Summary

ANX recently announced that it is pivoting it’s exchange to because a decentralized p2p product.  Whether this is a move out of desperation or a serious stab at disrupting the market is anyone’s guess, but the exchange bisq is already way ahead in terms of decentralized exchange platform development and methodology.

As it stands today, ANX is mostly an exchange for Hong Kong locals looking to deposit in HKD.  There are additional currencies alternative as well, but not sure why anyone would use it.  If you are not in Hong Kong, or  perhaps Singapore,  check out our  best bitcoin exchange picks to find a more suitable match.

ANX  offers two separate platforms meant to appeal to different trading demographics.  The first, ANXBTC, is catered towards the bitcoin novice interested in buying and selling bitcoin easily.  ANXPRO is intended for more progressional traders, offering a full exchange for bitcoin as well as a few altcoins, and can be utilized either through the familiar trading interface or using ANX’s trading APIs.  Both products are accessible after completing a single registration, offering inexperienced traders an easy path to ANXPRO’s more sophisticated trading product.

ANX was the first exchange to offer a bitcoin debit card, available in both HKD and USD.

Security

Two-factor authentication is available when logging into an account. Withdrawals are secured using three levels of verification – google authenticator or yubikey, the regular trading password, and email verification.  An “express withdrawal” feature allows users to set a daily spending limit that will not trigger the verification factors.  This provides greater usability when spending bitcoin from ANX’s excellent mobile applications.  In the case that ANX’s risk team notices irregular spending or withdrawal patterns using this express feature, manual approval will be required.

100% of customer funds are held in cold storage, with only a small amount in hot wallets for operational liquidity. Customer funds are segregated, and ANX maintains 100% plus reserves, though this has not been independently audited.

Gravitas

ANXbtc was founded by a trio of professionals from the banking technology and compliance industries who are vocal in the bitcoin industry. Their Hong Kong-based headquarters staffs a team of 30, and has an open door policy for customers – whether to meet the team or simply use the bitcoin ATM located on-site.

In November 2014, ANXbtc acquired troubled Norway-based bitcoin exchange Justcoin, who had been shut down by a unilateral severing of ties from its banking partner. The acquisition seemed to signal an attempt to enter in more strategic fashion the European marketplace, and ANX enjoyed instance access to a database of 20,000 users throughout Europe. ANX quickly integrated Justcoin onto its proprietary trading platform, and relaunched the product at the end of November.

In January 2015, ANX acquired Coinmkt.com, a Santa Monica, CA-based exchange. The acquisition signaled ANX’s strategic focus on the US, and will help to facilitate efforts to become regulated as a money transmitter.  It will be interesting to see how ANX progresses from a regulatory and banking perspective in the States, and if there will be any related subsequent acquisitions.

ANX has demonstrated the ability to efficiently integrate these additional products onto its platform, and kudos to them for quickly offering the acquired databases access to much deeper liquidity pools not to mention a stable trading environment.

Opening an account

	Individual accounts	Corporate
Photo identification	Any valid government ID accepted.	Photo ID of the company’s CEO or owner.
Proof of residence	Utility bill or bank statement from the last three months clearly showing name and address.	Utility bills or statements from the last three months detailing bot the company’s registered address as well as the applicants
Other	A photo of the customer holding valid ID.	Biographical information about the applicant and business. Board of Director’s letter authorizing the opening of the account. Company’s business registration.

The ANXBTC Trading Platform

As mentioned in the introduction, the standard ANX platform offers an intuitive brokerage model that targets a casual demographic. Users can buy or sell bitcoin and other alternative currencies, and the price quoted includes the undisclosed brokerage fee.  The ANXPRO platform, accessible via direct login or through the brokerage, relies on an exchange model and offers limit, market, and immediate or cancel orders.  What is innovative about ANXPRO is the blending of multiple markets into a single order book. BTC is offered against all major pairs, and a FOREX algorithm ensures equivalent pricing. Liquidity is not expressed by currency; rather, currency exchange is managed behind the scenes of the trades at preferential corporate rates enjoyed due to ANX’s overall large trading volumes. This practice allows for healthy trading volumes of traditionally illiquid trading pairs at affordable rates, which has become a unique selling point for the exchange. Still, the order book is at times rather shallow, and there is can sometimes be a considerable spread between buy and sell offers.

One interesting feature is their integration of “world markets” prices above the orderbook. World markets displays the cost and volumes of a number of alternative exchanges, which helps the trader identify arbitrage opportunities. It also can demonstrate at times liquidity gaps on the ANX platform, and we find it a bit strange – but admirable – that ANX effectively advertises the competition from within its platform.

ANX would do well to give the platform some botox injections or something.  While focus has rightfully been paid to the migration of acquired databases and ensuring the stability and liquidity of the product throughout the process, they might take a step back and work a bit on design, as well as integrating additional advanced trading features.

Additional services

ANX provides a number of noteworthy services other that complement their crypto-currency exchanges. These include debit card payment solutions for wholesale clients and institutions, foreign exchange and remittance, technology advisory and consultancy as well as white label services. With respect to white label services, ANX recently announced that it was now the service provider for recently launched and Canadian based Digatrade.com. The white label exchange benefits from the proprietary technology solution that ANX has proven as well as the aggregated liquidity consolidated throughout the entire range of ANX exchange platforms. ANX have confirmed to BitReview that they have been appointed as the service provider for a number of white labels throughout the globe and these will launch in the coming months.

ANX Debit Card

The ANX prepaid debit cards are meant to offer traders a method of easily utilizing their bitcoin to fulfill day to day needs. Users can utilize their cards just as they would a normal debit card. The card is usable anywhere credit cards are accepted, and money can be withdrawn from most any ATM, over 25 million globally. The prepaid card holds only USD or HKD, and conversion from BTC takes place through the ANX interface when a user “loads” the card. The service is managed by the “ANX Open Dealer Network”, which is explained below the card comparison.

We commend ANX for providing a convenient method of using bitcoin for day to day activities without waiting for greater merchant adoption of bitcoin itself. There is still a ways to go before the cards are functionally equivalent to traditional credit cards – we hope to see a chip integrated in the next iteration to allow for greater use in Europe, for instance – but the fees have improved since launch in July of 2014 and ANX is busy expanding the functionality of the cards.

Features	ANX Plus	ANX premium
Currency	HKD	USD
Maximum balance	HK$50,000	$50,000
Maximum ATM withdrawal	No limit	$1,000 or local limit
Maximum point of sale purchase, on or offline	HK$50,000	$50,000
ATM withdrawal fee	HK$30	1%, min $3
Monthly fee	Free for 12 months; HK$5 monthly thereafter	Free
Point of sale fee	Free	Free
Card load fee	Free	Free
Card cost	.04-.12 btc, depending on delivery method	.04-.12 btc, depending on delivery method

ANX open dealer network

ANX introduced the open dealer network in the beginning of 2015. Essentially, this is a method of passing brokerage services from ANX itself to a network of large bitcoin buyers and sellers who compete to fill customer buy/sell orders. ANX matches the best offer from the network to each individual buy or sell order. The open dealer network is also utilized to load debit cards.

Members of the open dealer network are compensated with shared revenue from the filled orders, and most likely get a slightly better price than offered directly through an exchange.

Fee structure

ANX advertises a zero transaction fee on the regular platform; however, as is generally the case with market makers, the price quoted either includes a markup. The fees for buying/selling bitcoins on the axnpro exchange are .6%/.3%, though the exchange advertises fees as low as .15% for high volume traders.

Mobile

ANX offers the ANX Vault app on both android and IOS devices. Users are able to buy and sell bitcoin from ANX accounts, view live trading details from the ANX platform, transfer bitcoin, and load up ANX debit cards, all from within the native app.

 

 

 

Might be better off elsewhere if:

You are based in the West.

ANX does offer services to international clientele, but you should easily be able to find cheaper and more liquid alternatives.  Check out our list of the best bitcoin exchanges for a more suitable solution.

You don’t want to mess around with bank wire.

Some folks don’t want to get their bank involved.  You might also be reading this review simply because you have had problems finding a first rate exchange in your jurisdiction.  Check out localbitcoins if you are looking for alternative local deposit options.

You are a fee snob.

Hong Kong local?  Don’t want to pay .6%? You can easily trade at Bitfinex, which has the lowest fees in the business.

Bottom line

ANX is a very good product for a casual demographic. Its broker platform is simple and intuitive, and the debit card allows for ease of bitcoin use. ANXPRO provides a standard exchange offering with which most crypto traders would be familiar. Trading fees are about average for the market; it would not hurt to improve the fee structure down the line.

We are interested to see just how ANX will leverage its new acquisitions as well as its white label partnerships.  While ANX will always be crypto-first, it is heartening to see the company expand into traditional business verticals, and this is a positive for the bitcoin industry.