Binance- the cowboys of the crypto world

Binance has taken the crypto world by storm as traders bask in the many altcoins the platform offers along with its low brokerage fees. Many users rave about easy verification process for immediate trading, yet recent scandals and hacks indicate that easy trading and brokerage fees come at a cost. The pictures of over 10,000 users holding their passports were leaked, as thousands more are currently being held hostage. Reports of frozen accounts are growing rapidly, as Binance bullies its users into complying when their security is at its most vulnerable.

Frozen Funds

While the CEO of Binance may repeat that all funds are “Safu”, an increasing amount of users have reported having their funds frozen amid hacking suspicions or funds sold at market price. On suspicion of a security breach, the platform first freezes an account without any forewarning until users make noise on social media or write to their Reddit support thread in a havoc.

Apparently Binance finds themselves being hacked more frequently than other exchanges, as the hacker has asked for aprox. 3 million USD worth of BTC in exchange for withholding 60,000 more KYC passport pictures.

Users continue to complain on unofficial reddit community platform, yet traders cannot call or physically go to any Binance office is. Although they claim to be safer than a bank, and the idea of crypto itself may be to take the reins on the world of finance, there is no teller to call and ask what happened , why and where your funds might be.

Although many tend to view Binance as a gateway into many altcoins and crypto trading, it behaves more as a centralized broker rather than a decentralized player. You get what you pay for when you buy made in China- a cheaper product that works until it breaks with no customer support.

Banned on Chinese Weibo and kicked out of the top 10 most trusted

Behaving like a crypto cowboy is a common behaviour pattern for one of the world’s largest exchange platforms. Binance has a history of violating terms of use or not complying , and one less publicized example involves the New York Attorney General’s office. The NYAG launched the Virtual Markets Integrity Initiative Report and concluded that Binance is operating unlawfully in the US. Out of 13 companies mentioned in the report, which sought to implement a proper framework for crypto players, Binance and Kraken exchange platforms are the only two that did not attempt to respond or comply with the initiative .

Fast forward to this month, Weibo has banned Binance. This comes after president Xi decides to reverse its crypto ban, as many onlookers and rumours start brewing that Binance may want to allegedly return to China in a new Shanghai office. Of course, CZ was not banned from Weibo , as his account is safe.

Wash Trading in desperation

To make things worse, Binance was kicked off the “Trusted Exchanges” top 10 list. Their flawless reputation at the Blockchain Transparency Institute (BTI) is currently being jeopardized. Between the 25th of September to October 23rd, Bitcoin prices were volatile, affecting other derivative exchanges, but not Binance. Statistics reveal that Binance may have been wash trading and manipulating their trade numbers for show.

Conclusions

Binance has had a rough year, and traders are taking notice. While CEO CZ tries to play it cool by wash trading and guarantying users that funds are safe, their drop in trusted exchange rankings proves otherwise.

This article does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors or management of EconoTimes.