A card-friendly exchange licensed across most of the US, but currently closed to deposits and trading in Europe.
Latin America's largest exchange, licensed by the central bank as a payment institution, with free real deposits and withdrawals.
Mercado Bitcoin rates higher on our rubric: 4.4 against 4.0 for CEX.IO.
Every row is from the two reviews as of their review dates, with sources on each. A check marks the side a decidable criterion favours; rows without one are information, not a score.
| Fact | CEX.IO | Mercado Bitcoin |
|---|---|---|
| Editorial rating | 4.0 | 4.4 (favoured on this row) |
| Published fees | Maker-taker; card costs more | Free BRL in and out |
| Maker fee | Not published | Tiered from 0.015 percent to 0.7 percent by 30-day volume |
| Taker fee | Not published | Tiered from 0.015 percent to 0.7 percent by 30-day volume |
| Identity verification | Required | Required |
| Bitcoin-only | No | No |
| Payment rails supported | 6 | 2 |
| Countries ranked in | 146 | 1 |
| Ranks first in | 0 | 0 |
| Countries shared | 1 | 1 |
| Security record | 6 dated events, 1 incident, latest 2026-08-27 | No record on file |
| Founded | 2013 | 2013 |
| Headquarters | London, United Kingdom | Sao Paulo, Brazil |
| Last reviewed | 2026-08-27 | 2026-08-23 |
Each country guide ranks its own roster on published fees, security record and local payment support, so the two can sit in a different order from one country to the next.
| Country | Status | CEX.IO ranks | Mercado Bitcoin ranks | Comparison |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brazil | Legal | #8 | #2 |
Dated events from each review, newest first: breaches, enforcement actions, licences, audits and proof-of-reserves publications. 1 of the 2 carry no dated record on our reviews yet.
Deposits and trading unavailable in Europe, withdrawals still open
Money transmitter licences in 38 states and DC under NMLS 1804170
UK entity registered with the FCA under the money laundering rules
Mercado Bitcoin rates higher on our rubric: 4.4 against 4.0 for CEX.IO. The rating weighs published fees, security record and local payment support; the table above sets each beside the other so you can check the score against the facts.
CEX.IO: Maker-taker; card costs more. Mercado Bitcoin: Free BRL in and out. Those are each platform's published headline rates; card purchases and instant-buy widgets cost more than the order book on both, and each review carries the full schedule.
Both are ranked in our guides for Brazil. CEX.IO is ranked in 146 countries in all and Mercado Bitcoin in 1; each country guide ranks its own roster, so the two can sit in a different order from one country to the next.
CEX.IO carries 1 incident among 6 dated events, the latest on 2026-08-27: Deposits and trading unavailable in Europe, withdrawals still open. Mercado Bitcoin carries no dated security record on our review yet, a gap in our records rather than a clean bill. Both reviews list every event with its source.
CEX.IO: required; identity verification is required before purchasing.. Mercado Bitcoin: required.
The full reviews: CEX.IO and Mercado Bitcoin, each with its sources, and every exchange we review.
Every other head-to-head CEX.IO or Mercado Bitcoin appears in.
Brazil