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5.2/10
Instant Exchangers
Company file: Changelly, owners, incidents →
Changelly
Running since 2015 with the widest coin list of the long-running services and no known hack of user funds. Its legal footing is the problem: the operator named in its terms, Marella LLC, was struck off in St Vincent on 25 Jul 2025, and on 4 May 2026 the SVG regulator warned that it is not registered or authorised. Compliance freezes on large swaps can last months.
Best for: Small swaps across a very wide coin list
Company file: Changelly, owners, incidents →How this score was reached
5.2 is the weighted average of the five pillar findings below, minus one published deduction. Real weaknesses. Suitable only for a narrow, informed use case.
- Custody & Security25%
- 7.2
- Cost & Fee Transparency30%
- 6.8
- Regulation & Legal Standing15%
- 3.8
- Performance & Reliability15%
- 7.6
- Access & Support15%
- 7.6
Funds pass through custody briefly during the swap. No reported hack of user funds since 2015, but transient custody is still custody, and a flagged deposit stays frozen until you complete ID and source-of-funds checks.
Floating-rate swaps carry a published 0.25% fee plus network fee, but it is applied to a rate Changelly quotes rather than the mid-market price. The fixed-rate margin is dynamic and sits inside the quote. Crypto-to-fiat starts at 3.95%.
Not registered. The St Vincent FSA said on 4 May 2026 that Marella LLC, the operator in Changelly’s terms, was cancelled on 25 Jul 2025 and is not authorised for virtual asset business, calling claims of SVG registration false and misleading. Changelly was on the UK FCA warning list until about September 2026.
Reliable completion on major pairs with predictable timing. Long-tail assets are slower and more variable.
No account and very broad coin coverage, but the terms bar the US, UK, Germany, Austria, Japan, India and Turkey, and AML holds on large swaps have run from weeks to more than ten months.
Deductions applied
- −1.5Live enforcement action. A regulator currently restricts the service, its market access or its users' ability to withdraw.
Strengths
- No account needed and very broad coin coverage
- Operating since 2015 with no reported hack of user funds
- Floating-rate fee published at 0.25% plus network fee
Against it
- Named operator struck off on 25 Jul 2025; SVG regulator warning of 4 May 2026
- AML holds on large swaps can last months, and release requires full KYC
- Funds are briefly in someone else’s custody during every swap
A working service with no valid registration behind it
Changelly has run since 2015, has the widest coin list of the long-running services and no reported hack of user funds. The problem is legal. The operator named in its terms, Marella LLC, was struck off in St Vincent on 25 Jul 2025, and on 4 May 2026 the SVG Financial Services Authority warned that it is not registered or authorised for virtual asset business and that claims otherwise are false and misleading. That live regulator warning carries our enforcement penalty.
The practical risk is a freeze. Every deposit is screened, and a flag holds the swap until you upload ID, a selfie and proof of funds; reported holds on large amounts have lasted more than ten months. Keep each swap small enough that a freeze would be an inconvenience, not a loss.
Frequently asked questions
Is Changelly registered?+
No. The SVG regulator said on 4 May 2026 that Marella LLC, the operator named in Changelly’s terms, was cancelled on 25 Jul 2025 and is not registered, licensed or authorised for virtual asset business. Changelly was also on the UK FCA warning list until about September 2026.
Why do Changelly transactions get held?+
AML screening can flag a deposit and freeze it until you complete ID and source-of-funds checks; without them the swap is neither completed nor refunded. It is the most common complaint against the service and the main practical risk of using it.
Is Changelly custodial?+
Transiently. Your funds sit with the service for the duration of the swap, which is short but is still custody, and that is also the window in which a compliance hold can start.
Assessed by
By Emily Volker
Editor-in-Chief · September 27, 2026
◆ Disclosure
CoinRadar Daily is a non-commercial project. We have no commercial relationship with Changelly, earn nothing from any link on this page, and carry no advertising or sponsorship anywhere on the site. Findings rest on public sources; we did not open an account or transact.
Rubric v2.0How we score →
The rest of the instant exchangers table
- 05Changelly — you are hereSmall swaps across a very wide coin list5.2
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