WOO X review
WOO X is the centralized exchange arm of WOO Network, founded in 2019 by Jack Tan and Mark Pimentel, who co-founded quantitative trading firm Kronos Research in 2018. WOO X launched in August 2021 and built its identity on liquidity aggregation: Kronos Research acts as a cornerstone market maker on the platform, and WOO X markets itself as one of the first exchanges to offer payment-for-order-flow-style fee compensation. It offers spot and USDT-margined perpetual futures, copy trading, staking and RWA-linked yield products, but no direct fiat on/off-ramp, relying instead on third-party payment processors. In November 2023, a $25M+ breach at Kronos Research (not WOO X itself) forced a precautionary trading halt on WOO X, since Kronos supplied a large share of its liquidity. In July 2025, WOO X suffered its own $14M breach via a phishing attack that compromised nine user accounts; the exchange says affected users were reimbursed. No specific exchange, MSB or VASP license is advertised on the WOO X site itself.
WOO X key facts
- Website: woox.io
- Category: Centralized cryptocurrency exchange (CEX)
- Founded: WOO Network: 2019; WOO X exchange launched August 2021
- Founders: Jack Tan and Mark Pimentel, also co-founders of market maker Kronos Research (2018)
- Headquarters: Taipei, Taiwan (team base); exact legal entity domicile not disclosed on-site
- Regulatory status: No specific exchange license advertised; blocks US, Canada and mainland China; July 2026 MOU with Kraken's Payward Services to route EU spot trading through Payward's licensed infrastructure
- Trading fees: Spot: 0.08% maker / 0.1% taker standard tier; futures: 0.02% maker / 0.05% taker; reduced via WOO token staking or volume-based VIP tiers
- Products: Spot trading, USDT-margined perpetual futures (up to 100x), copy/social trading, WOO token staking, RWA-linked yield vaults
- Fiat support: No direct bank transfer, SEPA, wire or card deposit; fiat access only via third-party processors (e.g. Mercuryo, Ramp, Legend Trading)
- CEO: Jack Tan
- FYI Score: 68.3/100 (ranked #48 of the 48 crypto exchanges we track)
Trading fees
- Spot standard tier: 0.08% maker / 0.1% taker
- Futures standard tier: 0.02% maker / 0.05% taker
- Fees reduce through volume-based VIP tiers or WOO token staking, down to 0% maker at top tiers
- No public fee tier for direct fiat transactions since none are offered on-platform
Supported assets
- Reported at roughly 180+ cryptocurrencies across spot markets by third-party trackers (WOO X does not publish a fixed public count)
- 250+ USDT-margined perpetual futures pairs
- Coverage concentrated in major and mid-cap coins (BTC, ETH, SOL, XRP and similar) rather than long-tail listings
- Spot and futures both quoted primarily in USDT
Products
- Spot trading and USDT-margined perpetual futures up to 100x leverage
- Copy/social trading with public leaderboards of lead traders
- WOO token staking and flexible/locked Earn products
- Real-world-asset (RWA) yield vaults backed by short-term US Treasury Bills
Security & regulation
- Live proof-of-reserves and liabilities dashboard, self-reported and refreshed roughly every 15 minutes, with Merkle-tree account verification
- Fireblocks MPC custody infrastructure and ISO/IEC 27001 information-security certification
- November 2023: a $25M+ breach at Kronos Research, WOO X's key liquidity provider, forced a precautionary halt of WOO X trading (Kronos itself, not WOO X user funds, was hit)
- July 2025: a phishing attack compromised nine WOO X user accounts for a reported $14M loss; WOO X says affected users were reimbursed and has since added zero-trust security controls
Fiat & payments
- No direct bank transfer, SEPA, wire or card deposit on WOO X itself
- Fiat on-ramp only via third-party processors such as Mercuryo, Ramp and Legend Trading, each charging its own conversion fee
- No fiat withdrawal path; users must off-ramp through a separate provider or another exchange
- July 2026 MOU with Kraken's Payward Services aims to route EU spot trading through Payward's regulated infrastructure rather than WOO X building its own licensing
Markets
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Platforms
WOO X Web, WOO X Pro
Who WOO X is for
WOO X suits active spot and futures traders who prioritize low fees and deep liquidity and who already hold crypto to fund the account, since there is no direct fiat deposit path. It is not usable by US or Canadian residents, and prospective users should weigh its two recent security incidents (2023 at its liquidity provider, 2025 at the exchange itself) against the reimbursements and controls WOO X says it has since added.
Pros
- Below-average spot and futures fees versus large-cap exchange peers, sourced from deep market-maker liquidity via Kronos Research
- Live proof-of-reserves dashboard with Merkle-tree verification, refreshed roughly every 15 minutes
- Broad futures line-up (250+ USDT-margined perpetuals) alongside spot, copy trading and RWA-backed yield products
- Reimbursed users after its July 2025 breach and added zero-trust security measures afterward
Cons
- No exchange-level license or regulatory registration is advertised on the WOO X site; it depends on a July 2026 MOU with Kraken's Payward Services just to route EU spot trading through a licensed partner
- Two distinct security incidents in under two years: a $25M+ November 2023 breach at sister firm Kronos Research that froze WOO X trading, and a $14M phishing-driven breach of WOO X user accounts in July 2025
- No direct fiat deposit or withdrawal; users pay extra conversion fees to third-party processors just to get in or out of the platform
- Blocked in the US, Canada, mainland China and roughly a dozen other jurisdictions, limiting its addressable market versus globally licensed peers
WOO X FAQ
Is WOO X regulated?
WOO X does not advertise a specific exchange, money-transmitter or VASP license on its own site. In July 2026 it signed a memorandum of understanding with Kraken's Payward Services to offer EU spot trading through Payward's regulated European infrastructure rather than obtaining its own EU licensing, which points to a thin regulatory footprint outside that arrangement.
Has WOO X been hacked?
WOO X itself suffered a phishing-driven breach in July 2025 that led to roughly $14 million in unauthorized withdrawals from nine user accounts; WOO X says those users were reimbursed. Separately, in November 2023, its affiliated market maker Kronos Research (not WOO X) lost more than $25 million to an API-key compromise, and WOO X halted trading as a precaution since Kronos supplied a large share of its liquidity.
What are WOO X's trading fees?
The standard tier is 0.08% maker and 0.1% taker on spot, and 0.02% maker and 0.05% taker on USDT-margined perpetual futures. Fees decrease at higher VIP tiers based on 30-day trading volume or WOO token holdings, reaching 0% maker at the top tiers.
Can I deposit fiat currency directly on WOO X?
No. WOO X does not support direct bank transfer, SEPA, wire or card deposits. Fiat access runs through third-party payment processors such as Mercuryo, Ramp and Legend Trading, each charging its own conversion fee, and there is no direct fiat withdrawal path.
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