Last updated: 5 November 2026

Bitrue, a crypto exchange best known for its XRP markets, was added to the Financial Conduct Authority’s Warning List on 4 November 2026. The FCA says the firm is not authorised, “may be targeting people in the UK”, and that you should avoid dealing with it.

Most Bitrue reviews online compare fees and token lists. Few look at it from a UK reader’s position, so that is what this one does.

We read the warning, Bitrue’s terms of use and its fee page, then set out who you would be contracting with, what happens if your account is frozen and what to do if you already hold funds there.

This is not advice. If you have a lot of money on the platform, speak to a solicitor or an FCA-authorised adviser.

Quick verdict

Question	Short answer
Is Bitrue authorised by the FCA?	No. The FCA’s warning, first published 4 Nov 2026, says so
Is Bitrue based in the UK?	No. Its terms name an operator registered in Costa Rica
Is my money FSCS protected?	No, according to the FCA warning
Can I go to the Financial Ombudsman?	No, according to the FCA warning
Where would a legal dispute go?	The courts of Costa Rica, under the terms we read
Spot trading fee	0.098% on BTC, ETH and USDT pairs; 0.196% on main XRP pairs
Trustpilot	1.3 out of 5 from 395 reviews (5 Nov 2026; unverified by us)

Contents

• What is Bitrue?
• The FCA warning: what it says and what it doesn’t
• Who you contract with: the terms UK users should read
• Fees, with worked numbers
• Security history
• What Real Users Say
• Pros and cons
• If you already hold funds on Bitrue
• How to check any crypto platform
• Verdict
• FAQ

What is Bitrue?

Bitrue is a centralised exchange offering spot trading on what it says are more than 1,000 pairs, perpetual futures and interest-style “earn” products. Its homepage calls it an “XRP Recommended Exchange” and advertised earn rates of up to 10% APR on XRP when we checked.

In 2019 it was described in the crypto press as a Singapore exchange. Today, its terms list Singapore among the places it does not serve, and Trustpilot lists its location as Indonesia.

The homepage footer gives no company name or registration number. You have to open the terms to find out who runs it.

The FCA warning: what it says and what it doesn’t

The FCA warning names Bitrue’s website, its X, YouTube and Telegram accounts and three email addresses. That points to the exchange itself, rather than a clone using its name.

The notice states two consequences. You “won’t have access to the Financial Ombudsman Service”, and you won’t be protected by the FSCS, so “it’s unlikely you’d get your money back if the firm goes out of business”.

The warning is not a finding of fraud, and the FCA doesn’t publish its reasons. The notice does not say Bitrue has lost customer money.

TFM has covered the FCA’s wider push on unauthorised crypto marketing in its action against HTX. The same warning format appeared recently for Acorn Property Invest, in a very different market.

Who you contract with: the terms UK users should read

We read Bitrue’s terms of use from the UK on 5 November 2026. They are marked as amended on 15 June 2025.

The operator is a Costa Rican company

The agreement is with “straLink Innovations Technologies Limitada, a limited liability company registered in Costa Rica”. Section 12 applies Costa Rican law and gives the courts of Costa Rica exclusive jurisdiction. We found no arbitration clause.

For a UK customer, that makes a court claim hard and expensive. A copy of the same page fetched through a different route showed older wording, naming “Bitrue Limited” and Seychelles law, so check the version you are shown.

The EEA is excluded. The UK isn’t named

This is the detail that matters most here. The terms say Bitrue won’t accept users in the European Economic Area because of its obligations under the EU’s MiCA crypto rules. They also bar the United States, Canada, mainland China, Hong Kong, India and Singapore.

The UK doesn’t appear on that list. That doesn’t amount to permission: the terms reserve the right to refuse service anywhere, and we did not open an account to test UK access.

Freezes and forced closures

Section 9 lets Bitrue “temporarily freeze or permanently freeze” an account at its “sole discretion, without any prior notice”. It also says Bitrue shall not be liable to you for doing so.

Elsewhere, Bitrue “reserves the right to liquidate any trades at any time regardless of the profit or loss position”, and all trades are “final and irreversible”. It can amend the agreement “without any notice to you”.

How customer assets are held

Your assets are “segregated” from Bitrue’s own “by way of separate ledger accounting entries”. The terms add that Bitrue has no obligation to use different blockchain addresses for them.

So the separation is in Bitrue’s records. Whether that would help customers in an insolvency would be a question for Costa Rican law, and we can’t answer it.

Fees, with worked numbers

These come from Bitrue’s fee page, which is marked as last updated about a year ago. Promotional zero-fee events also run, so check the rate on your own pair.

Trade	Fee rate	On a £1,000 trade*
Spot: BTC, ETH and USDT pairs	0.098%	£0.98
Spot: XRP/BTC, XRP/USDT, XRP/ETH	0.196%	£1.96
Spot: other XRP pairs	0.280%	£2.80
Futures: most pairs, maker	0.02%	£0.20
Futures: most pairs, taker	0.06%	£0.60

*Our own sums, per trade and on position size, using £ for illustration. Bitrue trades are priced in crypto pairs.

Paying spot fees in Bitrue’s own BTR token gives a 20% discount, which takes 0.196% to about 0.157%. We couldn’t confirm withdrawal fees: the page we tried returned an error, so check them before depositing.

On futures, fees are charged on the whole position, so £1,000 of margin at 5x leverage means a £5,000 position and a £3 taker fee each way. Low fees don’t make up for a stuck withdrawal.

Security history

On 27 June 2019, CoinDesk reported that Bitrue had been hacked for around $4.2 million. It involved 9.3 million XRP and 2.5 million ADA, and the company said affected users would be refunded. We didn’t independently confirm those refunds.

Bitrue’s site now promises a 24/7 security team. We can’t verify security claims from outside.

What Real Users Say

Bitrue scores 1.3 out of 5 on Trustpilot from 395 reviews, with no recent invitations for reviews. Trustpilot doesn’t fact-check them, and unhappy customers are more likely to post, so treat this as a pattern to check.

• Frozen accounts: a recurring complaint. One October 2026 reviewer reports a frozen account holding $70,000 after supplying the documents requested.
• Verification loops: users say support asks for evidence they can’t provide, such as proof from a third-party wallet.
• Futures liquidations: some reviewers dispute price spikes that closed their positions.
• Possible impostors: one user reported being asked for a fee to restore access. Bitrue’s replies say it never asks for that, which is worth remembering if you get such a request.

Bitrue replies publicly to negative reviews, mostly by pointing people to support tickets. We haven’t verified any individual claim.

Pros and cons

Pros	Cons
Low listed spot and futures fees	On the FCA Warning List; not authorised
Wide token choice, strong XRP focus	No FSCS or Financial Ombudsman route
Publishes its fee schedule and terms	Disputes go to Costa Rican courts
Replies publicly to complaints	Broad freeze powers; frequent freeze complaints

If you already hold funds on Bitrue

The FCA’s position is to avoid dealing with the firm. If you already have an account, these general steps reduce the mess later.

1. Don’t add new money until you’ve read the warning and decided what to do.
2. Check your withdrawal route now. Confirm your identity checks and network details are in order, and try a small amount first if you plan to move funds.
3. Save your records. Export trades, deposits, balances and support tickets while you have access.
4. Keep your tax records. HMRC says selling or swapping tokens can trigger Capital Gains Tax, and that you must keep your own records.
5. Ignore “recovery” offers. Anyone asking for an upfront fee to unlock your funds should be treated as a likely scam. Call the FCA on 0800 111 6768 to report concerns.

The FCA also notes protections for people who sent money to a fraudster on or after 7 October 2024. Those are payment-system rules aimed at fraud, so they may not fit a dispute with an exchange over a frozen account.

How to check any crypto platform

Use the FCA’s Firm Checker and Financial Services Register before you deposit. The FCA’s crypto guide also says you shouldn’t be offered free gifts or refer-a-friend bonuses to invest.

Bitrue’s global homepage advertised a “0 Fees & Win 200,000 USDT” event when we checked. We can’t say that campaign was aimed at UK users, but that kind of incentive is the signal the FCA tells people to look out for.

The wider rules are also changing. The FCA’s new crypto regime is expected to start on 25 October 2027, and firms can now apply for authorisation. Until then, the FCA’s guide says there is “no safety net if things go wrong”. Our piece on FCA limits on unauthorised lenders shows how differently a registered firm can be treated from an authorised one.

Verdict

Bitrue’s listed fees are competitive and its XRP markets are the obvious attraction. For a UK reader, those points are outweighed by the warning, the lack of any FSCS or ombudsman route and terms that send disputes to Costa Rica.

We don’t recommend opening a Bitrue account from the UK while the warning stands. If you already use it, treat the warning as a prompt to check your withdrawal route and your records now.

FAQ

Is Bitrue legal in the UK?

Owning crypto isn’t illegal, but Bitrue isn’t authorised by the FCA, and the FCA says it may be promoting services without permission. Its terms don’t list the UK as restricted or say that it serves UK users.

Is Bitrue UK based?

No. The terms we read name a company registered in Costa Rica as the operator.

Is Bitrue a scam?

The FCA warning doesn’t say that. It says the firm isn’t authorised and tells people to avoid it. The exchange has operated since at least 2019, but users report frozen accounts, and you’d have no UK compensation route.

Will the FSCS refund me if Bitrue fails?

No. The FCA warning says you won’t be protected by the FSCS.

Is Bitrue a wallet?

It’s an exchange that holds assets in your account for you. The terms describe separation by ledger entries, so you rely on Bitrue to process withdrawals.

Sources: FCA Warning List: Bitrue (4 Nov 2026); FCA new cryptoasset regime page; FCA crypto basics; HMRC cryptoassets guidance; Bitrue terms of use, trading fees page and homepage (read 5 Nov 2026; not linked because of the warning); CoinDesk; Trustpilot (5 Nov 2026).