HB DEX Crypto Exchange Review: Is It Worth Using in 2025?

HB DEX Crypto Exchange Review: Is It Worth Using in 2025?

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Most people think a decentralized exchange (DEX) needs to be a standalone platform like Uniswap or PancakeSwap. But what if your wallet could trade crypto without ever leaving the app? That’s exactly what HB DEX offers - and it’s not what you’d expect.

HB DEX isn’t a separate website or app. It’s built right into HB Wallet, a crypto wallet developed by Bacoor Inc. in Malaysia. Launched back in 2017, it was one of the first wallets to let you swap tokens without connecting to another platform. You don’t need to copy-paste addresses or approve contracts on external sites. Everything happens inside the wallet. That sounds convenient - until you start using it.

What You Can Trade on HB DEX

HB DEX only supports Ethereum-based assets. That means you can trade ETH, ERC20 tokens like USDT or LINK, ERC223 tokens, and even NFTs using ERC721 standards. You can swap these for stablecoins like DAI or TrueUSD (TUSD), or just use ETH as your base pair. Simple enough.

But here’s the catch: you can’t trade anything outside Ethereum. No Solana, no Polygon, no Bitcoin. If you hold tokens on other chains, you’re out of luck. That’s a big limitation in 2025, when cross-chain swaps are standard even on smaller DEXs. Platforms like Osmosis and dYdX let you trade across 15+ chains. HB DEX doesn’t even try.

The Trade-Off: Convenience vs. Liquidity

The biggest selling point of HB DEX is its integration. You can send a message, share an emoji, and swap ETH for DAI - all in one screen. That’s unique. No other major DEX combines social features with trading. It’s like having a crypto chat app with a built-in exchange.

But that convenience comes at a cost: liquidity. According to CryptoCompare’s 2024 review, HB DEX handles a fraction of the volume compared to top DEXs. Uniswap alone processes over $4 billion daily. HB DEX? It’s barely registering. Users report that trades above $500 often fail or get terrible rates because there aren’t enough people trading on it. One Reddit user said, “I tried swapping $800 worth of LINK and the price slippage was 12%.” That’s not normal on a serious DEX.

Even within wallet-integrated exchanges, HB DEX isn’t leading. Trust Wallet Swap and MetaMask Swaps have far more users and deeper pools. Koinly’s 2025 ranking of the top 10 DEXs doesn’t even list HB DEX. It’s not on the radar of analysts at Messari or Delphi Digital. That’s not an accident.

How It Works (And Why It Feels Outdated)

Setting up HB DEX is easy. Download HB Wallet on iOS, Android, Mac, or Windows. Create a wallet. Add some ETH for gas. Then tap “Swap.” Pick your token, enter the amount, and confirm. Done. No connecting wallets. No approval steps. It’s beginner-friendly.

But that’s where the simplicity ends. There’s no slippage slider. No limit orders. No stop-losses. No advanced settings at all. You can’t adjust gas fees manually. The app doesn’t explain how liquidity pools work or why your trade might fail. CryptoCompare found that 78% of users felt the documentation was “basic” - and that’s generous.

Compare that to Uniswap, where you can set slippage tolerance from 0.1% to 5%, choose between V2 and V3 pools, and see real-time price impact before confirming. HB DEX gives you one button: “Swap.” That’s not a feature - it’s a shortcut that hides complexity, not solves it.

User happily swapping small crypto amount, but a large red slippage warning looms above them with tiny volume graphs.

Security: Safe, But Not Special

On the security side, HB Wallet does things right. Private keys stay on your device. No cloud backup. No KYC. You get biometric login, PIN protection, and local storage. That’s how a non-custodial wallet should work. If you lose your phone, you recover with your seed phrase - just like MetaMask.

But here’s the thing: security isn’t the issue. Everyone uses wallets like this. What HB DEX lacks is innovation. It doesn’t offer anything new in security. It doesn’t use zero-knowledge proofs, or multi-sig, or social recovery. It just does the basics. And in 2025, “just the basics” isn’t enough.

Who Is HB DEX Actually For?

If you’re a casual user who wants to swap small amounts of ETH for a token you just got from a friend - and you already use HB Wallet for messaging - then HB DEX might be useful. It’s convenient for $20 or $50 swaps. You don’t need to open another app. No extra steps.

But if you’re serious about trading - even a little - HB DEX falls apart. You can’t trade large amounts. You can’t get good rates. You can’t access new tokens. You can’t even see how much liquidity is in the pool before swapping.

And if you’re into DeFi, yield farming, or staking? Forget it. HB DEX doesn’t support any of that. It’s purely a swap tool. No pools. No farms. No staking. No governance tokens. Just swaps.

What’s Missing? Everything Else

Let’s list what HB DEX doesn’t have that even small DEXs offer in 2025:

  • Limit orders
  • Stop-loss trading
  • Cross-chain swaps
  • Gas fee optimization tools
  • Advanced slippage controls
  • Integration with DEX aggregators like 1inch or Matcha
  • API access for bots or developers
  • Community forums, Discord servers, or active support channels

HB DEX doesn’t even show you the price impact of your trade before you confirm. That’s a red flag. On Uniswap, you see it in real time. On HB DEX? You just tap “Swap” and hope for the best.

Basic HB DEX interface on laptop surrounded by discarded DeFi tools marked with X's, symbolizing missing features.

User Reviews Tell the Real Story

Trustpilot gives HB Wallet a 3.2/5 based on 47 reviews. Most complaints focus on the DEX: “Swap rates aren’t competitive with Uniswap.” “Feels like an afterthought.”

App Store reviews are higher (4.1/5), but that’s because people love the chat feature. Google Play has 3.9/5 from 2,500+ reviews - still decent, but again, users praise the messaging, not the trading.

There’s no viral success story about someone making a big profit on HB DEX. No YouTube tutorials. No Reddit threads saying “This changed my DeFi game.” Just quiet, under-the-radar usage by people who already use the wallet for other reasons.

Is HB DEX Still Active?

Yes. The latest update (version 3.4.2) came out in March 2025. It fixed a few UI bugs. No new features. No liquidity boosts. No integration with new tokens.

Bacoor Inc.’s roadmap mentions “DEX integration improvements” for Q4 2025. But that’s it. No details. No roadmap visuals. No timelines. Compare that to Uniswap’s public development pipeline - which includes new fee structures, improved UI, and Layer 2 scaling. HB DEX is stuck in 2019.

Industry analysts don’t mention it. No major publications cover it. Even DappRadar, which tracks thousands of DEXs, doesn’t rank HB DEX in the top 5 wallet-integrated exchanges. It’s fading into irrelevance.

Final Verdict: A Niche Tool, Not a Real Exchange

HB DEX isn’t bad. It’s just outdated. It solves a problem that most people don’t have anymore: “I want to swap tokens without leaving my wallet.”

But today, that’s not enough. MetaMask Swaps does it better. Trust Wallet Swap does it better. Even Phantom Wallet on Solana does it better - and it supports cross-chain swaps.

If you’re already using HB Wallet for chatting with crypto friends and you only need to swap small amounts occasionally? Fine. Use it. It works.

But if you want to trade seriously - even a little - you’re better off with Uniswap, PancakeSwap, or a simple aggregator like 1inch. You’ll get better rates, more liquidity, and real tools. HB DEX feels like a prototype that never got finished.

In 2025, the DEX market is moving fast. HB DEX isn’t keeping up. It’s a quiet feature in a quiet app - and that’s its biggest problem.

Comments (7)

  • vonley smith

    vonley smith

    29 10 25 / 20:47 PM

    Honestly, I use HB DEX for small swaps when I’m chatting with friends in the app. It’s not perfect, but it’s one tap and done. No need to juggle five tabs or worry about connecting wallets. I’ve swapped $30 of ETH for DAI a dozen times - never had an issue.

  • Norman Woo

    Norman Woo

    30 10 25 / 10:55 AM

    you know what they dont want you to know… HB DEX is a honeypot. the devs track your trades and sell your data to the feds. why else would they keep it so quiet? no media coverage? no big names? thats not negligence - thats coverup. i checked the app permissions - it asks for mic access. why? to listen to your voice when you say ‘i want to buy eth’? they’re building a crypto surveillance state and you’re using it like its a toy.

  • Serena Dean

    Serena Dean

    31 10 25 / 03:06 AM

    Hey, I get why people are frustrated - liquidity is terrible and the UI feels like it’s stuck in 2019. But if you’re just dipping your toes in? It’s actually kinda nice. I showed my mom how to swap USDT for DAI on HB Wallet and she did it without crying. That’s a win. Maybe it’s not for power users, but it’s perfect for beginners who just want to move small amounts without getting lost in DeFi hell.

  • James Young

    James Young

    2 11 25 / 01:32 AM

    Stop pretending this is a real DEX. It’s a glorified toy. No limit orders? No slippage control? No cross-chain? You’re not trading - you’re playing pretend. If you’re using this in 2025, you’re either clueless or lazy. Uniswap V3 has 10x the liquidity and 100x the features. This isn’t a ‘niche tool’ - it’s a relic that survived because nobody had the guts to kill it. Delete it. Use something that respects your time.

  • Chloe Jobson

    Chloe Jobson

    3 11 25 / 15:26 PM

    HB DEX is a wallet-integrated swap tool - not a DEX. Terminology matters. It’s designed for frictionless micro-transactions within a social wallet ecosystem. Its value isn’t in liquidity or advanced features - it’s in UX cohesion. That said, the lack of gas optimization and price impact visibility is a serious oversight. If they added a simple ‘estimated rate’ tooltip and integrated with 1inch as a fallback, it could become genuinely useful for casual users. As-is? It’s a missed opportunity.

  • Andrew Morgan

    Andrew Morgan

    4 11 25 / 23:43 PM

    Man I remember when I first tried HB DEX… I thought it was gonna be the future. Like, imagine trading while texting your homies about your new NFT. But then I tried to swap $200 worth of LINK and got wrecked by 14% slippage. I just stared at the screen. No warning. No options. Just ‘Swap’ like it was a vending machine. It’s not broken - it’s emotionally manipulative. They made it too easy so you forget how dangerous this stuff is. I’m still mad.

  • Michael Folorunsho

    Michael Folorunsho

    6 11 25 / 17:57 PM

    Of course this exists. It’s Malaysian. Why would you trust a wallet from a country that still uses 2G networks in rural areas? They don’t understand blockchain. They understand ‘app that works on cheap phones’. This isn’t innovation - it’s colonial tech dumping. Real DeFi is built in the US, EU, or Singapore. This? It’s a digital banana republic pretending to be a wallet. Don’t legitimize it by using it.

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