Bitrue

Bitrue is a centralized crypto exchange offering spot trading, USDT-, USDC- and coin-margined futures, copy trading, crypto loans, staking and lockup products, and what it calls TradFi futures. It built its following among XRP holders: XRP is quoted as a base currency against many tokens, the site promotes XRP staking products, and Ripple's RLUSD stablecoin is listed. Its own exchange token, Bitrue Coin (BTR), gives a 20% discount on trading fees.

The Terms of Use, amended on 15 June 2025, name the operator as straLink Innovations Technologies Limitada, a limited liability company registered in Costa Rica, and put the agreement under Costa Rican law and courts. Press coverage in 2019 described Bitrue as Singapore-based, and Singapore is now on its list of excluded countries. Bitrue's about page says its team works from offices in Europe and Asia but does not name founders, executives or owners. For its record against other exchanges, see how Bitrue compared with other exchanges.

Bitrue publishes a flat spot fee rather than a volume ladder, with discounts available through its VIP program and by paying fees in BTR.

The XRP surcharge is the detail that matters most for Bitrue's core users: buying XRP against USDT costs 0.196%, twice the rate on a BTC/USDT trade. The fee page does not list withdrawal fees, which vary by token and network.

Bitrue's terms say it does not serve users in the United States, Canada, mainland China, Hong Kong, India or Singapore. Citing its obligations under the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation, it also does not accept registrations from anyone located or resident in the European Economic Area. Users in OFAC-sanctioned countries, including Iran, North Korea, Russia, Cuba and Syria, are barred as well.

Bitrue holds no licence from a major regulator that it publishes. Accounts require registration under the user's real name, and the terms let Bitrue suspend or freeze accounts used by anyone else. For people in the US looking for a licensed venue, our list of exchanges Americans can use is a starting point.

Bitrue has had two hot wallet breaches. In June 2019 an attacker exploited its risk-control review process and moved about 9.3 million XRP and 2.5 million ADA, roughly $4.3 million, from the funds of around 90 users, according to The Block; Bitrue said all lost funds would be returned. On 14 April 2023 attackers took about $23 million in ETH, QNT, GALA, SHIB, HOT and MATIC from one hot wallet. Bitrue said the wallet held less than 5% of its funds, paused withdrawals, reopened most tokens by 17 April, and said affected users would be compensated in full. We found no independent confirmation of either repayment.

Bitrue's main protection is an insurance fund it holds itself. Its announcement says the fund sits in multi-signature wallets, holds more than the value of its hot wallets at any time, and will reimburse users if hot wallet funds are stolen. It lists 25 million XRP and 40 million BTR with public addresses. On 25 October 2026 the XRP Ledger showed about 9.54 million XRP in the published XRP address, well under the stated 25 million. A large share of the stated fund is also Bitrue's own token, which would likely lose value in exactly the kind of crisis the fund is meant for.

After the FTX collapse in November 2022, Bitrue said a third party would conduct an audited proof of reserves and that it would repeat this annually. A search of its help center in October 2026 turned up no such report, and the site has no proof-of-reserves page. Without one, there is no way to check whether customer balances are fully backed. Our guide on checking whether an exchange holds your money explains what to look for.

An account is opened at bitrue.com or in the iOS and Android apps. Withdrawals go to an external address on the network chosen; during both hacks Bitrue paused withdrawals for several days, so access to funds on the platform can stop without notice during a security incident.

Support is through the help center at support.bitrue.com, a request form, live chat and email at [email protected]. Bitrue Verify, linked in the site footer, lets users check whether a website or contact is genuine. Official social accounts linked from bitrue.com include X (@BitrueOfficial, plus Spanish, CIS and Vietnamese accounts), Telegram, Medium and YouTube.

Bitrue publishes no founding date or corporate history. The dated events below come from its own announcements and press coverage.

• June 2019: hot wallet breach of about $4.3 million in XRP and ADA, reported by The Block; Bitrue promises full repayment.
• November 2022: after the FTX collapse, Bitrue publishes a transparency statement, discloses its insurance fund addresses and promises an annual audited proof of reserves.
• April 2023: hot wallet exploit of about $23 million; withdrawals paused from 14 April and mostly restored by 17 April.
• June 2025: Terms of Use amended, naming a Costa Rican operator and excluding the European Economic Area with reference to MiCA.
• October 2026: the published XRP insurance wallet holds about 9.54 million XRP against a stated 25 million.