AAX Review, Usage Tips and Referral Benefits
IMPORTANT!
On 23 December 2022, Hong Kong police arrested two executives (Weigao Capital CEO Liang Haoming and former AAX CEO Thor Chan) of the crypto exchange AAX. The pair are accused of fraud and misleading the police, according to local media reports.
The Hong Kong-based platform has been shut down since mid-November for “system maintenance,” leaving 2 million registered users stranded without access to their assets. Local authorities accused AAX of using “system maintenance” as an excuse to delay customers from withdrawing assets amid liquidity issues.
Two bank accounts of AAX as well as the executives’ bank accounts and properties have been frozen. A third executive reportedly fled overseas with an AAX wallet and private keys that police believe to contain ~$30 million in digital assets. His properties in Hong Kong were seized by the police.
Table of Contents
Company
Connecting traders, innovators, hodlers, miners, NFT-artists, high-net-worth investors and the unbanked, AAX’s mission is to help ground digital assets in the real world and to bring the benefits of sound money to everyone.
AAX (Atom Asset Exchange) was founded in early 2018 with the sole vision of bringing the benefits of sound money to everyone. After more than 18 months of research and development, the exchange officially launched in November 2019 at the London Stock Exchange.
AAX is the world’s first crypto exchange to make the switch to the Satoshi Standard (SATs). By enabling users to trade in SATs, AAX aims to drive the adoption of Bitcoin.
AAX Exchange offers over 100+ crypto markets, offering high-yield savings packages, fiat on and off ramps, crypto derivatives, and regular token campaigns.
Key metrics
- 2+ million customers [Nov 2021]
- 500+ employees across Europe and Asia [Nov 2021]
- single-day trading volume on AAX Exchange exceeded US$1 billion [11 Nov 2020]
Notable developments
- citing “system maintenance”, AAX has been shut down since mid November 2022 [Nov 2022]
Presence in Singapore
- Legal Entity: AAX EXCHANGE (MALTA) LIMITED, SINGAPORE BRANCH
AAX launched crypto transaction services in Singapore on 8 February 2021. The exchange has submitted its licence application to the MAS and is committed to setting up a dedicated Singapore fiat to cryptocurrency platform supporting key cryptocurrencies such as BTC, ETH, BCH, LTC, and other key cryptocurrencies, with SGD exclusively for Singapore users.
The exchange also plans to build a local presence in Singapore with key functions such as compliance, marketing, treasury & account management.
Wenn Sheng Chioh is the CEO of AAX Singapore and he leads the development of the digital assets exchange platform in Singapore. Prior to joining AAX, Mr Chioh has served in:
- Singapore Exchange (SGX) as the Vice President of Market Strategy, Equities during 2020 and 2021
- Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) as the Deputy Director from 2016 to 2020.
Regulation by Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS)
Currently exempted from holding a licence under the transitional arrangements in the Payment Services (PS) Act.
Social media
Ecosystem
AAX Token (AAB)
As a token based on the Ethereum network, AAX Token (AAB) is an integral part of AAX, providing special benefits to users, and a means to be part of the growth of the exchange.
Pay with AAB to enjoy 20% discount on your trading fees.
Crypto Savings
- APY of up to 20%
- Covers the widest range of popular tokens
- Interest accrued by minute
- No lockup for flexible savings
- Supports auto-renewal for fixed savings (added in Dec 2021)
DeFi Mining
DeFi aggregate mining. High risks and high returns from decentralized projects:
- AAX platform aggregates the assets of all users for mining, which greatly reduces the threshold for individual users to participate
- AAX aggregate mining has 0 GAS Fee
- 30 Seconds Mining
- Daily Billing
- Super High Yield
Once funds are successfully allocated to Locked Staking, earnings are calculated beginning at 00:00 (UTC) the following day. The minimum earnings calculation period is one day; earnings for a period of less than one day will not be included in the earnings distribution.
Trading platforms
- Android
- iOS
- Web
✔️ Unique Selling Proposition (USP)
London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) Technology
AAX is the world’s first cryptocurrency exchange to be powered by LSEG Technology. By operating LSEG Technology’s Millennium Exchange, AAX is able to handle deep liquidity and process large order volumes at speeds comparable to first-tier capital markets.
The platform is built to accommodate both retail and institutional traders in a high-performance, secure and trusted environment.
Usage Notes and Tips
Account Onboarding
Problems completing KYC Process on Firefox
I experienced a problem during the KYC process. Somehow in my Firefox browser, the fields to enter my personal particulars like name, NRIC, date of birth etc did not appear and an error popup appeared when I clicked on ‘Submit’. I am not sure if it is due to a bug on the AAX platform or some extensions running on my Firefox browser.
Anyway, I then tried to complete the KYC on a Chrome browser and thankfully did not meet with any issues.
Speed of KYC
The KYC was fast. After I submitted my particulars and uploaded my ID and a selfie, I was notified within the hour that I successfully completed the Level 1 KYC.
Level 2 KYC Hassle
When I first tried to perform Level 2 KYC (verification of address) in January 2022, I uploaded a screenshot of my Singtel Telco bill and it got rejected. It appears that telco bills are not accepted. AAX requires a utility bill, bank or credit card statement, government correspondence or rental agreement.
Another pain point is that the AAX KYC system only accepts images and not PDF, meaning I had to take a screenshot of my credit card statement to upload.
Customer Service
As mentioned above, I had some problems with the KYC process. I thus sought help with the live chat box on the site and the CSO’s reponse was very fast, leaving me with a good impression of AAX’s customer service.