Poloniex review and everything you need to know about this popular online digital asset exchange, including the people behind it, its credibility, and its challenges.
Poloniex is a legitimate and credible online digital asset exchange co-owned by Tron founder, Justin Sun.
Polo Digital Assets Ltd is the parent company of the Poloniex platforms, including poloniex.com and poloniex.org. The company’s email address is support@poloniex.com.
According to the FCA, Polo Digital Assets, Ltd. has its headquarters in Seychelles precisely at the following address: F20, 1st Floor, Eden Plaza, Eden Island.
The Poloniex App for Android and iOS
Poloniex is available also as an app, another sign that it isn’t a scam.
The Poloniex app is available on Google Play Store and the Apple Store, making it easy for people to access the exchange on their smartphones.
The app is rated 3.8 stars based on approximately 9k reviews on Google Play.
Notably, a 3.8-star rating in a review typically implies a positive but not excellent assessment.
In other words, Poloniex is generally considered better than fair or average, but not exceptional.
While it has some areas that need improvement, its overall impression is mostly favorable.
Investopedia and CoinMarketCap Recognitions
What’s more, Poloniex is recognized by major industry platforms as an online digital asset exchange.
For example, Investopedia has acknowledged it as an important name in digital asset exchanges. Similarly, CoinMarketCap has described it as an insured global crypto exchange (CEX) that lists over 350 cryptocurrencies and tokens.
On the contrary, Poloniex has an extremely poor reputation on Trustpilot with 86 percent of users giving it 1 star. Many have called it a scam in their feedback, contradicting the exchange’s otherwise favorable industry portrayal. This has led to confusion among potential users, but here’s what you should know:
The same goes for the platform’s reputation on Reddit, where user reactions are mixed, but many still label it a scam. For instance, one user, Virtual_Teaching_397, shared that they already had some crypto on the platform, but were prompted to download an app that wasn’t even available on the Play Store.
They pointed out how suspicious that was and asked others whether it was safe to proceed—or if they should just forget about the funds altogether as shown in the screenshot below:
However, Virtual_Teaching_397 later replied to another Poloniex review on Reddit—where the reviewer had labeled the exchange a scam. They stated that they were able to withdraw their funds without any issues, as shown in the screenshot below:
Sometimes User-Generated Reviews Are Unreliable
It is important to note that user-generated reviews often reflect user experiences rather than industry credibility. In my experience, customers are more likely to opt for Trustpilot, Reddit, or any other relevant platform when they’re frustrated or dissatisfied than when they’re satisfied or everything goes smoothly.
As such, many of the reviews you see in those places are written from an emotionally charged perspective rather than an objective point of view. Consequently, a customer might label a product or service as a scam even when it isn’t necessarily one.
Poloniex Troubles
However, I’d like to mention that while this online digital asset exchange remains credible, it’s not without its fair share of ups and downs over the course of its existence. Otherwise, my Poloniex review would not be balanced, comprehensive, and unbiased.
1. Poloniex Trouble With the SEC.GOV
In 2021, SEC.gov charged Poloniex for operating in the U.S. without a license. The platform operated in the U.S. between 2017 and 2019. The agency accused it of prioritizing profit over legal compliance and attempting to bypass federal securities laws. Poloniex neither admitted nor denied the charges.
Instead, it opted to settle the charges with a payment of $10,388,309. This settlement consisted of $8.48 million in disgorgement, $1.5 million in civil penalties, and $404,000 in prejudgment interest.
It’s important to note that Poloniex LLC had exited the U.S. market prior to its legal settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The company left the US market in October 2019, following a transition. This was after leaving its parent company, Circle, to form Polo Digital Assets, Ltd., using funding from a major investment group consisting of Tron founder Justin Sun and Asian investors.
Despite the exit, Poloniex allowed US withdrawals until December 2019, a strong indication that it’s not a scam.
2. Blacklisted By the Financial Conduct Authority
Similarly, the UK’s FCA issued a warning against Poloniex in 2023, stating that the company may be promoting financial services or products without its permission. The financial services regulator advised traders to avoid dealing with the firm.
3. How The Platform Was Targeted By a Massive Hacker
In November 2023, Poloniex was hacked, resulting in crypto assets worth 107 million dollars disappearing from the platform’s wallets. Notably, the stolen funds were spread across multiple cryptocurrencies, including:
- BTC: approximately $18 million.
- USDT: $11 million.
- ETH: $10.4 million.
- Dogelon Mars: $6 million.
- USDC: $5 million.
- SHIB: $4.7 million.
- OX: $3.1 million.
- GLM: $2.5 million.
- WBTC: approximately $2 million.
- TRX (Tron): of unspecified approximate value.
The breach was reportedly detected by a blockchain security firm PeckShield, prompting Poloniex to promptly disable the compromised wallet. Poloniex further offered the hacker a 5% bounty. The company proposed that they return 95% of the remaining coins within a week, otherwise it would involve the police.
With the help of several analytics platforms, security firms, and exchanges, Poloniex was able to identify and freeze a portion of the assets linked to the hacker’s addresses.
Binance froze several OMG tokens worth thousands of dollars that had been sent to its platform. Additionally, OPNX (Open Exchange) withheld approximately $2.72 million worth of OX tokens that had been stolen from this Poloniex. All the frozen tokens were ultimately returned to Poloniex.
However, the hacker successfully laundered the rest of the stolen digital assets valued at approximately $66.3 million. They did so through the Tornado Cash platform whose owner is currently under house arrest for money laundering.
Following the heist, Poloniex assured affected users of full reimbursement, resuming deposit and withdrawal services shortly after the incident. The leadership reaffirmed their assurance to the victims by stating that the company was in a financially healthy position to compensate them.
Poloniex Review Final Verdict
Poloniex is legitimate and not a scam as it has been portrayed by some feedback givers. The platform is owned by a company linked to the founder of the Tron altcoin, Justin Sun.
However, it has had its fair share of troubles ever since its inception in .2014. For example, the entity was charged by the SEC.GOV in 2021, forcing it to part with more than ten million dollars.
Additionally, it was hacked in 2023, losing digital assets worth over 100 million dollars.
Do I recommend it? The short answer is no. While poloniex.com isn’t a scam, there are just too many user complaints pointing to a poor overall experience.
Report a Scam Incident
Having read my unbiased Poloniex review, have you fallen victim to a dubious exchange or trading platform? Go to this page, or email scamread@scamreader.info to report the scam and seek help.
Poloniex Review Disclaimer: This information is provided for transparency and awareness. Based on my firsthand experience and general feedback from other users, Poloniex does not appear to be a scam.
This review reflects personal usage insights and publicly available information intended to help others make informed decisions.
However, users are strongly advised to do their own due diligence before jumping into it, as results may vary depending on individual strategies and market conditions.