WhiteBIT is a European centralized cryptocurrency exchange and blockchain-first financial infrastructure provider. Founded in 2018, it is widely described as the largest European crypto exchange by web traffic, offering more than 900 trading pairs, 340+ digital assets, and support for eight fiat currencies.
The platform is part of W Group, a global fintech ecosystem serving over 35 million customers worldwide, and it collaborates with brands such as Visa, FACEIT, Juventus Football Club, and the Ukrainian national football team to drive mainstream adoption of digital assets.
Overview
WhiteBIT operates as a full-stack trading and custody venue for retail and institutional clients. Its core exchange supports spot trading in major assets including Bitcoin, Ethereum, and a broad range of altcoins, alongside margin markets and perpetual futures. Users can fund accounts using multiple fiat currencies through bank transfers, cards, and local payment methods, and can access staking, savings, and other yield products on the platform.
Beyond the centralized exchange, WhiteBIT positions itself as a multi-product ecosystem. W Group companies develop payment processing tools, a native blockchain, decentralized trading infrastructure, and mining services through brands such as Whitepay (payments), Whitechain (blockchain), and Whirlpool (mining), all anchored around WhiteBIT’s user base and its native asset, WhiteBIT Coin (WBT). This structure allows the group to serve both crypto-native traders and enterprises integrating digital assets into their operations.
History and Background
WhiteBIT was founded in 2018 by Volodymyr Nosov. The exchange began operations in 2019, initially focused on spot trading and basic fiat on-ramps. Over subsequent years, it expanded its product suite to margin trading, derivatives, and passive income tools, while scaling to millions of users across Europe, Latin America, and Asia-Pacific, and it has recently launched in the United States.
As the platform grew, WhiteBIT established offices and regulated entities in multiple jurisdictions, including several European Union member states and other markets where it holds virtual asset service provider registrations. Following the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the company closed access for Russian and Belarussian users, emphasizing its Ukrainian roots. WhiteBIT has reported annual trading volumes in the trillions of U.S. dollars and average daily volumes in the multi-billion range, reflecting its status as a major liquidity venue in the global exchange landscape.
WhiteBIT’s founder Volodymyr Nosov, who is from Kharkiv, Ukraine, and the company have also been active in Ukrainian philanthropic initiatives, including fundraising for humanitarian causes and defense support, positioning the brand as a prominent corporate donor across several high-profile campaigns.
Core Products and Services
WhiteBIT’s offerings span centralized trading, on-chain infrastructure, and ancillary services:
- Centralized exchange: Spot, margin, and derivatives markets for hundreds of assets, with advanced order types, API access, and tools designed for both retail and professional traders.
- WhiteBIT Coin (WBT): A native utility coin integrated across the ecosystem, offering benefits such as trading fee discounts, higher referral rewards, promotional allocations, and other platform incentives.
- Whitechain (formerly WB Network): A proprietary Proof-of-Authority blockchain that underpins parts of the WhiteBIT ecosystem and supports on-chain applications and token issuance.
- Whitepay: Crypto payment processing solutions for merchants and organizations, including support for donations and e-commerce payments.
- Whirlpool and WhiteSwap: A mining business (Whirlpool) and a decentralized exchange (WhiteSwap) that extend WhiteBIT’s presence into mining and DeFi, complementing the centralized venue.
- Cards and payments: Co-branded card products, including a Visa-backed debit card, enabling users to spend digital assets in traditional payment environments with cashback and loyalty features.
Technology and Security
Security is a core part of WhiteBIT’s public positioning. The exchange undergoes regular third-party cybersecurity assessments and has been rated among the most secure platforms globally by independent auditors. It holds an AAA security rating from CER.live and CCSS Level 3 certification, and ranks within the top five exchanges on several security assessment platforms.
On the infrastructure side, WhiteBIT combines cold and hot wallet architectures, multi-factor authentication, and address whitelisting for withdrawals. It implements anti–money laundering (AML) and know-your-customer (KYC/KYB) processes, wallet risk scoring, and a web application firewall to monitor and mitigate cyber threats. The platform also holds PCI DSS certification for payment data security, aligning its card-processing capabilities with established financial industry standards.
Market Position and Partnerships
WhiteBIT’s scale and geographic reach place it among the leading global exchanges tracked by CryptoSlate’s exchange and trading infrastructure categories. Its focus on Europe and emerging markets has been reinforced by licensing in multiple EU countries and expansion into regions such as Turkey, Kazakhstan, Australia, and the United States.
Strategic partnerships are a key component of WhiteBIT’s brand strategy. The company collaborates with Visa on card and payments initiatives, with esports platform FACEIT on digital engagement campaigns, and with major football organizations including Juventus Football Club and the Ukrainian national team. These sponsorships are used to promote blockchain literacy and drive awareness of digital assets among mainstream audiences.
Within the crypto ecosystem, WhiteBIT’s native coin WBT has gained additional visibility by being included in several S&P cryptocurrency indices, further integrating the token into the broader market infrastructure.
Risks and Considerations
As a centralized exchange, WhiteBIT concentrates custody, operational, and counterparty risk. Users who hold funds on the platform depend on the company’s internal controls, cybersecurity posture, and solvency, as well as the integrity of its affiliated entities. While third-party audits and security ratings provide some assurance, they do not eliminate the possibility of incidents or disruptions.
Regulatory risk is another key factor. WhiteBIT operates across multiple jurisdictions with differing legal frameworks for crypto exchanges, stablecoins, and derivatives. Changes in regulation, licensing requirements, or supervisory expectations can affect which products are available, how users are onboarded, and how cross-border services are delivered. Competition from other global exchanges, as well as from decentralized trading venues, also shapes the platform’s long-term positioning.
For traders, institutions, and project teams, WhiteBIT represents a large, Europe-centered exchange ecosystem with an expanding suite of products and a growing on-chain footprint. Its future trajectory will depend on its ability to maintain security and compliance standards, manage multi-jurisdictional operations, and balance aggressive growth with the evolving risk landscape of global digital asset markets.
