PCEX Review: What We Know Right Now

This PCEX review summarizes the Financial Markets Authority (New Zealand) notice stating that was added to the regulator’s blacklist on 2025-04-25 for operating without authorization, market manipulation tactics such as pump-and-dump and wash trading, and fraud or other misconduct. Based on this warning and the behavior described by the regulator, PCEX should be treated as a scam operation rather than a legitimate crypto exchange. The agency issues a warning that engaging with this platform presents risks to residents under its jurisdiction.

The regulator reports that multiple sites using the PCEX name are part of a coordinated investment scam network. These platforms fabricate trading results, show users bogus account balances, and block all withdrawal attempts. Victims may be told to pay extra “fees” or “taxes,” yet no money is returned. Other common complaints in schemes like this include poor or nonexistent customer support, sudden account lockouts after deposits, and misleading “bonus” promotions that later become a pretext to deny withdrawals.

Additional red flags associated with PCEX-branded pages can include a lack of transparency about the operator (no verifiable company details), unverifiable claims about licensing, fake endorsements or “success stories,” and aggressive marketing that pressures users to deposit quickly or “top up” to unlock withdrawals.

The Financial Markets Authority also states that PCEX-branded pages have no affiliation with any legitimate or licensed financial service provider and should be avoided. In practical terms, this means there is no reliable indication of regulatory approval or a verifiable physical presence that would allow users to pursue complaints through standard regulated channels.

Unregulated platforms can appear professional while offering users little real protection, especially when deposits and withdrawals are controlled entirely by the operator.

All of the above addresses are tied to the same fraudulent operation. The regulator urges investors not to interact with any site using the PCEX label.

How scammers typically contact potential victims in cases like PCEX can include social media messages, messaging apps, email outreach, paid ads, and unsolicited phone calls. A common approach is to promise unusually high or “guaranteed” returns, show screenshots of profits, or assign a “manager” who pushes repeated deposits and frames withdrawal issues as a problem that can be solved by paying more.

As for website safety, even a site that loads over a secure connection can still be part of a fraud scheme. If the operator is unknown or unlicensed, the risk is less about the page “looking secure” and more about what happens after you enter personal or financial information. Submitting identity documents, card details, wallet addresses, or remote-access requests can increase the risk of identity misuse, targeted phishing, or additional theft attempts.

If you believe you have been scammed by PCEX, stop sending money immediately and keep records of everything (transaction hashes, wallet addresses, emails, chat logs, screenshots, and any “fee” requests). Contact your bank or card issuer right away to ask about chargebacks or fraud procedures, and notify any crypto service you used to fund the transfer. Report the incident to your local police and your national cybercrime reporting channel, and consider submitting a report to the Financial Markets Authority in New Zealand if the scam involved the domains named in its warning. Be cautious of “recovery” services that promise to retrieve funds for an upfront fee or ask for remote access—these are often secondary scams targeting victims.

If you are looking for alternatives, consider well-known exchanges such as Coinbase, Kraken, Gemini, or Bitstamp. When choosing a safer exchange, prioritize clear licensing or registration information for your jurisdiction, transparent company details, strong account security options (such as app-based two-factor authentication), clear fee and withdrawal policies, and a track record of handling support requests without pressuring users to deposit more.

The following inputs informed our evaluation of PCEX reliability:

• Official corporate records
• Regulatory register entries
• Independent analytical portals with user reviews and complaints