First Look
AlphaEx popped up in November 2017, based in Malta, promising a solid trading environment for tokens like XDC, XDCE, BTC, ETH and more. In the early days it looked stable enough – staking, OTC options, even token swaps.
Then things unraveled. By December 2020, they had already shut down deposit and trading functions and asked users to withdraw all funds. In February 2021 they suspended token deposits completely, ending OTC operations too. Only staking accounts stayed live, and that only until August 2021. Once August passed, staking rewards stopped as well.
The Warning Signs
No one was talking about regulation – AlphaEx was never licensed. Reserve data wasn’t published, order book was unclear, and the whole thing felt opaque. That’s a red flag in crypto world.
Rumors of a hack surfaced in early 2021, targeting their hot wallet holding XDCE tokens. Many users had to swap XDCE to XDC at a bad ratio or withdraw at a steep gas fee. In response, some opened a petition demanding restitution.
The Data Breach
By April 2022 reports revealed that thousands of identity documents collected by AlphaEx had ended up on the dark web. Hundreds of users – especially Australians and New Zealanders – were affected. The exchange was unreachable, and data leaks remained unaddressed.
The Slow Fade
For most platforms, nothing signals collapse more than silence. By early 2021, users were locked out, withdrawals stalled, and the support vanished. No updates, no transparency. Tracking services flagged the exchange as untracked by CoinMarketCap – volume dropped to zero and activity went dark.
What’s Left Now
Zero trading. No liquidity. Company seemingly disappeared. Support channels dead. The platform exists now only as a cautionary note about how fast an exchange can collapse and take funds with it.
Quick Facts
| Feature | Status / Details |
|---|---|
| Founded | Nov 2017, Malta |
| Assets listed | XDC, XDCE, BTC, ETH, XRP, USDT and others |
| Fiat support | OTC desk (temporarily until early 2021) |
| KYC & regulation | None, unlicensed |
| Deposit/Trading Halt | From Dec 2020; token deposit freeze Feb–Mar 2021 |
| Staking support | Only until Aug 2021 |
| Data breach | Personal documents exposed in 2022 |
| Volume / Traffic | Zero as of 2025 |
| Verdict | Defunct, high risk, untrustworthy |
Final Thoughts
AlphaEx looked modest but stable… until it wasn’t. Users were asked to leave, documents leaked, and operations stopped quietly. No one came forward, no recovery plan, just leftovers of a once-active trading site.
The story? A clear lesson. If an exchange doesn’t publish reserves, isn’t licensed, and disappears overnight – there’s nothing to retrieve when it collapses. AlphaEx is a textbook example of what not to trust in crypto space.