How we review

Research first

Most of our reviews are research reviews. We read and watch a wide range of material before we write a word, including:

• the product's own documentation, fee schedule, terms and supported-country list
• regulatory registers, such as the FCA register in the UK, FinCEN's MSB search in the US and FINTRAC in Canada, where relevant
• security audits, bug bounty reports, proof-of-reserves attestations and any history of hacks or outages
• user reviews on public review platforms, app stores and forums
• video reviews and walkthroughs by people who use the product day to day
• reporting from established financial and crypto media

When we have opened an account, used a wallet or tested a feature ourselves, the review says so clearly.

What we score

Each review ends in a verdict scored from 1 to 5. The score is our opinion of the product's overall quality for an everyday user, based on:

• Safety and trust: licensing, custody, security record and transparency
• Costs: trading, deposit, withdrawal and hidden fees
• Ease of use: sign-up, apps, interface and learning curve
• Coverage: supported assets, countries, payment methods and features
• Support and reputation: help channels and how users rate their experience

A score is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold anything, and it says nothing about the future price of any asset.

Independence

• Advertisers and affiliate partners cannot pay for a review, a score or a ranking position.
• Partners do not see or approve our articles before they go live.
• We include the drawbacks of every product we review, including those we have a commercial relationship with.

Keeping reviews current

Crypto products change often. We revisit our reviews regularly and update them when fees, features, licences or ownership change. The date at the top of each review shows when it was last updated.

Corrections

If you spot an error, email tridentws2023@gmail.com. We check every report and correct confirmed mistakes as quickly as we can.