Exchange review · Global
Bitrue Review 2027: Is It the Right Exchange for You?
Bitrue is a Singapore-based exchange with a clear identity: it is the platform most closely associated with XRP and the community around it. It was one of the first exchanges to use XRP as a base currency for trading pairs, it lists tokens from the XRP Ledger and related networks early, and it built much of its user base among XRP holders looking for ways to earn a return on their coins.
Bitrue also offers a general spot market, futures and yield products. It has been hacked twice, and it holds no major licence. This 2027 review covers what it does well and where caution is needed.
Background
Bitrue was founded in 2018 by Curis Wang and a team with experience at large Chinese technology firms. The company is headquartered in Singapore and serves customers globally through offshore entities. It reports several million users.
From the outset Bitrue courted the XRP community, which at the time felt underserved by larger exchanges. That decision gave a small new platform a loyal audience. When the US Securities and Exchange Commission sued Ripple in late 2020 and several American exchanges suspended XRP trading, Bitrue kept its markets open and benefited further.
The XRP Angle
Several features explain Bitrue's standing with XRP holders.
- XRP as a quote currency. Many coins can be traded directly against XRP, so holders do not need to convert to a stablecoin first.
- Early listings from the XRP ecosystem. Tokens issued on the XRP Ledger and on connected networks often appear on Bitrue before other centralised exchanges.
- Support for airdrops. The exchange has taken part in token distributions to XRP holders, saving users the technical steps of claiming them from a private wallet.
- Yield on XRP. Its savings products pay interest on XRP and other coins.
If you hold XRP and want to trade it actively against other assets, these are real conveniences. They also create concentration. Keeping your XRP on one exchange so that you can earn interest and receive airdrops means trusting that exchange with your whole position.
- Spot fee
- 0.098% / 0.098%maker / taker, base tier
- Founded
- 20189 years in 2027
- Trust score
- 8 / 10CoinGecko, live
- Proof of reserves
- —no major licence
Other Products
- Spot market with several hundred coins.
- Perpetual futures with leverage, margined in USDT, USDC or coins.
- Power Piggy, the brand name for its flexible and fixed-term savings products.
- Yield farming hubs and staking, with rates that vary widely by token.
- Loans secured by crypto collateral.
- Copy trading and trading bots.
- BTR, the platform token, which gives fee discounts and higher savings caps.
Fees
Bitrue's spot fee is just under 0.10% for both makers and takers at the base level, with reductions for paying in BTR and for higher volumes. Pairs quoted in XRP have at times had their own, higher rate, so check the fee shown on the order form. Futures fees are lower in percentage terms and are charged on the full leveraged position.
Withdrawal fees are set per coin and network. For XRP the network cost is tiny, but remember that withdrawals to another exchange require a destination tag. Leaving it out is the most common cause of lost XRP transfers.
How to Think About Yield Products
Bitrue's savings rates are a major draw, and they deserve scrutiny. An exchange can pay interest on your coins only by doing something with them: lending them to margin traders or institutions, staking them, or subsidising the rate from its own marketing budget to attract deposits.
Each source has a different risk. Lending involves borrowers who can default. Staking can involve lock-ups and technical penalties. Subsidised rates end when the promotion ends. Bitrue does not publish the detailed breakdown that would let a customer measure these risks.
Some rules of thumb:
- A rate far above what large, regulated platforms pay on the same coin is compensation for risk, not a gift.
- Fixed terms lock your coins while the price can move sharply.
- Interest paid in a small token may be worth much less by the time you receive it.
- Savings on an exchange are not protected by deposit insurance.
Use these products with a limited share of your holdings, if at all.
Two Hacks, Both Reimbursed
Bitrue has suffered two breaches of its hot wallets.
In June 2019 an attacker exploited a weakness in a review process to access the funds of about ninety users and moved roughly 9.3 million XRP and 2.5 million ADA, worth about $4 million then. Bitrue suspended service briefly, worked with other exchanges to freeze part of the funds and reimbursed every affected user.
In April 2023 a hot wallet was drained of assets worth about $23 million, including ether, SHIB, MATIC and several other tokens. The exchange said that the wallet held less than five percent of its total funds, paused withdrawals for a few days and again compensated users in full.
Two incidents in four years point to recurring weakness in hot wallet management. In fairness, the exchange had the means and the will to cover the losses both times. The takeaway is the usual one, with added force: do not keep more on the platform than you need for trading.
Regulation
Bitrue is not licensed by a leading financial regulator. It has registrations in some jurisdictions and has announced efforts to obtain more, but it does not hold a full licence in Singapore, the United States, the United Kingdom or the European Union. It restricts users from certain countries, among them the US for most services.
Without a regulator behind the platform, customers rely on the company's own conduct. Its record of reimbursing hack victims is encouraging. It is not the same as legal protection.
Proof of Reserves
After the failures of 2022, Bitrue began publishing reserve information. The disclosures are less frequent and less detailed than the monthly Merkle-tree reports of the biggest exchanges. Treat them as partial reassurance. If full, verifiable reserve proofs are important to you, compare what Bitrue currently publishes with what a larger exchange offers before deciding where to hold funds.
Sign-Up and Funding
You can register with an email address. Identity verification is needed for higher withdrawal limits, fiat purchases and many promotions, and the exchange may require it for any account. Complete it early.
Deposits are mostly made in crypto. For XRP, double-check both the address and the destination tag shown on the deposit page. Fiat purchases by card are available through third-party providers at their rates.
Support is offered by live chat and tickets. Response times are reasonable for routine matters.
Who Should Consider Bitrue?
Bitrue is most useful to XRP holders who want to trade ecosystem tokens that are hard to find elsewhere, or who want XRP-quoted pairs. It also serves altcoin traders looking for a mid-sized venue with a wide list.
It is less suitable for beginners, for anyone seeking regulatory protection and for savers tempted to place a large balance in high-yield products on an unlicensed platform with two past breaches.
Bitrue Compared With Other Exchanges
For plain XRP trading, large exchanges such as Binance, Upbit, Bitstamp and Kraken offer far deeper liquidity and, in some cases, strong regulation. Bitrue cannot match them on depth. Its niche is breadth within the XRP ecosystem and its XRP-based pairs. Against other mid-tier altcoin exchanges such as Gate or KuCoin, it is smaller and less transparent, though competitive on fees.
Practical Tips
- Always include the destination tag on XRP deposits and withdrawals.
- Keep only your trading balance and any amount committed to a product on the exchange.
- Prefer flexible savings to fixed terms if you might need to sell.
- Enable two-factor authentication and a withdrawal whitelist.
- Check the status of a token's wallet before buying an ecosystem coin you plan to withdraw.
Verdict on Bitrue
Bitrue has carved out a real niche as the exchange of the XRP community, and it has honoured its obligations after two hacks. It remains unlicensed in major markets and discloses limited information about how it generates yield and holds reserves. It is a useful specialist venue for XRP-related trading. It should not be the main home for your savings.