Decentralization. The buzzword of the cyberpunks and the disdain of the governments.
While cryptocurrencies are designed to be a decentralized payment ecosystem, cryptocurrency exchanges are the movements single point-of-failure.
I consider them akin to a government.
We have had exchanges get hacked, or disappeared, or have their wallets stolen, or users blocked, and in one case, even become producers of blocks. (cough EOS cough).
Add to this the several hundred reports of wash trading, fake liquidity, millions of exchange-owned bots, poor trade matching, and outrageously-bad levels of customer service.
OK — So exchanges are centralized and that’s a problem for you, Joe.
Although these are fundamental factors, there’s some REAL technical and administrative issues I find with the cryptocurrency exchanges of today.
For one, the majority of the exchanges are pretty opaque when it comes to their team, office location, and even registration.
Do you know who the CEO of Bitfinex is?
Or the exact office address of Binance?
You don’t. And you can’t, cause even they haven’t revealed it yet.
There’s also no legal framework to protect you in case of a monetary loss or a trade which went horribly wrong.
By large, the law doesn’t care at the moment about how exchanges are operating, or what measures for liquidity they are implementing.
Barring the U.S.A and South Korea, many major countries would simply take a sip from a BIG glass of I told you so if you go complain to them about your lost shekels.
Security remains a major concern. Months go by with people expecting the next bull run, but only get news reports of an exchange hack in return.
Yet, the topic of security remains questionable, with news of an exchange hack/theft hitting the news headlines almost every month.
For me — the dictionary definition of an average crypto enthusiast — the search for a reputable crypto-exchange, based on factors like security, ease-of-use and reasonable client support, never seems to come to an end!
Let’s keep aside hype and promises and dissect reality — exchanges like Bittrex, BitFinex, and Kraken, are royally failing to keeping up with the demand from crypto-users.
I have detailed all such points here —
Here’s why Crypto-Exchanges Are the Market’s Real Problem._In the past few years, the world has witnessed the unprecedented rise of cryptocurrencies._hackernoon.com
Meanwhile, some scouting around on Bitcointalk led to me to this upcoming exchange called Eterbase.
The team looks pretty much experienced, and has a number of videos across the internet.
A.K.A, they actually exist and their website gives details of the office address.
Here’s the LinkedIn profile.
Experience is possibly the biggest factor when it comes to the Crypto market !
From what I see, the Eterbase team intends to absorb all of the good stuff from the top crypto-exchanges and eliminate all the mishaps, malpractices, and adverse functions.
This is entirely required, cause at the end of the day -
Crypto-Exchanges need to Be Responsible Financial Institutions.
First-wave exchanges face thin order books, have pathetic user interfaces, report scalability issues, and lastly, lack in basic regulatory compliance.
In stark contrast, Eterbase has mandatory AML, KYC, GDPR, and even CTF checks in place to prevent money laundering, financial fraud, and petty wash trading.
From their white paper, I infer their interface to be designed with the end user in mind.
The amatuer, average cryptocurrency end-user.
But, this is not to say a lack of features for institutional investors.
Eterbase can support multiple chart setups, numerous portfolios, and other institution-grade tools for each user.
The tools of the mighty made accessible to the new.
In an earlier article about Eterbase, I stressed on their crypto-token. Here’s an except —
According to their white-paper, four tiers of membership are up for grabs.
There’s also no lengthy process to be classified as either one of these tier-members. You simply buy enough ETER, and the system grants you various rights.
A token which adds value.
The ETER is based on and complaint with ERC20 standards, and can be traded on the exchange using any of the available currency pairs.
However, every trader on ETERBASE is by default a member, albeit of the “Basic” stage.
Eterbase Shows What A Crypto-Exchange Token Should Really Be Like_Setting A New Standard_hackernoon.com
From what I read, the step Eterbase makes towards becoming a financial institution also sees it implementing International Bank Accounts for each member on its platform.
The exchange offers 24/7 customer case. Be it Christmas, new year, or the end of the world. If you’re trading, and the system is running, ETER ensures someone is there.
Market maker fees can be reduced to a lucrative -0.02%, effectively giving market makers a rebate on their trades, and market taker fees may go as low as 0.03%.
You hear right. No longer are your hard-earned funds on a shady server in a Mongolian outhouse.
Institutional traders have a reason to rejoice as well. Eterbase promises direct market access an over 5,000 trade requests a minute.
There’s me thinking why isn’t this the standard of cryptocurrency exchanges?