ErisX Crypto Exchange Review: What Happened and Where It Stands in 2025
Nov, 29 2025
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When you hear "ErisX," you might think of a thriving crypto exchange where you can trade Bitcoin futures or Ethereum options. But as of June 2025, that’s no longer true. ErisX doesn’t operate as a standalone exchange anymore. It’s been fully absorbed into Cboe Digital, and its trading platform now lives under the Cboe Futures Exchange (CFE). If you’re looking to trade crypto derivatives today, you’re not going to ErisX.com-you’re going to CFE.
What Was ErisX?
ErisX launched in October 2018 with a clear goal: to bring the same level of regulation, transparency, and institutional trust to crypto trading that you’d find on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange or the New York Stock Exchange. Founded by Tom Chippas, a veteran of traditional finance, ErisX was built from the ground up to be a CFTC-regulated Derivatives Clearing Organization (DCO). That meant it had to follow strict rules on capital requirements, risk management, and customer asset protection-something almost no other crypto exchange did at the time. It wasn’t designed for casual traders. You wouldn’t find ErisX on Reddit forums full of meme coin hype. Instead, it targeted hedge funds, asset managers, and institutional players who needed legal compliance and audit trails. The platform offered futures contracts on Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other major cryptos, with daily settlement and clearing handled through its own clearinghouse to eliminate counterparty risk. Unlike Binance or Coinbase, ErisX didn’t focus on spot trading. You couldn’t buy $10 worth of Dogecoin and hold it in a wallet. You traded contracts. That made it a niche player, but a serious one. By 2023, it had been designated as a Contract Market for seven years straight-longer than most U.S. crypto exchanges have even been around.Why ErisX Got Bought Out
Cboe Global Markets, the parent company behind one of the oldest U.S. options exchanges, bought ErisX in 2020. The move made sense. Cboe wanted a regulated gateway into crypto derivatives. ErisX had the license, the tech, and the credibility. But instead of letting ErisX run independently, Cboe slowly folded it into its own ecosystem. By mid-2025, the transition was complete. All ErisX futures contracts migrated to the Cboe Futures Exchange (CFE). The ErisX website now redirects to Cboe Digital’s main page. Trading volumes, historical data, and customer accounts were all moved over. Even the clearing infrastructure is now under Cboe Clear US. This wasn’t a failure-it was a strategy. Cboe didn’t want two separate platforms doing the same thing. They wanted one clean, regulated, institutional-grade product. So ErisX as a brand disappeared. But its DNA? That’s still alive in every crypto futures contract traded on CFE today.Who Used ErisX-and Why
The users of ErisX weren’t your average crypto enthusiasts. They were professionals who needed to hedge exposure, comply with SEC or CFTC rules, or report trades to auditors. A hedge fund in New York might use ErisX to short Bitcoin without ever touching a spot wallet. A pension fund in Texas might use it to gain crypto exposure without violating internal investment policies. The platform’s biggest selling point was regulation. While other exchanges got hacked, froze withdrawals, or got fined for operating without licenses, ErisX had to prove it could safeguard customer funds. It kept client assets in segregated accounts. It ran regular audits. It reported trades to regulators. For institutions, that was priceless. But here’s the catch: if you weren’t an institution, ErisX was a nightmare. The interface was clunky. Customer support was slow. There were no mobile apps. No 24/7 chat. No easy on-ramps for fiat deposits. The platform felt like a 2005 trading terminal-functional, but outdated. That’s why user ratings were so low. On Cryptogeek, ErisX sits at 1.6 out of 5 based on just five reviews. That’s worse than most shady altcoin exchanges. People didn’t hate the product-they hated the experience. And when Cboe offered a better-looking, more modern interface under the CFE brand, users didn’t look back.
What You Can Do Now (2025)
If you’re looking to trade crypto derivatives the way ErisX used to, you have one place to go: Cboe Digital. The contracts are the same. The clearing is the same. The regulation is the same. The only difference? The platform looks like it belongs in 2025, not 2018. You can still trade Bitcoin futures, Ethereum futures, and other regulated crypto derivatives. You can access historical data through CFE’s public data portal. You can still open an institutional account with KYC/AML checks that meet U.S. compliance standards. But if you’re a retail trader looking to buy Bitcoin with a credit card, Cboe Digital isn’t for you. It doesn’t offer spot trading. It doesn’t have a wallet. It doesn’t support small deposits. It’s still a back-office tool for professionals.The Bigger Picture: Why Regulation Matters
ErisX’s story isn’t just about one exchange dying. It’s about the future of crypto. The market is shifting. The days of unregulated, wild-west exchanges are ending. Governments are stepping in. Institutions are demanding compliance. And the ones that survive will be the ones that play by the rules. ErisX didn’t fail because it was bad. It succeeded so well that it got absorbed into the mainstream. Cboe didn’t kill it-they upgraded it. And now, the same infrastructure that once served only a few dozen hedge funds is being used by banks, asset managers, and even some state pension funds. This is what crypto regulation looks like in practice: not a crackdown, but a maturation. ErisX was the prototype. Cboe Digital is the product.
Is ErisX Still Around? The Verdict
No, ErisX as a brand or independent exchange no longer exists. Its website redirects. Its trading platform is gone. Its customer support team has been folded into Cboe’s operations. But if you’re looking for a regulated, institutional-grade crypto derivatives exchange in the U.S., you’re still using ErisX’s legacy. Just under a different name. The lesson? Don’t chase brands. Chase infrastructure. ErisX’s real value wasn’t in its logo or its domain-it was in its CFTC license, its clearing system, and its compliance framework. Those didn’t disappear. They just got better.Alternatives to ErisX (2025)
If you’re looking for similar regulated crypto derivatives platforms, here are your main options:- Cboe Futures Exchange (CFE) - The direct successor to ErisX. Best for U.S.-based institutions.
- FTX US Derivatives - Still recovering from bankruptcy. Not recommended.
- BitMEX - Overseas, unregulated. High risk, even if it offers leverage.
- Deribit - Based in the Netherlands. Popular with global traders, but not U.S.-regulated.
- OKX - Offers futures, but not CFTC-regulated. Avoid if you’re a U.S. resident.
Is ErisX still operating as a crypto exchange in 2025?
No, ErisX no longer operates as an independent exchange. As of June 9, 2025, all its trading activity, contracts, and infrastructure were fully migrated to the Cboe Futures Exchange (CFE) under the Cboe Digital umbrella. The ErisX website now redirects to Cboe Digital’s platform.
Can I still trade Bitcoin futures on ErisX?
You can’t trade on ErisX anymore, but you can trade Bitcoin futures on Cboe Futures Exchange (CFE), which is the direct successor. All contracts, pricing, and clearing are now handled through CFE. The products are identical-just under a new interface.
Why did ErisX shut down?
ErisX didn’t shut down-it was integrated. After Cboe acquired ErisX in 2020, the goal was to consolidate all crypto derivatives under one regulated platform. ErisX’s technology and compliance framework were valuable, but its user experience was outdated. Cboe replaced the old platform with a modern one, keeping the regulatory backbone intact.
Was ErisX safe to use?
Yes, ErisX was one of the safest crypto platforms in the U.S. because it was regulated by the CFTC as a Derivatives Clearing Organization (DCO). This meant it had to follow strict rules on asset segregation, audits, and risk controls. Unlike unregulated exchanges, customer funds were protected from insolvency. The problem wasn’t safety-it was usability.
Does ErisX offer spot trading for Bitcoin or Ethereum?
No, ErisX never offered spot trading. It was designed exclusively for derivatives-futures and options contracts. This was intentional. It targeted institutions that wanted to hedge price risk without holding actual crypto. The same applies to Cboe Futures Exchange today.
What happened to ErisX’s user ratings?
ErisX had a 1.6/5 rating on Cryptogeek based on five reviews, reflecting poor user experience-slow platform, no mobile app, bad support. But those ratings are now irrelevant because the platform no longer exists. The new Cboe Digital platform has a different interface and is still gaining traction among institutional users.
Vidyut Arcot
November 29, 2025 AT 12:21Honestly, I'm glad ErisX got absorbed. I used to trade there back in 2021 and the UI felt like I was using a terminal from 2005. Cboe’s platform is miles ahead-clean, fast, and actually works on mobile. No more waiting 10 minutes for a trade to confirm.
Greer Dauphin
November 30, 2025 AT 04:22lol remember when people called ErisX 'boring'? yeah well boring is what kept your money safe when FTX imploded. Cboe didn’t kill ErisX, they gave it a facelift and a real job. Respect the grind.
Melinda Kiss
November 30, 2025 AT 06:16It’s funny how people only care about user experience until their funds vanish. ErisX was the quiet hero of crypto regulation-no flashy ads, no meme coins, just clean, audited, compliant trading. Cboe didn’t erase it… they elevated it. 🙌
Akash Kumar Yadav
December 1, 2025 AT 01:45USA takes another crypto company and turns it into a corporate spreadsheet. Meanwhile, Deribit and BitMEX are still alive and kicking with real leverage and real traders. ErisX was a joke with a license. Cboe just made it a *boring* joke.
alex bolduin
December 2, 2025 AT 09:51It’s not about the brand, it’s about the system. ErisX proved you could build crypto infrastructure that didn’t rely on hype or anonymity. That’s the real legacy. We don’t need more exchanges-we need more of this kind of discipline.
Philip Mirchin
December 2, 2025 AT 21:31As someone who traded on both ErisX and CFE-same contracts, same clearing, same compliance. Just now the UI doesn’t make me want to cry. Also, Cboe actually responds to tickets. Who knew?
Shari Heglin
December 3, 2025 AT 11:44There is a significant conceptual error in the premise of this article. ErisX was not absorbed-it was decommissioned. The infrastructure was migrated, yes, but the entity ceased to exist as a legal and operational entity under its original charter. To say its 'DNA' lives on is metaphorical, not factual.