Established in 2104, Poloniex is a cryptocurrency exchange that was established by an individual by the name of Tristan D’Agosta. Based in San Francisco,  California. Poloniex caters mainly to U.S based cryptocurrency traders. Nevertheless, the exchange is also proving to be extremely popular among cryptocurrency traders from all over the world. This is hardly surprising as the Poloniex exchange offers a diverse range of altcoins which can be traded on Bitcoin.

Contents

• Deposit and Withdrawal Options
• Fees and Charges
• Privacy and Security
• Customer Support
• Pros and Cons
• FAQ
• Conclusion

Like most cryptocurrency exchanges, Poloniex uses a proprietary web-based trading platform. The platform is well designed with the trading screen being user-friendly. The chart comes with features such as multiple time frames and can be displayed as a candlesticks chart or as a line chart. The platform also comes with integrated technical indicators such as Bollinger Bands and Fibonacci levels which can be overlaid over the trading chart to give you a better analysis of the markets. The interface of the trading platform also allows you to easily view all the 200+ cryptocurrency pairs that are available for trading.

Supported trading orders include Buy order, Sell Order and Stop limit order. All these orders can be executed when trading Bitcoin, Ethereum, Monero, and Tether. It is interesting to note that the Poloniex exchange account for 99% of the Tether trading volume for 2017 due to the high liquidity provided by the exchange. Margin trading is also available on the Poloniex exchange with the leverage reaching as high as 2.5x for some pairs.

In addition, the Poloniex exchange offers its traders a lending option that is not found on any other cryptocurrency exchange. With this leading option, you can either offer or demand a loan on the exchange for a specified interest rate.

Deposit and Withdrawal Options

Currently, Poloniex does not have any support for fiat currencies. You can only make deposits using cryptocurrencies. The most frequently traded cryptocurrencies on the exchange are:

• Bitcoin
• Dash
• Ethereum
• Litecoin
• Monero
• Zcash

Nevertheless, it should be noted that Poloniex also supports more than 80 different types of altcoins.

Fees and Charges

In terms of trading fees, Poloniex uses the industry standard maker/taker model which is said to encourage liquidity. Liquidity is particularly important for Poloniex especially when you consider that the exchange is supporting more than 80 different types of altcoins. As for the applicable maker/taker fees, the following table below gives you an idea of what Poloniex charge:

For lenders, they get to earn a flat 15% fee plus interest. Deposits and withdrawals, on the other hand, do not incur any fee.

Privacy and Security

The verification process on Poloniex is straightforward and has 3 levels. For the first level, you need to verify your name, email address and country of residence. Once completed, you will be allowed to withdraw up to $2,000 and trade on margin.

With the second level, you need to provide more information such as your address, phone number and scanned copy of your photo ID. The verification process at this level will require several days for Poloniex to verify all the details and information provided. Once verified to level 2, you will be permitted to withdraw up to $25,000. For the third level of verification, the requirements are not publicized except that it is required for those who want to withdraw more than $25,000.

As for security, Poloniex uses 2-factor authentication for account login and withdrawal authorization. Email confirmation is also required when making a withdrawal. As an additional precaution, the bulk of Poloniex’s clients’ funds are kept in cold storage. Also, the platform is constantly being monitored for any unusual activities.

Customer Support

The customer support service at Poloniex isn’t one of its strengths. You can only contact the support team through an email ticket system. Unfortunately, the response time for the ticket is rather long. Although there is an FAQ that you can refer to, it only covers basic questions and doesn’t contain many details.

Pros and Cons

Pros

• Abundant liquidity
• Margin trading supported
• User-friendly platform
• Wide selection of altcoins to trade with

Cons

• Fiat currencies not supported
• Poor Customer support

FAQ

• Can I Deposit USD To My Poloniex Account?

No. Poloniex is a pure cryptocurrency exchange and does not support fiat currencies.

• How Do I Make A Purchase On Poloniex?

In order to trade on Poloniex, you must first own some cryptocurrencies which are supported on the Poloniex exchange.

• What Are The Fees Charged By Poloniex?

Poloniex charge a maximum trading fee of 0.25%. As your trading volume increases, the lower will be the fee charged by the exchange.

• Why Do I Keep Getting Logged Out From The Website?

This can be due to the fact that your IP address changed halfway through your login session. Another reason could be because you are logged in using a different web browser or computer.

• Is Poloniex Available In All States Across The U.S?

No, at present, Poloniex’s services are not available in New Hampshire, New York, and Washington.

Conclusion

In terms of usability, Poloniex can be categorized as a true crypto-to-crypto exchange. The exchange offers one of the largest selections of altcoins for you to trade with. In addition, it holds the largest share of the Tether trading volume for the cryptocurrency industry.  It is also the only cryptocurrency exchange that offers a lending option.