amBrain

ChainUp alternative: what the licence lets you own, and what the alternatives change

Published Sep 23, 2026Facts checked: Sep 22, 2026

Short answer

ChainUp's own terms keep the title, IP and source code with ChainUp, limit an on-premise source-code licence to one legal entity and one exchange, require you to delete and purge the product, or return it, on termination, and let ChainUp adjust prices when a contract auto-renews. Stay if launching within weeks matters more than owning the stack and one exchange is the whole plan. Look at alternatives, including your own exchange, if you want a second venue, code changes on your own schedule, or a price you can hold past the renewal date.

On this page

What ChainUp sells, and on which terms

ChainUp describes itself as "Headquartered in Singapore since 2019"[1] and says it has "500 crypto exchanges customized and launched"[2]. Its white-label exchange page describes a launch "within a few weeks", spot trading "capable of handling 50,000 transactions per second (TPS) for any token pair" and a futures engine with "customizable parameters and 125x leverage"[2]. The product page shows no prices and leads to "Talk to our experts"[2].

The commercial detail sits in the Specific Terms and Conditions, one set per product: SaaS and SaaS+ (version 20251003), centralised exchange on-premise (version 20260612) and DEX SaaS (version 20260813)[3]. SaaS customers pay an "Annual Fee" and a "Technical Service Fee" set in the Order Form; the service fee is deducted automatically from the exchange's admin balance within 21 days of the applicable transactions and is non-refundable[3]. KYC, SMS gateway and email charges are borne by the client, and so are upstream hedging fees on BTC/USDT and ETH/USDT trades, which ChainUp may revise[3]. On DEX SaaS the technical service fee is split "eighty percent (80%) to you and twenty percent (20%) to CHAINUP"[3].

The general terms add two clauses a buyer should read twice. A purchase is "deemed as auto-renewed for a Contract Term" if you keep using or paying for the service after its end, and "Upon renewal of your Purchase (if any), CHAINUP is entitled to adjust any price, fee, payment or consideration"[4]. End-user data stays yours, with a "non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free right" for ChainUp to collect, use and process it[4].

ChainUp and the alternatives compared

ChainUp (SaaS or on-premise)HollaEx Enterprise CloudOpenDAX AuroraOwn exchange
Code and data ownershipLicence "for use only"; title, IP and "look and feel" stay with ChainUp; source code "shall remain the exclusive property of ChainUp"; no modification or derivative works without written consent[3]; end-user data yours, with a processing right for ChainUp[4]Plan runs on "HollaEx® cloud"; the feature list includes "Easily customize the front-end code" and "Add custom GitHub repo"[5]"Retain full ownership and control over your Crypto Exchange", "Access to Source Code"[6]Your code, your order book, your data
Cost modelAnnual Fee plus Technical Service Fee per Order Form, not published; SaaS fees auto-deducted within 21 days, non-refundable; KYC, SMS and email fees extra[3]15% revenue share, unlimited users[5]"Lifetime software license … with only one-time payment"; amount not published[6]Build cost plus hosting, custody, KYC and people; no revenue share
Time to launch"Within a few weeks"[2]Two-week trial on HollaEx cloud, subject to approval; the page says "Start your exchange in minutes"[5]No figure published[6]Scoped per project; the longest option
Lock-in: term, notice, migrationAuto-renewal if use or payment continues; price may change on renewal[4]; ChainUp may verify your use of the code and gives 14 days to remedy a misuse notice[3]15% revenue share on the plan; term and notice not on the pricing page[5]Perpetual; maintenance terms beyond "Regular Software Maintenance" not published[6]No vendor contract; dependency on your own team
CustomisationOn-premise: changes to the source code need ChainUp's prior written consent[3]; features include copy, margin and grid trading[2]Plugins, admin API, custom tokens[5]Source-code access and "advanced customizations"[6]Any order type, fee model or market you specify
Compliance and data residencyOn-premise licence to "install and use the Product on your premises"[3]; SaaS user assets are "stored on CHAINUP's servers"[3]Hosted on HollaEx cloud; region not published[5]Software "deployed on your Cloud or Baremetal hosting"[6]Wherever you decide; you produce the evidence
Latency and scaleVendor states 50,000 TPS per token pair for spot[2]Not on the pricing pageVendor states its OpenFinex engine "handles millions of trades per second"[6]Designed and load-tested for your markets
Exit costOn-premise: "delete and purge the Product" or return it, and return, destroy and purge all source-code copies[3]. SaaS: balances moved to your admin account within 14 working days, three working days to withdraw, then 0.02% of the assets per day[3]Moving users and balances off a hosted venue; export terms not publishedNot published; the licence is perpetual[6]None contractual

Other rented options publish less or differently. In a January 2025 comparison post, AlphaPoint describes its own pricing as "tailored pricing based on the unique needs of each business"[7]. B2Broker lists its B2TRADER platform "Starting from $2,500 / mo" or "Free with liquidity"[8]. Shift Markets offers to get an exchange "live within weeks instead of months" and shows no prices on its home page[9]. Antier's own blog lists its white-label exchange at "$40,000 to $80,000, depending on customizations and features required", as a one-time fee[10].

Stay on ChainUp if…

  1. 1.One exchange under one legal entity is the whole plan. The on-premise licence covers exactly that: "your own single legal entity and … the operation of one exchange only"[3].
  2. 2.The launch date matters more than the code. ChainUp states launches "within a few weeks"[2]; no build competes with that clock.
  3. 3.You have no engineering team and do not plan one. If your advantage is listings, marketing or a region, a licensed engine you never modify is a reasonable trade.

Consider leaving ChainUp if…

  1. 1.You plan a second exchange or brand. Symptom: the expansion plan needs a second licence before it needs a second marketing budget. The on-premise terms say any additional deployment "shall require the purchase of a separate licence"[3].
  2. 2.Your renewal arrives with a new price. Symptom: your cost model breaks at the renewal date, not at a volume threshold. On renewal ChainUp "is entitled to adjust any price, fee, payment or consideration"[4].
  3. 3.Your roadmap waits for theirs. Symptom: on the on-premise licence, a new order type, fee rule or risk check needs ChainUp's prior written consent before your engineers may modify the source code[3].

Migration path in four steps

  1. 1.Read your version of the terms, then export. Check which STC version your Order Form references, then take end-user data (yours under the general terms[4]), order and trade history and KYC references before you give notice. On DEX SaaS, end-user data is preserved for 14 days after termination and may then be deleted[3].
  2. 2.Stand up the target and replay. Configure the replacement venue or build your own, then replay your order history through it and compare fills and fees; replay testing is described in designing a matching engine in Rust.
  3. 3.Plan the asset move to the day. On SaaS, ChainUp transfers balances to your admin account within 14 working days of termination, and you have three working days to withdraw before a 0.02% daily fee applies[3]. Reconcile every user balance on both sides.
  4. 4.Cut over, then purge in writing. Move markets one by one, keep history read-only, and on an on-premise licence delete and purge the product, or return it, and destroy source-code copies as the terms require[3]; confirm it to ChainUp in writing.

Cost drivers of building your own

Cost driverWhat drives itPublic reference point
Matching engine and pre-trade riskOrder types, fees, self-trade rules, balance checks on every orderMatching engine design · pre-trade risk in the order path
Market data distributionOrder-book updates to every connected client and market makerL2 market data under bursts
Wallets and custodyHot and cold wallets per chain, key management, reconciliationChainUp sells MPC self-custody with an "applicable Minimum Fee"[3]; on your own stack, custody is a system or a contract of its own
KYC and AMLPriced per verificationSumsub's published plans: Basic at $1.35 per verification with a $149 minimum monthly commitment, Compliance at $1.85 with AML and PoA checks and a $299 minimum[11]
LiquidityMarket makers or hedging for the first pairsChainUp passes upstream hedging fees on BTC/USDT and ETH/USDT to the client[3]; on your venue it is a market-maker contract
Security reviewsCode audit and penetration tests before launch and after major changesNo public reference; scoped per project
OperationsMonitoring, incident response, withdrawals deskNo public reference; scoped per project

Frequently asked questions

On the on-premise product you get a "non-exclusive, non-transferable non-sublicencsable, limited licence" to use the frontend, backend and app source code "solely for the purposes outlined in the Purchase". The IP stays with ChainUp, changes need written consent, and all copies must be returned, destroyed and purged when the purchase ends[3].

ChainUp's product page shows no prices[2]. SaaS customers pay an Annual Fee and a Technical Service Fee set in the Order Form, the service fee is deducted from the exchange's admin balance within 21 days, and KYC, SMS and email costs are extra[3].

Not under the on-premise terms: the source-code licence is for "the operation of one exchange only", and any additional deployment "shall require the purchase of a separate licence"[3].

End-user data belongs to you under the general terms[4]. On SaaS, ChainUp moves remaining balances to your admin account within 14 working days of termination, and a 0.02% daily fee applies if you do not withdraw within three working days; on DEX SaaS, end-user data is kept for 14 days after termination[3].

HollaEx Enterprise Cloud at a 15% revenue share[5], OpenDAX Aurora with a perpetual licence and source-code access[6], B2TRADER from $2,500 a month[8], AlphaPoint with tailored pricing[7], Shift Markets with no prices on its home page[9], or your own exchange. For the last option, decide first which venue you need: where to start with your own trading platform.

About amBrain

  • amBrain is a Yerevan, Armenia software engineering company building low latency trading platforms, matching engines, and real-time bidding systems in Rust.
  • A mini-exchange running in production on MOEX colocation.
  • The client keeps full ownership of the product and the code, except our reusable components.

Product and company names are trademarks of their respective owners and are used only to identify their products. No vendor named here reviewed or endorsed this page.

Sources

  1. [1]ChainUp, About us. Vendor's own page · checked Sep 22, 2026
  2. [2]ChainUp, White Label Crypto Exchange (CEX). Vendor's own page · checked Sep 22, 2026
  3. [3]ChainUp, Specific Terms and Conditions: SaaS/SaaS+ , Centralized Exchange On-Prem , DEX SaaS , MPC Self-Custody (version 20251003; version 20260612; version 20260813; version 20251017). Vendor's published terms · checked Sep 22, 2026
  4. [4]ChainUp, General Terms and Conditions (auto-renewal, price adjustment on renewal, end-user data). Vendor's published terms · checked Sep 22, 2026
  5. [5]HollaEx, Pricing. Vendor's own page · checked Sep 22, 2026
  6. [6]Openware, OpenDAX Aurora product page. Vendor's own page · checked Sep 22, 2026
  7. [7]AlphaPoint blog, AlphaPoint vs. HollaEx: A Comprehensive Comparison of White-Label Crypto Exchange Solutions (pricing section), Jan 16, 2025. Third-party source · checked Sep 22, 2026
  8. [8]B2Broker, Fees and pricing. Vendor's own page · checked Sep 22, 2026
  9. [9]Shift Markets, Home page. Vendor's own page · checked Sep 22, 2026
  10. [10]Antier blog, Top 8 White Label Crypto Exchanges Price List (updated 12 August 2025), May 27, 2025. Third-party source · checked Sep 22, 2026
  11. [11]Sumsub, Pricing. Vendor's own page · checked Sep 22, 2026

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