Not so long ago, the Japanese exchange Bitpoint announced the hack. More than $32 million had been stolen from its customers’ accounts. Digital currencies trading security is coming to the fore.
In order to choose an exchange where you’ll be able to buy Bitcoin securely, you need to decide what security means to you. How do you understand safe trading?
First of all, you must be aware of the fact that 100% security doesn’t exist. There is always a danger. It is important to be careful and spend some time to study the terms and conditions of your chosen stock exchange, as well as its reputation and single users’ reviews.
Everyone sees security in their own way. However, there are certain objective criteria. First of all, you need to decide whether you prefer a decentralized or centralized exchange. The second one works in the legal field of the state and operates within the regulator. A decentralized exchange guarantees your anonymity. However, in case of losing your money, you won’t be able to ask for indemnification or go to court, etc.
Centralized exchanges cooperate with regulators and implement the Know Your Customer (KYC) procedure. Such exchanges will require identity verification either in the event of funds withdrawal or immediately upon registration. You can forget about anonymity, but such exchanges operate in the legal field and monitor their reputation and customers’ safety.
Anyway, remember that the exchange isn’t a place to store your cryptocurrency. It is a place to buy or sell your coins. Now, let’s observe a few exchanges which security is in no doubt.
Poloniex
The exchange was founded in 2014 in San Francisco. It is one of the world’s largest exchanges.
Identity verification isn’t required at Poloniex, so you can avoid this procedure if you aren‘t going to withdraw amounts over $2,000 per day. Nevertheless, the exchange may require you to confirm your identity at any time if your activity is suspicious.
During registration, the service offers its users such a security solution as two-factor authentication. It divides into two levels: a basic with a withdrawal limitation $2000 per day (the only thing required for such registration is an email address) and advanced, which gives you the ability to withdraw up to $25,000 per day. Mind that if you want to be registered with advanced authentication, you will need to provide your residential address, telephone number, ID number, as well as to scan and send passport page and your photo with the document in hands.
Poloniex clients funds stored on “cold” offline wallets. Nevertheless, the exchange faced hacker attacks. Needless to say, Poloniex has reimbursed its customers all losses in full. Having experience in dealing with hacker attacks and subsequent recovery also makes Poloniex a safe exchange.
Bittrex
The American stock exchange Bittrex has been operating since 2014 and during this time managed to gain the trust of users as one of the most popular and secure exchanges.
The registration process doesn’t take much time. You need to create a login and password, specifying your email, and then follow the link in the letter to activate your account.
The next step is to verify your account, which is required on Bittrex. If you do not pass the verification procedure, you won’t be able to withdraw money from your account. For verification, it is necessary to indicate your full name, date of birth, address of residence and postal code, as well as your ID number. You don’t need to send any photos to the platform.
During its work, the exchange suffered a DDoS attack. To solve the problem, the administration briefly blocked user accounts.
Bittrex and Poloniex have been losing their market shares in recent months due to strong US-regulator pressure. However, both platforms are immaculately secure.
CEX.io
CEX exists since 2013. Until 2015, the company has been providing only cloud mining services. Today it is one of the most popular and secure crypto-exchange platforms.
To register, you will need your email or social networks account, through which you can log in. Then, you will need to activate the account by clicking on the link in the letter.
After the end of registration, you can freely trade bitcoin or other coins in the limits established at the exchange. In order to replenish the account with fiat currency or withdraw, you need to go through the verification procedure.
Verification includes filling out a blank indicating the ID number, address of residence and personal data. You will also need to scan the page of your passport or driver’s documents and send your photo with the document to the stock exchange. The address of residence will also need to be confirmed with bank statements or with checks for utility bills.
Such a complicated procedure is explained by the fact that CEX has received a PCI DSS certificate as evidence of compliance with safety requirements. The company is actively working with the Know Your Customer and Anti-Money Laundering principles and cooperates with the British authorities. That is why this platform meets all security requirements and so far hasn’t experienced serious incidents on this matter.
Coinbase
San Francisco-based exchange Coinbase is one of the world’s most popular trading platforms. Trading on the resource is available for citizens of a huge number of countries. The company even offers its users a professional trading platform – Coinbase Pro.
Platform’s security is carried out thanks to a multi-coin wallet, and serious requirements for user verification. However, all your information will remain private. Coinbase cooperates with the US-based regulator and their deposits are insured in the Lloyd’s of London insurance.
The verification process involves scanning your ID and photo of your face with the document in hand. Next, you will need to send these documents to the platform. Usually, the process takes no longer than 2-3 minutes.
