In today’s edition of The Daily, we cover several different
reports about the cryptocurrency ecosystem. The first was
written by a cybersecurity firm that’s trying to identify
the safest exchanges through which to trade. The second
report offers a detailed breakdown of the market based on a
host of different parameters, while another shows that
corporations have abused the term “blockchain” so much that
it has become poisonous.
Also Read: Israeli Central Bank to Hold off on Issuing
Digital ‘E-Shekel’ Coin
And the Safest Exchange Is…
Group-IB, a Moscow-based cybersecurity firm, has developed a
ranking system to grade cryptocurrency exchanges by the level
of safety they offer clients. This is meant to provide
insurers a way to decide what rates to offer clients that
wish to insure their holdings on different exchanges.
“In the first place, we assess how crypto exchanges deal
with crypto and fiat assets: what are the exchanges assets
keys’ storage and management procedures,” a Group-IB
spokesperson explained to TNW Hard Fork . “In some cases,
with founders’ consent, the assessment includes penetration
testing using social engineering methods aimed at the
network compromise through the most vulnerable link at any
organization — humans.”
According to the rankings, Okex, Huobi Pro, and Coincheck
are among the least safe exchanges. Binance, Bitfinex,
Bithumb, Bitmex, Localbitcoins, Myetherwallet and Poloniex
rank above those exchanges, but Group-IB views Bittrex and
Coinbase Pro as even safer. It ranks Kraken as the safest
exchange.
The Current Industry Landscape
Bitmex Research has presented a report produced by
Cryptocompare which offers a very detailed look at the
exchange ecosystem. It reveals that Malta has been able to
position itself as a global trading hub, as exchanges that are
now legally based there produce the highest total daily trade
volume, at just under $1.4 billion. The island nation is
followed by South Korea, with about $840 million, and Hong
Kong at approximately $560 million.
In terms of fiat pairs, the U.S. dollar represented 50 percent
of BTC trading on average. The greenback was followed by the
Japanese yen at 21 percent and the Korean won at 16 percent.
The report also shows that centralized exchanges continue to
dominate trading. The combined average daily volume on the
top five decentralized exchanges stands at just under $2.4
million, which is a mere 0.4 percent of total exchange
volume.
Another interesting statistic from the report is that 11
percent of the top exchanges have been hacked in the past.
And only one-third of the leading exchanges keep a majority
of users’ funds in cold storage.
Blockchain Winter Is Coming
Blockchain hype has been a constant feature of mainstream
financial media coverage of the cryptocurrency space for about
two years now. Many big companies that have wanted free
exposure but lacked any connection to cryptocurrency have
simply repackaged old database products as private
blockchains. Others have simply claimed to launch pilot
programs to put everything from vegetables to shipping
containers on blockchains.
But now a new report by advisory firm Forrester (Nasdaq:
FORR) concludes that “continued hype and unrealistic
promises drive risk of a looming Blockchain Winter.” In
fact, the research shows that companies are already switching
out the term in exchange for “distributed ledger
technology.” Now it remains to be seen how long companies
will be able to milk “DLT” as a buzzword before moving on
to the next one.
What do you think about today’s news tidbits? Share your
thoughts in the comments section below.
reports about the cryptocurrency ecosystem. The first was
written by a cybersecurity firm that’s trying to identify
the safest exchanges through which to trade. The second
report offers a detailed breakdown of the market based on a
host of different parameters, while another shows that
corporations have abused the term “blockchain” so much that
it has become poisonous.
Also Read: Israeli Central Bank to Hold off on Issuing
Digital ‘E-Shekel’ Coin
And the Safest Exchange Is…
Group-IB, a Moscow-based cybersecurity firm, has developed a
ranking system to grade cryptocurrency exchanges by the level
of safety they offer clients. This is meant to provide
insurers a way to decide what rates to offer clients that
wish to insure their holdings on different exchanges.
“In the first place, we assess how crypto exchanges deal
with crypto and fiat assets: what are the exchanges assets
keys’ storage and management procedures,” a Group-IB
spokesperson explained to TNW Hard Fork . “In some cases,
with founders’ consent, the assessment includes penetration
testing using social engineering methods aimed at the
network compromise through the most vulnerable link at any
organization — humans.”
According to the rankings, Okex, Huobi Pro, and Coincheck
are among the least safe exchanges. Binance, Bitfinex,
Bithumb, Bitmex, Localbitcoins, Myetherwallet and Poloniex
rank above those exchanges, but Group-IB views Bittrex and
Coinbase Pro as even safer. It ranks Kraken as the safest
exchange.
The Current Industry Landscape
Bitmex Research has presented a report produced by
Cryptocompare which offers a very detailed look at the
exchange ecosystem. It reveals that Malta has been able to
position itself as a global trading hub, as exchanges that are
now legally based there produce the highest total daily trade
volume, at just under $1.4 billion. The island nation is
followed by South Korea, with about $840 million, and Hong
Kong at approximately $560 million.
In terms of fiat pairs, the U.S. dollar represented 50 percent
of BTC trading on average. The greenback was followed by the
Japanese yen at 21 percent and the Korean won at 16 percent.
The report also shows that centralized exchanges continue to
dominate trading. The combined average daily volume on the
top five decentralized exchanges stands at just under $2.4
million, which is a mere 0.4 percent of total exchange
volume.
Another interesting statistic from the report is that 11
percent of the top exchanges have been hacked in the past.
And only one-third of the leading exchanges keep a majority
of users’ funds in cold storage.
Blockchain Winter Is Coming
Blockchain hype has been a constant feature of mainstream
financial media coverage of the cryptocurrency space for about
two years now. Many big companies that have wanted free
exposure but lacked any connection to cryptocurrency have
simply repackaged old database products as private
blockchains. Others have simply claimed to launch pilot
programs to put everything from vegetables to shipping
containers on blockchains.
But now a new report by advisory firm Forrester (Nasdaq:
FORR) concludes that “continued hype and unrealistic
promises drive risk of a looming Blockchain Winter.” In
fact, the research shows that companies are already switching
out the term in exchange for “distributed ledger
technology.” Now it remains to be seen how long companies
will be able to milk “DLT” as a buzzword before moving on
to the next one.
What do you think about today’s news tidbits? Share your
thoughts in the comments section below.
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