What Should You Check Before Depositing Crypto Into a New Exchange?
A short checklist before depositing into any new exchange — domain age, regulatory status, reviews, and a real withdrawal test. Here's the sequence.
.Depositing funds into an exchange is the moment where risk actually materializes — everything before that point is just evaluation, but the deposit itself is what a fraudulent platform is actually built to capture. A short, deliberate checklist beforehand is worth the few minutes it takes.
Check the Domain's Registration Age
Compare when the domain was actually registered against any claims the platform makes about its own operating history.
Check for Independent Regulatory Verification
Verify licensing claims against the actual official regulatory register directly.
Check Whether the Platform Appears on Independent Aggregators
A platform's complete absence from independent trackers, despite claiming significant trading volume, is meaningful information.
Check for Realistic, Non-Guaranteed Return Promises
Any promise of guaranteed or unusually consistent returns directly contradicts how real markets work.
Check Independent Reviews Across Multiple Sources
Watch for patterns suggesting fabrication — reviews clustered in a short window or suspiciously similar phrasing.
Check the Withdrawal Process Specifically, Not Just the Deposit Process
Test the platform with a small deposit followed by an actual withdrawal attempt before committing significant funds.
Check for a Verifiable Corporate or Regulatory Identity
A legitimate platform generally has some form of verifiable identity behind it.
Why Running Through This Before Every New Platform Matters
The asymmetry between the time investment and the potential loss makes this worth treating as close to mandatory.
Check a new exchange's domain age, verification status, and reported activity in one place before depositing anything.