THELOGICALINDIAN - It break my affection to leave my admired barter but all acceptable things charge appear to an end as Bittrex is wading appropriate into adapted waters
[Note: This is an op-ed]
Bittrex, you’re such a abundant barter as you’ve never accustomed me any absolute problems. Sure, your abandonment banned (without ID verification) are small. Yeah, your fees were a bit high. But you’ve consistently been there for me back I bare you. I alike like your new redesign, and I abnormally enjoyed our night approach together.
Alright, I’ll stop with the lovelorn analogies actuality and get appropriate to it.
All users should be acquainted that Bittrex is currently registered in Seattle, Washington, in the United States.
At first, this may not assume like a big issue. However, this is the exact aforementioned accompaniment area addition accepted barter started out: Poloniex. That is, until they got bought by Circle, a Goldman Sachs-backed startup out of Boston, Massachusetts, area Poloniex now resides.
So what’s the big deal?
On Monday, Bitcoinist reported that Poloniex “broke its promises” to users by implementing a new KYC (know-your-customer) action behindhand of whether US dollars were anytime involved.
This agency that the abandonment absolute for Poloniex for bequest users aback became $0, alike if you alone traded crypto-to-crypto. Therefore, your annual can now alone be “reactivated” if you accommodate a government-issued ID. Simply put, your funds are now captivated hostage.
The barter started circulating emails to bequest annual holders advice them of the changes, which read:
Poloniex additionally had the adventurousness to alarm this new action “improvements” as bequest users were greeted with this acceptable awning aloft login:
Yesterday, Bitcoinist reported that Bittrex, which has additionally been growing rapidly, has accepted a accord with a New York-based coffer that would acquiesce its barter to buy Bitcoin with US dollars.
The account was abundantly well-received by the crypto space. Bittrex CEO Bill Shihara declared it a watershed moment, saying:
This is all accomplished and well, but one cannot advice but ask: if Bittrex wants banks to “trust crypto,” how continued afore bequest Bittrex users get ‘Poloniex’d’? Will their accounts additionally be deactivated until a government-issued ID and a photograph are provided?
Even admitting I’m not a US aborigine and never bought or awash for authorization (not alike USD Tethers) back trading crypto, I cannot but feel the looming accident for my funds.
Moreover, it has become a mantra for accomplished crypto traders not to authority cogent amounts on careful exchanges, not to accommodate claimed advice because of hacking risks, and to consistently control your own keys.
Hence, I accept it’s high-time for me to drift to the abutting best thing: Binance.
Why Binance? Well, it bound became the world’s better crypto barter by volume for acceptable reason. Their withdrawals banned are almost high. They too abutment abounding altcoin trading pairs. Their aegis is appealing adult with assorted 2FA options, and best importantly, they’re not registered in the US!
In fact, afterward burden from regulators, Binance relocated from Hong Kong to the island of Malta, which has accustomed the barter with accessible accoutrements and a friendlier authoritative climate.
At the end of the day, this was a claimed decision. Admittedly, Bittrex is a abundant barter and supports altcoins that abounding added exchanges don’t. And if you don’t apperception accouterment your claimed advice in barter for a bigger user experience, then, by all means, break with them.
But I for one amount aloofness and aegis aloft all else, and I accept a little paranoia is advantageous in this apple of cryptocurrencies area risk, theft, and scams are all too common.
Would you accede affective to an barter that provides greater aloofness for its users? Let us apperceive in the comments below!
Images address of Poloniex, Shutterstock, and Twitter/@JosephMuscat_JM.
