Last update: Jun 28, 2022

BaseFEX Review for Australia

Let’s take a closer look at BaseFEX to find out everything about the platform’s key features, available assets, fees, pros, and cons.

  • BaseFEX


    1. Operating Since 2018
    2. Cryptocurrencies Supported 7
    3. Fees Vary
    4. Deposit Methods Bitcoin and Tether only
    5. Fiat Currencies Not supported
    6. Verification Methods 2FA and SMS
    7. Margin Trading Yes
    8. Futures Trading Yes

Crypto trading has gone a long way from the first Bitcoin (BTC) exchanges back in 2010. Since 2010, crypto exchanges have offered multi-currency trading and complex market orders.

Many popular cryptocurrency exchanges, such as Kraken or Binance, allow users to place spot market orders and offer advanced high leverage trading for those who are more experienced. BaseFEX.com, a relatively new crypto exchange, focuses on professional traders and trading strategies with crypto derivatives. They allow users to trade only with a limited number of digital currencies, while also trading with large amounts of leverage.

BaseFEX isn’t a platform for those new to crypto trading. This exchange is not recommended for novice traders. They must have a good understanding of the volatility of crypto markets, be able to read price charts and use advanced technical analysis tools to estimate price changes.

BaseFEX Derivatives Trading Platform: Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency derivatives exchange at up to 100X leverage

BaseFEX was founded in 2018 by Jesse Wu, a veteran crypto trader who wanted to make it easy for users to trade crypto futures, perpetual contracts and leveraged trading. Jesse Wu is a serial entrepreneur with in-depth experience in IT as well as forex trading. The platform is registered in the Seychelles Islands, but the headquarters of the company is located in Hong Kong.

BaseFEX is not like other cryptocurrency exchanges such as ByBit. It doesn’t offer users the ability to conduct quick asset swaps or execute spot trading orders such as buy/sell operations. BaseFEX is specifically geared towards advanced crypto brokers who have extensive knowledge about the crypto market, as well as high-risk appetites.

BaseFEX allows users to enter crypto futures contracts with up to 100x leverage on their trading positions. Futures trading means that you’re practically betting on the direction a certain asset’s price is going to go, either within a limited period of time, or just the general direction of the price change, without time limits.

Users can trade Bitcoin futures contracts at up to 100x leverage. However, there are perpetual contracts that offer a maximum of 20x leverage. These contracts are not the same as traditional futures trading. The perpetual contracts can best be described as futures contracts without the time-specific limits, which means that these contracts can stay open for an indefinite amount of time. With perpetual contracts, the contract holders can periodically conduct payments based on the current price difference between the contract specifications and the specific cryptocurrency’s price.

Risks of Leveraged Trading

Trading on BaseFEX is extremely risky not in terms of security since the platform has quite strong safety measures in place but in terms of potential asset losses. When you’re entering a leveraged trading position, your potential profits are multiplied by the leverage number. If your order is rejected, however, the leverage number will multiply your potential losses.

That’s why leveraged trading isn’t recommended for crypto beginners since you can end up losing a lot of money extremely fast if you don’t know the right entry price and if you don’t know how to use price charts and technical analysis tools to estimate crypto price changes accurately.

Supported Cryptocurrencies and Altcoins

If you’re looking for a crypto exchange with hundreds of available coins, then you’re in the wrong place because BaseFEX has a very limited choice of digital currencies, but this isn’t in any way a disadvantage since the platform focuses on futures trading and perpetual contracts. For this type of trading, the 7 cryptos available on BaseFEX are more than enough.

Since futures trading is very risky, platforms such as BaseFEX that offer this type of service tend to support only top trending coins that are well established on the market and have an extensive trading history. They can also help users predict future asset price movements based on historical data.

Users can trade Bitcoin (BTC) in 100x leveraged options, while Binance Coin(BNB), Eos(EOS), Bitcoin Cash ($BCH), Ripple [XRP], Ethereum (ETH), Ripple (“EOS”) and Litecoin („LTC”) are available for leveraged perpetual contracts (20x), margin trading and Ethereum (ETH).

For every available crypto, BaseFEX has a dedicated page with trading order specifications that list the requirements for margin trading, perpetual contracts, and the available leverage limit.

It’s important to note that unlike standard crypto exchanges where profits and losses are settled in the specific currency you’re conducting a trading order with, BaseFEX settles all financial operations exclusively with Bitcoin and the Tether (USDT) stablecoin.

Payment Methods and Withdrawals

BaseFEX doesn’t have any deposit fees or withdrawal fees, which is a key advantage over many competitor platforms, but the payment methods are limited only to Bitcoin and Tether deposits.

The platform isn’t fiat-friendly, which means users can’t deposit any fiat currency directly on the platform. You cannot also pay directly for trading transactions using wire transfer, bank transfer, debit card or credit card. In order to carry out trading orders on BaseFEX, you need to first deposit BTC or USDT on the platform. Keep in mind that your crypto deposits are subject to standard network fees or blockchain fees.

If you don’t have USDT or BTC in your crypto wallet, it’s best to go to a fiat-friendly platform such as BitMEX (provides automatic deleveraging), Coinbase, or Binance to purchase crypto with fiat. After you have purchased the coins, you can send them directly to BaseFEX via the Deposit feature. This will instantly generate a deposit address or custom wallet address for USDT or BTC.

Once you’ve deposited Bitcoin or Tether, you’re ready to start trading on the platform. BaseFEX is not fiat-friendly, so it can be difficult for brokers to trade on the platform quickly if they don’t have enough USDT or BTC. However, for those looking for extremely high leveraged futures trading, it might be worth taking the extra steps.

The withdrawal process is identical to that of the deposit. All you have to do is to copy the destination wallet address from the Withdraw tab, and then initiate a transaction using BaseFEX to your wallet.

BaseFEX Fees and Limits

Platform fees are one of the most important aspects of every crypto exchange platform since they can have a heavy impact on the profitability of your trading deals. If you trade with large volumes of crypto, high percentage fees can eat away at your profits.

Most crypto exchanges use a market maker and market taker fee model to charge users for trading deals. BaseFEX also uses this fee model in order to reward active market makers with a fee discount. The platform uses a multi-tier fee structure that rewards high-volume traders with lower trading fees. Traders with a monthly trading volume lower than 100 BTC are charged a taker fee of 0.06%, while maker fees start at 0.02%.

There are six additional fee tiers that progressively lower the fees, up until the highest tier, LV 6, which awards market takers who have a monthly trading volume of at least 60,000 BTC with a 0.03% fee, while market makers incur a 0.005% fee.

For margin trading orders, there’s a funding rate added every 8 hours to maintain open positions. This fee is 0.01% for all trading pairs, no matter whether you’re funding a long or short position.

As far as trading limits and withdrawal limits, BaseFEX doesn’t state any limitations. There aren’t any minimum deposit amounts either.

BaseFEX Exchange Trading View Features

BaseFEX does not offer real-time buy/sell capabilities, but it offers a variety of trading options and tools that will help experienced traders choose the right type of cryptocurrency futures contract or margin trading order to implement.

BaseFEX’s price chart trading interface is the most important tool for monitoring the market. Every asset and every trading pair on the platform have their own price chart, accessible at all times by selecting the appropriate tab in the upper left section of the trading view, where the list of assets is located.

The chart occupies the upper middle section of the trading view and comes with a high number of details, such as candlesticks for showing market sentiments and price change directions, along with the possibility of setting specific labels on the chart, analyzing price depth, and selecting specific time frames.

In the lower right section of the trading view, you’ll see the order book for the selected trading pair such as BTC/USD, along with a list of recent trades to help you navigate the average prices for trading deals of the selected asset pair.

Your market positions and your account balance are located in the lower left. To the right of your trading positions and your balance, there’s a small section for initiating market orders and limit orders.

The platform also has a great mobile app for Android and iOS devices. Experienced users can easily navigate the browser version of the platform, but the mobile app is much more user-friendly for less-experienced traders.

BaseFEX Order Types

BaseFEX allows traders the ability to trade in initial margin, futures and perpetual contracts using various order types. Some order types may not be available for all trading operations. This is because, for example, futures trading cannot be done through a traditional market order that allows traders to instantly settle trading deals at current market prices.

Users have access to several advanced order types on BaseFEX, such as limit orders which have specific buy or sell limits that automatically trigger a trade once reached. It can take some time to fulfill a limit order, so it’s important to set realistic limits in line with the current market circumstances and price change directions.

Users can also place trigger orders which are somewhat similar to limit orders because they are automatically triggered once certain market circumstances are met. Trigger orders can be used to limit your losses and take gains.

That’s why they are classified into stop loss and take profit orders. A stop loss is a trigger order that lets users enter a trading position and set up a selling price that’s automatically carried out if the underlying asset’s price drops down to the stop-loss threshold. This order is intended to limit trading losses. Crypto traders don’t need to constantly monitor the market if they set up a stop-loss order.

Take profit orders use the same mechanism, except that they are designed to help users automatically take profits once a trading pair reaches a profitable sell zone specified by the trader. BaseFEX allows for stop loss and take profits orders to be combined into one type of order called SLTP. These triggers can be easily specified by traders using the BaseFEX trading view.

Platform Security

BaseFEX keeps all platform assets offline in multisig (multisignature) cold wallets which require multiple keys to be accessed by anyone. This means that the funds are safe from any type of cyber hacks since they are stored in cold storage devices. Additionally, anyone could gain access to any of the multisig keys without the rest.

Every withdrawal on BaseFEX goes through a manual verification process to make sure that the request is authentic and not made by bots or unauthorized third parties. This is to verify that each withdrawal request is valid.

Also, users have the highly recommended two-factor authentication (2FA) feature at their disposal. Users will need to approve each transaction manually via either an email verification code, or a code sent to their mobile devices by SMS. With 2FA, if a cyber attacker somehow gains access to your account and initiates a withdrawal, you’ll be notified immediately, and the attacker won’t be able to withdraw your crypto to their private wallet. In case a successful hack doesn’t happen somehow, BaseFEX also has an insurance fund for user assets.

Unlike many popular exchanges, BaseFEX doesn’t require users to go through a Know Your Customer (KYC) protocol and provide sensitive personal information. This adds an additional layer of privacy to the use of BaseFEX, which is rarely seen among crypto exchanges as they tend to gather extensive user data. The company states on the BaseFEX website that it’ll never share any user details with governments or authorities.

Customer Support

The BaseFEX customer support is really top quality, and it comes in three forms. When you run into an issue with your platform account or simply can’t find the features you need, you can initially look at the BaseFEX FAQ section. If you can’t find an answer to your issue there, you can either contact the support team through email and get a fast response from the team or contact them through the on-site, live chat feature or via their social media channels such as Telegram.

Chatbots are not allowed to run the live chat. Additionally, it’s available 24/7, which is really rare for a crypto exchange support team. All team members are crypto experts and can solve any platform problems quickly. The support team’s response time on live chat is also exceptional, which means you can quickly contact support and start solving whichever issue you have with the platform.

Pros & Cons

Pros

  • Up to 100x leverage for Bitcoin futures contracts, and up to 20x leverage for perpetual contracts for other cryptos.
  • No KYC protocol
  • The platform offers excellent liquidity
  • High security measures.
  • Comprehensive technical analysis tools and detailed price tables.
  • Supports advanced trading order types.
  • Low fees.
  • Comes with top grade API

Cons

  • The platform isn’t fiat-friendly, users can’t deposit USD or other fiat currencies, and users need to deposit BTC or USDT into their platform account before initiating a trade.
  • Because it isn’t licensed and regulated by the US financial authorities, the platform isn’t legal in the US.
  • Futures trading is only available for BTC.
  • The platform isn’t beginner-friendly, and it’s only suitable for experienced traders.

FAQ

Can I deposit fiat currency directly into my BaseFEX account?

No, you can’t since BaseFEX doesn’t support fiat deposits. Tether or Bitcoin can be only deposited and used to enter futures, margin trading or perpetual futures.

Can I use BaseFEX to conduct standard spot trading buy/sell orders?

BaseFEX doesn’t support spot trading. In fact, only Bitcoin and Tether are accepted by the exchange. Trading deals that are made on the platform for other cryptos involve trading contracts. These trading agreements deal with the price changes of the underlying assets, not trading them. BaseFEX doesn’t allow you to trade Ethereum as a currency. Instead, it deals with the price of Ethereum.

Why isn’t BaseFEX regulated and licensed by US financial authorities?

The platform doesn’t use a KYC protocol to identify users or gather their personal information, which is a key requirement for all licensed crypto exchanges to operate in the US.

What are the supported countries by BaseFEX?

The platform is available in nearly all countries such as Australia. The exchange is not authorized to accept USA traders due to lack of US regulation. Customers from several other countries are also prohibited from holding positions on the exchange or entering into contracts through it, such as Quebec (in Canada), China and Crimea and Sevastopol. This exchange has a positive feature: it supports languages. There are 10 languages supported: English, French and Italian, Spanish, Portuguese as well as Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Russian.

Conclusion

BaseFEX is a reliable cryptocurrency exchange that allows for leveraged margin trading and futures trading. However, the platform isn’t recommended for crypto beginners who are new to advanced trading orders and complex trading tactics that require extensive crypto market knowledge.

BaseFEX is best for experienced traders who understand the crypto market and use spot trading, margin trading and futures trading to trade different parts of their portfolio. If you’re a beginner, BaseFEX might lead you to considerable losses, but if you’re a pro trader looking for crazy high leveraged trading features, then BaseFEX is the perfect place for you.

Here are the best places to buy Bitcoin in Australia if you’re not satisfied with this BaseFEX review.

 


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author Marco Vela

A crypto obssessed digital marketer passionate about making a difference in the world. When he's not behind the computer he can be found hiking, camping and relaxing with his dog.