Crypto Trading Cost Calculator
Understand the Real Cost of Zero-Fee Trading
Zero-fee exchanges like Lykke may look attractive, but they often compensate with wider spreads. This calculator shows you how spreads can make trading costs higher than fee-based exchanges.
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Lykke Exchange promised something rare in the crypto world: zero-fee trading. For a few years, it stood out with its clean interface, support for fiat currencies like EUR and GBP, and even digital gold and silver. But today, Lykke Exchange doesn’t exist as a functioning platform. Its website is offline. Its apps are gone from app stores. And thousands of users still can’t access their funds.
What Lykke Exchange Actually Offered
Lykke wasn’t just another crypto exchange. Launched in 2015 by Forex veteran Richard Olsen, it aimed to be a global marketplace for all kinds of assets - not just Bitcoin and Ethereum, but also USD, CHF, EUR, and digital versions of precious metals like platinum and palladium. That made it one of the few exchanges where you could trade gold for Bitcoin without leaving the platform. Its biggest selling point? Zero trading fees. While Binance charged 0.1% and Coinbase Pro took up to 0.5%, Lykke claimed 0% for both makers and takers. Withdrawals were cheap too - just 0.0005 BTC for Bitcoin, and free for fiat. Deposits via bank transfer or credit card had no fees from Lykke (though your bank might charge you). It also had a mobile app, available on iOS and Android, with margin trading and instant settlement. The interface was simple. KYC verification took under 48 hours. Customer support was responsive in the early days, with live chat available 24/7. But behind the smooth surface, problems were building. Liquidity was thin. Spreads - the gap between buy and sell prices - were wider than on bigger exchanges. That meant even if you weren’t paying fees, you were still losing money on every trade because the price moved against you before your order filled.The Security Claims That Never Held Up
Lykke claimed to have a clever security system called "colored tokens." The idea was simple: your Bitcoin or EUR balance wasn’t stored as real assets, but as digital tokens with color codes. If hackers stole them, Lykke said it could cancel those tokens and issue new ones - like replacing stolen cash with new bills. They also promised a refund policy: if your funds were lost in a hack, Lykke would reimburse you within two weeks. Sounds reassuring, right? It wasn’t. On June 4, 2024, hackers drained CHF 22.8 million (about $19.5 million) from Lykke’s wallets. That was roughly a quarter of all assets on the platform. Within hours, withdrawals stopped. The website went silent. The mobile apps stopped working. The "colored tokens" system didn’t save anyone. The refund policy? Never activated. Users who had $500 or $50,000 in their accounts saw their balances vanish - not because of market crashes, but because the exchange itself was breached and couldn’t recover.Why Users Lost Everything
By October 2024, Lykke posted a vague update: "The systems are ready for full operation. We are deciding whether all other conditions for continuation of operations are also met." It sounded hopeful. But nothing happened. By December 2024, the exchange was declared insolvent. Its own cryptocurrency, LKK, dropped to $0. The company stopped responding to emails. Support tickets went unanswered. User reviews on Trustpilot and Reviews.io tell the real story. One user wrote in June 2025: "Part of my Bitcoin has been stuck for over half a year. They didn’t fix it. I had to hire a recovery service just to get some of my money back." Another said: "I lost $3,200. They promised to refund me. Four months later, I got automated replies. No money. No answers." Out of 43 recent reviews as of November 2025, 87% reported total loss of access to their funds. No other exchange in recent memory has left so many users with zero recourse.
How Lykke Compared to Other Exchanges
Before the collapse, Lykke had around 150,000-200,000 active users. That’s tiny compared to Binance (120 million) or Coinbase (100 million). But it wasn’t the size that killed it - it was the lack of safeguards. Most major exchanges keep 95%+ of user funds in cold storage. They’re insured. They’re audited. Lykke didn’t have any of that. It wasn’t regulated by a strict financial authority like the Swiss FINMA - a fact even early reviewers like BrokerChooser warned about. Here’s how Lykke stacked up before its fall:| Feature | Lykke Exchange | Binance | Coinbase Pro | Kraken |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trading Fees | 0% | 0.1% (maker/taker) | 0.04%-0.50% | 0.16%-0.26% |
| Fiat Support | USD, EUR, CHF, GBP | USD, EUR, GBP, CAD, AUD | USD, EUR, GBP, CAD | USD, EUR, GBP, CAD, JPY |
| Precious Metals | Yes (Gold, Silver, Platinum, Palladium) | No | No | No |
| Liquidity | Low - wide spreads | Very High | High | High |
| Regulation | Not regulated by strict authority | Global compliance, licensed in multiple jurisdictions | Registered with FinCEN, licensed in U.S. | Registered with FinCEN, licensed in EU |
| Insurance | None | Yes (via third-party) | Yes | Yes |
| Withdrawal Reliability | Failed after June 2024 | Consistently reliable | Consistently reliable | Consistently reliable |
The takeaway? Lykke’s zero fees looked great on paper - but without liquidity, regulation, or insurance, it was a house of cards. When the wind blew, it collapsed.
What Happened After the Hack
After the June 2024 breach, Lykke’s team disappeared. No press releases. No updates. No refunds. The company’s website eventually went dark. The mobile apps vanished from Apple’s App Store and Google Play. CoinMarketCap and CoinGecko delisted Lykke in early 2025. Its token, LKK, became worthless. The company’s legal status is now officially defunct. There’s no known recovery process. No official channel to file claims. No lawyer or administrator has stepped forward to help users. Some people hired third-party crypto recovery firms - like Cryptorecoveryltd.com - and got back a fraction of their funds. But most never recovered anything.
Why Lykke Failed - The Real Reasons
Lykke didn’t fail because of bad luck. It failed because of bad choices:- No real regulation: Operating under Swiss law without FINMA oversight meant no accountability.
- No insurance: Unlike Coinbase or Kraken, Lykke didn’t insure user funds.
- Low liquidity: Thin order books made trading expensive, even with zero fees.
- Over-reliance on a single founder: Richard Olsen had experience in Forex, but not in managing a crypto exchange at scale.
- Unproven security model: "Colored tokens" sounded smart, but it was never tested under real attack - until it was too late.
It’s a classic case of a startup trying to out-innovate its way out of fundamental risks. In crypto, innovation without security is just a countdown.
What You Should Learn From Lykke
If you’re thinking about using a new exchange, ask these questions:- Is it regulated by a real financial authority? (Not just "based in Switzerland" - is it licensed by FINMA, FCA, or SEC?)
- Does it insure user funds? (Look for public insurance policies or third-party audits.)
- What’s its daily trading volume? (Below $1 million? That’s a red flag.)
- Are users complaining about withdrawals? (Check Trustpilot, Reddit, and CoinMarketCap reviews.)
- Is the "zero fee" model too good to be true? (It usually is.)
Lykke Exchange was a cautionary tale. It wasn’t a scam - it was a slow-motion disaster. And it happened to people who trusted it because it looked professional, had a clean app, and promised no fees.
Today, there are dozens of better, safer exchanges. Don’t risk your money on one that’s already gone.
Is Lykke Exchange still operational in 2025?
No. Lykke Exchange is defunct as of late 2024. After a $19.5 million hack in June 2024, it halted withdrawals, stopped responding to users, and was declared insolvent. Its website and apps are no longer accessible. It has been delisted from all major crypto tracking platforms.
Can I get my money back from Lykke Exchange?
Almost certainly not. Lykke never paid out refunds after the hack, despite promising to do so within two weeks. There is no official recovery process. Some users hired third-party crypto recovery services and recovered small portions of their funds - but most lost everything. The company has no legal entity left to file claims against.
Why did Lykke Exchange offer zero trading fees?
Lykke claimed it made money through spreads (the difference between buy and sell prices) and its proprietary LyCI service token. But the strategy failed because the exchange had low liquidity - meaning the spreads were too wide for traders to profit. Without volume, zero fees didn’t create revenue. Instead, it made the platform vulnerable to cash flow problems and ultimately, collapse.
Was Lykke Exchange regulated?
No. Although based in Switzerland, Lykke was not licensed or regulated by FINMA, the country’s strict financial watchdog. Experts like BrokerChooser warned as early as 2023 that this lack of regulation made it unsafe. Most reputable exchanges are regulated - Lykke was not.
What happened to Lykke’s LKK token?
The LKK token, which represented a 1/100th share of the company, became worthless after Lykke’s insolvency in late 2024. Its market value dropped to $0, and it was delisted from all exchanges. Holding LKK now has no financial value.
Should I use Lykke Exchange today?
Absolutely not. Lykke Exchange no longer operates. Its services are offline, its funds are inaccessible, and there is no path to recovery for users. Even if you find a website claiming to be Lykke, it’s a scam. Use only well-established, regulated exchanges with insurance and proven liquidity.
Sam Daily
November 25, 2025 AT 10:52Zero fees? Yeah, that’s the bait. The kind that makes you forget to check if the hook’s sharp. Lykke looked slick - clean app, fancy metals, no commissions - but no insurance, no regulation, no real liquidity? That’s not innovation, that’s Russian roulette with your Bitcoin. I lost $2k to a similar ‘too good to be true’ exchange back in ’21. Learned the hard way: if it’s too smooth, it’s probably grease.
Stay away from anything that doesn’t have a public audit or a FINMA license. Zero fees don’t pay your rent.
😂
Rachel Thomas
November 26, 2025 AT 05:19lol so lykke died because people were too dumb to read the fine print? wow. i thought crypto was supposed to be wild west. if you put your money in some random site that says ‘zero fees’ you deserve to lose it. my dog could’ve told you that. also why are you even mad? you’re not entitled to free money. grow up.
btw i still own 500 dogecoin. i’m rich.
Tina Detelj
November 26, 2025 AT 10:58It’s not just about the hack… it’s about the illusion of safety!!
Lykke didn’t fail because of hackers - it failed because it convinced people that beauty = security!!
Zero fees? Clean UI? Digital gold? Oh honey, those are the velvet ropes at the edge of a cliff!!
People confuse elegance with integrity!! They saw a polished surface and mistook it for a foundation!!
And now? They’re crying because the mirror cracked and showed them their own greed!!
This isn’t a cautionary tale about crypto - it’s a mirror for capitalism’s seduction!!
Why do we keep falling for the pretty lie? Why do we trade safety for spectacle?!!
Lykke didn’t die… we did!!
Mark Adelmann
November 27, 2025 AT 04:30Man, I remember when Lykke first popped up. I thought, ‘finally, someone’s doing it right.’ Clean interface, no fees, even gold trading? I put in a few grand. Felt like I was ahead of the curve.
Turns out I was just early to the funeral.
But here’s the thing - I’m not mad at Lykke. I’m mad at myself for not asking the right questions. No insurance? No regulation? That’s not ‘innovative,’ that’s reckless. I should’ve checked the fine print harder.
If you’re new to crypto, don’t get dazzled by zero fees. Look for audits. Look for licenses. Look for people who’ve been around longer than the CEO’s LinkedIn profile.
And hey - if you lost money? You’re not alone. But you’re not powerless either. Talk to others. Share your story. Maybe we can push for better standards next time.
stephen bullard
November 28, 2025 AT 07:10It’s funny how we romanticize innovation in crypto - like if something looks different, it must be better. But Lykke didn’t break the rules because it was too smart. It broke them because it was too naive.
Zero fees aren’t magic. They’re a trade-off. And when you trade away regulation, insurance, and liquidity… you’re trading away trust.
Maybe the real lesson isn’t ‘don’t use Lykke’ - it’s ‘don’t trust shiny things without checking the engine.’
We all want to believe in the next big thing. But the next big thing shouldn’t be built on sand. It should be built on transparency.
And if you’re reading this and you’re still holding LKK… put it down. It’s not a token anymore. It’s a tombstone.
Kristi Malicsi
November 28, 2025 AT 14:12zero fees sounds great until your money vanishes and no one answers your emails
why do we keep doing this
Sierra Myers
November 29, 2025 AT 18:26lol you guys are acting like this was a surprise. lykke was never legit. they didn’t even have a real office. i saw their ‘headquarters’ on google street view - it was a shared co-working space with a sign taped to the wall. and you thought they’d insure your funds? please.
if you didn’t know this was a scam, you shouldn’t be in crypto. go play with legos.
SHIVA SHANKAR PAMUNDALAR
December 1, 2025 AT 07:54why are you even surprised? this is crypto. everyone knows these platforms are just digital ponzi schemes with better logos. lykke was just the one that looked nice before it collapsed. i told my cousin not to put money there. he said ‘but no fees!’ i said ‘and no brains!’ he lost everything. now he’s crying on reddit. classic.
next time, just use binance and stop chasing fairy tales.
Shelley Fischer
December 2, 2025 AT 00:15Lykke’s collapse was not an accident. It was a predictable consequence of regulatory arbitrage, operational negligence, and the commodification of trust. The absence of FINMA oversight, combined with the absence of insurance mechanisms and the absence of transparent liquidity reporting, rendered the platform inherently unstable. The so-called ‘colored tokens’ were not a security innovation - they were a semantic distraction. Users were misled by aesthetics and marketing, not by substance. This is not a cautionary tale about cryptocurrency - it is a case study in the failure of unregulated financial innovation. The responsibility lies not with the users, but with the systemic failure to enforce basic fiduciary standards.
Puspendu Roy Karmakar
December 3, 2025 AT 08:04i feel bad for people who lost money. i’ve been in crypto since 2017 and seen a lot of these. lykke looked legit, i get it. but if you’re putting money in a platform that doesn’t have insurance or regulation, you’re gambling. not investing.
my advice? always check if the exchange is listed on coinmarketcap with real volume. if it’s under $1M daily, walk away. also, if they say ‘zero fees’ - double check the spreads. that’s where they hide the cost.
stay safe out there.
priyanka subbaraj
December 3, 2025 AT 20:09they promised refunds. they lied. i lost $8k. i cried for a week. now i just stare at my phone and wonder if i’m stupid or if the world is just broken.
George Kakosouris
December 5, 2025 AT 10:30Let’s be real - Lykke was a beta test for financial nihilism. Zero fees? That’s not a feature, it’s a red flag wrapped in a UI kit. Their entire model was predicated on liquidity arbitrage, which collapsed the moment the spreads widened beyond the margin of error. The ‘colored tokens’? A blockchain-themed magic trick. And the ‘refund policy’? A psychological honeypot designed to lull users into a false sense of security while the backend burned.
What’s worse? The fact that people still don’t get it. This wasn’t a hack. It was an execution. And the victims weren’t just users - they were believers in the myth of frictionless finance.
Tony spart
December 6, 2025 AT 12:56why do americans keep falling for this crap? we got real banks with real rules. if you want to gamble, go to las vegas. don’t trust some swiss-looking website with a clean logo. lykke was just another crypto scam pretending to be a bank. if you lost money, you deserve it. america is weak.
ola frank
December 8, 2025 AT 12:48One must interrogate the epistemological foundations of trust in decentralized finance. Lykke’s collapse reveals a fundamental dissonance: the conflation of technological aesthetics with institutional legitimacy. The zero-fee model, while mathematically elegant, is economically unsustainable without sufficient network effects or capital buffers. The colored token architecture, though theoretically novel, was never subjected to adversarial testing - a critical failure in security-by-design principles.
Moreover, the absence of regulatory alignment with FINMA or equivalent bodies indicates a deliberate avoidance of fiduciary accountability. This is not merely a failure of execution - it is a failure of governance. The LKK token’s collapse is not a market event; it is a symbolic erasure of a flawed social contract between platform and user.
imoleayo adebiyi
December 9, 2025 AT 05:29i’m from nigeria and we’ve seen this before. people think ‘no fees’ means ‘no risk.’ but in crypto, the real risk is trusting someone who doesn’t have to answer to anyone. lykke didn’t steal your money - you gave it to someone who didn’t care if they lost it.
my advice? always check if the exchange is on the list of regulated ones. if it’s not, walk away. even if it looks beautiful.
we lost so much in nigeria to fake exchanges. don’t let it happen again.
Brian Bernfeld
December 10, 2025 AT 12:45I’m not here to judge anyone who lost money. I’ve been there. I put $10k into a ‘revolutionary’ DeFi platform in 2021. It vanished in a weekend. No one responded. No refunds. Just silence.
But here’s what I learned: the people who get hurt aren’t the ones who didn’t know - they’re the ones who *wanted* to believe. Lykke gave us a dream: easy trading, no fees, gold on your phone. And we swallowed it whole because we were tired of paying 0.5% to Coinbase.
Don’t be mad at the platform. Be mad at yourself for letting hope override caution.
But also - don’t give up. Just be smarter next time. Use exchanges with insurance. Check their audit reports. Look at their trading volume. And if it says ‘zero fees’? Ask: who’s paying for it? And if the answer is ‘no one’ - then you’re the one paying.
Stay safe. Stay skeptical. And never forget: if it’s too good to be true… it’s probably a ghost.
Ian Esche
December 10, 2025 AT 19:28if you’re still using any exchange that’s not based in the u.s. and regulated by the cftc or sec, you’re a fool. lykke was a foreign scam pretending to be a bank. we don’t need this crap in our markets. america has better options - use them. stop supporting these overseas sketchy platforms. they’re not ‘innovative,’ they’re just trying to steal your money before the feds shut them down.