Zero Fee Trading
  • Sub Accounts and easy to use APIs
  • Regional restrictions without providing alternatives for users from those jurisdictions
  • Relatively new, only launched a year ago
  • Too sophisticated for those who are new to cryptos

Phemex Review: Cryptocurrency Trade

In this Phemex exchange review, we've taken a look at the platform and its many features. We've answered customers' most frequently asked questions, and we've also taken a look at the brand's pros and cons.

What else do you need to know about cryptocurrency trade? Check out our comprehensive listing of leading DeFi and CeFi platforms.

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