Exchange Safety Checker
Is Your Exchange Safe?
Based on lessons from RightBTC's failure, answer these questions to assess the safety of your cryptocurrency exchange.
Safety Assessment
Based on RightBTC's failure, we recommend never keeping large amounts on exchanges without transparency. Exchanges without proof of reserves and regulatory compliance risk losing your funds completely.
RightBTC was once a name you might have seen on lists of top crypto exchanges. Back in 2014, when Bitcoin was still a niche interest and most people didn’t know what a blockchain was, RightBTC launched with a simple promise: easy trading, fast support, and a clean interface. It wasn’t Binance. It wasn’t Coinbase. But for a while, it had users. Then, slowly, it vanished.
What RightBTC Actually Offered
When RightBTC was active, it didn’t try to be everything. It focused on spot trading - buying and selling Bitcoin, Ethereum, and a few other early coins. No derivatives. No staking. No NFT marketplace. Just a basic order book and a simple website. That simplicity was part of its appeal. You didn’t need to learn 10 different fee tiers or understand margin trading to use it.
The fee structure was straightforward: 0.2% on every trade, whether you were making or taking liquidity. That’s higher than what Binance or Kraken charged back then (often 0.1% or less for makers), but easier to calculate. For someone new to crypto, knowing you’d pay exactly 0.2% on every buy or sell meant less guesswork. The platform also claimed to offer 24/7 customer support - a rarity in those early days when most exchanges had no live chat and email responses took days.
Users who remembered RightBTC often mentioned its design. One review from 2020 called it “a great theme and design,” which meant the interface was clean, didn’t crash often, and didn’t feel like a 2012-era website. That mattered. A lot of exchanges back then looked like Excel spreadsheets with buttons. RightBTC didn’t.
Why It Couldn’t Last
But design and simple fees don’t keep an exchange alive. Liquidity does. And RightBTC didn’t have enough of it.
By 2018, the crypto market had exploded. Hundreds of new exchanges popped up. Binance, OKEx, Huobi - they all started offering lower fees, more coins, and deeper order books. RightBTC stayed the same. Its volume dropped. Fewer traders meant wider spreads. Wider spreads meant users left for exchanges where their trades executed faster and cheaper.
Then came the regulatory wave. After the 2017 ICO boom and the 2018 crash, governments started paying attention. Exchanges needed KYC, AML compliance, and audits. RightBTC never showed evidence of doing any of that. No public proof-of-reserves. No regulatory licenses. No transparency reports. When FTX collapsed in late 2022, the entire industry was shaken. Users started demanding proof that their funds were safe. RightBTC had none.
By 2023, it was clear: RightBTC was dead. CryptoWisser labeled it “dead” in their Exchange Graveyard. ICORankings called it “empty” - no active markets, no reserves, no user activity. CoinMarketCap removed it from their listings. The website stopped loading. The support emails bounced back.
What Happened to Your Money?
If you had funds on RightBTC when it shut down, you lost them. There was no recovery process. No refund. No migration to another platform. That’s the brutal reality with defunct exchanges.
A 2022 study by the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance found that 83% of failed crypto exchanges never returned user funds. RightBTC was one of them. There were no announcements. No last-minute email. No final withdrawal window. Just silence.
That’s why experts now warn: never keep large amounts on any exchange - especially one you’ve never heard of again after a few months. Use exchanges with real transparency. Ones that publish monthly proof-of-reserves. Ones that are regulated in multiple countries. RightBTC didn’t meet any of those standards.
How RightBTC Compares to Today’s Top Exchanges
Here’s how RightBTC stacked up against today’s leaders:
| Feature | RightBTC (2014-2023) | Binance | Coinbase | Kraken |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trading Fees | Flat 0.2% | 0.1% (maker), 0.1% (taker) | 0.5%-1.5% (credit card), 0.5% (spot) | 0.16%-0.26% (maker/taker) |
| Proof of Reserves | None | Monthly audits | Monthly audits | Monthly audits |
| Supported Coins | Unknown, likely under 50 | Over 1,000 | Over 200 | Over 250 |
| Regulatory Status | None | Licensed in 10+ countries | Licensed in 49 U.S. states | Licensed in U.S., EU, Canada |
| Customer Support | Claimed 24/7, unverified | Live chat, ticket system | Live chat, phone, email | 24/7 live chat, email |
| Current Status | Defunct | Active | Active | Active |
RightBTC’s biggest flaw wasn’t its fee or design. It was complacency. It didn’t evolve. While others added staking, lending, and DeFi tools, RightBTC stayed stuck in 2015. While competitors spent millions on compliance and security audits, RightBTC did nothing. And in crypto, doing nothing is the same as failing.
Lessons from RightBTC’s Failure
RightBTC isn’t unique. Around 68% of crypto exchanges that launched between 2014 and 2018 are gone now. Most didn’t crash from a hack. They just faded out - slowly, quietly, with no warning.
Here’s what you can learn from RightBTC:
- Never trust an exchange that doesn’t publish proof-of-reserves. If they won’t show you their wallets, they can’t prove they have your money.
- Don’t rely on “good design” or “simple fees.” Those are nice, but they don’t keep you safe.
- Use only exchanges with real regulatory licenses. Coinbase, Kraken, and Binance have spent years getting legal approval. RightBTC never tried.
- Withdraw your funds regularly. Even the biggest exchanges can fail. Keep your long-term holdings in a hardware wallet.
RightBTC’s story isn’t about one bad company. It’s about how fragile the crypto exchange market is. Without transparency, compliance, and constant improvement, even a platform with a clean interface and decent support can disappear overnight.
What to Use Instead of RightBTC
If you’re looking for a reliable, long-term crypto exchange today, stick with platforms that have proven they can survive market cycles:
- Coinbase - Best for beginners, regulated in the U.S., clear fees, easy to use.
- Kraken - Strong security, low fees, good for active traders, transparent audits.
- Binance - Highest liquidity, most coins, advanced tools (but avoid if you’re in the U.S. due to regulatory issues).
- Bitstamp - One of the oldest exchanges still operating, regulated in Europe, very conservative approach.
All of these platforms publish monthly proof-of-reserves. All have customer support you can actually reach. And all have survived multiple crypto winters. RightBTC didn’t.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is RightBTC still operational?
No, RightBTC is not operational. As of 2023, multiple authoritative sources including CryptoWisser and ICORankings confirm the exchange is defunct. The website no longer loads, trading has ceased, and there is no customer support. It has been removed from all major crypto data platforms like CoinMarketCap.
Can I recover my funds from RightBTC?
No, you cannot recover funds from RightBTC. The exchange shut down without any official withdrawal window, migration plan, or recovery process. According to a Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance study, 83% of failed exchanges never return user funds. RightBTC is one of them.
Why did RightBTC fail when other exchanges survived?
RightBTC failed because it didn’t adapt. While competitors lowered fees, added staking, improved security, and got licensed, RightBTC stayed the same. It had no proof-of-reserves, no regulatory compliance, and its trading volume dropped as users moved to bigger platforms. It didn’t get hacked - it just ran out of users and money.
What was RightBTC’s trading fee?
RightBTC charged a flat 0.2% fee on every trade, whether you were making or taking liquidity. This was simpler than exchanges like Binance or Kraken, which use tiered maker-taker models, but it was also higher than what most top exchanges charged by 2020.
Was RightBTC secure?
There’s no public evidence of a major hack on RightBTC. But security isn’t just about avoiding breaches - it’s about having cold storage, multi-sig wallets, and regular audits. RightBTC never disclosed any of these practices. Without transparency, you can’t assume it was secure. Most experts consider any exchange without proof-of-reserves to be high-risk.
Should I ever use a lesser-known crypto exchange?
Only if you’re willing to risk losing your funds. If you must use a smaller exchange, keep only small amounts there for short-term trades. Never store long-term holdings. Always check if the exchange publishes proof-of-reserves, has regulatory licenses, and has been around for at least 5 years. RightBTC was once considered reliable - until it wasn’t.
Final Thoughts
RightBTC was never a giant. But for a while, it was a quiet, steady option for casual traders. Then it disappeared - not with a bang, but with a whisper. And that’s the real lesson here. The crypto exchange market is brutal. You don’t need to be hacked to fail. You just need to stop evolving.
Today, the exchanges that survive are the ones that treat trust like infrastructure. They audit their reserves. They follow the law. They listen to users. RightBTC didn’t. And now, it’s just a name in a graveyard of failed platforms.
If you’re trading crypto, don’t choose an exchange because it looks nice or has simple fees. Choose one that proves it’s still here - and will be here next year.
Comments
Nancy Sunshine
RightBTC was the kind of exchange you’d recommend to your grandma who just bought her first Bitcoin - simple, no nonsense, didn’t try to overwhelm you. But simplicity without scalability is just a time bomb waiting to tick. The real tragedy isn’t that it died - it’s that so many users trusted it without asking the one question that matters: ‘Where’s my money really?’
November 29, 2025 at 18:58
Ann Ellsworth
Let’s be real - RightBTC was a relic wrapped in a pretty UI. 0.2% fees in 2020? That’s not ‘simple,’ that’s predatory. And ‘24/7 support’? Please. If your support team can’t answer a ticket in 72 hours, you don’t have support - you have a graveyard. No proof-of-reserves? No regulatory footprint? That’s not negligence. That’s fraud by omission.
November 30, 2025 at 16:08
Ziv Kruger
It’s not about RightBTC. It’s about the myth of permanence in crypto. We act like exchanges are banks. They’re not. They’re startups with access to your keys. The moment you stop asking ‘why is this still here?’ - you’ve already lost. RightBTC didn’t fail because it was bad. It failed because we stopped caring enough to demand better.
December 1, 2025 at 19:14
Ankit Varshney
My first trade was on RightBTC back in 2016. I remember how clean it looked. No clutter. No confusing tabs. I didn’t know about proof-of-reserves then. I thought if the site loaded, it was safe. I lost everything when it vanished. No email. No warning. Just a 404. I learned the hard way: if you can’t find a company’s legal address, don’t trust it.
December 3, 2025 at 00:57
Catherine Williams
There’s a quiet heroism in building something simple that works - until the world moves on. RightBTC didn’t deserve to die like this. But neither did the users who didn’t ask harder questions. The lesson isn’t just ‘use Binance.’ It’s ‘ask who’s holding your keys, and why you should believe them.’ We need more of that, not more exchanges.
December 4, 2025 at 00:48
Christy Whitaker
Of course it vanished. No one with half a brain would trust a platform that didn’t even have a privacy policy you could read without a magnifying glass. And now people act shocked? Please. If you didn’t know crypto exchanges are wild west, you were never supposed to be here in the first place.
December 5, 2025 at 18:19