A card-friendly exchange licensed across most of the US, but currently closed to deposits and trading in Europe.
Lightning-native app for buying bitcoin and sending it anywhere instantly, with no added fee on transfers.
Strike rates higher on our rubric: 4.6 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 | Strike |
|---|---|---|
| Editorial rating | 4.0 | 4.6 (favoured on this row) |
| Published fees | Maker-taker; card costs more | Fee shown before you confirm |
| Maker fee | Not published | Not published |
| Taker fee | Not published | Not published |
| Identity verification | Required | Required |
| Bitcoin-only | No | Yes |
| Payment rails supported | 6 | 4 |
| Countries ranked in | 146 | 2 |
| Ranks first in | 0 | 1 |
| Countries shared | 2 | 2 |
| Security record | 6 dated events, 1 incident, latest 2026-08-27 | 8 dated events, 1 incident, latest 2026-06-30 |
| Founded | 2013 | Not stated |
| Headquarters | London, United Kingdom | Chicago, Illinois, US |
| Last reviewed | 2026-08-27 | 2026-08-12 |
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 | Strike ranks | Comparison |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| El Salvador | Legal | #4 | #1 | |
| United States | Legal | #8 | #6 |
Dated events from each review, newest first: breaches, enforcement actions, licences, audits and proof-of-reserves publications. Every exchange ranked here carries one.
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
Strike Europe authorised under MiCA by the Maltese regulator
NYDFS granted Strike a BitLicense and a money transmitter licence
Withdrawals can now be locked behind passkey or hardware key 2FA
Strike rates higher on our rubric: 4.6 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. Strike: Fee shown before you confirm. 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 El Salvador, United States. CEX.IO is ranked in 146 countries in all and Strike in 2; 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. Strike carries 1 incident among 8 dated events, the latest on 2023-10-30: Customer email list leaked, denied by Strike, then admitted. Both reviews list every event with its source.
CEX.IO: required; identity verification is required before purchasing.. Strike: required; identity verification is required to use the app; requirements vary by country..
The full reviews: CEX.IO and Strike, each with its sources, and every exchange we review.
Every other head-to-head CEX.IO or Strike appears in.
El Salvador
United States