Whoever controls the digital “keys” to a crypto wallet owns the contents of that wallet. This implies that you are susceptible to hacks, scams, and bankruptcies unless you have the keys to your crypto assets physically and store them offline. The never-ending influx of cryptocurrency fraud has been well-documented.
Security holes and worrying carbon emissions have also been found. Of course, offline storage requires a higher level of technological complexity, inconvenience, and knowledge. introducing cryptocurrency marketplaces like Coinbase and Crypto.com, which give users simple, accessible ways to buy and sell cryptocurrencies and NFTs. Add this to your to read list: tradenation.com/articles/what-time-does-forex-market-open
The cryptocurrency crash has shown that these companies are more like banks than just exchanges.
Facade of Crypto Exchanges
The transparency aspect of cryptocurrencies appears to have been lost by worldwide society over time. We permitted cryptocurrency exchanges, which are the foundations of the new economy, to function as virtual black holes, fully obscuring how they operate, keep our assets, and generate revenue.
Daily trade volume was chosen as the primary indicator of exchange liquidity and sustainability, but this was the wrong strategy. Companies that trade cryptocurrencies promote themselves as marketplaces where customers can buy and sell digital currency. They also carry out stockbroker-like tasks, though, and perhaps more concerningly, their main business models are very similar to those of the banking sector.
Like the New York Stock Exchange, exchanges with a history rarely fail. Additionally, because they don’t render account services, their customers are not susceptible for any damages if they fail. Both Canada and the United States offer automatic protection for lost assets in the event of fraud.
Banks take on more risk and collapse more frequently than the Royal Bank of Canada. Banks are more prone to attacks because they use consumer deposits to fund lending. This is why banking is more strictly regulated than other financial services in most high-income nations, including Canada.
The issue is right there. Businesses like Celsius and Voyager advertised themselves as brokers and exchanges, but they were uninsured quasi-banks.
Risks Associated with Crypto Exchanges
Customers’ accounts weren’t kept individually in their wallets at businesses like Celsius and Voyager but rather in a pool belonging to the platform. The platform would use this funding source to carry out its own speculative investing or offer loans typically to other cryptocurrency companies (often in crypto assets).
When depositors cashed out, they received their money from the pool, which had enough funds to cover typical on-demand withdrawals but not enough to handle everyone cashing out at once. These firms’ debts defaulted as the price of cryptocurrencies fell, and some were compelled to halt withdrawals.
You may like to visit Coingate, a trusted online platform to carry out Dogecoin(DOGE) transactions. The platform deals in over seventy popular virtual currencies.
The depositors of Celsius discovered their accounts were worthless after the company gambled away their money when it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. These companies purposefully kept their clients from seeing this reality. In the case of Voyager, they flat-out lied about having FDIC insurance.
These companies’ snake-oil salespeople persuaded their clients that regulated banks were the issue, only for them to later discover the true purpose of those rules. Even worse, executives and developers can easily sell their positions before withdrawing funds due to the lack of transparency in the cryptocurrency markets. When clients realize their money is missing, the culprits have already cashed out with a hefty profit.
Implications for Crypto Finance
Answers are clear-cut at the micro level.Exchanges for cryptocurrency should follow the same regulations as brokers. Clear guidelines on risk exposure in the firms’ own trading, as well as separate and secure holdings for client assets, are required. The very nature of cryptocurrencies themselves should be plainly labeled as securities, requiring regulation.
Exchange platforms should be compelled to keep enough money in legal tender. If it doesn’t already, it should sound like this goes against the decentralized finance ethos. The macro level is more challenging. Since 2008, we have worshipped technology and despised large banks.
Cryptocurrency supporters claim that Wall Street is just interested in itself, and they are true. The exact same system has been duplicated, but it is now much riskier. Not one of the newcomers to the crypto party who are currently holding the bag is the wealthy investing elite..
They are ordinary people who have legitimate mistrust for banks and, consequently, for our institutions and who are scrambling to find ways to protect themselves from inflation surging out of control.
Final Thoughts
It will take time and effort to restore that trust. Dealing with the injustices brought on by an extractive financial system with a rising cost of living requires commitment. And most importantly, it requires efficient regulation. You should treat something like a bank if it acts and appears like a bank.