HowTo Buy Crypto – Part 8: The Rest
Frankly, in my opinion, the rest are not worth specific mention. As I am a person who prefers to focus on the positives and to build success upon success, I see no point in wasting time on pointing out and explaining the individual negatives for the rest of the crypto brokers and exchanges. Whatever the case, from being too small to generate confidence, to being too crooked to even get a second look, a case by case study would be a horrible waste of time, especially since the negatives are all so very similar both in design and grouping.
Look at where the majority of scandals, hacks, market manipulation and scams originate from. Three of the Top 5 Cryptocurrency Hacks of All Time came out of this region. (The other exchange on the list thoroughly transformed and moved to a stronger jurisdiction.) Those are the biggest, but there are dozens, if not hundreds of smaller sized scams around the world. Yes, in the past we saw some of the same in the U.S. too, with the likes of Mintpal and Cryptsy, the latter which was really a Belize company operating in the US, and the former now with fugitives abroad, but the pattern has changed, and the tendency in the U.S. now is to get legally compliant, or die.
That’s not the case on the Asian side of the Pacific though. Anything but! And who would be surprised by that when the dictatorial central government of China finds it impossible to convince anyone outside its borders that its official economic data isn’t just one big continuous fraud? Nobody takes their figures seriously, and much less so when they make themselves even more laughable by supposedly wanting to “regulate Bitcoin” by banning it one day, and then saying the next that everything is okay. Who is going to take that seriously? The biggest originator of FUD and market manipulation in the world! Who is going to entrust their hard earned money to anyone within that legal context?
I don’t want to have anything to do with anything out of that part of the world, neither those government tied tokens touted to be the next ETH killer, nor any of the “exchanges” based there. The Asian Pacific Rim is the world’s hotspot for all kinds of dubious crypto activity and is a place I want to avoid. Nevertheless, make no mistake, the swindles, scams and hacks don’t end there: we can find them just about anywhere, outside of Europe and North America, that is.
Where we have seen the least scandals, and where we have seen the best efforts to avoid hacks and theft and to turn crypto into a respectable business is in Europe and North America. Is it any coincidence that all the brokers and exchanges I’ve reviewed in this series are located either in Europe or North America? Not in the least! In fact, it’s completely logical to expect the financial powerhouses of the world to act seriously and responsibly when it comes to the emergence of a viable and promising new investment arena.
North America and Europe are the places where bad things are least likely to happen, in my opinion, and I wouldn’t do business with anyone outside of those geopolitical regions. Why would I unnecessarily complicate my life? There are no better fees outside those areas, no better services offered, just more risk. In fact, it’s all worse, so why would it even be an option?
I like to stay with winners who do things right, and for anyone who doesn’t make the grade, I just don’t go there!
Previous posts in this series:
HowTo Buy Crypto – Part 1: LiteBit
HowTo Buy Crypto – Part 2: Coinbase
HowTo Buy Crypto – Part 3: GDAX
HowTo Buy Crypto – Part 4: Kraken
HowTo Buy Crypto – Part 5: Bitstamp
HowTo Buy Crypto – Part 6: CEX•IO
HowTo Buy Crypto – Part 7: GEMINI
Read the "The Dos and Don’ts" here if you're not aware of my rules.
Well! I'm from India! and I don't know much about North American and European Exchanges to be honest! But I could shed some light on the exchanges we have here at India, the south asian country!
Most of the exchanges here in India are amazing , except from the fact that the market rates are pretty high here comparing to other exchanges! The only international exchange I've used is binance and I don't feel good about my experience there, their fractional trading problems is a big headache ( same with most international exchanges).
The most popular Indian exchanges are Zebpay, Unocoin, Coindelta, Koinex etc! Unocoin introduced me to the world of cryptos, but I came to realize that their fees were pretty high and I switched to Zebpay, which was quite an amazing experience! Since at that time, trading was not a part of their system, I also registered an account on Coindelta where I started trading!
Almost all of the Indian exchanges are genuine and doesn't scam the users! As I said, I don't know much about European and American exchanges, but I thought I would shed some light on Indian exchanges!
Took a quick look at a couple of those, and I must say they look good at first glance, and based on what you say, this looks very encouraging. In fact, it's great to see. Always knew the subcontinent was at the lead . . . in just about every sector as well.
Thanks!
P.S. Good subject matter for you to write about. Let me know if you do so I can resteem it.
Hi @cryptographic!
Thank you for going through my story which I presented through the comment!
As you mentioned, India is a market where cryptocurrency is on the rise even though our government and reserve bank is trying their very best to spread negative publicity on cryptos to the public. The market is just booming!
Since I am at college, I might not be able to create content often, but the weekends are just arriving and I would love to create an article based upon your suggestion! I will try to contact you through your upcoming posts! Your resteem would be great for my article to reach a wider audience and would help me get more attention from the community!
Keep up the good work of supporting the community @cryptographic 🙂
Can't wait to see it.
Abstract The world must realize that digitalization and currency are a brilliant future for the world and that there are different possible scenarios for the future of the currency market as a whole and how digital currencies will become part of it. It is highly unlikely that digital currencies will take the whole market. As long as there are countries and central banks, they will keep their own currencies. It is also highly unlikely to reach the other extreme for digital currencies to be completely eliminated, as many major financial institutions have gradually begun to realize the benefits of the underlying block technology underlying digital currency technology.
It is logical to assume that the final form of the currency and currency markets will be a hybrid of these scenarios. While all of the more than 1,000 digital currencies will not be able to survive in the long term, many of them will remain. Many large banks have absorbed Xrp, for example. In addition, these currencies can not be overlooked with their huge cumulative market value. Therefore, it is likely to become an increasingly large part of the global currency markets, with some digital currencies still as they are today, others may be used by financial institutions, or even adopted as official currency by certain governments
In both cases, the future of the digital currency seems interesting, and what we are witnessing is just the beginning of this global economic phenomenon that will change everything we know about the currency market.
My greetings to all the digital world a new world is calling for
I hope you will give your opinion in my simple participation
sir. @cryptographic
That's a very nice balanced view of the future that I can pretty much subscribe to.
A total win-win for everyone.
Yes, I am glad that my idea has reached you, my greetings. Sir, I have been glamorous and will remain so
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Thank you Magoo!
Well, i seemingly agree with you on this but there are still some trusted and highly secured exchange out there you haven't mentioned. Though you point is clearly understandable. For you, the standard is high and anyone who doesn't reach the standard isn't considered worth it. I have a favour to ask from you. Can you do a last post compiling a list of the exchanges you feel don't meet your grades but can be considered?
I wouldn't be doing business anywhere else - talking about crypto-fiat exchange, and not about crypto only exchanges, of course, which I do plan to deal with something soon as I get the time.
Thanks for the series as I think you have achieved the intention. I would add that this should be revisited as changes continue in the space. For example, the recent launches of decentralized exchanges bring a long term opportunity of a model that can benefit investors and the industry as security becomes more of a concern. Also, with the recent announcement of Circle (backed by Goldman Sachs) purchase of Poloniex we will see the addition of financial giants coming into the space. It will be interrupted to see how these entries impact the opportunities for investors.
The decentralized fiat-crypto exchange is coming, and I will be here to write about it once it's fully operational! As you say, the Circle deal points to another example of big money moving into crypto, and probably quickly. We'll see if the decentralized exchanges can keep pace.
My thoughts exactly. I totally understand not wanting to put out negatives. That said, there are so many things these guys have to work on. I think you pretty much got the important ones down.
I wouldn't advice a case by case study either. It's a waste of time, and frankly not worth it. The problems are similar. I believe the first parts of the series did justice to buying, honestly.
P.S I totally agree with you on the China issue. The FUD they spread is just crazy. I'm glad the crypto world handled it well, though.
Exactly! Lot's to improve on. And the race has begun!
(Most don't have unlimited fiat backing to be perpetually wrong with.)
Great points at cryptographic.
The crypto world is wrought with scams and fraud. It only gets worse when you get into countries that are not known for their transparency (not that the west excels at this but it is better). While we know how the USG operates, at least their regulators are somewhat attentive. Even the banksters get hit with huge fines.
It is very important for people to do their best to operate with reputatble entities. For all the attacks coinbase took over the IRS deal, at least you know they will be around and if something goes wrong, they make it right.
Overall, this was an excellent series...one that should help newer people.
By the way, I will send you a link to buy some of that Chinese ETH killer...it seems you are hot on it. 😀
By the way, here is a podcast with @stan..just scroll down and it is listed under new.
https://www.futuretechpodcast.com/
If you are crunched for time, I did a write up of it on my blog explaining what he said...interesting stuff about the idea of EOS being used to enhance BTS.
I saw that and have to thank you for the executive summary since I haven't had the time to listen in. (Still hope to listen in, probably this weekend.)
Glad you liked the series. Hope you're right about it being a help.
No problem. I know it isnt easy being crunched for time and I try to give you summaries of what I come across.
I listened to a podcast put together by Weiss ratings...it was about the criteria they use.
I just did a writeup about that....their view of STEEM is like ours...
Unfortunately, they have a much different view of Bitshares...so was a mixed call....and not easy to write up.....
Just saw that a bit ago. Left a comment there for you. I think they'll change their tune sooner or later with regards to BTS.
Hi @cryptographic ! Very right what you mention about scams and negatives of doing business with exchanges outside the ones you pointed out!
2 Things I would like to say:
1- There are other countries like Mexico that has the Bitso exchange, and yes, it is small in size and trading yet, but I think it can be trusted. For people in Mexico I believe this is the main gateway to get FIAT into crypto.
2- I hope Bitshares comes up with a service that people on everypart of the world can upload FIAT of their country and automatically get bitUSD or BTS. That will be amazing for Bitshares and for the entire crypto community.
If the reason for not having this yet is because of regulations, perhaps a cross chain blockchain or the way it is called, that acts as a bridge between Bitshares and the banks could be the solution?
Looking forward to your thoughts on this.
Regards, @gold84
Good of you to point out that in many parts of the world there are localized exchanges serving their customers well. Lot's of people have a difficult time buying crypto, and the more we can help solve that problem, the better. BitShares would definitely be well advised to aggressively get moving in that direction!
Gemini still my best. These "rest" really sucks like you said. Can they improve? Sure. But their histories are not very encouraging. Scams, hacks, etc.
I totally agree with all your points. China spreads crazy confused FUDs that doesn't really inspire much trust in them. North America and Europe are the only ones in the right directions.
Stay with the winning team--Gemini!
Gemini could be a long term winner alright. They sure have put in a very good foundation to build on.
If 2017 was the year of the ICO, it seems as if 2018 is destined to become the year of regulatory reckoning. Things have already begun to heat up as countries around the world grapple with cryptocurrencies and try to determine how they are going to treat them. Some are welcoming, others are cautious. And some countries are downright antagonistic.
Here is a brief overview of how 15 countries/unions from various regions are treating cryptocurrency regulations.
https://bitcoinmagazine.com/articles/cryptocurrency-regulation-2018-where-world-stands-right-now/
I completely agree that 2018 could be destined to become the year of regulatory reckoning. Thanks for that great reference link!
Defintely. The FUDs spread by China and co has been handled pretty well, wanna know why? Nope, you do already. It is simply because:
And,
That honestly pissed me off so much when it happened. Like make up your mind or GTFO already.
I hope they come around, though, and see the beautiful of this. Something tells me it's inevitable that they all will. Would defintely love that when it happens it.
Is this the end of the How To Buy series? I saw it pretty late but made sure to read em all.
It's only a matter of time, as you say, otherwise they will completely miss out on the future and be left behind in the dark ages.