HEX (Huobi) Exchange Review | Is This Exchange Safe To Use?

Huobi Review Image
Jack Moreau
Feb 2024
7 min read
Fact checked

Introduction: As the world of cryptocurrency continues to evolve, finding a secure and reliable exchange is crucial. That's where our unbiased review of Huobi Exchange comes in. We've delved into the platform's features, security measures, and customer service to give you the inside scoop. Discover whether Huobi has what it takes to earn your trust! 

Huobi

pros & cons

Pros

KYC not required
500+ cryptocurrencies
Spot, Perps, Margin Trading
200X Max Leverage

Cons

High 0.2% spot fees
High crypto withdrawal fees
Average 24H Trading Volume
Controversial Exchange

Huobi

vs alternatives

Huobi
Kucoin
OKX
Founded
2013
2017
2017
Users
20 million
30M
20M
Cryptos
+500
+700
+350
Spot Fees
0.2%
0.1%-0.3%
0.08%
KYC
No
Yes
Yes
Countries N/A
US, Canada, Japan, Singapore
US, CA, CN
US, CA
Best for
High Risk Traders
Altcoins & Perps
Spot & Futures trading
Rating
Signup
Huobi
Your Capital is at risk.
Kucoin
OKX

What is Huobi?

Huobi is a cryptocurrency exchange that was founded in 2013 by Leon Li and is based in Seychelles. With over 1000 employees, Huobi is available in 184 countries with 11 jurisdictions including China, US, Canada, Japan, and Singapore being prohibited from the platform. Huobi is further restricted from offering derivatives services to users Israel, UK, Spain, and New Zealand.

Huobi Website
Huobi Website

Huobi has more than 20 million users with half of those being Android app users that have rewarded the Huobi with a 4.1-star rating.

The platform offers over 500 cryptocurrencies to invest in like Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH) and newer coins such as Solana (SOL) and Osmosis (OSMO). In terms of spot trading volume, the exchange often achieves volumes that exceed $1 billion per day.

Huobi App
Huobi App

Huobi KYC Requirements

Huobi is an exchange that allows users to trade cryptocurrencies without KYC verification, but with some limitations.

Users can trade with a $1000 deposit limit and 0.06 BTC daily withdrawal limit. Signing up is easy and can be done via the exchange on a browser or by downloading the app.

Huobi KYC Requirements
Huobi KYC Requirements

The signup process takes only 30 seconds and involves entering your email or phone number and entering the verification code sent to you.

If you choose to verify your account, the KYC verification process takes only a few minutes to complete and is usually processed within 24 hours.

This process involves submitting a government-issued ID and a selfie. If you plan on trading larger amounts, it is recommended to complete the KYC verification process for full account privileges.

Huobi Products & Services

Huobi is a cryptocurrency exchange that offers a very wide range of cryptocurrency products. This include trading products such as spot trading, futures, margin trading, trading bots, options trading and copy trading.

Futures trading on Huobi
Futures trading on Huobi

One of the unique features offered by Huobi is its European and American style options trading that let's users to customize their trading strategies according to their preferences. The platform's maximum leverage for futures trading is as high as 200x which is the highest in the market.

Huobi futures
Huobi futures

Besides this wide range of trading products, Huobi also offers staking, lending and borrowing services and web 3 wallet.

In regards to lending and borrowing, Huobi offers the option to earn interest on stablecoins such as USDT and USDC with APYs as high as 15% depending on term limits.

Earn interest on USDT with Huobi
Earn interest on USDT with Huobi


Huobi provides an overall comprehensive trading experience but one downside is its confusing user interface, which can take some time to adjust to. This can be overwhelming to new users who have previously not navigated through a crypto exchange.

Huobi cryptocurrencies
Huobi cryptocurrencies

Huobi

products vs alternatives

Huobi
Kucoin
OKX
Spot
Yes
Yes
Yes
Futures
Yes
Yes
Yes
Leverage
200X
125X
125X
Copy trade
Yes
Yes
Yes
Lend & Borrow
Yes
Yes
Yes
Staking
Yes
Yes
Yes
NFTs
Yes
Yes
Yes
Signup
Huobi
Your Capital is at risk.
Kucoin
OKX

Huobi Trading Fees

Huobi charges trading fees of 0.20% for both spot maker and spot taker trades, with futures maker trades having a fee of 0.02% and futures taker trades having a fee of 0.05%.

Huobi spot fees
Huobi spot fees

They also offer margin trading with a fee of 0.10%. The spot trading fees offered by Huobi are twice as high compared to exchanges such as Binance, OKX and Kraken while their futures fees are more or less on the same level.

Huobi

fees vs alternatives

Huobi
Kucoin
OKX
Spot fee (mkr)
0.2%
0.1%-0.3%
0.08%
Spot fee (tkr)
0.2%
0.1%-0.3%
0.10%
Futures (mkr)
0.02%
0.02%
0.02%
Futures (tkr)
0.05%
0.06%
0.05%
Signup
Huobi
Your Capital is at risk.
Kucoin
OKX

Huobi Deposit Methods

With Huobi users can buy cryptocurrencies with fiat currencies, credit and debit cards or via P2P trading.

The platform supports eight fiat currencies, including EUR, GBP, TRY, and RUB, making it accessible to a wide range of users.

Fiat deposits on Huobi are limited to EUR, GBP, TRY, and BRL, with fees varying depending on the deposit method.

SEPA (EUR) and FSP (GBP) deposits come with a fee of 0.15% commission plus a 1EUR fee. Deposits for TRY and BRL can be deposited for free via Advcash and bank transfer.

Huobi users can also buy cryptocurrencies directly by using their credit/debit card but this is more expensive with fees ranging 2%-5%. Overall, Huobi has done a decent job providing support for a with range of fiat currencies without charging an arm and a leg.

Huobi Withdrawal Fees

Huobi offers multiple fiat withdrawal options, including SEPA, FSP, Advcash, Skrill, and bank transfer. However, fees vary depending on the method chosen.

SEPA withdrawals come with a 0.15% fee plus a 1 EUR fee, while FSP withdrawals have a 0.15% fee plus a 1 GBP fee. Skrill withdrawals have a 2.9% fee plus a 0.1 EUR fee.

Huobi withdrawal fees
Huobi withdrawal fees

The good news is that TRY withdrawals via Advcash are free, as are BRL withdrawals via bank transfer. It's worth noting that Huobi's fiat withdrawal options are only available for a limited number of currencies.

Huobi

security vs alternatives

Huobi
Kucoin
OKX
Hacked
No
No
No
Proof of reserves
Yes
Yes
Yes
Licenses
BVI, Dubai & NZ
-
VA in Dubai
Signup
Huobi
Your Capital is at risk.
Kucoin
OKX

Huobi

KYC not required

500+ cryptocurrencies

Spot, Perps, Margin Trading

200X Max Leverage

Visit Huobi
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Author
Jack Moreau
Jack is a crypto writer and reviewer who has been active in the space since he caught the crypto bug in 2017. With a passion for trying out new shiny things, Jack is always eager to try the latest cryptocurrency exchanges, wallets or DeFi applications.

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