Crypto Exchange Legal Entities 2026: Who You Contract With

According to each exchange's official terms of use (checked 2026-10-23), on Binance's global site you contract with three Nest companies set up in Abu Dhabi's ADGM, on OKX with Aux Cayes FinTech Co. Ltd., registered in Seychelles, on Bybit with Bybit Technology Limited, on MEXC with MEXC (Comoros) Ltd, and on Ourbit with Ourbit Holdings Ltd. of the British Virgin Islands. The terms of Gate, KuCoin, WEEX, XT.COM and HTX do not give a full company name at all. Governing law ranges from England and Wales, Hong Kong and Singapore to Panama, Pakistan and Saint Vincent, and every exchange except XT.COM sends disputes to arbitration.

An exchange has one brand, but the company you sign with can change with where you live. Below, for the 15 exchanges Fee Otter covers, we list the contracting entity named in the global terms, the date of those terms, the governing law and the dispute process, followed by the regional entities that official pages name. Every row links to the official terms. Terms change often, so rely on the version you see when you sign up. This page summarises public terms and is not legal advice.

Why the contracting entity matters

• Which company holds your assets: the company in the terms is the one with contractual duties to you. If the platform fails, you are a creditor of that company, not of the whole brand. For how past bankruptcies paid out, see crypto exchange collapse history.
• Which rules apply: a licence belongs to a specific legal entity and only covers its own jurisdiction. The global-site contracting company is usually not the licensed one. Licences are covered in crypto exchange licenses by country and MiCA-licensed crypto exchanges.
• Where you go when something goes wrong: most terms rule out court cases and class actions. You have to notify the platform, wait a set period, and then file for arbitration in Hong Kong, Singapore or elsewhere. Bitget also says claims expire after one year.

Contracting entities of 15 exchanges

"Not named" means the global terms we read give no full company name; names from other official documents of the same exchange are in brackets. Checked 2026-10-23.

Official terms: Binance, OKX, Bybit, Gate, Bitget, MEXC, BingX, Pionex, KuCoin, Bitfinex, WEEX, XT.COM, HTX, CoinW user agreement and legal statement, Ourbit. Checked 2026-10-23.

Exchanges whose terms name the company

Binance: three ADGM companies, three contracts

The terms in force since 2026-07-21 split the global site's services between three ADGM companies: Nest Exchange Limited runs the exchange, Nest Clearing and Custody Limited handles clearing and custody, and Nest Trading Limited is the broker-dealer. The terms say each is a separate legal entity and that you have separate contractual obligations with each one. All three are supervised by the ADGM Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA).

OKX: regional entities listed in the terms

Of the 15 exchanges, OKX is the only one whose global terms list its regional companies one by one and say which users each serves. Users not covered by a regional entity contract with Aux Cayes FinTech Co. Ltd. The page shows an update on 2026-10-22, the day before our check; we checked again on 2026-10-24, and the terms were still dated 2026-10-22 with the same contracting companies, governing law and dispute clauses.

Bybit, Bitget, BingX, Pionex: a company name, no place of incorporation

All four name the contracting company but not where it is incorporated. Pionex adds that neither Pionex Pte. Ltd. nor Pionex Inc. is the operator, and that the operator may change as the business changes.

MEXC, Ourbit, Bitfinex: name and place of incorporation

MEXC names MEXC (Comoros) Ltd in Comoros. Ourbit names Ourbit Holdings Ltd. in the British Virgin Islands, with a company number. Bitfinex uses BFXWW Inc. or BFXNA Inc. depending on whether you are a US person, and the same terms say US persons generally cannot use the service.

Exchanges whose terms give no company name

The global terms of Gate, KuCoin, WEEX, XT.COM and HTX give no full company name. CoinW names one in a separate legal statement:

• Gate: the terms define "Gate" as the sites, Gate and its affiliates, with no company name. The privacy policy has none either.
• KuCoin: the terms only say "the Platform" or "this Company". A separate assets recovery agreement (2025-02-26) and the site footer name Peken Global Limited, incorporated under the laws of Seychelles.
• WEEX: only "WEEX (the Company)". WEEX SP. Z O.O. (Poland) appears in the on-site deposit flow, and the iOS app developer is Weex Virtual Currency Exchange LLC. Neither is named as the contracting party.
• XT.COM: the user agreement has no company name and no governing-law or dispute clause. It only says that "the right of final interpretation" belongs to the website.
• HTX: only "HTX Operators", defined to include legal persons, DAOs and teams. The contact address is htxsupport@htx-inc.com.
• CoinW: the user agreement names no company. The legal statement (updated 2026-06-01) says it is issued by COINW, incorporated under the laws of Comoros, and forms part of the user agreement.

Terms that name no company do not make an exchange illegal, but if something goes wrong you first have to work out who you are dealing with. Before you keep large sums on such a platform, know who you would turn to in a dispute.

Regional entities named on official pages

This table lists only companies named in the exchange's own terms, licence pages or announcements. A licence page lists licensed companies, which are not necessarily the one you contract with. For EU MiCA entities, the ESMA MiCA register is the reference.

The EU MiCA entities of Bybit and BingX (Bybit EU GmbH, and MEGE zweite GmbH trading as BingX EU) are on the ESMA register, but the global terms we read do not mention them. Binance's licences page has no EEA section.

Example: the same person moves, and the contracting company changes

Say you open an OKX account. Its terms pick the contracting company by where you live:

• In a country with no regional entity: you contract with Aux Cayes FinTech Co. Ltd. (Seychelles), under English and Welsh law, with HKIAC mediation and then arbitration in Hong Kong.
• After moving to an approved EEA location: the contracting company becomes OKX Europe Limited in Malta, under its own regional terms.
• After moving to Australia: it becomes OKX Australia Pty Ltd and OKX Australia Financial Pty Ltd, with spot and derivatives under different companies.

Now look at timing. If you have a withdrawal dispute on Bitget, the terms require a Notice to legal@bitget.com first. Only if it is still unresolved after 30 days can you file for HKIAC arbitration, and the claim expires after one year. For the same stuck withdrawal, Bitget makes you wait at least 30 days before arbitration, and you lose the claim if you do not bring it within a year. For what to do in practice, see account frozen or withdrawal stuck.

How to check which company you signed with

1. 1

   Open the terms from the app or the site footer

   do it while logged in, so you see the version shown for your region.
2. 2

   Search for "between you and" or "Company"

   the company name follows.
3. 3

   Find the Governing Law and Arbitration sections

   note the governing law, the arbitration body, the seat, and whether you must send a notice first.
4. 4

   Save a PDF

   terms change, so keep the version and date from the day you signed up. You will need it in a dispute.

Contracting entity and your rebate

Your rebate depends on the referral code you entered at sign-up, not on which company you contract with. None of the terms we read say whether a regional entity keeps the global site's referral link. If you plan to sign up on a regional site, such as an EU site, contact Fee Otter support first.

Futures rebates when you sign up on the global sites through Fee Otter (2026-10-23): KuCoin 60% (all automatic, paid by the exchange); BingX 45% (all refunded automatically by BingX, no UID binding with Fee Otter needed); Binance 40% (20% automatic exchange rebate + 20% Fee Otter extra rebate, code FEEOTTER); Bybit 40% (all paid by Fee Otter as extra rebate); OKX 20% automatic rebate + exclusive rewards. Fee Otter's extra rebate is paid out as USDT on BEP20, minimum 1 USDT, with a 0.015 USDT network fee, and every payout can be checked on BscScan. Live rates are on the rebate rates page. Exchanges set rebate rates and can change them, so check the rates page before you sign up.

FAQ

Which company runs Binance's global site?

Under the terms effective 2026-07-21, three companies set up in ADGM, Abu Dhabi: Nest Exchange Limited, Nest Clearing and Custody Limited and Nest Trading Limited. You contract with each one separately, under ADGM law.

Which company do I contract with on OKX?

It depends on where you live. The EEA, the US, Australia, the UAE, Brazil, El Salvador, Argentina and Singapore each have a regional company, and a Bahamas company serves some Mexico residents and institutional users. Users elsewhere contract with Aux Cayes FinTech Co. Ltd. in Seychelles.

Which country's law governs exchange terms?

It varies: England and Wales for OKX, MEXC and Ourbit; Hong Kong for Bitget, BingX and CoinW; Singapore for Bybit; ADGM for Binance; Panama for Gate; Pakistan for HTX; the Turks and Caicos Islands for KuCoin; the British Virgin Islands for Bitfinex; Saint Vincent and the Grenadines for WEEX; English common law for Pionex. XT.COM's terms do not say.

Can I sue an exchange in my own country?

Most terms say disputes can only go to individual arbitration and exclude class actions. The bodies are mostly HKIAC, SIAC or ICC, seated in Hong Kong, Singapore, ADGM, Panama, Belize and other places. Whether you can still sue locally depends on local law, so ask a lawyer.

Can I use an exchange whose terms name no company?

A missing company name does not make it illegal, but in a dispute you have to find out who the other party is yourself. On such platforms, keep only the funds you need for trading and hold long-term assets yourself.

Compiled from each exchange's official terms of use, licence pages and legal documents (checked 2026-10-23). Terms can change at any time; the version you see when you sign up and trade applies. For information only; not legal or investment advice.

Data verified: 2026-10-23