Key Data

• Trading Name: Phemex
• Legal Entity:Phemex Limited (BVI)
  Phemex Technology Pte. Ltd. (Singapore)
  Phemex Lithuania UAB  
• Activities: Crypto Exchange
• Location: BVI, Singapore, Lithuania
• Regulations: FCA (2021), OSC (2023)
• Key People: Jack Tao

Phemex is a crypto derivatives exchange founded in 2019 in Singapore by Jack Tao, a former executive from Morgan Stanley. The platform has grown to become one of the top 10 global exchanges in 2022, with a daily peak trading volume of more than $12 billion. 

Offering

With Phemex you can trade the leading cryptocurrency coins as well as futures contracts to speculate on their future price. It offers many ways to do this, including fee-free spot trading and up to 100x leverage.

Fees

Phemex does not charge any fees for deposits, which means you can move money into the exchange for free. However, when it comes to trading fees, Phemex simply keeps it at -0.025% and 0.075% maker and taker fee respectively. These rates are similar to other exchanges in the industry.

Industries

High Risk:

Crypto

Regulation

While Phemex claims to be a regulated exchange with the highest value on regulatory compliance, the Canadian regulator OSC is currently taking action against Phemex. We have reviewed Phemex and placed it on our Orange Compliance list.

People

Phemex is a crypto derivatives exchange founded in 2019 in Singapore by Jack Tao, a former executive from Morgan Stanley

Customer review

Trustpilot: 2.2 Stars with 150+Reviews

Compliance Check

In 2021, the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) issued a warning against Phemex, stating that the company did not have authorization to operate in the UK.

In September 2023, the Canadian regulator, the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC), initiated proceedings against Phemex Limited and Phemex Technology Pte. Ltd. to address their alleged non-compliance with Ontario’s securities regulations. This move also serves as a warning to crypto trading platforms that violations of Ontario’s securities laws will not go unnoticed or unaddressed, the OSC said in the Statement of Allegations.

Although Phemex holds no license in the UK or the ESMA jurisdictions, we could register with Phemex as EEA and UK Residents in our review (Oct 14, 2023) without problems. Deposits in crypto were possible in unlimited amounts even before the KYC check was performed. At that point, not even our email address was verified.

Deposits via FIAT, on the other hand, are only possible after a KYC check has been carried out.

Deposits via FIAT, on the other hand, are only possible after a KYC check has been carried out. The video verification via Jumio was done in 2 minutes, and we could buy credit/debit card cryptos. The crypto purchase in the EEA region is processed via Phemex Lithuania UAB and Mercuryo (PR42 Profile).

Conclusion

Due to existing warnings from regulators and the unclear regulatory situation, we have placed Phemex on our Orange Compliance List and advise customers to exercise caution.