February 10

When you hear about DragonEX, you might think it’s just another crypto exchange trying to compete with Binance or Coinbase. But the truth is far more complicated-and far more cautionary. DragonEX launched in 2017 with big promises: zero maker fees, transaction mining rewards, and a focus on Asian traders. By 2019, it claimed over 300,000 verified users. But today? There’s no real data. No volume reports. No updates. And no clear answer on whether it’s still running.

What DragonEX Claimed to Offer

DragonEX didn’t just offer spot trading. It pushed into derivatives hard: perpetual contracts, futures, options, and leveraged trades-all with a 0% fee for makers. That’s rare. Most exchanges charge at least a small fee for placing limit orders. DragonEX said you’d earn rewards just by trading. That’s called transaction mining. You didn’t mine Bitcoin. You mined rewards by placing trades. It sounded like a win-win: trade more, get paid.

The platform also had mobile apps on both iOS and Android. You could deposit and withdraw crypto. You had to go through KYC-no anonymous trading allowed. That’s a good thing, right? It should’ve made it safer. But here’s the problem: DragonEX never showed proof of how it handled those funds. No public audits. No breakdown of cold storage. No third-party security reports. Just claims.

The Red Flags No One Talked About

CoinMarketCap flagged DragonEX as an Untracked Listing in 2019. That’s not a minor note. It means the exchange failed to meet their basic transparency rules. To be tracked, an exchange needs to prove its 24-hour trading volume. DragonEX never did. Their numbers disappeared. No one could verify if they were handling $10 million a day-or $100,000.

And then there’s the domain issue. If you search for DragonEX today, you’ll find dragonex.io-the official site. But you’ll also see dragonex.us.com. That’s not a typo. That’s a scam site. Users have reported losing funds on dragonex.us.com, thinking they were on the real exchange. The real DragonEX never owned that domain. But the confusion helped scammers. And the real site? It hasn’t been updated since 2019.

Why DragonEX Disappeared

Regulation caught up. Singapore passed its Payment Services Act in January 2020. Estonia, where DragonEX claimed its license, tightened crypto rules in 2021. Suddenly, exchanges without clear audits, public volume, or stable compliance structures got squeezed out. DragonEX had none of that.

Meanwhile, the transaction mining model-once trendy-started falling apart. Exchanges like Huobi and OKEx tried similar reward systems. But users realized: if you’re getting paid to trade, who’s really paying? The exchange. And if trading volume drops, so do the rewards. By late 2019, most of these programs were scaled back or shut down. DragonEX never adapted.

Community channels that once had thousands of users-WeChat groups, Telegram, QQ-went quiet. By 2021, activity dropped to near zero. No announcements. No posts. No customer support replies. Just silence.

A deflated dragon sits on a throne of outdated apps, surrounded by fading user ghosts.

User Reviews: Mixed Signals and Scams

Some reviews still exist. One on Revieweek says: “Fast merge, instant withdrawal, and zero hassle. Completely legit.” But that review links to dragonex.us.com. Another on Fxmerge gives it a 1.0/5.0 rating. Only two votes. One user wrote: “Everything about it is good,” but then mentions a “mysterious fund event”-a phrase often used by scam platforms to lure people into fake staking programs.

Revain’s review is cut off mid-sentence: “I didn’t like the way I was attended to...” That’s not a glitch. That’s how real users felt. Customer service was inconsistent. Support tickets went unanswered. Withdrawals? Sometimes fast. Sometimes delayed for weeks. No clear reason why.

And here’s the worst part: no one from major crypto media-Cointelegraph, The Block, Messari-has covered DragonEX since 2020. Not one update. Not one analysis. That’s not an oversight. That’s abandonment.

What DragonEX Got Right (And Why It Wasn’t Enough)

Let’s be fair: DragonEX did have some smart moves. Zero maker fees were attractive for active traders. The mobile apps worked. The interface was clean. It focused on a market-Asia-that many Western exchanges ignored. And yes, it did have a real Estonian license. At least, that’s what they claimed.

But none of that matters if you can’t trust the numbers. If you can’t verify your funds are safe. If the platform vanishes without warning. In crypto, trust isn’t optional. It’s the only thing that keeps you from losing everything.

Three trustworthy crypto animals stand on a secure platform while a forgotten dragon vanishes into darkness.

Is DragonEX Still Operating?

There’s no official shutdown notice. No press release. No tweet from their team. But that’s not how healthy businesses operate. If DragonEX was still active, someone would be updating the site. Posting new coins. Running promotions. Responding to users.

Instead, the site is frozen. The last update was in 2019. The mobile apps are no longer available on app stores. The official Telegram group has 12 members. The WeChat groups? Gone. The Fxmerge profile showing a “Member Since 2025” date? That’s a system error. No one signed up in 2025.

The evidence points to one conclusion: DragonEX is defunct.

What You Should Do Instead

If you’re looking for a reliable crypto exchange with derivatives trading, don’t chase ghosts. Use platforms that publish real data:

  • Binance - Highest liquidity, transparent volume, global compliance
  • Bybit - Strong derivatives focus, clear fee structure, active support
  • Kraken - Regulated in the U.S. and EU, audited security practices
  • OKX - Offers options and futures, transparent on-chain metrics

These exchanges don’t hide behind vague claims. They show you your funds. They prove their volume. They answer your questions.

DragonEX’s story is a warning: never trust an exchange that won’t show its work. No matter how good the fees sound.

Is DragonEX still operational in 2026?

No, DragonEX is not operational in 2026. The platform has not been updated since 2019, its mobile apps are removed from app stores, official community channels are inactive, and it no longer appears on major exchange tracking platforms like CoinMarketCap. There is no official shutdown announcement, but all signs point to complete operational cessation.

Was DragonEX a scam?

DragonEX itself wasn’t a scam in the traditional sense-it did have a license and offered real trading services. But it failed to meet basic transparency standards. The existence of impersonating sites like dragonex.us.com, combined with its lack of verified volume, disappearing support, and frozen updates, makes it a high-risk platform. Many users lost funds to fake versions of the site, and the real platform offered no recourse.

Why did CoinMarketCap stop tracking DragonEX?

CoinMarketCap stopped tracking DragonEX because it failed to provide verifiable 24-hour trading volume data. To be listed as a tracked exchange, platforms must prove their volume through third-party sources. DragonEX never met this requirement. Its status as an "Untracked Listing" was a clear signal that its numbers couldn’t be trusted.

Can I still access my funds on DragonEX?

If you still have funds on DragonEX, there is no reliable way to withdraw them. The platform’s website and apps are no longer functional. Customer support is unreachable. Even if the site were to come back online, there’s no guarantee your funds would be secure. Treat any remaining balance as lost.

What should I look for in a crypto exchange today?

Look for exchanges that publish real, third-party-verified trading volume. Check if they’re regulated in major jurisdictions like the U.S., EU, or Singapore. See if they provide public audit reports and cold storage details. Make sure customer support responds quickly and clearly. Avoid platforms that rely on vague promises like "transaction mining" or "mysterious rewards"-those are often red flags.

Hannah Michelson

I'm a blockchain researcher and cryptocurrency analyst focused on tokenomics and on-chain data. I publish practical explainers on coins and exchange mechanics and occasionally share airdrop strategies. I also consult startups on wallet UX and risk in DeFi. My goal is to translate complex protocols into clear, actionable knowledge.

7 Comments

monique mannino

I lost money on dragonex.us.com before I realized it wasn't the real site 😭. So many people get tricked by those fake domains. Just a heads up: always double-check the URL. No emoji, no shortcuts. Stay safe out there.

Will Lum

Honestly I thought DragonEX was just some shady side project until I saw how many people still search for it. The fact that it vanished without a word is wild. No shutdown notice, no email, nothing. Crypto’s wild like that sometimes

Ace Crystal

Zero maker fees? Sounds too good to be true because it was. Transaction mining was a sugar rush - everyone was trading just to get the reward, not because they believed in the asset. When the juice ran out, the whole house of cards collapsed. This isn’t a cautionary tale - it’s a textbook case of hype over substance. Don’t fall for shiny objects.

Brittany Meadows

I’m not surprised. I mean, come on. A platform that doesn’t update its site for 5 years but still has fake domains popping up? That’s not incompetence. That’s a ghost operation with a license. Someone’s still cashing in on the name. Probably the same people who made the .us.com site. 🤔💀

SAKTHIVEL A

The operational cessation of DragonEX is indicative of a systemic failure in the regulatory arbitrage model prevalent in the early-stage cryptocurrency infrastructure. The absence of verifiable liquidity metrics, coupled with the non-adherence to international financial transparency protocols, renders such entities inherently non-viable under evolving global compliance frameworks. One must prioritize jurisdictionally accredited platforms possessing auditable on-chain footprints.

krista muzer

i remember when dragonex was kinda cool like, i had like 3000 doge there and i thought i was winning. then one day the app just stopped working and the website was all weird. i emailed support like 5 times and never got a reply. i just kinda gave up. now i use binance and kraken and they actually answer me. i dont even miss dragonex. i just feel bad for all the newbies who still think its alive. its not. its dead. like really dead.

Tammy Chew

The fact that we’re still talking about DragonEX in 2026 is almost poetic. A monument to crypto’s most beautiful delusion - the belief that zero fees could ever be sustainable. The platform didn’t fail because it was a scam. It failed because it was too elegant. Too clean. Too beautiful. And in crypto? Beauty is the first thing they bury. The real tragedy isn’t the lost funds. It’s that we still romanticize the ghosts.

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