In May 2013 Cryptsy launched a Bitcoin-to-altcoin exchange platform. Within two years the company grew rapidly.
Miami New Times chronicled the saga of Cryptsy and its founder Paul Vernon in June 2016.
Prosecutors allege that he stole millions of dollars worth of customers’ crypto assets before fleeing to China. He has not been found since. Have a peek here.
Cryptocurrency News
Cryptocurrency exchange Cryptsy is in trouble, and its founder Paul Vernon (better known as Big Vern) has finally made an announcement to explain what’s going on. After months of withdrawal complaints and nasty rumors, he’s now saying the site was the victim of a cyber attack that resulted in millions of dollars in losses.
He’s also asking bitcoin community members for help in finding the stolen coins. They’re apparently being laundered through a bitcoin mixing service called ChipMixer, and it’s the first time these funds have shown up on the blockchain.
The class action lawsuit filed by Silver Law Group and Wites & Kapetan against Cryptsy and Big Vern has been updated to include Lorie Ann Nettles, the wife of Vernon’s co-founder. It says that the two individuals prevented customers from accessing around $USD5 million in assets and then misused them for their own personal gain. The new claim also includes a new count of wire fraud.
Cryptocurrency Trading
Cryptocurrencies are digital assets secured by cryptography and can be used to purchase products and services, exchanged for fiat currency or held as speculative investments. As with any investment, it’s important to do your research before deciding whether or not cryptocurrency is a suitable investment for you. Before investing, look for resources that provide information on a cryptocurrency’s total market capitalization, circulating supply and price history. Also, consider how reputable the exchange is and what protections it offers its investors.
Trading cryptocurrencies involves buying and selling them on a cryptocurrency exchange. This can be done directly with the coins themselves or through derivative financial instruments like Contracts for Difference (CFDs) which enable traders to speculate on price movements without having to take ownership of the underlying coin. This type of trading is leveraged, meaning your profits and losses are magnified. The volatility of the cryptocurrency market makes it more riskier than traditional trading, so you’ll need to be aware of this when making your decisions.
Cryptocurrency Wallets
Crypto wallets store public and private keys, which are needed to carry out cryptocurrency transactions. They can be software or hardware. There are a few key differences between them, but they all function to securely store and transfer cryptocurrency.
The most common type of crypto wallet is a blockchain-based software wallet. These wallets use the blockchain, a distributed ledger, to record and verify transactions. The blockchain is immutable and tamper-proof, protecting users from fraud and other cyber crimes.
The blockchain is also used to create a hierarchy of accounts that are linked together and backed up. These hierarchical deterministic (HD) accounts are created when you generate your wallet, and can be restored on other devices with a twelve word backup phrase that’s randomly generated. This helps to prevent theft of your crypto assets, and diversifies your assets across multiple locations, further reducing the risk of loss. These wallets can be downloaded from a variety of online sources, but it’s important to only download from reputable vendors and always run them on malware-free devices.
Cryptocurrency Exchange
A cryptocurrency exchange is a digital marketplace that matches buyers and sellers of crypto assets. They usually charge fees for their services and are backed by either fiat currencies or other cryptocurrencies.
Centralized crypto exchanges, known as CEXs, are regulated by the relevant governmental bodies and offer users easy access to their preferred coins using traditional money (like bank transfers or credit cards). However, they also require the user to forfeit custody of their own wallets, making them more susceptible to hacking attempts.
Decentralized crypto exchanges, on the other hand, allow users to retain ownership of their own private keys. However, they don’t have the ability to support as many coins or provide the same level of service as centralized exchanges.