The crypto ecosystem has hundreds of CEXes and dozens of automation vendors. However, finding Pionex alternatives is not an easy task considering that it is one of the rare unicorns that try to walk the difficult path of combining the features of both. The only thing that you won’t be able to do here is run an advanced system like an AI trading bot or statistical arbitrage. All other forms of automated trading strategies (ATS) are readily available.
The benefits of using automation
In a survey of the crypto market, multiple researchers found that anywhere from 50% to 65% of all individual retail traders are using different types of automation. Among institutional investors, finding an example of fully manual trading is impossible. We are living in a world dominated by artificial intelligence, algorithms, and powerful computers. It means that those who do not use these valuable instruments are often left behind.
Contemporary crypto investors enjoy access to a rich selection of useful automated strategies that can produce excellent results. Modern robots can engage in high-frequency trading on your behalf and produce small profits consistently or engage in sophisticated strategies focusing on risk optimization.
Below are some reasons to use crypto bots similar to Pionex and other providers:
- A robot does not need to rest. Have you ever woken up in the morning to see that the market presented a handful of excellent opportunities for a profitable trade while you were sleeping? The crypto market operates around the clock making it hugely important for proactive traders to search for entry points all the time. Even a coffee break can lead to missing out on valuable opportunities.
- Emotionless trading is another important advantage. Speculative markets, such as the one where we trade crypto, are often great targets for technical analysis. You can identify certain patterns and create a set of rules on what to do when you see them. if your technical analysis strategy produces a sufficient amount of actionable signals, you should be fine just by following your rules. Unfortunately, the vast majority of retail traders stray away from their own algorithms due to emotions like greed, fear, or doubt. Machines do not have this weakness and follow the ruleset to the letter no matter the circumstances.
- Affordable prices across the board. In the 1990s, automated systems were incredibly expensive. Exorbitant fees from hardware manufacturers and programmers were a norm with some institutions paying millions to run a relatively simple bot. At the beginning of the 2000s, many Forex brokers started offering similar autonomous systems to currency traders. The crypto ecosystem turned out to be an excellent environment for the growth of the automation industry. The product has matured immensely leading to prices dropping all over the sector. Small-scale ATS designs cost less than $10 per month.
- Instant execution of algorithms. Even if you have the most ideal set of rules and receive exceptional signals, the process of creating an order, adding delayed orders, and adjusting the parameters of a trade can be incredibly long making some signals obsolete by the time you are done with tweaking everything using a clunky user interface. Robots can connect to exchanges via API gateways and create orders instantly.
These are the most obvious advantages of using machines to increase the efficiency of your investment operations. Modern retail traders have access to these powerful tools and can utilize them to optimize profitability and achieve consistent returns from their in-market activities. However, it is possible to bring your investment game to the next level.
Why is there no alternative to Pionex?
This exchange/automation provider processes over 10 million trades daily with monthly volumes exceeding $60 billion. Over 5 million users from all corners of the world are using this platform for their daily investment activities. The stats are quite impressive. Interestingly enough, the main thing that sets this platform apart from its competition is the fusion of advanced automation and centralized exchange services.
By combining various types of closely related products and refusing to offload at least some of its functionality to specialized vendors, the platform hopes to deliver an excellent user experience and consolidate a variety of features in a single offering. Does it work? Yes and no.
The benefits of the exchange/robot combo
Centralized exchanges operate like online brokerage service providers by taking investor funds into custody and conducting most trades in-house to avoid moving digital currencies and incurring gas fees. While this solution is the main reason for the distrust from many hardcore crypto enthusiasts, it allows for significantly faster processing of operations and allows experienced power users to engage in strategies that involve high-frequency trading.
For example, you can easily run a crypto trading bot that focuses on market-making and earns consistent profits by supplying liquidity. By having an automation platform directly connected to the exchange, a company can offer a much faster speed of order execution and fewer slippages. The issue here is that these benefits look great on paper yet may not be offered in reality.
Pionex is a technologically advanced platform that offers all sorts of interesting products and additional features including an API gateway that, technically, allows investors to connect third-party tools and enjoy a more expanded functionality. On the other hand, the exchange already provides the necessary instruments allowing users to apply automation to all sorts of digital assets.
Below are some features of the platform that make it quite interesting for many crypto investors:
- Robots are deployed directly to the market. Since all scripts are executed within the same digital infrastructure as spot and futures markets, a bot does not need to connect to an APY removing another potential point of failure in an algorithm that conducts trades. While the direct deployment shaves away mere fractions of a second per trade, it is technically still faster and more reliable than an ATS provided by a third party.
- You work with digital assets and derivatives. The exchange offers leverage if you are interested in increasing the risk to hunt for higher returns. To automate the process, you can simply launch their Futures Bot which is a typical grid setup that works well and can deliver consistent performances during periods of low volatility. Note that you won’t be able to finely tune the system to your liking and may want to abstain from trading when volatility goes up.
- Dual investments with stablecoins. A unique offering from the exchange that you won’t find at any of Pionex competitors is the special yield system where users receive yields in USDT if the price is higher than what the target value is or receive BTC (or any other featured crypto) as a reward if the price is below the target value. It is a great system for investors interested in utilizing their stablecoins. However, you should be aware that returns fluctuate greatly and may be lower compared to what you will gain by simply putting fiat into a high-yield savings account.
- Highly-specialized bots. The platform has several ready-made solutions aimed at professionals seeking novel ways to interact with the market. If you are interested in automating time-tested day-trading approaches, it is a good idea to work with this particular CEX as it has five different presets (as of the time of writing). You can use their Buy-the-Dip or Covered-Gain products to time the market, apply combinations of these approaches to various currency pairs, and utilize the Sideways-Gain robot to receive a fixed APR while converting digital assets.
These are interesting tools offered by one of the most popular and trustworthy CEXes out there. However, these are advantages that will be appreciated by newcomers seeking easier ways to enter the crypto market without putting in any of their personal knowledge and expertise. While it is a good idea for beginners without any prior experience, many power users will be disappointed in the rigidness of the platform and its product lineup.
If you are looking for crypto trading bots like Pionex that are not limited by arbitrary boundaries defined by a centralized exchange that only cares about volumes, you should be looking elsewhere. Luckily, the crypto automation industry has matured to the point where you can easily find a versatile service provider that has the same range of ready-made solutions as the platform in question but also offers a richer selection of useful tools that make automating strategies more rewarding, convenient, and fun.
How to find top alternatives to Pionex
An important disclaimer to make is that the number of companies that have a structured offering of ATS setups on top of an exchange service with deep liquidity is quite small. In fact, Pionex seems to be the only leading CEX that offers so many different types of automation to their users. It also operates globally making it a sort of unicorn in the market. Despite having a variety of interesting ready-made robots, it is still a platform limited in scope when it comes to automation.
Searching for a good alternative can be a very challenging task even for experienced veterans who have seen it all. Nevertheless, it is possible to find a great service provider by following several simple rules outlined below:
- Look for vendors with excellent track records. Trustworthy companies are safe bets that increase the probability of your success in the long run. The community usually extends its loyalty and respect to platforms offering strong technology, regular innovations, and appropriate user experience. The problem is that many providers have negative reviews written by people who often do not understand how automation works. Reading through user testimonials one by one is quite important to distinguish the chaff from the wheat.
- Never underestimate monthly costs. Most providers operate as SaaS businesses. Subscription plans are usually relatively cheap but can be a significant burden on your portfolio if you ignore them. For instance, 3Commas is a great provider with excellent products that stand out but paying for the most expensive plan is more than noticeable even if you have a sizeable portfolio. Take subscription costs into consideration when trying to find the best place to run your ATS setups.
- Get some hands-on experience with the UI. An interface that allows users to effortlessly navigate the platform and easily find what they need is one of the determining factors in the overall success of your investment operations. Most providers offer demo trading accounts or have a free plan allowing you to experiment with some basic functionality and even try some automation options offered by the company. You should always play with the UI personally and see if it works for you.
- Check the product lineup. Contemporary automation providers must have versatile catalogs of ready-made strategies that are considered staples in the industry. For instance, if you cannot set up a DCA trading bot in a couple of clicks or have trouble figuring out how to get your grid robot going, it is not a good place to be. You should never worry about the deployment of hugely popular ATS designs that have been extensively tested by the larger community of investors. These tools must be ready to go at any given moment.
- Work with companies that have strong security. Two-factor authentication, encrypted communications, safe API connections, and other security measures should be on display and well-explained. While providers usually do not have access to your funds, they can still trade on your behalf making each vendor a potential weak point vulnerable to exploits. We strongly recommend working with platforms that do not have any cases of breaches or hacks in their track records.
The last point is very relevant to the platform we are discussing in this article. Pionex is simultaneously a provider of automation services and an exchange. So far, the company managed to avoid significant issues with security. However, the fact that it can access your funds may be concerning to some users who would like to work with a highly reliable CEX with a more robust reputation.
The best Pionex alternatives
As mentioned previously, the current landscape of the automation industry is saturated with offers. A typical retail trader is bombarded with ads related to robots and fully automated strategies. Making an informed decision in this chaotic environment seems close to impossible. We want to give you several options that can act as starting points for newcomers.
- 3Commas is an established provider that has been in business for at least 7 years. The platform is known for its social elements as it relies on user-generated content, products, and copy trading as core offerings. You will be able to buy strategies and signals from the marketplace or simply follow leading traders to manage assets like a pro with years of experience. 3Commas is an expensive platform that has some of the priciest subscription plans that can eat through your profits so be mindful of operational costs when using this platform.
- Crypto.com is one of the most popular exchanges in the US and Europe. While automation, and integrations in general, are not the main focus of the platform, you can still use a variety of tools to increase the efficiency of your operations. Surface-level automation options include target price buying, price alerting, and recurring buying. You can also easily launch time-weighted average price bots that try to reduce the total acquisition cost for a long position similar to the DCA approach. If you want to use one of the best crypto bots instead of Pionex, Crypto.com is certainly not the worst you can manage.
- HummingBot is an interesting open-source solution that offers a variety of strategies that can be deployed on DEXes and CEXes. Its biggest advantage is that it’s free to use. However, onboarding can be painful since the UI is non-existence and you will need to spend quite some time and effort on learning how to use the client properly. It can be connected to any CEX that has a private API that allows users to automate operations on the spot or in futures markets. HummingBot is backed by a multitude of CEXes including Binance, KuCoin, Coinbase, and many others.
- GunBot is another interesting platform that tries to explore the poorly charted territory of robots capable of operating across decentralized and centralized sectors of the crypto ecosystem. Learning the basics and mastering the tool can take quite some time. It is far from being user-friendly especially when compared against the competition. However, newcomers will 100% appreciate AI feature that can interpret descriptions of strategies written in common language. It turns them into scripts that can be used to automate trading operations. The AI assistant still needs some polishing but it can work as a guide for beginners.
- TradeSanta is a good choice for people who are interested in ready-made solutions that can be effortlessly deployed on various CEXes. This provider is all about presets with over a thousand different ATS designs to choose from. This variety can be overwhelming and fine-tuning a preset can be difficult but many users appreciate the rich selection of robots that do not need any additional tinkering to work as intended. TradeSanta is an affordable platform that welcomes beginners and offers a wide range of tools to ease the onboarding process.
- WunderTrading is one of the most versatile automation vendors in the market. It has a deep product catalog featuring staples like a grid trading bot or an automated arbitrage system powered by an AI system. Social components are also quite powerful. The marketplace features hundreds of vetted leading traders from all supported CEXes. WunderTrading has an excellent dashboard that allows users to manage their assets and robots without feeling overwhelmed. The focus of the company on customization is also a huge advantage for experienced crypto retail traders who know their technical analysis and want to apply this knowledge to creating unique ATS setups. In terms of pricing, the platform is more than affordable.
These are all excellent alternatives to the CEX/bot hybrid that we are covering in this article. However, we do not endorse any of the platforms mentioned above. People should do their own research before committing to any of the brands that we gave our approving nod.
Pionex VS other crypto trading bots
The only big difference between this platform and others is that it is an exchange first and a provider of automation solutions second. If you are interested in free robots and do not mind working with an exchange that does not have the same level of trustworthiness, popularity, and liquidity as leading CEXes like Binance or Kraken, this platform is a good choice. However, one must remember the limited nature of ready-made robots offered by this exchange.
Experienced retail traders will enjoy the flexibility and versatility of specialized vendors appealing. Also, many crypto investors trade on multiple CEXes and may want to use a single robot vendor with all of them to track portfolio performance in a single dashboard.