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Is STEX a Good Crypto Exchange for Beginners?

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Is STEX a Good Crypto Exchange for Beginners?

Updated: February 14, 2025

Mikhail Vnuchkov

Contributor

Reviewed by

Olga Shendetskaya

Editor

Full STEX
overview

STEX's Top Features for Beginners

STEX’s beginner-friendly features, such as a demo account, low minimum deposit, educational materials, copy trading, staking, a user-friendly mobile app, customer support, fiat deposit and withdrawal options, and low fees, were compared against the top two competitors to ensure a comprehensive evaluation.

	STEX	OKX	Kraken
Demo account
Minimum deposit, USD or USDT		10	10
P2P exchange
Spot maker fee		0,08	0,25
Fiat transactions
Bank cards
Commissions and fees	4	9.25	6.2
Educational tools
Crypto bonuses
Staking
Copy trading
		Open an account Your capital is at risk.	Open an account Your capital is at risk.

Why We Focused on Comparing These Beginner-Friendly Features:

Demo account – Allows beginners to practice trading without risking real funds, helping them gain confidence and understand the platform.

Minimum deposit, USD or USDT – Ensures low entry barriers, making it affordable for newcomers to start trading with a small initial investment.

P2P exchange – Enables direct cryptocurrency trading between users, often with no intermediaries, providing a straightforward and accessible way to trade.

Spot maker fee – Highlights competitive trading fees for placing limit orders, which is cost-effective for those starting with spot trading.

Fiat transactions – Simplifies the process of depositing and withdrawing funds using local currencies, making it convenient for first-time users.

Bank cards – Provides an easy and familiar way for beginners to fund their accounts quickly using Visa or Mastercard.

Commissions and fees – Transparent and competitive fee structures help beginners calculate costs and avoid unexpected charges.

Educational tools – Tutorials, webinars, and guides equip beginners with the knowledge needed to trade confidently and effectively.

Crypto bonuses – Offers incentives like signup rewards or deposit bonuses, encouraging newcomers to explore trading.

Staking – Allows beginners to earn passive income on their holdings, introducing them to advanced cryptocurrency features with minimal effort.

Copy trading – Lets new traders learn by replicating the strategies of experienced traders, reducing the learning curve.

Short summary about the broker STEX

STEX.com, formerly known as Stocks.exchange, is a cryptocurrency scam exchange registered in Estonia since 2017. It abruptly shut down, leaving users unable to access their accounts or conduct any transactions.
The LinkedIn profile of the exchange's founder disappeared shortly before the site's closure.
Since 2017, STEX.com has garnered reviews labeling it as the worst exchange. Users complained about a poor interface, limited features, high fees, and unfavorable rates.
Many online reviews state that traders were unable to withdraw their funds when the exchange shut down, and technical support ignored their complaints. Most users rated STEX very poorly, giving it only one star.
During its time as Stocks.exchange, the platform was caught posting fake reviews about itself.
Due to these issues, STEX has been blacklisted as a broker in 2024.

💰 Account currency:	Cryptos and tokens
🚀 Minimum deposit:	No
⚖️ Leverage:	No
💱 Spread:	Market
🔧 Instruments:	Cryptos and tokens
💹 Margin Call / Stop Out:	No

STEX Pros and Cons

👍 Advantages of trading with STEX:

•loads of cryptocurrencies and tokens to trade and exchange for fiat currencies;

•2FA authentication, PGP key, and web authentication;

•customer funds are kept cold and segregated;

•availability of TradingView terminal and mobile trading application;

•IP whitelisting, log in via Google, Microsoft, or Linkedin;

•less than one-second order processing;

•off-the-charts stability;

•high-profile advanced charting features;

•referral payments: 25% of partner's trading fees;

•opportunity to reduce commissions to 0.1%;

•no withdrawal limits (only for L1 tier).

👎 Disadvantages of STEX:

•no demo account or solutions for beginners;

•no call center, the connection with the technical support is by email only;

•no information about the license of the company.

Trading Conditions for STEX Users

Before you start working with an exchange, it is important that you evaluate its trading conditions. STEX offers traders the following conditions.

Minimum deposit, USD or USDT
Futures leverage
Spot leverage
Coins Supported
Affiliate program
Replenishment / Withdrawal	Bank cards and accounts, electronic and cryptocurrency wallets
Trading features	Most popular cryptocurrencies and tokens, no fiats, exchange service, standard referral program, profitable investment program with a reserve fund, and no minimum deposit

STEX's Fees

We compared XXX's fees with the top two competitors to provide a clear understanding of how affordable the exchange is for its users.

	OKX	Kraken
Spot Taker fee, %	0,1	0,4
Spot Maker fee, %	0,08	0,25
Futures Taker fee, %	0,05	0,05
Futures Maker fee, %	0,02	0,02
Withdrawal fee	0,0004 BTC 2,6 USDT	0,0005 BTC

The size of commissions and fees is also an important factor of choice. Traders Union analysts have prepared a short review of STEX commissions and fees. In this section, you will find trading fees of the exchange as well as withdrawal fees.

Information

Trading operations fees on STEX are fixed. They do not depend on the volume of trading and other factors within the platform or market. The fees are determined at the start of the verification option (data confirmation). The following options and their corresponding commissions are available:

Level 1 (L1) - 0.2% for users verified through the site service (withdrawal limit — up to $500,000 per day);
Level 2 (L2) - 0.15% for users verified via STEX, Smart-ID, or Fractal;
Level 3 (L3) - 0.1% for users verified through Cryptonomica.

There is only one way to reduce commissions after verification which is by using rebates from the Traders Union. But even the L1 level commission of 0.2% for a taker/maker is below average in the market segment.

Account type	Spread (minimum value)	Withdrawal commission
Standard	Up to 0.2% per order	Yes

Investment programs of STEX

It is important for novice traders not only to trade actively, but also earn passive income. Passive investing can help you earn extra profit, and also compensate for the losses you may incur as a result of active trading. STEX offers the following passive income options.

Investment Programs, Available Markets, and Products of the Crypto Exchange

The STEX crypto exchange offers the Jointer investment program. It is a blockchain project in which the liquidity of the Defi and JNTR coins is provided by real estate. Technically, profit generation is implemented on the principle of staking. In other words, the platform develops through external investments, increasing its profitability and paying interest to investors. But the investment methodology is based on the principles of an auction, so it differs from staking in blockchain projects on other exchanges.

Every STEX user can buy a JNTR coin on the exchange and invest it in an auction. The exchange gives investors a discount on coin purchases, the discount is proportional to the total amount of coins invested. The basic yield of the program is 1% of all deposited funds, this percentage is distributed proportionally to the deposits. Bonus payments range from 15-50% per annum. The auction is launched daily. The investor can withdraw the invested funds at any time because they are not frozen.

To participate in the Jointer auction, investors must keep unlocked and unused JNTRs in their wallets with a 1:1 par value ratio. For more terms and information about the program, visit the DeFee Auctions section.

Important!

If you are a large investor and plan on investments over $10,000, contact us at vip-invest@tradersunion.com or by the feedback form on our website. Our professional team will take you through all the intricacies of thedeal and all the steps from signing up to withdrawal of profits.

STEX’s affiliate programs:

Every STEX customer can participate in the STEX referral program and receive payments for the invited users. After registration and verification in the trader’s personal account (in the "Referral program" section) your personal affiliate link will be available. It can be placed in forums, social networks, and other forums without any restrictions.

Each user who registers and verifies at STEX, previously passing the referral link, will bring the inviting trader 25% of his trading fees. The program is termless so the invited user will provide a passive income to the invited trader throughout the time that he trades on the site. The program is unlimited, hence you can invite any number of users and get paid for each of them.

Only one level of the program is provided, so the user does not receive payments for those who have been invited to the site by his partners. Referral payments are made daily, in the currency of the transaction carried out by the partner.

Conclusion. Is STEX good for beginners?

The STEX cryptocurrency exchange will be an excellent choice for beginners. The exchange offers a convenient trading platform, which a beginner can learn to work with rather quickly. There is an excellent education center with a large number of materials for novice traders. Also, traders can earn passive income on good conditions. Therefore, STEX could be considered as a good cryptocurrency exchange for a start.

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FAQ

What do I need to know about the fees charged by cryptocurrency exchanges?

The majority of cryptocurrency exchanges use the Maker/Taker fee model. As a rule, they use a multi-level system for traders that depends on the trading volume. The higher the trader’s trading volume, the lower the fees.

How do I choose a reliable cryptocurrency exchange?

Crypto exchanges mostly operate without licenses, as the majority of countries haven’t adopted legislation to regulate them. In order to choose a reliable exchange, you need to find out about its reputation and read the reviews about user experiences with it.

How many cryptocurrencies could a crypto exchange offer?

The number of cryptocurrencies on the listing of a cryptocurrency exchange may be very different. Some platforms offer less than 10, while others – several hundreds. It is important that you check the choice of cryptocurrency before registering on the exchange.

What are the risks of investing in cryptocurrencies?

Investing in cryptocurrencies carry high risks due to their high volatility. It could cause substantial losses, which is why it is important to observe the rules of risk management.