Changex App
Strengths
- Leverage staking
- Highly attractive APRs (due to leverage)
- No Minimum Deposit Requirements and No Withdrawal Limits
- Non-custodial decentralised wallet
- 24/7 customer support via Telegram
- Apple iOS and Google Android Apps
Weaknesses
- Relatively new app
- No license (but working on it)
- Currently no crypto-to-fiat and fiat-to-crypto conversions (but working on it)
Changex app is your one-stop crypto shop for all your DeFi needs. As a mobile-first app, the platform will offer a simple one-stop shop for trading, staking, DeFi lending, and fiat-to-crypto purchases, allowing non-tech savvy users to enter the world of DeFi effortlessly.
The Changex platform is also the first platform to introduce leverage staking, enabling margin positions for long-term staking and making them accessible, as with everything else, to the mainstream user — with APRs as high as 800%!
In this review, we will look at the many features and offerings of Changex app to help you understand whether this is the perfect crypto platform for you.
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Year Established | 2022 |
Founders | Nick Iliev – CEO and Co-founder Gary Guerassimov – Co-founder |
Company Name | Olympus Capital, reg number: 206820199 |
Headquarters | Sofia, Bulgaria |
Available Countries | Worldwide (Excluding US – and countries listed further down ) |
Regulated | No |
Verification | No KYC Required |
Compensation Scheme | No |
Supports | Crypto-to-crypto only (for now) |
Deposit Fees | Free |
Minimum Deposit | None |
Minimum Withdrawal | None |
Withdrawal Fees | None |
Table of Contents
1. Cryptocurrencies Supported by Changex app
2. Changex app Deposit Methods
3. Does Changex app have any fees?
4. Is Changex app a safe platform?
5. What about counterparty risk?
6. Changex app Product and Features
7. How can you get started with Changex app
8. What about Customer Service?
9. Countries supported by Changex app
10. Our Verdict on Changex app
1. Cryptocurrencies Supported by the Changex app
The Changex app currently supports the following tokens:
1. BTC
2. ETH
3. HYDRA
4. CHANGE
5. Hydra-pegged DAI,
6. Hydra-pegged USDT (ERC20)
7. Hydra-pegged USDC (ERC20)
2. Changex app Deposit Methods
Changex is currently a non-custodial wallet that is completely functional and available for download via iOS and Android.
Currently, Changex only accepts crypto deposits in BTC, ETH, HYDRA, CHANGE, and Hydra-pegged DAI, USDT (ERC20), USDC (ERC20).
3. Does the Changex app have any fees?
Minimum deposits and fees
There are no minimum deposits. The fees that apply are the fees paid to miners and validators to process the transactions on the blockchain.
Withdrawal fees and limits
There are no withdrawal limits – the Changex wallet is completely non-custodial.
4. Is the Changex app a safe platform?
Many users are concerned about platform safety. How safe is Changex as a crypto platform? Let us take a look.
Physical Presence
Changex has a physical presence. The company that owns Changex app, Olympus Capital, of registration number, is an active company located at 33 Simeonovsko Shose Boulevard, 1700 Sofia, Bulgaria.
No License (for now)
Currently, Changex serves as a non-custodial wallet, and as such, no license is required. However, Changex is currently working on establishing a 100% subsidiary in Lithuania in order to obtain a cryptocurrency exchange and custody license. This will be needed in order to provide centralized cryptocurrency services, crypto-to-fiat, and fiat-to-crypto conversions as well as to become an agent of an Electronic Money Institution for the banking and card in-app services planned according to our roadmap.
Security
The Changex non-custodial wallet uses the framework of a Trust Wallet and builds on top of it.
The Changex app uses standard 12-word mnemonic phrases for private key generation and backup.
The app is by default locked via the lock mechanism on the device it is installed on – pin code, pattern, biometric verification. They are also working on implementing 2FA for an added level of security.
All private keys are kept safely on the blockchain, and nothing is stored on centralized servers, while the HYDRA bridge uses multi-sig verification for all transactions, which makes it highly secure (in light of recent attacks on blockchain bridges).
5. What about counterparty risk?
As with any platform, counterparty risk is always going to be present although the risk at Changex is carefully managed via smart contracts, which guarantee the security and safety of all users involved in the ecosystem.
Changex does not have plans to lend out users’ funds in a centralized manner. The lending market that is mentioned on the Changex website is a central part of the leveraged staking ecosystem, but it operates completely on a peer-to-peer basis.
Users will be able to deposit their stablecoins via the “Lend” option, but this happens via a smart contract and thus Changex has no control.
The user who decides to use leveraged staking taps into that pool of lent stablecoins and takes out a stablecoin “loan” to be used as leverage.
For example, the leveraged staker takes 10,000 USDT from the stablecoin lending pool and uses them (automatically via a smart contract) to buy the same amount of his preferred PoS coin, which is then staked. Part of the staking rewards, around ~9.5%, is repaid to the original lender. So the entire leveraged staking and lending mechanism works on a P2P basis, and Changex controls nothing.
Smart contracts guarantee the security and safety of all users involved in the ecosystem.
With regards to liquidation risk for a leveraged staking position: for a user to have their leveraged staking position liquidated, the leveraged token must fall significantly in terms of price as compared to the staker’s entry point (when the leverage was used). This will close the position and repay the loaned stablecoin amount to the original lender. In order to protect themselves from liquidation, stakers need to monitor their loan-to-value ratio and provide additional collateral for the loan, whenever required.
6. Changex app Product and Features
The Changex platform currently supports sending and receiving supported crypto, DEX swaps, and CHANGE staking.
Changex is integrating a fiat-on-and-off-ramp for quick access and flexible staking pools by the end of Q3 2022. In Q4, a universal crypto card will be released and at the beginning of next year leveraged staking together with full banking functionality.
The Leverage Staking product is not currently online, which means it is not possible to attain a leveraged APR/APY at the moment. However, once it is online users will be able to amplify the yield of any Proof-of-Stake token supported by the app by a factor of 1.2-2x!
Currently, their CHANGE token can be staked, with an APR of approximately 200% and an APY (with daily compounding) of approximately 750%.
How does leverage staking on the Changex platform work?
To understand how Leverage Staking works, we need to mention the open stablecoin market, which will allow users to lend their stablecoins for an APR of approximately 9.5%. When a staker decides to use Leverage Staking, they tap into this stablecoin pool, borrowing funds to buy more of staked assets and increase their holdings, say by a factor of 2x.
Let’s take an example using a HYDRA staking position (~45% base APR) to illustrate:
- Lenders lend USDT for an interest rate of 9.5% in the Changex app;
- The staker holds $10,000 worth of HYDRA and borrows $10,000 equivalent of USDC for 9.5% interest (paid to the lender), and using their initial HYDRA amount as collateral;
- The borrowed USDT is used to buy $10,000 more worth of HYDRA through high liquidity DEX pools;
- The newly acquired HYDRA, which with the original amount now totals $20,000, is placed into a Leveraged Staking pool, earning its standard interest rate of approximately 45%;
- The staker repays 9.5% interest to the stablecoin lender (45% – 9.5% = 35.5%), while everything else is benefited as passive income;
- The final APR on the staked HYDRA amounts to 45% on the original amount + 35.5% on the borrowed amount = 80.5%
- All this will be possible with just a few clicks, while Changex handles all the heavy lifting through smart contracts in the background.
7. How can you get started with the Changex app
The non-custodial wallet is completely functional and available for download via iOS and Android. Once downloaded, users need to simply transfer any of the supported cryptocurrencies to get started.
The app supports sending and receiving crypto, DEX swaps, and CHANGE staking.
Changex is a non-custodial DeFi wallet which means there are no KYC procedures for creating a new wallet in Changex and using its complete functionality. KYC will be required when Changex initiates its fiat operations and start to issue Debit Cards and IBANs nonetheless.
8. What about Customer Service?
Changex provides online support almost 24/7 on Telegram and their community manager is constantly collecting feedback, which is then forwarded to the developer team for constant improvement.
There is also a “Request a feature” option in the app itself, where users can share their thoughts on the app and request further additions.
Email support is also available: inquiries@changex.io
9. Countries supported by the Changex app
Changex features and products can be availed in all countries except the U.S. and those prohibited by their Policy or Sanction Laws.
According to their terms of service:
“4.2. The information provided on the website and the Changex App is not intended for distribution to, or use by, any person or entity in any jurisdiction or country where such distribution or use would be contrary to law or regulation or which would subject Changex or its affiliates to any registration requirement within such jurisdiction or country.
4.3 Each product and service referred to on the website and the Changex App is not intended to be made available to U.S. persons. This website and the Changex App will not be considered a solicitation for or offering of any investment product or service to any person in any jurisdiction where such solicitation or offering would be illegal.”
10. Our Verdict on the Changex app
Although the platform is still new on the market, Changex is run by experienced entrepreneurs who seem to be doing all the right things that are necessary to build trust among users. We are also very excited to learn about the platform’s leverage staking functionality, which is due to come online next year.
At the moment, we can only fault Changex for not having a license as well as the lack of crypto-to-fiat and fiat-to-crypto conversions on its platform, although to be fair it is a non-custodial platform.