Poloniex Exchange Scam or Legit

In this article we will take an in-depth look at Poloniex service and then we present all its features and a guide on how to trade cryptocurrencies. We are sure that this information will be useful for you, so keep reading and stay tuned.

Summary: Guide on How to Use Poloniex

1. Create a free account at Poloniex and verify your email.
2. You should verify your account as a measure of safety in case your account is hacked and not be able to withdraw BTC (optional).
3. Use your external wallet to transfer altcoins you wish to exchange with bitcoins by clicking “Deposit & Withdrawals”.
4. Click “Deposit” button to generate your Poloniex address code and use it to transfer coins.
5. Go to “Exchange” tab and fill out the order form. Then, simply click the button “Buy”.
6. If you have completed step 2, go to “Deposit & Withdrawals” page and click “Withdraw” on bitcoin line to transfer them out to your external wallet.

There are dozens of digital exchanges available online. However, you should carefully select the one that deserves your trust and fits your needs. Poloniex is a platform that has high trading volume and a solid reputation in the crypto community.

The review will compare Poloniex with other exchanges to see whether it is trustworthy. Our ultimate goal is to prove whether the platform is a scam or legit and safe to use.

What Is Poloniex?

Poloniex is a platform used to swap digital assets, including bitcoin, Ethereum, and other cryptocurrencies. Poloniex offers services of exchange, margin trading, and lending. It deals only with digital currencies, which means that you cannot buy BTC with fiat money. The platform operates similarly to BitShares, since you exchange crypto coins with other digital money.

The platform has been on the market for several years. It was founded in 2014 by Tristan D’Agosta, who graduated from Rutgers University. According to the official website, the company is registered in Boston, USA although its founder is from New York.

Poloniex had a troublesome period shortly after launching. They were hacked in March 2014 and it is believed that over 10% of the assets were stolen. The owner admitted publicly what happened and the losses had been recovered by temporarily increasing fees. The security levels were increased and no hacker attacks have been reported since then.

Today, Poloniex serves millions of customers each month and is one of the most popular crypto exchanges in the digital world.

How Poloniex Works

Poloniex does not have an option to buy BTC with fiat currencies. If you do not own any cryptocurrency, you need to purchase it at another website, such as Coinbase.

The next step is to register an account at Poloniex. The process is completely free and it does not take more than a couple of minutes. Still, there is no insurance or your coins if you lose them through account theft, so keep your details secret.

Once you have an account, you will need to transfer your assets to the platform. To do this, just enter the address of your Poloniex account in your digital wallet and confirm the transaction. Now, log in to Poloniex and check if the assets are there.

Next, take your time to browse through the website so that you can get used to it. Aside from classic exchange, Poloniex offers alternatives in the form of margin trading and lending. If you find rates that you like, we suggest exchanging right away. Scroll down on the “Exchange” page and enter the desired trade into one of the fields.

Poloniex Features

Poloniex has been around for several years, but they are trying to keep up with the changes happening in the crypto world. We will take a look at the vital features of the exchange in the next section, including interface, safety regulations, fees, account types, and others.

Interface

The Poloniex website is easy to navigate and you can find your way around without any hassle. You can choose the desired market on the right side to get more information about it. The platform will show you price fluctuations, as well as inform you about the 24hr change and recent highs and lows.

Below the graphic chart, you can notice the trading section. Here you can issue orders and trade your digital currency with others. You can also take a look at the order books, market depth, and trading history.

Poloniex has a mobile-friendly website, but they still have not developed an app for mobile devices. That makes it a bit tricky to use on your phone or tablet.

How Safe Is Poloniex?

Ever since that security breach happened in 2014, there were no reported issues with Poloniex. The platform takes safety seriously, and they have implemented measures to prevent hackers from attacking them. Most of the deposits that customers make are held in offline storages, but they still allow active trading with the required minimum of funds being online. That way the vulnerability of your assets is significantly reduced. When it comes to the safety of your money, Poloniex emphasizes that they do not need to operate on fractional reserves since they are not a bank.

Two-factor authentication was also implemented to increase the security level. This addition is optional, but we suggest activating it to keep your funds safe. Finally, it is worth noting that Poloniex has programs that monitor the activity on the website 24/7. As soon as they notice something unusual, they block and report it to ensure that nothing goes wrong.

Account Types

Creating your profile on Poloniex is free. The initial registration requires you to enter the e-mail address, password, and your country of residence. In a matter of minutes, you will become a level one member of the website. However, to be able to trade, you will also need to enter your phone number and postal address. The tier one account has a withdrawal limit set at $2,000 per day.

If you want to raise this limit, you need to upgrade your membership to level two. That will include ID verification, as well as confirming your street address. The second account tier allows you to deposit or withdraw amounts up to $25,000. In case you want to raise these limits even further or create a business account, you will need to contact customer services for instructions.

Fees

Poloniex adjusted the fees by implementing the maker-taker policy in 2016. In other words, the cost varies on your role on the website. If your order is in the “Book of Orders” before the trading occurs, you are a maker because you stimulate liquidity. Takers, on the other hand, match this order size and decrease the liquidity.

All fees are calculated based on your average trading volume in the last 30 days. Your status is updated every day and you can check it easily if you log in to your account.

Maker’s taxes can go up to 0.15%, but they can also trade free of charge if their trading volume is at least 7,500 USD. Takers’ costs vary from 0.1% to 0.2%. Lenders have a fixed rate, and they have to pay 15% of the interest they earned.

Customer Support

We would be mild if we say that customer services could be better. The only way to contact Poloniex is via their support center. The help portal is separate from the main website, which means you will need to register first. After you confirm your email, you can create a ticket describing your issue.

The customer support admits that they are overwhelmed these days. They warn you that it might take a while before you get your response and there is no option to request urgent resolving of your matter.

The only positive is that there is a knowledge base with more than 30 articles on various topics. In some cases, you might be able to solve your problem on your own by searching this base.

Withdrawal Issues

Withdrawal issues are not uncommon for Poloniex. The latest problem occurred in June 2017, when the platform disabled ETH withdrawals and deposits for several days. However, users across the web reported that they also had issues withdrawing other currencies during that period. It seems that Poloniex is occasionally having trouble to cope with the increase in trading volume and that is why these delays occur.

The knowledge base on the website solves some of the issues related to getting the funds out. They suggest visiting the “Deposit History” to check if your order was processed even if you got an error message on the confirmation page. If your status is “awaiting approval” you will need to be patient, as the staff needs to manually verify the transaction for security reasons. This should not take more than 24 hours.

Available Countries

Poloniex is a worldwide exchange service. That means you can use it in the United States, Israel, Canada, and any country in the world, as long as cryptocurrency exchange is not banned there. The fact that Poloniex does not deal with fiat currencies is good news. It implies that they do not have to comply with complicated banking and finance laws and regulations. Therefore, there is a good chance your country is on the list of those where trading on this platform is allowed.

Please acknowledge that you will need to enter your country of residence when registering on the website. It is in your interest to provide accurate info since you are not going to be able to verify your ID and increase your account level otherwise.

Which Cryptocurrencies Can I Exchange?

Poloniex has about 100 trading pairs available at this moment. This is subject to change depending on the market, but the website is continually adding new options. It seems that all reputable currencies are here, including BTC, Ethereum, Ripple, ZCash, and Bytecoin.

It is worth noting that you can also trade with USTD. This is a tether currency that is a crypto version of USD. Thanks to the fact that its rate rarely varies, you can use USTD to deal with any unexpected price fluctuations that can happen on the digital market.

Accepted Payment Methods

Poloniex does not accept fiat money (government-declared currencies, such as USD, EUR, GBP…), which makes it a bit tricky to start trading on the website. The exchange deals only with digital assets and you cannot use your credit card or bank account on the platform. If you do not have any cryptocurrencies at your disposal, you will have to buy them on another website that allows purchasing BTC with fiat money. The next step is to transfer those funds to Poloniex. The good news is that accepted payment methods include all currencies that matter in the crypto world. Your deposit will probably be processed in no more than 60 minutes and you will be ready to exchange on the website.

The same rules apply to withdrawal, except that the process might take a little longer in some cases, especially if the trade is flagged for security purposes.

Tutorial to Buy Bitcoin with Poloniex

Have you ever wondered how to buy BTC with Poloniex? You might want to do that, but you are not familiar with the complete process. Just take a look at our tutorial and you won’t be able to go wrong.

Create an Account

The whole process starts by creating an account on Poloniex. This does not take more than a minute or two. Head to the “>Sign Up” page and enter the required information. You are only required to provide e-mail, password, and country of residence. We suggest being careful when choosing the password. A random string of 32 or more characters is the best option. You also need to submit your phone number and street address to deposit or withdraw cryptocurrencies.

Please acknowledge that you will have a withdrawal limit of $2,000 per day with level one account. If you want to raise this restriction to $25,000, you will need to provide ID verification to the website to upgrade your profile.

How to Deposit Funds?

The bad news is that there is no demo account available on Poloniex which means you cannot try how it works without making a deposit.

Fortunately, depositing funds is a straightforward process. You have a page called “Deposits & Withdrawals” within your profile menu. Opening this will show you the list of available currencies on the platform. Click on the “Deposit” button next to the desired currency and you will see an address.

Now, head to your crypto wallet (such as Coinbase) and send the funds to this address. From the moment when you confirm the transaction, it should not take more than an hour to finalize the order. You will now see these funds in your Poloniex balance and you will be ready for the next step of the tutorial.

Buying BTCs

Please notice the “Exchange” link located in the top menu on Poloniex. This is how you will trade your cryptocurrency for bitcoins. On the right side, you can choose the desired trading option. For the purpose of this tutorial, we will select Ripple (XRP). You should pick the currency you have in your balance.

Scroll down and focus your attention on the “Sell XRP” section. Here you will see the current selling price of bitcoin. You have the option to enter the amount of the currency you want to sell, and the website will automatically show you how many BTCs you will get in return.

If you are satisfied with the rate, confirm by clicking the “Sell” button. Soon, the transaction will be finalized and that will complete the process of buying bitcoins on Poloniex.

How to Withdraw Bitcoins from My Account?

This is reverse to depositing. Head to the “Deposits & Withdrawals”, scroll to “Bitcoin” and click the “Withdraw” button next to it. This will open a menu where you will be required to enter the recipient’s address.

Now, open your crypto wallet and generate an address for depositing. Copy it into the required field on the Poloniex website. Please double-check to ensure you have not made a mistake.

The remaining thing to do now is to enter the desired amount of BTC you want to withdraw. Take a look once again to make sure all the data provided is correct and click “Send.” It might take up to 24 hours for the platform to process the withdrawal, but, in most cases, it should be done in max 60 minutes.

Please acknowledge that you will need to confirm the transaction via e-mail or by using 2FA (two-factor authentication).

Tips for Trading Using Poloniex

You are new to crypto trading, but you are excited to earn some money with your skills and knowledge about the digital market. Before you start using Poloniex, take a look at these tips that will ease your process of getting used to the platform.

Track Your Deposits

Exchanging multiple currencies increases your chances of profit. However, when you are making more than one trade simultaneously, it is easy to lose sight of them. If you want to know where you stand at any given moment, the best advice that we can give you is to keep track your deposits.

That way you will know the exact amount of cryptocurrencies you transferred to Poloniex. Therefore, it will be easier to figure out if you made a profit with your trading. We suggest using the “History” section of your deposits to see the list of all transfers you made to the website.

Choose Market and Main Trading Page

The Poloniex exchange is a place where most of the trading on the website occurs. Don’t rush and give it some time to get to know the interface and figure out how everything works. For example, you will see the list of the available markets on the right. You have four primary currencies that always have to be involved in swapping – BTC, ETH, XMR, and USDT.

You will notice that the list also shows the current price and volume of trading. Use this information to figure out which market has the highest profit potential at that point.

Check the Graph

Upon selecting the desired market, Poloniex will show you detailed info about it. The most useful thing here might be the graph. It is not hard to read, and it shows plenty of valuable information. You can see fluctuations in price that occurred during the specific time period. This may help you to determine whether you should go ahead with the trade or wait for a better moment.

Aside from moving averages, you can also check the Bollinger Band and Fibonacci Levels. If you know a thing or two about market momentums, this will be very helpful.

Chat in the Trollbox

TrollBox was nothing but a live chat available to registered clients on Poloniex. It was a useful thing to pick up on tips from experienced members and get up to speed with the currently popular markets. Unfortunately, it was removed from the platform in 2017 because the customer support could not handle it anymore.

The alternative that you can use is the Trollbox. One service, but it requires registration. Some other platforms, such as HitBTC, still have active trollboxes and you might consider visiting them for tips.

How to Transfer Funds?

You might be bored of Poloniex or you have found a better exchange. Either way, you plan to move your funds to another wallet or platform. Here are several options on how to do that explained in detail.

To Ledger Nano S

We assume that you own the Ledger Nano S hardware wallet as that is a necessary requirement for this mini tutorial. The first thing to do is to connect your Ledger to PC via USB port. Next, find the application for the currency you want to withdraw, such as the ETH switch.

Do not forget to disable browser support before you launch the app. Notice the “Receive” button (down arrow) in the top menu and click on it. You will now see the address you need to copy to Poloniex.

Choose the “Deposits & Withdrawals” from the menu on the exchange website. Click on the withdrawal button next to the Ethereum (or any other currency). Enter the address you got from the Ledger app and send the funds.

Transferring to PayPal

Unlike PayPal, Polonies does not accept fiat currencies and that means there is no way to directly move your funds. While it comes with a fee, you can bypass this issue if you use xCoins. Register for a free account on the website and transfer bitcoins to your wallet on the platform. Just select the deposit address of the wallet and enter it during the withdrawal at Poloniex.

You will soon have BTC in your xCoins balance. Next, connect your PayPal account in the settings. Now you have to be patient until your bitcoins are sold. Once that happens, the fiat money will be processed to your PayPal and you will have funds available instantly. Please acknowledge that the fee for selling BTC at xCoins is 15%.

To Coinbase

Coinbase allows you to sell bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies and withdraw fiat money to your bank account. That makes it an excellent choice for transferring digital funds from Poloniex.

You need an account registered with Coinbase and a wallet that accepts the currency you want to move. You can even create a separate wallet solely for withdrawing from Poloniex. Once you do that, find the address of your CB account.

Now, head back to Poloniex and choose the withdrawal option for the digital asset you have stored. A field will appear and you need to copy the address from there. Make sure to double check that you copied the data correctly before finalizing the transaction. You need to wait for approximately 30 minutes before having the funds available on Coinbase. From there, it is a piece of cake to withdraw fiat currency to your bank account.

Transfer BTC to Zebpay

Zebpay is an India-based digital exchange whose popularity rises each day. A lot of that has to do with how easy it is to use the platform. You can even use your mobile phone for the withdrawal. However, you will need a registered account on the website.

Select the “Receive” button on the Home screen and you will see your Zebpay address. If you previously used this address, we suggest generating a new one. That way you keep the safety of your funds at a maximum level.

Copy this address into the required field during the withdrawal process on Poloniex. Confirm sending funds to it and you will have the BTC available on Zebpay in no time.

Sites Like Poloniex – Comparison

Poloniex is one of many crypto exchanges available online. There are other places for doing so like sites known in the crypto community – Binance, Bittrex, Kraken, Coinbase, Bitstamp, HitBTC, Gemini, Changelly, ShapeShift, Cryptopia, CEX.IO, Bitconnect, and GDAX. We compared these platforms to Poloniex and here are the results.

Poloniex vs Binance vs Bittrex

Two other exchanges that Poloniex gets compared to most often are Binance and Bittrex. The most significant advantage of Poloniex seems to be the interface. Although you still need a bit of knowledge about markets, it is user-friendly and easy to find your way around. When it comes to coins available for trading, all three websites have more than 100 pairs, which should be more than enough for everyone’s needs.

In the Poloniex vs Binance vs Bittrex battle, the winner would be Binance. The Japanese-based exchange has the most reliable website and customer support, and their fees are the lowest since they are set at flat 0.1%. Bittrex has a flat cost of 0.25%, while Poloniex charges depending on the amount you trade. In theory, you can get lower fees on Poloniex than on Binance, but you would have to trade a lot of BTC.

Comparison with Kraken

The crucial difference between the two is that Kraken supports trading with fiat currency. To be precise, you can trade BTC for EUR or USD, although there can be a delay if the market gets too busy. Kraken does a better job of providing customer support, which may be vital when trading large sums. However, they do not offer as many trading pairs as Poloniex, who also has more altcoins available for exchange.

The taxes vary slightly since Kraken sets the maximum at 0.26% for takers and at 0.16% for makers. On the other hand, the max fee for takers at Poloniex is 0.2% and 0.1% for makers. Neither of the platforms can be considered suitable for newbies and neither has a functional app. Overall, you could say the two websites are similar. If you want slightly lower fees and an extensive choice of trading pairs, head to Poloniex. However, if you are looking for fiat support, Kraken is the right choice.

Is Coinbase Better?

If you are only entering the crypto world, yes. Coinbase has a crucial advantage in the fact that it was designed to suit beginners. As such, it is an extremely comfortable way to buy or sell BTC, Ethereum, Litecoin, and Bitcoin Cash. If you want to purchase some cryptocurrencies quickly, you can use your credit card and finish the process in minutes. Their customer support is better than the one at Poloniex, but that is not hard to accomplish.

The downside of Coinbase is that it has a significant deposit, trade, and withdrawal fees. That is why we advise you to use it until you learn a thing or two about crypto trading. Once you think you know enough, move to Poloniex as it does not have any deposit and withdrawal charges and trading fees are not bigger than 0.2% (Coinbase has a flat cost of 1,49% for trading).

When to Choose Bitfinex?

Bitfinex used to be among the top few digital exchanges, but it all changed after hackers attacked the website. Today, they still have a respectable trading volume, but it slowly decreases as they are losing the trust of the traders. The platform is convenient if you want to see a demo of how a digital exchange works. It does not require a transfer of money to try the platform. Although it does not have a lot of cryptocurrencies available, it overcomes that by enabling trading with fiat currencies.

Although they handled the hacking problem smartly, they still leave a feeling of being a shady company that lacks transparency. Regardless, their trading volume is high enough that they can be considered trustworthy. You can choose Bitfinex if you are a beginner, as their website is incredibly user-friendly. Just make sure not to keep your assets on the site for long. Move them to your wallet as soon as you get the chance.

GDAX VS Poloniex

GDAX only has four cryptocurrencies available – bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, and Litecoin. On the other hand, Poloniex has more than 100 trading pairs, as well as margin trading and lending, and it is a logical choice for exchanging altcoins.

That does not mean that there are no reasons for using GDAX. This platform supports EUR, GBP, and USD, and therefore allows trading with fiat currencies. Both websites have takers’ fee and GDAX also charges for withdrawals to your bank account or credit card.

Although it has a modest choice of cryptocurrencies, GDAX has a considerable trust in the community. That is because the company behind it is Coinbase, which has built a reputable name in the crypto world. Customer support is an integral part of that trustworthiness as they are ready to solve any issue in a reasonable time frame.

Is It Better to Choose Bitstamp?

Bitstamp is a European-based exchange whose headquarters is in the United Kingdom, but the payment institution is registered in Luxembourg. Oh, and they were founded by Slovenians to round up an interesting mix. The platform offers a total of five cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin, Ripple, Litecoin, Ethereum, and Bitcoin Cash. It mainly focuses on trading with fiat currencies and supported options are USD and EUR. The interface is simple and beginners should not have a problem navigating it.

Unfortunately, Bitstamp also went through issues with hacking. In 2015, an attack seriously threatened the platform, but it managed to survive. It is just another similarity with Poloniex. The vital difference is that Poloniex has a vast disposal of tradable cryptocurrencies, while Bitstamp offers fiat trading. Large sums have lower fees, but costs are largely the same for small trades.

Poloniex Compared to HitBTC

HitBTC has an excellent way of keeping their trading volume at a high level. They implemented a rebate system that rewards the makers that contribute to the liquidity. While it is not a huge sum (0.01%), it can make a difference in large amounts. And even with small investments, it is a nice gesture. Makers are also relieved of any trading fees, and takers are the only ones that have to pay a fixed 0.1% rate. HitBTC offers better conditions for beginners and small traders since fees at the Poloniex start at 0.2% and they also charge the makers.

Unfortunately, HitBTC is a bit harsh when it comes to deposit and withdrawal fees, so be careful with that. Customer support is equally bad and submitting a ticket is the only form of help you will get. While Poloniex turned off the TrollBox live chat for users, HitBTC still has that option available, so consider looking for tips there.

When Gemini Is a Better Decision?

Gemini can be an excellent choice if you want to test how crypto trading works without worrying that you will lose real money. They have a so-called Sandbox platform which allows you to create a free account and use “play money” to trade in a simulated environment that is exactly the same as the real thing.

Unfortunately, things are not as great once you come back to reality. The first thing you notice is that only users from a limited number of countries are accepted. You do not have a deposit or withdrawal fee, but trading costs are ridiculous. The charges start at 1%, and you can decrease them to 0.1% if you increase your monthly trading volume. Both makers and takers pay the same fees on Gemini.

The only advantage of the platform we can mention is that it accepts USD. As for cryptocurrencies, it is restricted to Bitcoin and Ethereum.

Poloniex VS Changelly

As a relatively new company that is trying to find its place under the Sun, Changelly made an effort to offer something different. We like the fact that their interface is incredibly simple. They also have exchange widgets and APIs for developers. Changelly parries Poloniex when it comes to tradable cryptocurrencies as there is a vast selection available.

They even took things to the next level by accepting credit cards and two fiat currencies – EUR and USD. On top of that, they do not require ID verification and you can register an account in seconds. Everything mentioned so far sounds great, but it is ruined by a single bad thing. The platform charges 0.5% for each transaction. We can only hope that this will change once they think they earned enough money off the exchange.

Which Exchange to Choose – ShapeShift or Poloniex?

ShapeShift has an important benefit because it does not demand the creation of an account or entering your personal information. You can complete the entire exchange process in minutes without having to register. It works like this – you select the currencies that you want to send (swap) and receive. In the next step, you will enter the address of the wallet where the currency should be sent. At the same time, you will be required to send funds from your wallet by using the deposit address. That will initialize the transaction and, as soon as it is finalized, you will receive new currency directly to your wallet.

The process is safe but only limited to cryptocurrencies. Just like Poloniex, ShapeShift does not accept fiat money. The biggest downside of using ShapeShift is that you do not have a transaction history and you cannot place advanced orders. While it is suitable for making a quick swap, Poloniex is a far better option for serious traders.

Cryptopia and Poloniex Comparison

Cryptopia was founded in 2014 in New Zealand. They are a worldwide exchange, but they do offer some perks specific to their location. One of them is NZDT as one of the five base currencies along with USDT, BTC, DOGE, and LTC. Cryptopia supports a whopping number of 400 tradable cryptocurrencies.

The verification time is shorter than on Poloniex. By just providing your e-mail address, you can trade up to 5,000 NZD each day. The fixed fee is set at 0.2%, which is slightly better for small investments. Cryptopia also has modest withdrawal charges.

We particularly liked the Arbitrage screen that shows you rates at four different websites compared (one of them is Poloniex). That way you can see where you get the best price. The interface is a bit crowded, but Cryptopia is overall an excellent choice for crypto trading.

Should I Choose CEX.IO?

No, you should avoid CEX.IO at all costs. Although they were one of the major exchanges several years ago, it seems that they were unprepared for new users that soared into the crypto world lately. Numerous clients have been reporting issues with the platform and most of them are related to withdrawal. Customers are complaining that they had to wait for over a month to get their funds transferred to bank accounts.

Yes, CEX.IO accepts fiat currencies, including USD, EUR, GBP, and RUB. It also enables trading of nine different cryptocurrencies. The fact that they are based in the UK probably forced them to ask users to confirm their identity to become eligible to trade on the platform. The limits are high and set at $10,000 daily and $100,000 monthly.

It is a shame that they offer bad service since the platform has potential. Perhaps they will change this in the future so that we can say that CEX.IO is legit again.

Is Bitconnect Better?

Bitconnect is a digital exchange made with sole purpose to swap Bitconnect Coin (BCC) with Bitcoin (BTC). As it is limited to this option, we can safely say that it is not better than Poloniex. However, if you plan on selling some BTC so that you can store BCC, you can utilize their services.

The interface is suitable for all users and the platform even offers a free app for iOS. You can take a look at the market graph showing detailed information about the coin, as well as the current list of buying and selling orders. Keep in mind that registration is required before you can be deemed eligible for trading.

Poloniex FAQ

If you are a newbie, you probably have a lot of questions about Poloniex. We tried to cover some of the critical ones in our FAQ. There is a good chance that you will find what you want to know in the section below.

Does Poloniex Support Bitcoin Gold and Bitcoin Cash?

At this moment, Poloniex only supports Bitcoin Cash (BCH). When the chain split on the BTC blockchain occurred and BCH was created, the community supported the new currency. That is why Poloniex also decided to include it in its listings for trading on the platform.

However, the website did not add Bitcoin Gold (BTG) until the moment of writing this article. According to the announcement made in the October 2017, the code is still incomplete, which is why the administrators cannot be sure of safety risks and the stability of the software. Although the chain split is a lot similar to the one that happened with BCH, it seems that Poloniex and the crypto community are not ready to accept BTG yet.

Cannot Log In: What to Do?

Please acknowledge that you need to sign up with Poloniex first. If you have a registered account, but you cannot log in, there are two reasons why that might happen. The first one is that you forgot your password. Fortunately, the process of retrieving it is fairly simple and similar to those on other websites. You just have to click on the “Forgot Your Password” button and enter your e-mail address. In a matter of seconds, you will receive a password reset link.

You might not be able to login if you have two-factor authentication activated, and you cannot access the second device. In that case, you can use the recovery key or Authenticator app to resolve this issue. Alternatively, you can contact customer support and wait for them to help you.

How Lending Works

Lending BTC is also an option on Poloniex. You can offer loans on a separate page on the website called “Lending.” In the top menu, you can select the desired interest rate, as well as the amount you plan to loan. Keep in mind that the minimum duration of the arrangement needs to be 2 days.

You can take a look at the list of active loan offers and demands. Browsing through the offers might give you a good idea of the interest rate you should ask. Once you are satisfied with your offer, submit it. The general tip is to avoid putting huge sums up for a loan, but Poloniex has huge trading volumes, and your funds should be safe. Another thing to consider is that there is a fee for the earned interest that currently stands at 15 percent.

If you are interested in making a profit this way, we suggest checking out the Poloniex Lending Bot.

Why Poloniex Needs SSN?

SSN is an abbreviation for Social Security Number, and this document is issued in the United States. Poloniex is asking for it to verify your identity and raise your deposit and withdrawal limits on the website.

The platform will also request a photo of your national ID or passport, as well as documents that will confirm your postal address. Although it is sensitive personal information, there is no reason why you should not trust Poloniex with it. Up until now, there have not been any reports that user data was stolen from the platform.

The platform only recently started demanding additional personal information to finalize registration process and start trading. Up until a couple of months ago, it was enough to provide an only email address and country of residence. It seems that this is another move of the administrators to increase the security of funds on the website.

Will Poloniex Support SegWit2x?

SegWit2x is a way of upgrading the bitcoin software to reduce the time required to process transactions. It is nothing else than another hard fork, just like Bitcoin Cash and Bitcoin Gold.

At this moment, Poloniex does not support SegWit2x, and there are no indications that they will do so in the near future. According toInvestopedia, the reason for this is that they were not among the exchanges that signed the New York Agreement (NYA). That is why nobody can demand from them to run the software as long as they refuse to support it.

If you are looking for exchanges that signed the NYA, these include Coinbase, Xapo, Blockchain, BTCC, Coins.ph, and bitFlyer.

What to Do If I Have Withdrawal Complete Error?

You will need to contact customer services as soon as possible. That will require you to create a support ticket in the resource center. Unfortunately, Poloniex clients’ services seem to have a lot of work, which is why you will need to be patient when waiting for their response. Please ensure to include as much information about the withdrawal when submitting the ticket. You can easily find all the info in your history of withdrawing on the website. Just copy the data into the description field and do not forget to select “Withdrawal Issues” as the type of the problem you are having.

The reason why some users get the withdrawal complete error is unknown. However, the explanation in the knowledge base admits this means, the funds never left the exchange. The bad news is that you need to contact customer support to get the funding back to your Poloniex account and try withdrawing them again.

How to Delete Poloniex Account?

You cannot delete an account on Poloniex by yourself, so there is no reason why you should be browsing through the menu on the website. The only way is to request account closure via customer support. When submitting a ticket, make sure to select “Account Closure” from the available types. In the Subject field, you should enter something like “I would like to delete my account.”

The system will then ask you whether you have a particular reason for canceling your account. One of the reasons why you may ask this is if your state or country is not allowed to trade on Poloniex anymore. If you pick “Other”, it might be a good idea to provide an answer in the description. The form also requires you to specify if you have open orders at the moment of sending the request.

Unfortunately, we got no confirmation on whether all your data will be wiped or your account will only be deactivated.

What Time Zone Does Poloniex Trading Day Begin?

The official Poloniex time zone is UTC (Coordinated Universal Time). Considering that they are an exchange available worldwide, it seems only logical that they would choose that zone. It would also make sense that the trading day would begin at midnight UTC every day.

However, there is no official confirmation from the administrators, so the time of reset may vary. It should happen at most an hour or two after midnight. This is important to know because it affects deposit and withdrawal limits. After a new trading day begins, you are allowed to trade again until you reach the restrictions.

Keep in mind that the start of a trading cycle does not affect the information about the 24h price shown on the main market page. The graph and the data will always show the average rates for the last 24 hours.

What Is USDT?

USDT is a digital currency created by Tether. The idea behind it is to find a method to use dollars in the crypto world. Considering that it was created by a company, USDT has no official connection to USD (fiat dollar currency). However, it is directly related to it. Tether puts 1 USD to their reserves for every 1 USDT that gets into circulation. That is how they manage to secure the stable value of their cryptocurrency and no fluctuations. USD and USDT have matching value at any given moment (1 USD = 1 USDT).

Poloniex is one of the exchanges that accept USDT. In fact, it is among the four currencies they consider base. At the moment, you can trade USDT for about a dozen other cryptocurrencies, including Ethereum, bitcoin, Litecoin, and other altcoins. You just need to choose one of the desired markets and perform the trade.

How Long Should I Wait for My Bitcoins?

This depends on whether you are depositing BTC or withdrawing them for Poloniex. If the question is “what is the waiting time when making a deposit?” it should not take more than an hour.

However, if you are withdrawing funds from Poloniex, the process might take a little longer. Your transaction might get flagged by the auditing software for whatever reason. In that case, you will have to wait for an agent to manually confirm that everything is legit before finalizing the withdrawal.

Poloniex gives you an exact deposit and withdrawal history, which you can check any time. That way you can see complete transactions, as well as those that are still pending.

Are There Any Transfer Limits?

First of all, you cannot transfer money to Poloniex. This digital exchange only accepts cryptocurrencies. When it comes to limits, these vary depending on your account type and verification level.

While the registration process is free, you will need to provide some personal information before you are deemed eligible for trading. This data should include name, surname, country, e-mail address, and phone number. Administrators will review your account and inform you when you can start swapping funds on Poloniex.

The first account level has a daily limit set at $2,000 when it comes to withdrawing. If you perform ID verification and confirm your postal address, you can raise this sum to $25,000 per day. Poloniex can further raise the limits, but only if you contact customer services. They will also explain to you how to create a business account that will have low or no restrictions at all.

Does Poloniex Have Minimum Deposit Amount?

Poloniex itself does not have a minimum deposit amount. However, they have a lower limit set for some of the cryptocurrencies listed on their website. This varies from one currency to another, but it is clearly shown during the depositing process.

When you select the desired coin on the “Deposit” page, you will notice individual rules for that particular currency. This includes a minimum amount for transferring, as well as other things that you should know. These rules are shown in red letters, which makes them hard to miss. Make sure to read this carefully before proceeding with the transfer.

In case you deposit an amount that is below the required minimum, you can solve this by making another transfer to get you over the limit. So, for example, if you deposited 0.50 ETH but the limit is set at 1 ETH, you can add 0.50 ETH in the second transaction and you will resolve the issue.

Can I Use Poloniex as a Wallet?

Yes, you can, although it is not recommended. Having cryptocurrencies in your Poloniex account functions the same way as having them in any other wallet. But please acknowledge that it is not the safest option, especially if you are storing large sums of money. Although the platform has not had any security issues in the past, we recommend withdrawing bigger amounts of cryptocurrencies to another purse as soon as possible. In fact, if you are dealing with huge sums, we suggest using a hardware wallet, such as TREZOR.

It is quite simple – Poloniex was not built to store your bitcoins, but to trade them. The platform has multiple security features to prevent hackers from stealing your funds, but you can never be too sure. Aside from that, moving currencies to and from Poloniex is a piece of cake. That is why the alternative you should use for storing should be a hardware wallet.

Does Poloniex Have Apps?

Poloniex does not have an app. It is not available for Android or iOS. However, if you want the version for iPhone or another mobile device, you simply need to navigate to the website’s address.

The entire site is mobile-friendly and you can access it from pretty much any device that has an active internet connection. We agree that this might not be the most convenient solution for iOS and other mobile operating systems, but it is still a way to stay in touch with events on the go. Unfortunately, the truth is that a mobile-responsive website is just not as quick as an application would be.

It would be much more comfortable for clients if administrators would decide to create an app. However, that has not happened in the history of Poloniex and we believe that application will not be released any time soon. At this point, there have not been any announcements or news that would suggest something like that.

Conclusion

Poloniex offers over 100 trade options for cryptocurrencies and provides extra services, such as lending and margin trading. The website functions smoothly most of the time, and the exchange is open 24/7. Add to that the security features that the administrators consider a primary concern and you get a reliable and trustworthy platform.

It does have a couple of flaws, such as not having an app or having a terrible customer support. Regardless of those issues, we can conclude that Poloniex is legit, and that you can trust the exchange with your crypto funding.

Our Other Reviews

While that concludes this review, we invite you to check out other articles on our website. The list includes detailed information on Bitstamp, as well as deep analysis of Bitfinex and CEX.IO and whether they are trustworthy platforms to use.

Everything about Bitstamp

Bitstamp was founded in 2013, and it is a digital exchange based in Europe. They have been around for a long time and have always had a high trading volume. The only way you can use Bitstamp is if you want to swap crypto for fiat currency and vice versa. The platform offers 15 trading pairs and covers major cryptocurrencies.

Thanks to its longevity, the website developed a reputation for being a trustworthy exchange. The trading fees vary depending on the amount, but there is no deposit or withdrawal fee involved. The website successfully recovered from hacking in 2015 and increased its security features since then.

Bitfinex Review

When we did a review of Bitfinex, we focused on conditions of using the service and features that the exchange provides. We liked that the platform offers a demo version of their service so that you can try if it suits you. The interface is user-friendly, and you can tailor it to fit your needs.

Aside from regular exchanging, margin trading and funding are also options on Bitfinex. The latter one is used to allow users that want to earn interest by lending to those who want to trade with leverage. The platform accepts fiat currencies and offers relatively competitive fees. They were recently hacked, but they solved the issue in a professional way.

CEX.IO – Advantages and Disadvantages

Here is the list of things why you should consider CEX.IO:

• has been around for a long time (founded in 2013);
• used to be one of the major digital exchanges;
• still has a high trading volume;
• supports fiat currencies, as well as trading between fiat and crypto;
• offers the market, stop, and limit orders.

We made a detailed review of disadvantages as well, so we would invite you to read our own guide on how to use CEX.IO.

If it happens that some issues were missed in this guide, feel free to reach out to us at BitcoinBestBuy, and we will do our utmost to help you in any way possible.