WEEX is a cryptocurrency exchange primarily focused on futures traders. The exchange was founded in 2018, offers about 2000 spot assets and over 500 futures contracts, and allows leverage up to 400x on major pairs. Additionally, it provides the option to trade without identity verification, which is rare among major exchanges.
Many WEEX reviews are limited to a fee table. This review examines actual trading costs, hidden expenses, and factors that can reduce user costs in detail. Overall, spot fees are standard, the fee for takers on futures is higher than most major competitors, and funding can cost more than the trading fees themselves. However, using a referral code upon registration gives a 20% discount on every trade for the entire account duration.
WEEX charges a percentage of every trade, which is divided into maker and taker fees. A maker order is a limit order that remains in the order book until executed by someone else. A taker order is executed immediately, whether it is a market or a limit order whose price matches an existing one. Makers add liquidity, so they pay less.
Spot trading costs 0.1% for both makers and takers. For example, buying $1000 worth of ETH will cost $1 in commission, and a subsequent sale will require another approximately $1. This fee level is consistent with what most major exchanges set, meaning spot traders gain little or lose little by choosing WEEX solely on this parameter.
Futures are where WEEX differs. The maker fee is 0.02%, which is standard. However, the taker fee reaches 0.08%, exceeding the rates of Bybit (0.055%), Binance (0.05%), and OKX (0.05%) at base levels. The difference of 0.025–0.03 percentage points seems insignificant, but on futures, it is substantial because fees are charged on the entire position size, not just your margin.
Consider an example: opening a long position on BTC with 10x leverage with a $1000 margin. The total position size will be $10,000. This means that 1.6% of your $1000 margin will be lost before the price even starts moving. BTC only needs to rise by 0.16% for you to break even.
Changing order types reduces the cost. With the same turnover of $10,000, the most patient trader on WEEX pays a quarter of what the most impatient trader pays when executing the exact same trade.
Perpetual futures have no expiration date. To keep the price close to the spot price, long and short positions periodically pay each other a funding fee. When the market is in a bull trend, longs usually pay shorts; in a bear trend, the opposite occurs. The typical funding rate is 0.01% every 8 hours. On a $10,000 position, if held for a week, funding costs will exceed $16 paid for opening and closing. In hot markets, this can be several times higher. Before holding a trade for several days, check the current rate for your coin; free tools like Kumocast's live funding rates show this information nearby for major exchanges.
Volume is defined as the total amount of all your trades, not your deposit. When using leverage, it grows quickly: a $500 margin with 20x leverage forms a $10,000 position, and opening and closing this position five times a day accumulates about $3 million per month. This is what a futures trader actively using taker orders pays:
The biggest savings are achieved before the first trade. When opening a WEEX account using a referral code, every spot and futures trade costs 20% less while you use the account. WEEX labels the registration field as 'VIP code', but it is the same as a referral or invitation code. Using the WEEX referral code gfek provides a 20% discount and also grants access to new WEEX user rewards worth up to 10,000 USDT. These rewards are based on completing tasks: small coupons for registration and login, a trial fund for the first deposit, an airdrop position for the first futures trade, and larger trial funds as your volume grows. They must be completed within 14 days of registration, and they are mainly paid out as trading coupons or trial funds, not cash.
How to set it up: The code must be entered when creating the account. WEEX does not specify how to add it later, so an existing account cannot receive the discount. Applying the code along with a limit order causes the full cycle transaction cost of $10,000 to drop from $16 to $3.20, which is an 80% reduction.
WEEX offers up to 400x leverage for selected perpetual pairs, such as BTC, which is one of the highest limits among major exchanges. Most other pairs have lower limits, and the maximum leverage decreases as the position size increases, so 400x is only available for small positions.
How much should the price change against you to wipe out your margin: With 400x leverage, normal price noise within two seconds can close your position. Since fees are charged on the full position, a turnover cost of 0.16% already exceeds half of the 0.25% movement required for liquidation. Most experienced traders operate in the range of 2x to 10x and use isolated margin so that a losing trade does not deplete the rest of the account.
Yes, you can deposit cryptocurrency and trade spot and futures without identity verification. Without KYC, the withdrawal limit is about 10,000 USDT per day at the initial level. Verification with an ID document and a short facial scan increases this limit to approximately $1,000,000 per day and unlocks P2P trading and card purchases. This is useful if you want to test the platform with a small amount before providing documents. However, there is a timing nuance: if you make a large profit and want to withdraw more than the non-KYC limit, you will have to verify, which may take time. If you plan to trade large sums, it is best to verify in advance.
WEEX maintains a reserve fund of 1000 BTC to cover user losses in emergencies and publishes a reserve confirmation page allowing users to verify that client balances are backed. No major external hacks have been reported. A notable incident occurred in March 2025 when an order matching failure on the ETH/USDT market affected users; WEEX stated that it compensated 5022 users totaling 6,123,393 USDT. Payment after a platform failure is a good sign, but it also reminds us that any exchange can face issues.
Basic protection on any exchange: WEEX is often compared to Bybit. Both exchanges focus on futures and both offer discounts to users who join with a referral code. Bybit is cheaper for traders using market orders and has deeper order books for the largest coins, meaning less slippage on large trades. WEEX allows higher leverage and permits trading before verification. For a trader who mainly uses limit orders, the difference is almost negligible, as the maker fee is the same on both platforms.
Many traders use both accounts: Bybit for BTC and ETH volume, WEEX for smaller coins, high leverage settings, or trading without KYC. If you choose Bybit, the Bybit referral code 93065 reduces its fees by 20% in a similar way.
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What are WEEX trading fees? Spot trading costs 0.1% for makers and takers. Futures cost 0.02% for makers and 0.08% for takers at the base level. Registration with a referral code, such as gfek, reduces both rates by 20%.
Is WEEX more liberal than Bybit? Yes, for futures market orders: 0.08% versus 0.055%. For limit orders, the maker fee is the same, 0.02%, on both platforms.
How much does a futures trade cost on WEEX? On a $10,000 position, opening and closing with market orders will cost $16, or $12.80 with a 20% referral discount. Using limit orders in both directions costs $4, or $3.20 with a discount.
Does WEEX charge funding fees? WEEX itself does not hold funding; it is paid between long and short positions every few hours. At a typical rate of 0.01% every 8 hours, a $10,000 position costs about $3 per day.
Is WEEX legitimate and safe? WEEX has been operating since 2018, has a reserve fund of 1000 BTC, and publishes reserve confirmations. No major external hacks have been reported; in March 2025, it compensated 5022 users after an order matching failure.
Does WEEX require KYC? No. You can deposit crypto assets and trade without KYC, with a withdrawal limit of about 10,000 USDT per day. Verification increases this limit and unlocks P2P trading and card purchases.
What is the maximum leverage on WEEX? Up to 400x for selected perpetual pairs, such as BTC. Most pairs have lower limits, and leverage decreases as the position size increases.
What is the WEEX VIP code? It is WEEX's term for the referral code field during registration. Entering gfek provides a 20% discount on trading fees and access to new user rewards worth up to 10,000 USDT.
Can I add a referral code to an existing WEEX account? WEEX does not describe how to do this. The code must be entered when creating the account.
Is WEEX available in the US? No. WEEX does not accept users from the United States, Canada, mainland China, Hong Kong, Singapore, and several other countries.
WEEX is a reliable choice for futures traders who require high leverage, built-in copy trading, and the ability to start without KYC, supported by a protection fund and reserve confirmations. Its weakness is the 0.08% futures taker fee, which is higher than that of major competitors. The good news is that most of these costs depend on the user: open an account with a referral code like gfek to get a 20% discount on every trade, use limit orders where possible, monitor funding before holding positions for several days, and keep leverage moderate. By meeting all four conditions, a trade on WEEX can cost less than a careless trade on a cheaper exchange.
Cryptocurrency trading, especially using leverage, carries a high risk of loss. This review is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice.