Crypto Exchange Safety Checker
Evaluate if a crypto exchange meets essential safety criteria based on the lessons learned from EQONEX's collapse. Answer the questions below to determine if an exchange is safe to use.
Exchange Safety Assessment
EQONEX was once promoted as a sleek, low-fee crypto exchange based in Singapore, backed by a Nasdaq-listed company. But by late 2022, it vanished-no warnings, no gradual decline, just silence. Today, in 2025, the platform is dead. No trading. No customer support. No website access. And users? Many are still waiting to recover their funds.
What Was EQONEX?
EQONEX, originally called EQUOS Exchange, launched in May 2020. It was owned by Diginex, a company that made headlines by becoming the first crypto exchange to list on Nasdaq under the ticker EQOS. That gave it instant credibility. The platform offered spot and futures trading, a native token called EQO, and a clean, simple interface. It claimed no minimum deposits, low trading fees, and free withdrawals for users holding 500+ EQO tokens.
The EQO token was central to its model. Holders got reduced fees, staking rewards, and could use it as collateral for derivatives. Daily airdrops of EQO were a draw, especially for new users. The exchange also supported automated trading bots-a feature many retail traders loved.
But behind the polished interface, things were shaky. EQONEX operated under a temporary exemption from Singapore’s Monetary Authority, not a full license. That meant it wasn’t fully regulated. And while it claimed to be secure, it never published proof of reserves or underwent third-party audits. That’s a red flag in crypto, where trust is everything.
Trading Volume Plunged-Fast
EQONEX started with promise. In June 2021, its 24-hour trading volume hit $180 million. By December of that same year? It dropped to $85 million. That’s a 53% decline in just six months.
Why? The platform had a tiny selection of cryptocurrencies-far fewer than Kraken, Coinbase, or Binance. If you wanted to trade obscure altcoins or newer DeFi tokens, EQONEX wasn’t the place. It also didn’t offer H4 timeframes on its charts, which made technical analysis harder for serious traders. And while leverage was available on futures, it was completely absent on spot trades. That limited flexibility.
Worse, the welcome bonus came with impossible conditions. Users had to trade huge volumes just to unlock the bonus, making it more of a trap than a reward. The platform’s appeal quickly faded as users moved to exchanges with more coins, better tools, and stronger reputations.
The Collapse: Bankruptcy and Silence
On November 22, 2022, EQONEX quietly filed for bankruptcy. No press release. No email to users. Just a short statement from CEO Jonathan Farnell saying they were exiting the "crowded crypto exchange space" to focus on asset management and custody services.
That explanation sounded reasonable-until you looked at the context. 2022 was a brutal year for crypto. FTX collapsed. Celsius froze withdrawals. TerraUSD crashed. Dozens of exchanges shut down. EQONEX wasn’t the only one. But unlike others, it never tried to restructure, raise funds, or even communicate with users.
Traders Union, a watchdog group, labeled EQONEX as "fraudulent" in its 2025 review. They argue the bankruptcy wasn’t a strategic pivot-it was a cover-up. The company had no clear path to profitability, and its lack of transparency suggests it may have been using customer funds to stay afloat.
Today, the website is offline. The app doesn’t work. CoinGecko and CoinMarketCap list EQONEX as "untracked" with zero volume. The EQO token still exists on some blockchains, but it’s worthless-no exchanges list it, and no one is trading it.
What Happened to User Money?
This is the biggest question. When EQONEX shut down, users were left with frozen accounts. Since it was a centralized exchange, users didn’t control their private keys. All assets were held by EQONEX. When the company went bankrupt, those funds became part of its estate.
There’s no public record of any creditor payout. No bankruptcy court filings detail how much money was recovered or distributed. No email updates. No progress reports. If you had Bitcoin, Ethereum, or even EQO tokens on the platform, you likely lost them.
Compare that to Kraken, which has never suffered a major hack and keeps customer funds in cold storage with insurance. Or Coinbase, which is licensed in the U.S. and holds FDIC insurance on USD balances. EQONEX offered none of that.
Why EQONEX Failed When Others Survived
EQONEX didn’t fail because of bad luck. It failed because of bad choices:
- Limited crypto selection: Only 30-40 coins at its peak. Kraken offers over 400.
- No regulatory clarity: Operating under a temporary exemption meant banks and institutions avoided it.
- Weak security transparency: No proof of reserves. No audits. No insurance.
- Declining volume: Users left because better options existed.
- Over-reliance on EQO token: The token’s value depended on exchange usage. When usage dropped, so did confidence.
It’s a textbook case of a crypto startup trying to compete without a real moat. They didn’t have lower fees than Binance. They didn’t have better security than Kraken. They didn’t have the brand recognition of Coinbase. So when the market turned, they had nothing to hold onto.
What to Look for in a Crypto Exchange Today
If you’re looking for a crypto exchange in 2025, don’t make EQONEX’s mistakes:
- Check regulation: Is the exchange licensed in a major jurisdiction like the U.S., EU, or Singapore? Avoid ones with only "temporary exemptions."
- Look for proof of reserves: Reputable exchanges publish regular audits from firms like BDO or Crowe.
- Verify insurance: Does the exchange insure customer funds? Coinbase does. Kraken does. EQONEX didn’t.
- Watch trading volume: If volume is dropping, users are leaving. That’s a warning sign.
- Don’t trust native tokens as a safety net: EQO was supposed to make you safer. It didn’t.
Stick with platforms that have been around for years, like Kraken, Coinbase, or Crypto.com. They’ve survived bear markets, hacks, and regulatory crackdowns. EQONEX didn’t even survive two years.
Final Verdict: Avoid at All Costs
EQONEX isn’t just defunct-it’s a cautionary tale. It looked legitimate. It had a Nasdaq parent. It had a clean interface. But none of that mattered when the company lacked transparency, regulation, or real user trust.
If you’re still holding EQO tokens or thinking about trading on any exchange that sounds too good to be true, remember: if it vanished without a trace, it wasn’t a business. It was a gamble-and you were the one who lost.
Today, the only thing EQONEX offers is a lesson: in crypto, reputation matters more than marketing. Choose exchanges with a proven track record-not ones that promise airdrops and low fees but vanish when the market gets tough.
Is EQONEX still operating in 2025?
No, EQONEX is completely inactive. The exchange shut down in November 2022 after filing for bankruptcy. Its website, trading platform, and customer support are no longer accessible. All trading functions have been frozen or delisted.
Can I recover my funds from EQONEX?
There is no known process to recover funds from EQONEX. Since the platform filed for bankruptcy and never published details about asset distribution, users who held crypto on the exchange likely lost their assets. No creditor payouts have been reported, and there is no official recovery program.
Was EQONEX a scam?
While EQONEX claimed to be a legitimate exchange backed by a Nasdaq-listed company, Traders Union and other watchdogs classify it as fraudulent due to its sudden shutdown, lack of transparency, and failure to protect user funds. Its bankruptcy appears less like a business pivot and more like an exit strategy after running out of options.
What happened to the EQO token?
The EQO token still exists on some blockchains, but it has no value. No major exchanges list it. Staking, fee discounts, and other utilities tied to EQO ceased when the exchange shut down. Holding EQO today is equivalent to holding a piece of paper from a defunct company.
Why did EQONEX fail when Kraken and Coinbase survived?
Kraken and Coinbase have strong regulatory compliance, public audits, insurance for user funds, and massive user bases. EQONEX had none of that. It operated under a temporary exemption, offered few cryptocurrencies, saw declining trading volume, and never built real trust. When market conditions worsened in 2022, it had no foundation to stand on.
Steven Ellis
December 15, 2025 AT 12:32EQONEX was a classic case of style over substance. That Nasdaq listing gave it instant credibility, but credibility doesn’t pay for server costs or compliance teams. The lack of proof of reserves was a red flag so bright it should’ve blinded everyone. If you’re holding crypto on an exchange that won’t show you its balance sheet, you’re not investing-you’re gambling with someone else’s ledger.
And let’s be real: the EQO token wasn’t a utility, it was a pyramid scheme dressed in fintech clothing. Airdrops lured in new users, but the entire economy was built on the assumption that more people would keep joining. When volume dropped, the house of cards collapsed-and users got crushed under it.
What’s worse? No one even tried to communicate. No transparency. No apology. Just silence. That’s not bankruptcy. That’s abandonment.
If you’re reading this and still holding EQO, delete the wallet. It’s digital confetti now.
Claire Zapanta
December 17, 2025 AT 02:02Of course it vanished. You think a Singapore-based crypto exchange backed by a Nasdaq company could survive without being part of a bigger game? This was a controlled demolition. The real owners cashed out through offshore entities years ago. The whole thing was a front for capital flight disguised as innovation.
And don’t you dare tell me it was just ‘bad business.’ Every single crypto exchange that ‘failed’ in 2022 had one thing in common: they were all connected to the same offshore banking network. EQONEX wasn’t a victim-it was a vehicle.
They let the retail users take the fall so the insiders could disappear into the Caymans with their BTC. Wake up. This isn’t finance. It’s organized crime with a UI.
Sue Gallaher
December 18, 2025 AT 16:43They promised low fees and free withdrawals if you held EQO but never told you that EQO was basically worthless without the exchange
And now nobody even talks about it anymore
Classic crypto scam
Just move on
Jeremy Eugene
December 20, 2025 AT 02:44While the narrative around EQONEX is compelling, I would caution against conflating operational failure with fraud. The absence of proof of reserves is indeed a severe governance flaw, but it does not automatically equate to intentional malfeasance. Many startups in crypto operate under capital constraints and regulatory gray zones, and their collapse may reflect systemic market pressures rather than criminal design.
That said, the lack of communication post-bankruptcy is indefensible. Ethical failure is not less harmful than legal failure. Transparency is the minimum standard for trust in decentralized systems.
Nicholas Ethan
December 20, 2025 AT 04:04Trading volume dropped 53% in six months? That’s not a decline-it’s a corpse cooling. No audits, no insurance, no liquidity buffers, and a token that only had value because people were forced to hold it to reduce fees. That’s not a business model. That’s a Ponzi with a frontend.
And the fact that they filed bankruptcy without even publishing a creditor schedule? That’s not incompetence. That’s intent. The entire operation was designed to exit cleanly after extracting user assets. The Nasdaq listing was a smokescreen. The real business was harvesting liquidity and vanishing.
Case closed. No further analysis needed.
Rakesh Bhamu
December 21, 2025 AT 13:49I’ve traded on several smaller exchanges in India and Southeast Asia, and I can tell you EQONEX’s fate was predictable. The moment you rely on a native token to drive user retention, you’re building on sand. People don’t stay for token rewards-they stay for reliability, liquidity, and security.
EQONEX had none of that. They looked pretty, but underneath? Barebones infrastructure. No real compliance team. No reserve audits. No customer service backlog management.
The lesson isn’t just ‘avoid shady exchanges.’ It’s ‘don’t fall for shiny interfaces.’ Real platforms don’t need flashy airdrops to keep users. They just work.
And if you’re still holding EQO? Don’t wait for a refund. Use it as a reminder to always check the backend, not just the frontend.
Hari Sarasan
December 22, 2025 AT 15:02Let me break this down with precision: EQONEX was never meant to survive. It was engineered as a liquidity extraction funnel. The Nasdaq listing was a psychological trigger-investors saw ‘public company’ and assumed institutional oversight. But the truth? Diginex used EQONEX as a front-end to aggregate retail capital, then siphoned it into their private asset management arm under the guise of ‘strategic pivot.’
The EQO token? A liquidity sinkhole. Users were incentivized to lock their assets in staking pools, which were then used to fund proprietary trading desks. No audits? Because audits would’ve exposed the mismatch between on-chain balances and actual holdings.
The bankruptcy filing? A legal maneuver to shield executives from liability. No one in Singapore or the U.S. pursued them because the money was already offshore. This isn’t crypto failure. This is financial warfare against retail investors. And they won.
Stanley Machuki
December 23, 2025 AT 00:25They promised free withdrawals and then vanished
That’s not a business
That’s theft with a logo
Don’t trust anyone who says ‘trust us’ in crypto
Just use a wallet
Done
Lynne Kuper
December 23, 2025 AT 14:37Oh wow. A crypto exchange with a Nasdaq parent and zero transparency. Who saw that coming? Let me guess-the same people who thought FTX was ‘stable’ because it had a fancy office and a CEO who looked like a TED Talk host.
EQONEX didn’t fail because of bad luck. It failed because it was a glittery shell with nothing inside. The EQO token? A loyalty card for a restaurant that burned down.
And now we’re supposed to feel bad for them? No. We’re supposed to laugh. And then never touch another exchange that doesn’t publish its cold wallet addresses every week.
Lloyd Cooke
December 24, 2025 AT 04:59There is a philosophical undercurrent here that transcends the mechanics of exchange failure. EQONEX was not merely a platform-it was a mirror held up to the collective delusion of digital capitalism. We, as users, projected onto it the myth of technological inevitability: that innovation, however shallow, must be rewarded with legitimacy.
The Nasdaq listing was not a validation-it was a sacrament. We bowed before the altar of institutional endorsement, ignoring the rot beneath the marble. The collapse of EQONEX is not a tragedy of economics, but of epistemology.
We trusted symbols over substance. We mistook visibility for virtue. And now, the silence speaks louder than any audit report ever could.
What is trust, if not the quiet belief that someone else will not steal from you? When that belief is shattered, what remains? Not loss. Not even grief.
Just the echo of our own naivety.
Kurt Chambers
December 25, 2025 AT 20:57They used the word ‘Nasdaq’ like it meant something but it was just a ticker symbol on a billboard
And now they’re gone like a bad date who ghosted you after you paid for dinner
America built this system and now it’s crumbling
They don’t care about you
They care about the next shiny thing
And you’re just the sucker who bought the hype
John Sebastian
December 26, 2025 AT 20:56If you lost money on EQONEX, you deserved it. You didn’t do your homework. You didn’t ask for audits. You didn’t verify custody. You fell for the marketing. You wanted to believe it was safe because it looked clean.
That’s not the exchange’s fault. That’s your fault.
There are no free lunches in crypto. There are only people who are willing to starve so others can eat.
Albert Chau
December 27, 2025 AT 11:41EQONEX didn’t just fail-it failed spectacularly. And the worst part? It had every advantage: Nasdaq backing, clean UI, low fees, token rewards. And still, it collapsed. Why? Because it didn’t earn trust. It bought attention.
Real exchanges don’t need airdrops. They don’t need to hype their token. They just deliver. Securely. Consistently.
EQONEX was the equivalent of a luxury car with no engine. Beautiful to look at. Useless to drive.
And now you’re left with a parking ticket and no car. That’s your lesson.
Madison Surface
December 28, 2025 AT 21:59I remember when I first signed up for EQONEX-I was so excited. The interface was so clean, the airdrops were daily, and I thought, ‘This is the one.’
Then I started noticing how few coins they had. How the charts were missing key timeframes. How support took days to reply.
But I stayed because I liked the EQO token. I thought, ‘Maybe it’ll go up.’
And now? It’s worth nothing. And I feel so stupid.
To anyone still holding EQO: you’re not alone. But please, let go. It’s not your fault. It’s just a lesson in how beautiful lies can feel real until they vanish.
Tiffany M
December 30, 2025 AT 16:17They had a Nasdaq listing, but no real compliance? That’s like having a PhD in a field you never studied. Everyone nods because the degree looks good, but you can’t actually solve the problem.
And the EQO token? That was the bait. You thought you were getting a discount. You were actually paying for a funeral.
Now the website’s dead, the app’s gone, and the only thing left is a ghost in the blockchain. I’m not mad. I’m just… tired. We keep falling for the same shiny box. When are we gonna learn?
Scot Sorenson
December 31, 2025 AT 07:36So EQONEX vanished and now we’re all pretending this is a surprise? You think the people running it didn’t know they were cooking the books? They had a Nasdaq parent-that’s not an accident. That’s a license to lie.
They didn’t fail because of competition. They failed because they ran out of other people’s money.
And now you’re crying about lost BTC? Cry harder. You knew the rules. You just chose to ignore them.
JoAnne Geigner
January 1, 2026 AT 12:31I’ve been in crypto since 2017. I’ve seen exchanges rise and fall. But EQONEX… it hurt because it felt personal.
I recommended it to my sister. She put her life savings in. Now she doesn’t talk to me. I don’t blame her.
There’s no blame here. Just grief. We believed in something that didn’t believe in us.
If you’re reading this and you’re still holding EQO… I’m sorry. Let it go. It’s not worth your peace.
And if you’re thinking of using another exchange? Ask them this: ‘Can I see your proof of reserves from last month?’
If they hesitate? Walk away.
We deserve better than glitter.
Steven Ellis
January 3, 2026 AT 03:04JoAnne’s comment hit hard. I recommended EQONEX to my cousin too. He’s still trying to find a way to recover his ETH. I don’t have the heart to tell him it’s over.
Maybe the real lesson isn’t about exchanges.
It’s about how easily we let hope override caution.
And how hard it is to admit we were wrong.