This page explains how Coin Brief works: how reviews are produced, what our scores mean, how commercial relationships are disclosed, and how to reach us when we get something wrong.
How we assess crypto services
We review exchanges and crypto services through a UK lens, in a fixed order: regulatory posture first (whether a firm appears on the FCA's cryptoasset register, and how it implements the UK financial-promotions rules), then sterling rails (GBP deposits, withdrawals, and pairs), then custody arrangements, fees as published, and — critically — what is actually available to UK users rather than what a firm's global marketing shows. We work from documented sources: the FCA's own publications, firms' published terms and fee schedules as of the time of writing, and the public record. Claims we cannot verify are attributed ("the company says", "per the regulator") rather than repeated as fact, and we never invent quotes, statistics, test results, or dates. We do not review tokens as investments, publish price targets, or give financial advice of any kind — crypto assets are high risk, and readers should always do their own research.
What our scores mean
Scores run 0–10 and are editorial judgments, not averages of sub-scores. A 7 is a solid service with real trade-offs for UK users. An 8 is an easy recommendation for the right reader. A 9 is rare and means we struggled to find a meaningful fault. A high score is a judgment about a service's quality for UK users — never a statement that the assets traded on it are safe, or that anyone should buy them. Every review lists genuine cons — if we can't find any, we haven't looked hard enough.
Disclosure
Coin Brief is a commercially supported publication. Posts that contain affiliate links, and posts that are sponsored, carry a disclosure at the top of the post, and sponsored links are marked as sponsored in the page's code. Sponsors never see, edit, or approve editorial copy, and no score or conclusion can be bought — see the advertising page for what is and isn't for sale.
Sponsored posts
Paid posts on Coin Brief are labelled “Sponsored”, and their links carry
rel="sponsored". Sponsors see the draft of their own sponsored post and may
correct facts about their product; the desk keeps the rating, criticisms and conclusion of
any sponsored review; sponsors have no access to editorial coverage.
Editorial coverage is free
Editorial coverage is free, decided by the desk, and cannot be bought. Genuine news, data and reports can be sent to the desk, and may be covered at its discretion with a link to the source. The desk declines sign-up offers, bonus codes, affiliate funnels and any content that is unlawful to advertise to our readers, and refunds in full any booking it declines.
Bylines
Coin Brief is published under house bylines maintained by the editorial team, in the style of publications that write under a collective identity. Reviews run under the byline of our editor, Tessa Whitmore — a disclosed house pen name and the accountable editorial identity for everything the site publishes. News items run as "Staff, Coin Brief". We do not publish fabricated author biographies or invented credentials.
Corrections
If we've published an error — a fee, a regulatory status, a date, anything — we want to know. Reach the editorial desk via the contact page. We correct promptly and note material corrections in the post. Regulatory facts move quickly in this market: where a post says "as of this writing", that is the date in the byline, and the current position should always be checked at the source.
Factual corrections are free within 14 days of publication. Write to the desk at editorial@coinbrief.co.uk or editorial@3rdunicorn.com.