What is going on in the Crypto-World?
On December 06, 2017, Nicehash (a marketplace that matches those with spare computing to power to miners wanting to create new coins) was hacked and the website was offline until December 20, 2017 (Read full story here)
On December 19, 2017 Youbit filed for bankruptcy following a second hack. Users were able to get back 75% of their assets. (Read full story here)
On December 19, 2017 Coinbase/GDAX (one of the biggest crypto wallets/exchanges) released a statement that they will be investigating possible insider trading within their firm. (Read full story here)
That is just 3 incidents that caught my attention… there are many more out there… This is not touching the lending platforms, Tumblers, and ICO’s (Initial Coin Offerings) that have turned out to be nothing more than scams.
With almost every scam and every hack that has happened, it is important to make sure that you remain safe in the Crypto World. So before you place your money in a online wallet, do your research (need we mention Parity, who recently lost an estimated $300M worth of it’s users Ethereum which is now stuck in limbo due to a vulnerability in it’s open source code… A *Kill* command of all things) You should find out how long that wallet has been open, if there has been any hacks or any discrepancies… Even though I have listed CoinBase in this, I would still recommend them for US investors. They are FDIC insured which means something to us personally and should also to many others.
Other ways to stay “safe” include making sure that you are using unique passwords which you change frequently, like once a month. Never give private keys out to ANYONE…. This is just to name a few tips which can save you from a mild headache and a lot of heartache. ALWAYS remember this is a digital world.
By no means should any of this stop you along the way on your Crypto-Journey, but it should help you become just a little bit more cautious.
Please share your thoughts, comments and concerns below.