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Enter exchange information to see if it meets key safety criteria based on the EQONEX collapse lessons
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What this means: Higher scores indicate safer exchanges. EQONEX scored 0/6 on these criteria.
Always verify your exchange's regulatory status before trading. Never keep large amounts on unregulated platforms.
EQONEX used to be a name you might have seen on crypto forums or trading platforms. It promised low fees, a clean interface, and even free withdrawals if you held enough of its native token, EQO. But today, if you try to visit EQONEX, you’ll find a dead website. No login. No trading. No customer support. Just silence.
What Was EQONEX?
EQONEX, originally called EQUOS Exchange, launched in May 2020 out of Singapore. It was owned by Diginex, a company that made headlines in 2021 by becoming the first crypto exchange to list on Nasdaq under the ticker EQOS. At first glance, it looked legit. No minimum deposit. Low trading fees. A native token called EQO that gave users discounts and staking rewards. It even offered free daily airdrops of EQO tokens to keep people engaged. The platform wasn’t flashy, but it was simple. You could trade spot pairs and futures with leverage. The charting tools had the basics: candlesticks, RSI, MACD - but no H4 timeframes, which frustrated some advanced traders. The interface was clean, but basic. No fancy AI tools, no social trading, no copy trading. Just a standard order book and a few charts. The EQO token was its biggest selling point. Hold 500 EQO and you got free withdrawals. Hold more and you could use it as collateral for derivatives. Staking earned you interest. It felt like a smart move - aligning user incentives with platform growth. But here’s the catch: the token never gained real traction outside the exchange.Why Did EQONEX Fail?
By mid-2021, things started to slip. Trading volume dropped from $180 million in June to just $85 million by December. That’s a 53% decline in just six months. For a new exchange, that’s a death sentence. Competitors like Kraken and Coinbase were adding hundreds of coins. EQONEX barely added any. It stuck with around 30-40 tokens - not enough to attract serious traders. Then came the market crash of 2022. Bitcoin fell from $69,000 to under $16,000. Crypto exchanges everywhere were bleeding users. EQONEX wasn’t alone in struggling, but it didn’t have the cash reserves or brand loyalty to survive. In November 2022, the company filed for bankruptcy and shut down its exchange entirely. The official reason? "To focus on more profitable areas." Diginex said it was leaving the crowded exchange space to build asset management and custody services for institutions. They hired ex-Jefferies executives. They talked about structured crypto products - ETCs, leveraged tokens, options. It sounded like a smart pivot. But here’s the dark side: Traders Union, a watchdog group that tracks fraudulent platforms, labeled EQONEX as a "fraudulent exchange" in their 2025 review. They claim the bankruptcy wasn’t just a business failure - it was a cover-up. No public audit. No transparent breakdown of user funds. No timeline for refunds. That’s not how honest companies behave.What Happened to User Money?
If you had crypto or fiat on EQONEX when it shut down, you’re out of luck. As a centralized exchange, EQONEX held your keys. That means when they went bankrupt, your assets became part of their estate. Creditors get paid first. Users? Last in line. There’s no record of any user recovering funds. No class-action lawsuit. No settlement. No communication from the company after the shutdown notice. Even the EQO token, which once had a market cap over $100 million, is now worthless. Trading pairs were delisted. Liquidity vanished. The token’s smart contract still exists, but no one trades it. Compare that to Kraken or Coinbase. Both have insurance funds, cold storage audits, and years of regulatory compliance. EQONEX operated under a temporary exemption from Singapore’s Monetary Authority - not a full license. That’s like driving without a license and hoping you don’t get pulled over. When the regulators started asking questions, EQONEX didn’t have answers.
How Did EQONEX Compare to Today’s Top Exchanges?
In 2025, the crypto exchange landscape looks very different:- Kraken: Supports 400+ coins, never been hacked, 10/10 Trust Score on CoinGecko, regulated in the U.S. and EU.
- Coinbase: Best for beginners, fully licensed in the U.S., FDIC-insured fiat wallets, simple UI.
- Crypto.com: Offers Visa cards, staking rewards, and a growing suite of financial tools.
- Uphold: Lets you trade crypto, fiat, and commodities in one place with transparent fees.
The EQO Token: A Failed Experiment
The EQO token was EQONEX’s attempt to build loyalty. It had utility: fee discounts, staking, collateral. But it lacked real-world use. You couldn’t spend it anywhere. It wasn’t listed on major DeFi protocols. It didn’t power any dApps. It existed only to make the exchange look like it had a "token economy." When the exchange died, so did EQO. No recovery. No migration. No airdrop to another platform. Just a ghost token floating in wallets, worth nothing. Many exchanges tried similar models - Binance with BNB, KuCoin with KCS. But those tokens are backed by massive trading volume, global adoption, and real revenue sharing. EQO had none of that.
What You Should Learn from EQONEX
EQONEX isn’t just a footnote. It’s a warning. If you’re choosing a crypto exchange today, ask these questions:- Is it licensed or regulated in a major jurisdiction? (U.S., EU, Singapore, Japan)
- Does it have a public audit trail for reserves?
- Has it ever been hacked or had a major outage?
- Is it profitable? Or is it burning cash to keep users?
- Are its token incentives real - or just a marketing trick?
Where to Trade Instead in 2025
Stick with platforms that have proven resilience:- For U.S. users: Coinbase or Kraken. Both are fully licensed and insured.
- For global traders: Binance (where available), Crypto.com, or Bybit.
- For advanced traders: OKX or Bitget - strong futures markets and low fees.
- For DeFi lovers: Use a non-custodial wallet like MetaMask and trade on Uniswap or dYdX.
Final Thoughts
EQONEX didn’t just fail. It vanished. No fanfare. No apology. No refund. Just a website that went dark, and thousands of users left with nothing. The crypto market is full of flashy startups promising the moon. But only the ones with strong regulation, deep pockets, and real transparency survive. EQONEX was never one of them. Don’t make the same mistake. Do your homework. Choose exchanges with track records - not ones with catchy tokens and empty promises.Is EQONEX still operating in 2025?
No, EQONEX shut down permanently in November 2022 after filing for bankruptcy. Its website, trading platform, and customer support are all offline. The exchange no longer exists as a functioning service.
Can I get my money back from EQONEX?
There is no known way to recover funds from EQONEX. After bankruptcy, user assets became part of the company’s estate. No public records show any refunds or asset distributions to users. Most users lost their holdings entirely.
Was EQONEX a scam?
EQONEX claimed its closure was a strategic business decision. However, Traders Union and other watchdogs classify it as a fraudulent exchange due to the lack of transparency, no communication with users after shutdown, and no audit of user funds. The combination of declining volume, regulatory ambiguity, and sudden collapse raises serious red flags.
What happened to the EQO token?
The EQO token lost all value after EQONEX shut down. It was delisted from all exchanges, trading volume dropped to zero, and no new use cases were developed. The token still exists on the blockchain but is effectively worthless and untradeable.
Why did EQONEX fail when other exchanges survived?
EQONEX failed because it had low trading volume, a limited selection of cryptocurrencies, no insurance for user funds, and operated without full regulatory approval. Unlike Kraken or Coinbase, it didn’t build brand trust or scale its infrastructure. When the market turned, it had no buffer to survive.
Should I avoid any exchange based in Singapore?
No. Singapore has some of the strictest crypto regulations in the world. Exchanges like Bybit and Bitget operate legally there with full licenses. The issue with EQONEX wasn’t its location - it was its lack of compliance, transparency, and financial stability. Always check if an exchange has a full license, not just a temporary exemption.
What’s the biggest lesson from EQONEX’s collapse?
Never trust an exchange based on promises or tokens alone. Look for regulation, transparency, and a proven track record. If an exchange doesn’t clearly state where it’s licensed or how it protects your funds, walk away. EQONEX looked good on paper - but when it mattered, it disappeared.