Monday, November 1, 2021

Analyst Says Ethereum is 'Massively Undervalued', Despite Recent ATH

Ethereum recently rose to an ATH of over $ 4,440. And at press time, ETH was still hovering around the $ 4,300 levels. While these are considered by many to be strong levels, analyst Lark Davis argued that Ethereum is vastly undervalued in his latest podcast .

Five events to watch out for

Speaking in the context of the development of Ethereum use cases on social media platforms, Davis made some key observations. Not so long ago Reddit had launched its community tokens on the Ethereum platform.

Recently, Reddit hinted at an NFT release. Davis noted that his community of "430 million monthly active users" is now likely to use the Ethereum platform for launch. Similarly, I expected that even Twitter would have to "enable Ethereum-based verification" for its NFT platform.

Also, let's not forget that TikTok, with billions of users, has already launched its creator-led NFT collection on the second-generation blockchain. Another similar ad may even come from Facebook, Davis hoped. The platform with “2.8 billion monthly active users” could take a “multi-chain” approach for its upcoming metaverse plans.

However, Facebook's NFT plans could boost Ethereum again. Also, the wide adoption of Facebook's Novi wallet in the future is also something you need to focus on, from Ethereum's point of view .

From NFT to ETF

Moving on to what has been considered an industry-wide win, is the launch of focused Bitcoin ETFs. Naturally, Davis and other investors are hoping that an ETH ETF will be next. Notably, Canada has allowed Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs. Davis pointed out that it could be the next thing in the US market.

Institutional interest

According to the CoinShares weekly report, Ethereum posted exits for the third week in a row totaling $ 1.4 million as of October 25. Despite the profit-taking, institutional interest in ETH is something that remains strong.

Previously, JP Morgan analysts had pointed out that institutions even prefer Ethereum over Bitcoin. Davis also explained that a "range of different players, from public companies to private funds, family offices, etc." see Ethereum development as an invertible asset.

Furthermore, with increasing demand, the available supply of Ethereum on core exchanges has been down by 18%, which is close to 4 million ETH. And this trend has occurred in the last five months.

Also, a report pointed out that Ethereum's current burning rate after the London hard fork is around 5 ETH / min. With over 700,000 tokens burned, Ethereum's POS merger is also not far from its Altair upgrade. With the reduction in mining rewards, Davis estimated,

"Ethereum will have a negative annual supply rate of around minus 2%."

Having said that, Goldman Sachs' Bernhard Rzymelka recently predicted that the price of ETH would double by the end of the year.


Analyst Says Ethereum is 'Massively Undervalued', Despite Recent ATH

Ethereum recently rose to an ATH of over $ 4,440. And at press time, ETH was still hovering around the $ 4,300 levels. While these are considered by many to be strong levels, analyst Lark Davis argued that Ethereum is vastly undervalued in his latest podcast .

Five events to watch out for

Speaking in the context of the development of Ethereum use cases on social media platforms, Davis made some key observations. Not so long ago Reddit had launched its community tokens on the Ethereum platform.

Recently, Reddit hinted at an NFT release. Davis noted that his community of "430 million monthly active users" is now likely to use the Ethereum platform for launch. Similarly, I expected that even Twitter would have to "enable Ethereum-based verification" for its NFT platform.

Also, let's not forget that TikTok, with billions of users, has already launched its creator-led NFT collection on the second-generation blockchain. Another similar ad may even come from Facebook, Davis hoped. The platform with “2.8 billion monthly active users” could take a “multi-chain” approach for its upcoming metaverse plans.

However, Facebook's NFT plans could boost Ethereum again. Also, the wide adoption of Facebook's Novi wallet in the future is also something you need to focus on, from Ethereum's point of view .

From NFT to ETF

Moving on to what has been considered an industry-wide win, is the launch of focused Bitcoin ETFs. Naturally, Davis and other investors are hoping that an ETH ETF will be next. Notably, Canada has allowed Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs. Davis pointed out that it could be the next thing in the US market.

Institutional interest

According to the CoinShares weekly report, Ethereum posted exits for the third week in a row totaling $ 1.4 million as of October 25. Despite the profit-taking, institutional interest in ETH is something that remains strong.

Previously, JP Morgan analysts had pointed out that institutions even prefer Ethereum over Bitcoin. Davis also explained that a "range of different players, from public companies to private funds, family offices, etc." see Ethereum development as an invertible asset.

Furthermore, with increasing demand, the available supply of Ethereum on core exchanges has been down by 18%, which is close to 4 million ETH. And this trend has occurred in the last five months.

Also, a report pointed out that Ethereum's current burning rate after the London hard fork is around 5 ETH / min. With over 700,000 tokens burned, Ethereum's POS merger is also not far from its Altair upgrade. With the reduction in mining rewards, Davis estimated,

"Ethereum will have a negative annual supply rate of around minus 2%."

Having said that, Goldman Sachs' Bernhard Rzymelka recently predicted that the price of ETH would double by the end of the year.


Analyst Says Ethereum is 'Massively Undervalued', Despite Recent ATH

Ethereum recently rose to an ATH of over $ 4,440. And at press time, ETH was still hovering around the $ 4,300 levels. While these are considered by many to be strong levels, analyst Lark Davis argued that Ethereum is vastly undervalued in his latest podcast .

Five events to watch out for

Speaking in the context of the development of Ethereum use cases on social media platforms, Davis made some key observations. Not so long ago Reddit had launched its community tokens on the Ethereum platform.

Recently, Reddit hinted at an NFT release. Davis noted that his community of "430 million monthly active users" is now likely to use the Ethereum platform for launch. Similarly, I expected that even Twitter would have to "enable Ethereum-based verification" for its NFT platform.

Also, let's not forget that TikTok, with billions of users, has already launched its creator-led NFT collection on the second-generation blockchain. Another similar ad may even come from Facebook, Davis hoped. The platform with “2.8 billion monthly active users” could take a “multi-chain” approach for its upcoming metaverse plans.

However, Facebook's NFT plans could boost Ethereum again. Also, the wide adoption of Facebook's Novi wallet in the future is also something you need to focus on, from Ethereum's point of view .

From NFT to ETF

Moving on to what has been considered an industry-wide win, is the launch of focused Bitcoin ETFs. Naturally, Davis and other investors are hoping that an ETH ETF will be next. Notably, Canada has allowed Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs. Davis pointed out that it could be the next thing in the US market.

Institutional interest

According to the CoinShares weekly report, Ethereum posted exits for the third week in a row totaling $ 1.4 million as of October 25. Despite the profit-taking, institutional interest in ETH is something that remains strong.

Previously, JP Morgan analysts had pointed out that institutions even prefer Ethereum over Bitcoin. Davis also explained that a "range of different players, from public companies to private funds, family offices, etc." see Ethereum development as an invertible asset.

Furthermore, with increasing demand, the available supply of Ethereum on core exchanges has been down by 18%, which is close to 4 million ETH. And this trend has occurred in the last five months.

Also, a report pointed out that Ethereum's current burning rate after the London hard fork is around 5 ETH / min. With over 700,000 tokens burned, Ethereum's POS merger is also not far from its Altair upgrade. With the reduction in mining rewards, Davis estimated,

"Ethereum will have a negative annual supply rate of around minus 2%."

Having said that, Goldman Sachs' Bernhard Rzymelka recently predicted that the price of ETH would double by the end of the year.


Analyst Says Ethereum is 'Massively Undervalued', Despite Recent ATH

Ethereum recently rose to an ATH of over $ 4,440. And at press time, ETH was still hovering around the $ 4,300 levels. While these are considered by many to be strong levels, analyst Lark Davis argued that Ethereum is vastly undervalued in his latest podcast .

Five events to watch out for

Speaking in the context of the development of Ethereum use cases on social media platforms, Davis made some key observations. Not so long ago Reddit had launched its community tokens on the Ethereum platform.

Recently, Reddit hinted at an NFT release. Davis noted that his community of "430 million monthly active users" is now likely to use the Ethereum platform for launch. Similarly, I expected that even Twitter would have to "enable Ethereum-based verification" for its NFT platform.

Also, let's not forget that TikTok, with billions of users, has already launched its creator-led NFT collection on the second-generation blockchain. Another similar ad may even come from Facebook, Davis hoped. The platform with “2.8 billion monthly active users” could take a “multi-chain” approach for its upcoming metaverse plans.

However, Facebook's NFT plans could boost Ethereum again. Also, the wide adoption of Facebook's Novi wallet in the future is also something you need to focus on, from Ethereum's point of view .

From NFT to ETF

Moving on to what has been considered an industry-wide win, is the launch of focused Bitcoin ETFs. Naturally, Davis and other investors are hoping that an ETH ETF will be next. Notably, Canada has allowed Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs. Davis pointed out that it could be the next thing in the US market.

Institutional interest

According to the CoinShares weekly report, Ethereum posted exits for the third week in a row totaling $ 1.4 million as of October 25. Despite the profit-taking, institutional interest in ETH is something that remains strong.

Previously, JP Morgan analysts had pointed out that institutions even prefer Ethereum over Bitcoin. Davis also explained that a "range of different players, from public companies to private funds, family offices, etc." see Ethereum development as an invertible asset.

Furthermore, with increasing demand, the available supply of Ethereum on core exchanges has been down by 18%, which is close to 4 million ETH. And this trend has occurred in the last five months.

Also, a report pointed out that Ethereum's current burning rate after the London hard fork is around 5 ETH / min. With over 700,000 tokens burned, Ethereum's POS merger is also not far from its Altair upgrade. With the reduction in mining rewards, Davis estimated,

"Ethereum will have a negative annual supply rate of around minus 2%."

Having said that, Goldman Sachs' Bernhard Rzymelka recently predicted that the price of ETH would double by the end of the year.


Analyst Says Ethereum is 'Massively Undervalued', Despite Recent ATH

Ethereum recently rose to an ATH of over $ 4,440. And at press time, ETH was still hovering around the $ 4,300 levels. While these are considered by many to be strong levels, analyst Lark Davis argued that Ethereum is vastly undervalued in his latest podcast .

Five events to watch out for

Speaking in the context of the development of Ethereum use cases on social media platforms, Davis made some key observations. Not so long ago Reddit had launched its community tokens on the Ethereum platform.

Recently, Reddit hinted at an NFT release. Davis noted that his community of "430 million monthly active users" is now likely to use the Ethereum platform for launch. Similarly, I expected that even Twitter would have to "enable Ethereum-based verification" for its NFT platform.

Also, let's not forget that TikTok, with billions of users, has already launched its creator-led NFT collection on the second-generation blockchain. Another similar ad may even come from Facebook, Davis hoped. The platform with “2.8 billion monthly active users” could take a “multi-chain” approach for its upcoming metaverse plans.

However, Facebook's NFT plans could boost Ethereum again. Also, the wide adoption of Facebook's Novi wallet in the future is also something you need to focus on, from Ethereum's point of view .

From NFT to ETF

Moving on to what has been considered an industry-wide win, is the launch of focused Bitcoin ETFs. Naturally, Davis and other investors are hoping that an ETH ETF will be next. Notably, Canada has allowed Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs. Davis pointed out that it could be the next thing in the US market.

Institutional interest

According to the CoinShares weekly report, Ethereum posted exits for the third week in a row totaling $ 1.4 million as of October 25. Despite the profit-taking, institutional interest in ETH is something that remains strong.

Previously, JP Morgan analysts had pointed out that institutions even prefer Ethereum over Bitcoin. Davis also explained that a "range of different players, from public companies to private funds, family offices, etc." see Ethereum development as an invertible asset.

Furthermore, with increasing demand, the available supply of Ethereum on core exchanges has been down by 18%, which is close to 4 million ETH. And this trend has occurred in the last five months.

Also, a report pointed out that Ethereum's current burning rate after the London hard fork is around 5 ETH / min. With over 700,000 tokens burned, Ethereum's POS merger is also not far from its Altair upgrade. With the reduction in mining rewards, Davis estimated,

"Ethereum will have a negative annual supply rate of around minus 2%."

Having said that, Goldman Sachs' Bernhard Rzymelka recently predicted that the price of ETH would double by the end of the year.


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Beware of 'The Flippening': 7 crypto experts break down the ominous-sounding event and its implications for bitcoin, with some investors fearing it could unsettle the crypto market

https://www.businessinsider.com/crypto-investing-strategy-what-is-flippening-experts-predicitions-bitcoin-ethereum-2021-10

Beware of 'The Flippening': 7 crypto experts break down the ominous-sounding event and its implications for bitcoin, with some investors fearing it could unsettle the crypto market (x-post from /r/Cryptocurrency)

https://www.reddit.com/r/CryptoCurrency/comments/qkt3gx/beware_of_the_flippening_7_crypto_experts_break/

Bought Bitcoin in 2010 got bullied out of my stack.. fast forward to today, I want to confront the bullies.

In 2011 - as a teenager - I told a 'friend' about bitcoin about a year after purchasing some for myself earlier in 2010. He asked me wether he should get some too, i suggested so. As we hang out again a few weeks later, he invites some two of his own friends over to my house to join us. I am open and welcomed them in good faith. However I get a bit too stoned and the other two guys soon discovered my bitcoin with the help of my 'friend' who eagerly showed the way. They started pushing and asking for me to sell it to them.. I refused not knowing the price because it was a long-term thing i bought with my dad. I don’t exactly remember the details of the rest of the night - but it was a terrible tension and the next day my bitcoin was gone. I forgot about the event (probably because of a lot of shame) and only recently remembered. How should i go about it? How should I confront my 'friend'?


WebDollar crypto coin of the future.

Webdollar is a cutting-edge cryptocurrency built on its own blockchain, own wallet and enhanced technology that allows its users to engage in direct transactions with higher levels of privacy and security, has speeds that are faster than most crypto and tokens and cheaper than credit and debit card transactions Probably the cost of transactions is the cheapest in the crypto space as well. Webdollar includes features such as Proof of Stake 100 % and accelerated halving every 2 years.This event cuts in half WebDollar inflation and the rate at which new WEBD enter the circulation making Webdollar deflationary. Webdollar is now live p2pb2b io , bankcex com , indoex io, webdollar.exchange , Feel free to go to one of these to get Webdollar now and become an early adopter today! Webdollar was born on April 26 2018 when they were roughly only around 4 billion that mostly are still on Hold WEBD pre-mined and open to the public to freely mine Webd Coins availaible in 6000 WEBD blocks every 40 seconds, Free to set their own prices and sell on OTC that made it possibe to be succesfull launched worldwide without an ICO and exchange listing.This is very similar to the way Bitcoin (BTC) was launched as an FCO (Free Coin Offering), giving power to the people to make the best of it....Yet Webdollar is simpler, faster, friendlier and is still trading at a fraction of the price of Bitcoin.Being a Free Coin Offering Webdollar and its Global Community have accomplished a lot as a community driven coin without an ICO .Webdollar has its own smart integrated wallet that is access automatically once you are on webdollar site. Webdollar will be enahnced Privacy Coin with PandoraPay technology when will be finalized by Webdollar Founders. The Webdollar original TestNet launched was done with the community help same with Proof of Stake TestNet that happened 3 times in the past with migrating to Pos66 % in January 30 2019, August 26 2020 pos 90 and July 22 2021 Pos 100% eliminating Pow ( proof of work ) for ever. That was the moment the worldwide community was waiting for. This coin is not dependent on any other platform. Webdollar is its own blockchain ecosystem .Official Mining: Pools on Webdollar run by community was building the global mining—staking community has been accomplished by expanding our mining pools to multiple continents with a number of nodes and servers in various countries .Webdollar was many times on CMC biggest Gainers and even roze to 0.72 cents in June 14 this year getting World Wide attention that Webdollar is ready to be a major player in the crypto world. WebDollar at the mooment has more than 50k members, over 700 WEBD millionaires, around 500.000 addresses and a lot of world wide users that made good profits with Webdollar. A lot of accomplishments for a crypto project that was launched with No Funds , No ICO, No pre-sales and No back stage deals. WebDollar-Together-We Are and Grow Stronger 👍👍👍👍

https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/webdollar/


What will be ridiculous in 10 years?

Some of us have seen this tweet or other stories relating to the Starcraft tournament where the people in the 5th - 8th place got cheesy Bitcoin instead of cool money.

It’s always fun to look back on historical events to realize how clueless the majority of us were. Besides spending way too much time playing Call of Duty, using way too much hair gel and having pants that were way too baggy, we could’ve been setting ourselves up to be millionaires!

What things in crypto do you think we’ll look back on 10 years from now and facepalm? Of course there will something about memecoins, like how far they’ve come or didn’t come since today.

What are some other things that will make people laugh when they look back besides your bad hairstyle?

Edit: to clarify things about crypto


Unsound money (inflationary fiat currency) whets the state's appetite for total war.

government having access to a printing press allows it to continue fighting until it completely destroys the value of its currency, and not just until it runs out of money.

(From The Bitcoin Standard)

All the European countries resorted to unsound currency to finance World War I, an event of unprecedented destruction that accomplished almost nothing except setting the stage for World War II. Far from being a "barbarous relic," (as Lord Keynes described it) the gold standard was a necessary constraint on the state.

With sound money, the government's war effort was limited by the taxes it could collect. With unsound money, it is restrained by how much money it can create before the currency is destroyed.

That destruction of the currency can include hyperinflation, a phenomenon unique to government money backed by nothing.

Tell all your Occupy Wall Street friends that they should be camping on the steps of their nearest Federal Reserve building. The Fed is the ultimate banking cartel.


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🎬 Netflix = Pay-To-Watch
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⚙ Prototype System Available for Public Testing and Claim
⚙ Twitch 23/7 Stream | AMA session with Founder on Twitch Chat Everyday
⚙ GoldTube have its Own Development Team Consist of Blockchain, Web Development, App Development & Media Development.

Stats:
⚙ Week 1 Total User: 200+
⚙ Daily Active Users: 100+
⚙ Daily Recurring Users: 50+

Visit GoldTube 23/7 Stream Here:
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GoldTube User with the Highest GOLT Token Before Official Launch Will be Awarded 1 Bitcoin.
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Pre-Sale
🔑 Participate in GoldTube Campaign to Earn a Slot in GoldTube Pre-Sale Event
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♠ GoldTube GOLT Token is Not Listed on Any DEX Platform
♠ First Round of Pre-Sale Will Be Conducted After Launching of GoldTube Beta.
♠ GoldTube Beta will Allow Viewers to Earn GOLT Token From Every Video Watched.

Alpha Launch Campaign
♠ New Games Weekly
♠ Game Content Updated Daily
♠ More Than 60 Unique Campaign Codes Created

Community
GoldTube is Trying to Create the World's First Paid-To-Watch Culture.
AMA with GoldTube CEO Everyday on Telegram.
Join us so that the next time you watch videos, you will be paid for it.

Follow GoldTube Social Media Platform

GoldTube.io

Twitter

Facebook

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GitBook: Whitepaper

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Product and People First ! 🙆‍♀️🙆‍♂️ GoldTube: World's First Watch-To-Earn Platform 📺

🎬 Netflix = Pay-To-Watch
💻 YouTube = Free-To-Watch
📀 GoldTube = Paid-To-Watch

GoldTube is a Platform Created to Reward Viewers with Money from Watching Videos.

For Viewers:
🍿 Earn GoldTube (GOLT) Token From Watching Videos
🍿 GOLT-TO-GOLD System Allowing Viewers to Invest GOLT to Earn More GOLT within the GoldTube Ecosystem
🍿 Same Content, One is Free-To-Watch, One is Paid-To-Watch. Which Will You Choose?

For Content Creators:
🎥 Get Paid Up to 6x Times More per 1000 views
🎥 Improve APV, AVD, WT, CTR and Conversion through GoldTube Community
🎥 Improve Viewer Experience (VX)
🎥 Organic Traffic Directed to your Video
🎥 With More than 1 Billion Hours of Videos Uploaded to the Internet Every Month, How Can Content Creator Stand Out from the Others?

Pre-Launch Campaign Prize:
🅱 1 BITCOIN Will Be Awarded To Campaign Winner
🅱 Campaign Ends Before Official Launch Of GoldTube
🅱 Leaderboard is Updated Daily!

GoldTube Highlights:
⚙ Alpha Launched on 10.10.2021
⚙ Prototype System Available for Public Testing and Claim
⚙ Twitch 23/7 Stream | AMA session with Founder on Twitch Chat Everyday
⚙ GoldTube have its Own Development Team Consist of Blockchain, Web Development, App Development & Media Development.

Stats:
⚙ Week 1 Total User: 200+
⚙ Daily Active Users: 100+
⚙ Daily Recurring Users: 50+

Visit GoldTube 23/7 Stream Here:
https://www.twitch.tv/goldtubeofficial
GoldTube User with the Highest GOLT Token Before Official Launch Will be Awarded 1 Bitcoin.
Leaderboard will be Updated Daily.

Pre-Sale
🔑 Participate in GoldTube Campaign to Earn a Slot in GoldTube Pre-Sale Event
🔑 Participate in GoldTube Bug Bounty Campaign to Earn a Slot in GoldTube Pre-Sale Event

Prototype
GoldTube Current Prototype will be Testing the Hypothesis of "Will Viewers Watch Videos In Exchange For Money?".

GoldTube Alpha Launch Aim to Collect Statistics and Market Reactions Allowing Development Team to Pivot into the Right Direction.

Expect Final Product To Be a Standalone Platform Where Money is Credited Directly to Viewer After Every Video Watched.

GOLT Token
♠ GoldTube GOLT Token is Not Listed on Any DEX Platform
♠ First Round of Pre-Sale Will Be Conducted After Launching of GoldTube Beta.
♠ GoldTube Beta will Allow Viewers to Earn GOLT Token From Every Video Watched.

Alpha Launch Campaign
♠ New Games Weekly
♠ Game Content Updated Daily
♠ More Than 60 Unique Campaign Codes Created

Community
GoldTube is Trying to Create the World's First Paid-To-Watch Culture.
AMA with GoldTube CEO Everyday on Telegram.
Join us so that the next time you watch videos, you will be paid for it.

Follow GoldTube Social Media Platform

GoldTube.io

Twitter

Facebook

Reddit

GitBook: Whitepaper

Thank You For Reading!
Earn Money Watching Videos!


Product and People First ! 🙆‍♀️🙆‍♂️ GoldTube: World's First Watch-To-Earn Platform 📺

🎬 Netflix = Pay-To-Watch
💻 YouTube = Free-To-Watch
📀 GoldTube = Paid-To-Watch

GoldTube is a Platform Created to Reward Viewers with Money from Watching Videos.

For Viewers:
🍿 Earn GoldTube (GOLT) Token From Watching Videos
🍿 GOLT-TO-GOLD System Allowing Viewers to Invest GOLT to Earn More GOLT within the GoldTube Ecosystem
🍿 Same Content, One is Free-To-Watch, One is Paid-To-Watch. Which Will You Choose?

For Content Creators:
🎥 Get Paid Up to 6x Times More per 1000 views
🎥 Improve APV, AVD, WT, CTR and Conversion through GoldTube Community
🎥 Improve Viewer Experience (VX)
🎥 Organic Traffic Directed to your Video
🎥 With More than 1 Billion Hours of Videos Uploaded to the Internet Every Month, How Can Content Creator Stand Out from the Others?

Pre-Launch Campaign Prize:
🅱 1 BITCOIN Will Be Awarded To Campaign Winner
🅱 Campaign Ends Before Official Launch Of GoldTube
🅱 Leaderboard is Updated Daily!

GoldTube Highlights:
⚙ Alpha Launched on 10.10.2021
⚙ Prototype System Available for Public Testing and Claim
⚙ Twitch 23/7 Stream | AMA session with Founder on Twitch Chat Everyday
⚙ GoldTube have its Own Development Team Consist of Blockchain, Web Development, App Development & Media Development.

Stats:
⚙ Week 1 Total User: 200+
⚙ Daily Active Users: 100+
⚙ Daily Recurring Users: 50+

Visit GoldTube 23/7 Stream Here:
https://www.twitch.tv/goldtubeofficial
GoldTube User with the Highest GOLT Token Before Official Launch Will be Awarded 1 Bitcoin.
Leaderboard will be Updated Daily.

Pre-Sale
🔑 Participate in GoldTube Campaign to Earn a Slot in GoldTube Pre-Sale Event
🔑 Participate in GoldTube Bug Bounty Campaign to Earn a Slot in GoldTube Pre-Sale Event

Prototype
GoldTube Current Prototype will be Testing the Hypothesis of "Will Viewers Watch Videos In Exchange For Money?".

GoldTube Alpha Launch Aim to Collect Statistics and Market Reactions Allowing Development Team to Pivot into the Right Direction.

Expect Final Product To Be a Standalone Platform Where Money is Credited Directly to Viewer After Every Video Watched.

GOLT Token
♠ GoldTube GOLT Token is Not Listed on Any DEX Platform
♠ First Round of Pre-Sale Will Be Conducted After Launching of GoldTube Beta.
♠ GoldTube Beta will Allow Viewers to Earn GOLT Token From Every Video Watched.

Alpha Launch Campaign
♠ New Games Weekly
♠ Game Content Updated Daily
♠ More Than 60 Unique Campaign Codes Created

Community
GoldTube is Trying to Create the World's First Paid-To-Watch Culture.
AMA with GoldTube CEO Everyday on Telegram.
Join us so that the next time you watch videos, you will be paid for it.

Follow GoldTube Social Media Platform

GoldTube.io

Twitter

Facebook

Reddit

GitBook: Whitepaper

Thank You For Reading!
Earn Money Watching Videos!


Product and People First ! 🙆‍♀️🙆‍♂️ GoldTube: World's First Watch-To-Earn Platform 📺

🎬 Netflix = Pay-To-Watch
💻 YouTube = Free-To-Watch
📀 GoldTube = Paid-To-Watch

GoldTube is a Platform Created to Reward Viewers with Money from Watching Videos.

For Viewers:
🍿 Earn GoldTube (GOLT) Token From Watching Videos
🍿 GOLT-TO-GOLD System Allowing Viewers to Invest GOLT to Earn More GOLT within the GoldTube Ecosystem
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🎥 Improve Viewer Experience (VX)
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Pre-Launch Campaign Prize:
🅱 1 BITCOIN Will Be Awarded To Campaign Winner
🅱 Campaign Ends Before Official Launch Of GoldTube
🅱 Leaderboard is Updated Daily!

GoldTube Highlights:
⚙ Alpha Launched on 10.10.2021
⚙ Prototype System Available for Public Testing and Claim
⚙ Twitch 23/7 Stream | AMA session with Founder on Twitch Chat Everyday
⚙ GoldTube have its Own Development Team Consist of Blockchain, Web Development, App Development & Media Development.

Stats:
⚙ Week 1 Total User: 200+
⚙ Daily Active Users: 100+
⚙ Daily Recurring Users: 50+

Visit GoldTube 23/7 Stream Here:
https://www.twitch.tv/goldtubeofficial
GoldTube User with the Highest GOLT Token Before Official Launch Will be Awarded 1 Bitcoin.
Leaderboard will be Updated Daily.

Pre-Sale
🔑 Participate in GoldTube Campaign to Earn a Slot in GoldTube Pre-Sale Event
🔑 Participate in GoldTube Bug Bounty Campaign to Earn a Slot in GoldTube Pre-Sale Event

Prototype
GoldTube Current Prototype will be Testing the Hypothesis of "Will Viewers Watch Videos In Exchange For Money?".

GoldTube Alpha Launch Aim to Collect Statistics and Market Reactions Allowing Development Team to Pivot into the Right Direction.

Expect Final Product To Be a Standalone Platform Where Money is Credited Directly to Viewer After Every Video Watched.

GOLT Token
♠ GoldTube GOLT Token is Not Listed on Any DEX Platform
♠ First Round of Pre-Sale Will Be Conducted After Launching of GoldTube Beta.
♠ GoldTube Beta will Allow Viewers to Earn GOLT Token From Every Video Watched.

Alpha Launch Campaign
♠ New Games Weekly
♠ Game Content Updated Daily
♠ More Than 60 Unique Campaign Codes Created

Community
GoldTube is Trying to Create the World's First Paid-To-Watch Culture.
AMA with GoldTube CEO Everyday on Telegram.
Join us so that the next time you watch videos, you will be paid for it.

Follow GoldTube Social Media Platform

GoldTube.io

Twitter

Facebook

Reddit

GitBook: Whitepaper

Thank You For Reading!
Earn Money Watching Videos!


Valour Inc., a Subsidiary of DeFi Technologies, Valour announces new incoming CEO

PR Newswire

TORONTO , Nov. 1, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - DeFi Technologies Inc. (the " Company " or " DeFi Technologies ") (NEO: DEFI) (GR: RMJR) (OTC: DEFTF), a technology company bridging the gap between traditional capital markets and decentralized finance, today announces that its subsidiary Valour Inc. (" Valour "), an issuer of digital asset exchange traded products (" ETPs "), has appointed Tommy Fransson to the role of Chief Executive Officer starting January 1, 2022 . Mr. Fransson was previously at the Nordic Growth Market (" NGM ") where he was Deputy CEO for ten years and Head of the Nordic Derivatives Exchange. Mr. Fransson will replace Diana Biggs , who will move to DeFi Technologies, Valour's parent company, in the role of Chief Strategy Officer.

This announcement follows Valour's exponential growth since its launch last December, with Assets Under Management (" AUM ") as of October 25, 2021 at over US$290M , up 3033%.

Mr. Fransson joined NGM in 2002, where he first worked across business development, sales, listing and market surveillance. As deputy CEO, he took responsibility for sales, listing, business development and marketing. He was in charge of the IPO market – the listing of small and medium enterprises (" SMEs ") – and developing the exchange's strategy, its geographical expansion and its clients.

Mr. Fransson became Head of the Nordic Derivatives Exchange in 2008, developing its infrastructure and driving income-related sections of the business, including building distribution, expanding alternative asset classes, and trading. He was also involved in the acquisition of NGM by Boerse Stuttgart in November 2008 . He was appointed Deputy CEO of NGM in 2011.

Mr. Fransson was also Chairman and co-founder of the Swedish Exchange Traded Products Association (" SETIPA "), created to support the development of ETPs, and was previously a Board member of the European Structured Investment Products Association (" EUSIPA ").

Mr. Fransson will work closely with the newly appointed COO, Frances Edwards , and the management team of DeFi Technologies and Valour to lead Valour's next phase of growth, as Valour continues to expand its product offerings internationally, starting with additional European markets.

Diana Biggs , Chief Executive Officer of Valour, said: "Tommy's decade at NGM has given him a highly detailed knowledge of the Nordic and wider European markets, while his roles and experience gained at SETIPA and EUSIPA will bring great value for our ETP offering. This depth of expertise in traditional markets is so important to Valour as we build our presence in the Nordics, in Germany , with our new listing, and across Europe and beyond."

"Since bringing Valour to market last December, we've made incredible strides - multiple products listed, new markets, and a growing team, including a COO who joined us from Blackrock - and there's much more to come. Tommy has the exact, material knowledge to build upon what we've created. We couldn't be happier that he's agreed to join us, and I look forward to continuing to work with him in my new capacity at DeFi Technologies."

Mr. Fransson said: "I firmly believe that digital assets are the financial revolution of our generation. We have seen tremendous pace and development in the industry and there is so much potential within the asset class. I know the Valour founding team extremely well, having worked with them for several years. They really focus on the core essence of bringing the potential of digital assets to fruition – challenging and supporting traditional institutions to operate and benefit securely from digital assets. Having observed Diana and her team driving Valour's growth so successfully and having operated from the NGM side, I am delighted to take on this role and work with the Valour and DeFi Technologies teams to build out Valour's offering further. They are fantastic individuals and I look forward to this new challenge."

As of October 25, 2021 , Valour has surpassed US$290m in AUM from the trading of its products on the NGM and Boerse Frankfurt Zertifikate AG (" Frankfurt "). Progress has been a result of tremendous investor demand for exposure to digital assets, via financial products which make accessing one of the best performing asset classes of the last decade secure, transparent and straightforward. Valour entered the German market for the first time in October 2021 with the listing of its Bitcoin Zero and Ethereum Zero products, followed by Valour Uniswap, a world's first, on Frankfurt .

Mr. Fransson will begin at Valour on January 1, 2022 . Ms. Biggs will continue in her role as CEO until Mr. Fransson joins, as well as fulfilling her role at DeFi Technologies.

About DeFi Technologies
DeFi Technologies Inc. is a technology company bridging the gap between traditional capital markets and decentralised finance. Our mission is to expand investor access to industry-leading decentralised technologies which we believe lie at the heart of the future of finance. On behalf of our shareholders and investors, we identify opportunities and areas of innovation, and build and invest in new technologies and ventures in order to provide trusted, diversified exposure across the decentralized finance ecosystem. For more information or to subscribe to receive company updates and financial information, visit defi.tech

About Valour
Valour Inc. issues exchange-listed financial products that enable retail and institutional investors to access investment in disruptive innovations, such as digital assets, in a simple and secure way. Established in 2019 and based in Zug, Switzerland , Valour is a wholly owned subsidiary of DeFi Technologies Inc. (NEO:DEFI, GR: RMJ.F, OTC: DEFTF). For more information on Valour, visit www.valour.com .

Cautionary note regarding forward-looking information:

This press release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking information includes, but is not limited to the appointment of officers of Valour and DeFi Technologies, the development and listing of Valour's ETPs; investor interest in Valour's ETPs; the regulatory environment with respect to the growth and adoption of decentralized finance; expansion of DeFi Technologies and Valour into other geographic areas; the pursuit by DeFi Technologies and its subsidiaries of business opportunities; and the merits or potential returns of any such opportunities. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved". Forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company, as the case may be, to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Such risks, uncertainties and other factors include, but is not limited to the acceptance of Valour ETPs by exchanges, including the NGM and Frankfurt ; investor demand for DeFi Technologies' and Valour's products; growth and development of DeFi and cryptocurrency sector; rules and regulations with respect to DeFi and cryptocurrency; general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.

THE NEO STOCK EXCHANGE DOES NOT ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE

View original content to download multimedia: www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/valour-inc-a-subsidiary-of-defi-technologies-valour-announces-new-incoming-ceo-301412605.html

SOURCE DeFi Technologies, Inc.

Disclosure:

RedChip Companies, Inc. research reports, company profiles and other investor relations materials, publications or presentations, including web content, are based on data obtained from sources we believe to be reliable but are not guaranteed as to accuracy and are not purported to be complete. As such, the information should not be construed as advice designed to meet the particular investment needs of any investor. Any opinions expressed in RedChip reports, company profiles, or other investor relations materials and presentations are subject to change. RedChip Companies and its affiliates may buy and sell shares of securities or options of the issuers mentioned on this website at any time.

The information contained herein is not intended to be used as the basis for investment decisions and should not be construed as advice intended to meet the particular investment needs of any investor. The information contained herein is not a representation or warranty and is not an offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell any security. To the fullest extent of the law, RedChip Companies, Inc., our specialists, advisors, and partners will not be liable to any person or entity for the quality, accuracy, completeness, reliability or timeliness of the information provided, or for any direct, indirect, consequential, incidental, special or punitive damages that may arise out of the use of information provided to any person or entity (including but not limited to lost profits, loss of opportunities, trading losses and damages that may result from any inaccuracy or incompleteness of this information).

Stock market investing is inherently risky. RedChip Companies is not responsible for any gains or losses that result from the opinions expressed on this website, in its research reports, company profiles or in other investor relations materials or presentations that it publishes electronically or in print.
We strongly encourage all investors to conduct their own research before making any investment decision. For more information on stock market investing, visit the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") at www.sec.gov.

DeFi Technologies, Inc. (DEFTF) is a client of RedChip Companies, Inc. DEFTF agreed to pay RedChip Companies, Inc. a $15,000 per month cash fee, plus 50,000 Shares of Rule 144 stock, beginning on March 2nd, 2021 for 12 months of RedChip investor awareness services.

Investor awareness services and programs are designed to help small-cap companies communicate their investment characteristics. RedChip investor awareness services include the preparation of a research profile(s), multimedia marketing, and other awareness services.


NFT.NYC kicks off today! Catch Stacks Founder Muneeb Ali on a panel, and attend the "Meet Your Hiros" Meet and Greet.

What is up out there all you Stackers and Hackers?! Devs and Artists. Bitcoin Birds and Goblin Apes. The time has finally come! It is officially NFT Week in NYC. 🏙️

Don't miss Muneeb & The Hiros at The Town Hall on November 2nd

Today, the big apple proclaims a resounding “gm” to the entire crypto world as the NFT.NYC conference kicks off in Times Square. This four-day fungible extravaganza will be the definitive event of the fall celebrating the explosion of the NFT space seen in 2021. 📈 https://www.nft.nyc/

12 months ago, NFTs were not possible on Stacks without the implementation of Clarity smart contracts. Fast forward to today, and in the last 24 hours Megapont has traded a volume of 58k STX [https://stacksonchain.com/nftoverview]. The way the Stacks community has embraced blockchain technology to build creative and beautiful digital assets has been truly stunning to watch.

This week is sure to be jam-packed, but we wanted to make sure a couple Hiro/Stacks festivities are on your radar. Most importantly, don’t miss Muneeb Ali on a panel tomorrow, November 2nd, on the Town Hall stage from 5:30-6:00pm EST. He’ll be chatting about “Our Non-Fungible Future” and how Bitcoin is ripe to nurture a creator economy. Right after that, we’ll be piling into the Town Hall lobby for a casual “Meet Your Hiros” meet n’ greet. This will be your chance to meet some fellow Stackers, ask burning questions, and get introduced to the superHiros building dev tools for YOU!

Last but not least, we are extra hype to announce that we will be launching a special-edition, commemorative Bitcoin NFT to celebrate this monumental occasion. There will be 1000 editions up for grabs, and they will be totally free besides the network transaction fee. You’ll have to track down a Hiro at the event to grab a QR code, but stay tuned to socials if you won’t be in attendance! We’ll make sure virtual collectors have a chance to snag the collectibles online at some point during the week… 🖼️

That’s all I got for you right now! As always, your friendly Developer Advocate Joe Bender (that’s me! 🙂 ) will be sprinting around the event. Look for the smiling face in a Stacks shirt to get your ear talked off about the latest and greatest Bitcoin NFT. If you’re a developer, Alex Graebe is sure to have some questions for you on what you need to x10 engineering potential. Finally, Hiros new Marketing Manager Elena Giralt is ready to hear about the content that makes you tick!

Don't be shy! See you there. wagmi.


Happy Halloween! 2021 Audit Statuses of Canadian Cryptocurrency Exchanges

It's already been a year since I posted Happy Halloween - Updated Audit Status of Canadian Cryptocurrency Exchanges. In continuing the annual tradition of bashing Canadian crypto exchanges for Halloween, I'll try to be gentler this time!

There is one main metric - the level of visibility to fund backing. We have 5 categories:

  • Past Canadian Incidents - For fun, and to help illustrate the risks, reviews of past platforms that collapsed or lost funds in Canada. No disrespect to the real losses of Canadians who worked hard for their money.
  • No External Verification - The platform doesn’t appear to give any indication of any external auditing or verification. You may want to avoid these platforms, but sometimes these are just because this information is not available easily.
  • Apparent Verification - I was able to dig and locate some sort of claim or indication of external verification. Of course, some of these don’t mention who is performing the audit/verification or what is actually being checked. In one case, this verification is 7 years old.
  • Full Backing Report - The platform has undergone a process where backing of customer assets was verified by a third party within the past year and a report was published. While compelling, it doesn’t stop a dishonest platform excluding customers, tricking the verification process, or colluding with the third party.
  • Full Proof of Reserve - Proof of Reserves is a digital proof that the exchange holds customer funds. This cryptographic process has public wallet addresses, signing of transactions, and a public hash list or Merkle tree to allow customers to independently validate that the exchange in fact held the funds.

Past Canadian Incidents

FlexCoin - Claiming to be the world's first bitcoin bank that’s “not a true bank”, FlexCoin provides “a central location for all of your bitcoins”. “Bitcoins deposited with flexcoin will be stored on [thei]r secure servers so you can “send bitcoins to non-technical individual[s] via e-mail”. Unlike blockchain, “flexcoin to flexcoin transfers are free”.

MapleChange - “A swift, reliable and to-the-point trading platform for veterans and newbies alike.” “One of [their] primary concerns is security for [their] customers'' which is why “keys are cryptographically encrypted”. "[W]ithdraws(sic) are next to instantaneous", "rel[ying] solely on the aspect of swiftness"!

Canadian Bitcoins - The highest level of courtesy and expediency in customer service! “With nothing more than a chat session and smooth talk, a crafty cybercriminal convinced an attendee at Rogers Data Centre to reboot the Canadian Bitcoins server in fail safe mode, bypassing all security measures.”

CoinTrader/NewNote - A “meticulously engineered Bitcoin Exchange” “focused on security and tak[ing] these risks seriously”. “[Y]ou don’t have to worry”, they have “90+% cold storage” and their “cold storage is fully insured by Xapo. Plus, as “a registered Canadian corporation” they “leverage the good guys to fight the bad guys”.

Einstein - You can get “your money deposited and withdrawn faster than any other exchange”. As one customer said "With so many hacks and exit scams, it gives me confidence knowing Einstein is backed by hard-working people just like me." Check the user experience on their subreddit from their "220,000+ satisfied customers".

EZ-BTC - The world’s “most user friendly and bespoke crypto currency management platform”, with “strong security”. “All your coins are kept in cold storage. They’re safe.” The presence of physical ATMs was one of the strategies to build customer confidence for the promised 9% annual return.

QuadrigaCX - Operating since 2013, with “vast cryptocurrency reserves” right up to the end. "Bitcoins that are funded in QuadrigaCX are stored in cold storage, using some of the most secure cryptographic procedures possible." Even today most of the funds remain “100% secure” (including to customers)!

These are just in Canada. Globally, there are hundreds more events!

No External Verification

Bitvo - The Bitvo website hasn’t changed much in the past year. The Bitvo team has “come together to provide Canadians with the best experience (sic) in cryptocurrency exchange.” Bitvo’s cold storage “is located offsite in a third-party financial institution that is only accessible via multiple signatures of a select group of trusted individuals” and “not connected to the exchange platform or a network”. “As a percentage of customers’ funds, Bitvo holds 95% to 100% of customers’ funds in Cold Storage.”

Bitvo assures customers that they operate “on a full-reserve basis”. The website says “[s]ecurity and transparency are important in your financial transactions.” Nothing indicates customer accounts to have been verified externally or even internally. Bitvo users only pay for withdrawals and are thus incentivized to keep maximal funds on the platform. Bitvo’s trading platform was (and may still be) a whitelabel of AlphaPoint, a service which was previously breached in May of 2019.

Recommendations: Multi-signature requires at least 3 of 4 signatures. Use company funds or self-insure the 5% balance they’re using for hot wallets. Use a third party to validate that all customer funds are backed.

CoinField - The "most secure trading platform in Canada", because “[m]ultiple layers of gateways are required to allow access to data and to conduct transactions”. They “use Multi-sig wallets that require more than one key to authorize a digital transaction”. However, funds are “only retrievable only if the two founders are present at the same time”. It's good to know one founder can force/hack the other to perform a withdrawal, and funds are lost if one founder dies, gets arrested, or is incapacitated. Of additional concern is their “one of a kind secret vault that’s been built from scratch”. In general, developing a custom cryptographic solution will result in a less secure solution than the widely used best practices. “Coinfield.com will not be liable, in any event whatsoever, for any loss or damage of any kind incurred as a result of the use of this site or the services found at this site.”

CoinField is apparently based in Estonia and may not have a Canadian office. They were “fully regulated” in “193+ countries”, except for the period between October 2019 and June 2020, when they weren’t even registered as an MSB. They are presently “[a]vailable in 186 countries.”. In full analysis of the website, we failed to locate any mention of audits or validation being performed.

Recommendations: Expand the multi-signature to require at least 3 of 4 signatures. A third party can validate the setup and that customer funds are backed.

CoinSmart - A “Crypto Trading Platform you can actually understand”. Their cold storage uses “Bitgo and Fireblocks”. The key item missing here is multi-signature technology. If large or repeated withdrawals can be run through an automated central system, or triggered by one person, as their terms state, “there is a risk that a similar cyberattack could affect the Services and result in the theft or loss of your crypto assets for which you cannot recover”.

According to their terms, “[t]he digital currencies held in trust in your Crypto Account are fully-paid assets beneficially owned by you and not by CoinSmart.” They will not “loan, hypothecate, pledge, or otherwise encumber any digital currencies in your Account”. According to their about page, they are “accountable to [their] customers, community and to each other” and “committed to being open and transparent with [their] customers”. Despite that, CoinSmart has not obtained or published any validation or audit by a third party.

Recommendations: Set up or clarify their multi-signature arrangement. A third party can attest to their setup and validate all customer funds are backed on the blockchain or in company accounts.

Coinut - The Coinut platform is “[t]rusted by 1,000,000+ global users”, and claims to be "the most secure cryptocurrency exchange". According to the website, they perform a “[r]eal-time internal audit”, however the details are not public for users. While they have a "[s]emi-manual process of big withdrawals'', it’s unclear if this involves a multi-signature wallet or if they could be vulnerable to an attack involving lots of smaller transactions. From the details observed on a previous version of the site last year, they protect customer assets “by storing cryptocurrencies offline” in a single “offline computer” and "not us[ing] USB drives, as the online computer may be infected with virus". In addition to removing that page, they’ve added a disclaimer on the website: “Please note that you may not be able to recover all the money you paid to Coinut Pte Ltd if Coinut Pte Ltd's business fails.”

Recommendations: Expand the team by two trusted individuals and set up a multi-signature wallet requiring at least 3 signatures. A third party should attest to the setup and validate all customer funds are backed on the blockchain or in company accounts.

NDAX - “[A] simple, easy and secure platform to instantly buy, and sell Bitcoin, Ethereum and other cryptocurrencies.” No longer, “Canada’s most secure trading platform”, “NDAX’s security standards are among the highest in the Canadian FinTech industry”. It’s good to see that “[t]ransferring funds out of cold storage requires multiple approvals from NDAX’s senior management team”, however it’s unclear how many approvals are needed.

They’ve switched from “95-98% of user funds in an offline, multi-signature wallet” to “a majority of user funds in an offline, multi-signature wallet.” Up to 50% of the funds may be in hot storage! “Both NDAX’s hot and cold wallet service providers are System and Organization Controls (SOC) 2, type 1 certified.” SOC 2 is an internal-only report. This certification only applies to their “service providers”, not the NDAX platform itself. While “NDAX has implemented Multi-Party Computation (MPC) technology”, there is no indication this applies to hot wallets.

While “[d]aily reconciliation of financial assets on and off the platform is performed to record assets’ integrity”, no visibility is provided externally. Existing funds are protected against “insurable incidents”, which include cold wallet “internal theft and Hardware Security Module (HSM) malfunction”. Without reviewing the insurance contract line by line, it’s nearly impossible to evaluate what level of protection is offered, what stipulations may apply, and the solvency of the insurance provider.

Recommendations: 3 of 4 signatures (or clarify). Use company funds for hot wallets, or self-insure the full amount. Get a third party to validate that all customer funds are backed on the blockchain or in company accounts.

Newton - “Newton is crypto as it should be: buy and sell on any device with access to some of the best prices for cryptocurrency in Canada.” “Most of our cryptocurrency is stored in secure locations with no internet connection.” Newton was one of the first to announce “[t]hird-party custody”. Newton stores customer funds with Balance. Newton’s custody page doesn’t exist anymore, but the old version is here. "Multinational companies trust” Balance. According to Dustin, “Balance does have an insurance policy in place currently as well - we/Balance will have more to say on that soon.” The Balance terms still state, “the digital assets you purchase via the Platform are not protected by any government or other insurance”. “All transfers require the coordinated actions of multiple signatories across our organizations.” It’s not clear if Newton themselves employ a multi-signature, and how many signatures are required. More on Balance can be found in last year's post.

In discussions last year, Newton was working on a feature “allowing you to login to Balance directly to verify your balance and move funds independently of Newton”. I wasn’t able to obtain further information from the Newton team, and searches performed did not find evidence this was launched. It’s unclear if this means that crypto-assets will be stored in distinct wallets, and how a customer could be certain that a given wallet is theirs.

Recommendations: Clarify their multi-signature wallet, and require at least 3 of 4 signatures. We need greater information to assess the insurance and backing visibility.

Apparent Verification

CoinBerry - “[T]he only Insured, OSC & FINTRAC registered & PIPEDA compliant crypto trading platform trusted by Canadian Municipalities.” After an unexplained incident in August of 2020, CoinBerry now has a “Financial Institution Bond”, against “financial losses due to dishonest acts and unethical behavior from Coinberry employees”. What about owners, contractors, system security breaches, or impersonation attacks? “200M in insurance coverage” is provided by “Gemini Trust Company LLC™”, to whom CoinBerry has generously transferred cryptographic ownership of “not less than 80% of the total value” of customer funds. Insurance is provided by “Nakamoto, Ltd. (Nakamoto), a captive insurance company licensed by the Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA)” with limited detail.

Cold storage funds are now in “institutional-grade crypto storage”, an "offline, air-gapped Cold Storage system.” They “use a multisignature digital signature scheme (multisig)”, however it's unclear how many signatures are required. “CEO (Tyler Winklevoss) and President (Cameron Winklevoss) are unable to individually or jointly transfer cryptocurrency out of [Gemini's] Cold Storage System.” “We cannot and do not guarantee or warrant that the Site or the content on the Site are compatible with your computer systems or that the Site or the content will be free of viruses, worms, trojan horses or disabling devices.”

The details of the OSC arrangement can be found here. CoinBerry "has provided and will continue to provide audited annual financial statements in accordance with section 12.10 of NI 31-103." Past audits appear to have been conducted by the accounting firm MNP. Despite a stated goal of “demonstrating a rigorous commitment to trust, security and transparency”, no information is publicly available and customers of the platform have no evidence of inclusion of their funds.

Last year saw multiple issues with withdrawals, including one affecting hundreds of customers. Fees increased from 0.5% to 1%. The fee is now “between 0% and 2.5%”. “We are proud to offer fully transparent pricing with NO hidden charges and NO additional fees.” “Coinberry shall be entitled to charge to any Dormant Account a monthly fee of $5.00, either in Funds or any form of Crypto Assets, plus any other additional costs as Coinberry may, in its absolute discretion, apply.” “You agree to indemnify and hold us, and our subsidiaries, affiliates, officers, agents, co-branders or other partners, and employees, harmless from any claim or demand”.

Recommendations: Clarify multi-signature structure requires at least 3 of 4 signatures at all levels. Use company funds for hot wallets, or self-insure the full amount. Get a third party to attest the setup and validate customer funds are backed on the blockchain or in company accounts.

CoinSquare - CoinSquare is “[t]he world's home for digital currency”. “Everyone in the world deserves a safe, easy-to-use way to access digital currency markets.” Their “100% proprietary system”, “[b]uilt in-house with proprietary technology”, has so far apparently “never (ever, since 2015) lost a single coin”. “[Y]ou are aware of and accept the risk of, and agree not to hold Coinsquare responsible for any loss resulting from any operational challenges to which the Services may be subject, such as malicious cyberattacks, exploitable security system flaws and other security breaches”.

CoinSquare has grown a lot! Only last year they received a multi-million dollar fine for inflated trading volume, and only the year before when CoinSquare mysteriously went offline and suffered “a data breach of...approximately 5,000 records of customer...data.” They have a “95% cold storage” policy. The site still doesn’t appear to mention whether multi-sig is being employed. Their regular audits by an undisclosed “national accounting firm” are not published. They’ve previously described themselves as solvent rather than fully backed. They presently state that “Digital Assets held in trust will be fully-paid assets beneficially owned by you and not by Coinsquare.”

Recommendations: Multi-signature setup with at least 3 of 4 signatures. Use company funds for the 5% in hot wallets, or self-insure the full amount from funds in cold storage. A third party can attest the setup and validate all customer funds are backed.

Kraken - “Kraken is a crypto exchange for everyone.” Kraken recently achieved the momentous accomplishment of becoming the first cryptocurrency exchange to be a regulated bank in Wyoming. Kraken calls itself the “most trusted cryptocurrency exchange” and apparently “provides world class financial stability by maintaining full reserves, healthy banking relationships and the highest standards of legal compliance”. “95% of all deposits are kept in offline, air-gapped, geographically distributed cold storage.” No specific details of whether a multi-signature arrangement is in use.

According to alleged court papers, Kraken operated illegally in the state of New York and previous staff have been legally silenced. Kraken’s website features a Proof of Reserve page, stating that “[o]ver the past several weeks, Kraken has successfully developed and completed an industry-leading, independent, cryptographically-verified audit.” But the page was written in 2014 and among the long list of limitations, there are no wallets. Kraken assures users that “[w]e keep full reserves so that you can always withdraw immediately on demand.” However, one of the former employees for Kraken alleges wrongful dismissal and that the bank accounts of Kraken are actually running millions of dollars short of where they should have been.

Recommendations: A multi-signature setup with at least 3 of 4 signatures. Use company funds for hot wallets, or self-insure the full amount from funds in cold storage. Get a new third party attestation to validate that all customer funds, as the previous assessment is 7 years old.

NetCoins - "Canada's easiest, most trusted way to buy and sell crypto." Mitchell Demeter remains president although he no longer appears on the team page. He “co-founded Cointrader Exchange, one of Canada’s earliest online digital currency exchanges”, which shut down after “an internal audit showed “a deficiency of bitcoin" in company wallets that was causing a delay in withdrawals”. There does not appear to be any blog post on the matter, although we found one about how "crypto is plagued with a bad reputation". “At Netcoins we understand that sentiment. We know of people, and heard of countless others, who have lost their investments and been burned by the industry.”

Their “customer funds are held in cold storage” “and insured with Bitgo”, with no policy information. “Accessing these funds requires a specific number and combination of video calls from our top executives.” (See their team page for the list.) “We do our best to protect our users by putting all the right bells and whistles (ex: warning signs) within our emails, website and platform.” For example, heavily advertising on TV to less experienced users who are less likely to "take possession of the crypto they’ve bought through us by transferring them to a crypto wallet that they are in direct possession of.". BIGG Digital Assets (the parent company of Netcoins) is audited by Manning Elliott LLP, with no outside visibility into what portion of funds are backed.

Recommendations: Use a multi-signature setup requiring transactions to be signed by the physical possession of keys. A third party to validate that all customer funds are backed.

Full Backing Report

BitBuy - "Bitbuy is Canada's trusted and secure platform." The platform has operated since 2016, and was the very first to get a “Proof of Reserve and Security Audit Report” from third party CipherBlade. Since that time, they’ve continued to get third party validations, with the second and third ones from Blockchain Intelligence Group. BitBuy now has three independent reports from two different third parties, more than any other platform.

The site states that “99% of your crypto is kept secure in our Cold Storage, and covered by a comprehensive insurance policy.”, contradicting the June 2021 report which showed levels as low as 96.29% on some crypto-assets. It is unclear from the website whether a multi-signature wallet is in use and how many operator signatures are required to authorize withdrawals.

Mentions of custodian Knox have disappeared from the new BitBuy website. More detail on Knox’s security model can be found in the 2020 post. While their new CoinCover policy is publicly verifiable on the BitBuy website, it gives high-level features only, with no details. At the moment, there's no visibility to the actual policy details.

Recommendations: A multi-signature setup with at least 3 of 4 signatures. Provide details on insurance policies. While the validations are awesome, we recommend not repeating validators within a 14 month period, and to generate a hash list enabling customers to independently validate their inclusion.

ShakePay - “At Shakepay, we make the security of your account, personal information, and money a top priority.” Rather than be upfront, ShakePay lists one price and promotes the service as “commission-free”. The profit model is only found by clicking through to a separate page. Spread/pricing information is only available within a registered account.

ShakePay was analyzed by CipherBlade over a year ago. CipherBlade found that reserves appeared to be fully backed including extensive analysis of the transactions. ShakePay states that the “majority of all digital currencies are stored securely offline”. The CipherBlade report found this ratio was at “93% of Bitcoin and 91% of Ethereum” in cold storage at the time of the report, though it “var[ies] periodically to some degree throughout the day”. The report refers to a “multi-signature wallet interface”, which they later call a “service to access its sending and receiving multi-signature wallets”, which apparently also “does not have control over cryptocurrency in the hot wallets”. Apparently, this “not mentioned” service is “without any known security risks”.

“The vast majority of digital currencies are held offline on air-gapped, cold storage wallets.” However, the majority of funds are no longer stored with ShakePay but given to an undisclosed “trust company registered under the NYDFS”. While ShakePay won’t identify the third party, “CipherBlade can confidently conclude that Shakepay controls these cold wallets” even though “they are controlled by [the] cold storage provider” and “the cold storage provider ultimately holds the private keys”. “Multiple people are required to authorize transactions. Neither of the two founders, Jean or Roy, are able to perform withdrawals from our cold storage wallets.” It's unclear how many signatures are required.

“Shakepay holds an insurance policy on the digital currencies held in cold storage. This policy covers most damages, theft, and loss of private keys.” It's unknown in any “quite unlikely” events what “the cold storage provider’s policy and Shakepay’s own policy” would cover. ShakePay does receive “an account statement” “which includes applicable wallet addresses and balances held” and “[d]ata found on the blockchain was also in line with information found on these statements.”. Shakepay does not provide customers any tool to validate inclusion in the report published August 2020.

Recommendations: Use a multi-signature setup with at least 3 of 4 signatures. Provide greater details of the insurance policies. Obtain a new report to provide certainty funds are still backed.

Full Proof of Reserves

More information and definitions can be found on Nic Carter’s blog, who has been working on these concepts far longer than any of us. He’s confirmed that “what [Canadian exchanges] are doing is not a full PoR”. All platforms in Canada have failed to publicize wallets. All verifications have been against data provided by the platform with no ability for customers to validate they were included.

Preventing Future Disasters

All past crypto-exchange disasters have at least one of three factors in common:

  • Funds were stored online. Crypto OPSEC 101! They think their system is super secure or (like Liquid) get enamoured with buzzwords like MPC. If your line of defense against a hacker is a smart contract, firewall, or proprietary control logic, be sure you are ready to fully cover funds.
  • Funds in the hands of one person. I get it’s your CEO who has X years of experience but if he can single-handedly authorize a transaction to take funds, even if 100% perfect, the next CEO may not be. Multi-sig! Don’t use the same hardware for all keys. Train. Background check.
  • No proof of asset backing. A page saying the customer has X bitcoin and Y ethereum is as valuable as the trust in the author. Even showing a wallet with X bitcoin, who owns it? At minimum, periodic independent reports are needed, or better a full Proof of Reserves.

Insurance Is Inadequate

After many months, I was able to view an example crypto-asset insurance contract. (This one is for Ledger Vault “specie insurance”.) As I expected, it was hilarious! Here are a few excerpts:

  • “covering the theft of certain Crypto Assets safekept with the Vault Solution if such theft is resulting from specific events such as physical intrusion by a third party in a Vault data center”
  • “neither Ledger, its Affiliates or any of the insurers under the Specie Policy provide any assurance or guarantee to Customer that (i) a theft of Crypto Assets safekept by the Vault Solution will be covered or indemnified under the Specie Policy”
  • “determination shall be made by Ledger in its reasonable discretion.”

Regulators Being Unreasonable

A sense of the complexity and cost for which the OSC is requesting of a simple platform to “buy, sell, hold, deposit and withdraw crypto assets” just “for time-limited relief” “with the objective of fostering innovative businesses in Canada” can be read from their decision on CoinBerry.

Despite the overkill, the end result still gives investors no proof their funds are backed, requires insurance that’s misleading in what it protects, creates complexity/obscurity around how customer assets are secured, and has no obligation for CoinBerry to publicly disclose hacking events like August 2020. It places Canadians in a permanent position of trust and dependence on regulators for their ongoing safety, and adds increasing costs, complexity, and expense to every transaction.

Simplified Solution

Our simplified framework of just 15 policies prevent/mitigate the entire history of global crypto-exchange incidents. We can have certainty of platform security and asset backing through a simplified ruleset. The proposed industry self-insurance fund is cost effective, not dependent on third parties, and aligns incentives with the interests of Canadian crypto users and platforms. The framework runs transparently on an ongoing basis without regulatory dependence. It’s flexible and adaptable to new technologies and innovations, and offers the possibility to fully protect Canadians against a greater range of platform loss events in the future.

I’d like to thank Jay, Jason, and Gustavo for taking many hours to help review the post, and also appreciate Ethan (TxQuick), Dean (BitBuy), Jean (ShakePay), Dustin (Newton) and many others for past discussions. We hope to have more discussions with platform operators and regulators in the future and welcome all feedback!

Thanks so much for reading! If you’re tired of sitting back and want to help create a future of innovation and security for Canadian crypto-asset platforms, join us any Thursday at the CryptOasis meetup!


Happy Halloween! 2021 Audit Statuses of Canadian Cryptocurrency Exchanges

It's already been a year since I posted Happy Halloween - Updated Audit Status of Canadian Cryptocurrency Exchanges. In continuing the annual tradition of bashing Canadian crypto exchanges for Halloween, I'll try to be gentler this time!

There is one main metric - the level of visibility to fund backing. We have 5 categories:

  • Past Canadian Incidents - For fun, and to help illustrate the risks, reviews of past platforms that collapsed or lost funds in Canada. No disrespect to the real losses of Canadians who worked hard for their money.
  • No External Verification - The platform doesn’t appear to give any indication of any external auditing or verification. You may want to avoid these platforms, but sometimes these are just because this information is not available easily.
  • Apparent Verification - I was able to dig and locate some sort of claim or indication of external verification. Of course, some of these don’t mention who is performing the audit/verification or what is actually being checked. In one case, this verification is 7 years old.
  • Full Backing Report - The platform has undergone a process where backing of customer assets was verified by a third party within the past year and a report was published. While compelling, it doesn’t stop a dishonest platform excluding customers, tricking the verification process, or colluding with the third party.
  • Full Proof of Reserve - Proof of Reserves is a digital proof that the exchange holds customer funds. This cryptographic process has public wallet addresses, signing of transactions, and a public hash list or Merkle tree to allow customers to independently validate that the exchange in fact held the funds.

Past Canadian Incidents

FlexCoin - Claiming to be the world's first bitcoin bank that’s “not a true bank”, FlexCoin provides “a central location for all of your bitcoins”. “Bitcoins deposited with flexcoin will be stored on [thei]r secure servers so you can “send bitcoins to non-technical individual[s] via e-mail”. Unlike blockchain, “flexcoin to flexcoin transfers are free”.

MapleChange - “A swift, reliable and to-the-point trading platform for veterans and newbies alike.” “One of [their] primary concerns is security for [their] customers'' which is why “keys are cryptographically encrypted”. "[W]ithdraws(sic) are next to instantaneous", "rel[ying] solely on the aspect of swiftness"!

Canadian Bitcoins - The highest level of courtesy and expediency in customer service! “With nothing more than a chat session and smooth talk, a crafty cybercriminal convinced an attendee at Rogers Data Centre to reboot the Canadian Bitcoins server in fail safe mode, bypassing all security measures.”

CoinTrader/NewNote - A “meticulously engineered Bitcoin Exchange” “focused on security and tak[ing] these risks seriously”. “[Y]ou don’t have to worry”, they have “90+% cold storage” and their “cold storage is fully insured by Xapo. Plus, as “a registered Canadian corporation” they “leverage the good guys to fight the bad guys”.

Einstein - You can get “your money deposited and withdrawn faster than any other exchange”. As one customer said "With so many hacks and exit scams, it gives me confidence knowing Einstein is backed by hard-working people just like me." Check the user experience on their subreddit from their "220,000+ satisfied customers".

EZ-BTC - The world’s “most user friendly and bespoke crypto currency management platform”, with “strong security”. “All your coins are kept in cold storage. They’re safe.” The presence of physical ATMs was one of the strategies to build customer confidence for the promised 9% annual return.

QuadrigaCX - Operating since 2013, with “vast cryptocurrency reserves” right up to the end. "Bitcoins that are funded in QuadrigaCX are stored in cold storage, using some of the most secure cryptographic procedures possible." Even today most of the funds remain “100% secure” (including to customers)!

These are just in Canada. Globally, there are hundreds more events!

No External Verification

Bitvo - The Bitvo website hasn’t changed much in the past year. The Bitvo team has “come together to provide Canadians with the best experience (sic) in cryptocurrency exchange.” Bitvo’s cold storage “is located offsite in a third-party financial institution that is only accessible via multiple signatures of a select group of trusted individuals” and “not connected to the exchange platform or a network”. “As a percentage of customers’ funds, Bitvo holds 95% to 100% of customers’ funds in Cold Storage.”

Bitvo assures customers that they operate “on a full-reserve basis”. The website says “[s]ecurity and transparency are important in your financial transactions.” Nothing indicates customer accounts to have been verified externally or even internally. Bitvo users only pay for withdrawals and are thus incentivized to keep maximal funds on the platform. Bitvo’s trading platform was (and may still be) a whitelabel of AlphaPoint, a service which was previously breached in May of 2019.

Recommendations: Multi-signature requires at least 3 of 4 signatures. Use company funds or self-insure the 5% balance they’re using for hot wallets. Use a third party to validate that all customer funds are backed.

CoinField - The "most secure trading platform in Canada", because “[m]ultiple layers of gateways are required to allow access to data and to conduct transactions”. They “use Multi-sig wallets that require more than one key to authorize a digital transaction”. However, funds are “only retrievable only if the two founders are present at the same time”. It's good to know one founder can force/hack the other to perform a withdrawal, and funds are lost if one founder dies, gets arrested, or is incapacitated. Of additional concern is their “one of a kind secret vault that’s been built from scratch”. In general, developing a custom cryptographic solution will result in a less secure solution than the widely used best practices. “Coinfield.com will not be liable, in any event whatsoever, for any loss or damage of any kind incurred as a result of the use of this site or the services found at this site.”

CoinField is apparently based in Estonia and may not have a Canadian office. They were “fully regulated” in “193+ countries”, except for the period between October 2019 and June 2020, when they weren’t even registered as an MSB. They are presently “[a]vailable in 186 countries.”. In full analysis of the website, we failed to locate any mention of audits or validation being performed.

Recommendations: Expand the multi-signature to require at least 3 of 4 signatures. A third party can validate the setup and that customer funds are backed.

CoinSmart - A “Crypto Trading Platform you can actually understand”. Their cold storage uses “Bitgo and Fireblocks”. The key item missing here is multi-signature technology. If large or repeated withdrawals can be run through an automated central system, or triggered by one person, as their terms state, “there is a risk that a similar cyberattack could affect the Services and result in the theft or loss of your crypto assets for which you cannot recover”.

According to their terms, “[t]he digital currencies held in trust in your Crypto Account are fully-paid assets beneficially owned by you and not by CoinSmart.” They will not “loan, hypothecate, pledge, or otherwise encumber any digital currencies in your Account”. According to their about page, they are “accountable to [their] customers, community and to each other” and “committed to being open and transparent with [their] customers”. Despite that, CoinSmart has not obtained or published any validation or audit by a third party.

Recommendations: Set up or clarify their multi-signature arrangement. A third party can attest to their setup and validate all customer funds are backed on the blockchain or in company accounts.

Coinut - The Coinut platform is “[t]rusted by 1,000,000+ global users”, and claims to be "the most secure cryptocurrency exchange". According to the website, they perform a “[r]eal-time internal audit”, however the details are not public for users. While they have a "[s]emi-manual process of big withdrawals'', it’s unclear if this involves a multi-signature wallet or if they could be vulnerable to an attack involving lots of smaller transactions. From the details observed on a previous version of the site last year, they protect customer assets “by storing cryptocurrencies offline” in a single “offline computer” and "not us[ing] USB drives, as the online computer may be infected with virus". In addition to removing that page, they’ve added a disclaimer on the website: “Please note that you may not be able to recover all the money you paid to Coinut Pte Ltd if Coinut Pte Ltd's business fails.”

Recommendations: Expand the team by two trusted individuals and set up a multi-signature wallet requiring at least 3 signatures. A third party should attest to the setup and validate all customer funds are backed on the blockchain or in company accounts.

NDAX - “[A] simple, easy and secure platform to instantly buy, and sell Bitcoin, Ethereum and other cryptocurrencies.” No longer, “Canada’s most secure trading platform”, “NDAX’s security standards are among the highest in the Canadian FinTech industry”. It’s good to see that “[t]ransferring funds out of cold storage requires multiple approvals from NDAX’s senior management team”, however it’s unclear how many approvals are needed.

They’ve switched from “95-98% of user funds in an offline, multi-signature wallet” to “a majority of user funds in an offline, multi-signature wallet.” Up to 50% of the funds may be in hot storage! “Both NDAX’s hot and cold wallet service providers are System and Organization Controls (SOC) 2, type 1 certified.” SOC 2 is an internal-only report. This certification only applies to their “service providers”, not the NDAX platform itself. While “NDAX has implemented Multi-Party Computation (MPC) technology”, there is no indication this applies to hot wallets.

While “[d]aily reconciliation of financial assets on and off the platform is performed to record assets’ integrity”, no visibility is provided externally. Existing funds are protected against “insurable incidents”, which include cold wallet “internal theft and Hardware Security Module (HSM) malfunction”. Without reviewing the insurance contract line by line, it’s nearly impossible to evaluate what level of protection is offered, what stipulations may apply, and the solvency of the insurance provider.

Recommendations: 3 of 4 signatures (or clarify). Use company funds for hot wallets, or self-insure the full amount. Get a third party to validate that all customer funds are backed on the blockchain or in company accounts.

Newton - “Newton is crypto as it should be: buy and sell on any device with access to some of the best prices for cryptocurrency in Canada.” “Most of our cryptocurrency is stored in secure locations with no internet connection.” Newton was one of the first to announce “[t]hird-party custody”. Newton stores customer funds with Balance. Newton’s custody page doesn’t exist anymore, but the old version is here. "Multinational companies trust” Balance. According to Dustin, “Balance does have an insurance policy in place currently as well - we/Balance will have more to say on that soon.” The Balance terms still state, “the digital assets you purchase via the Platform are not protected by any government or other insurance”. “All transfers require the coordinated actions of multiple signatories across our organizations.” It’s not clear if Newton themselves employ a multi-signature, and how many signatures are required. More on Balance can be found in last year's post.

In discussions last year, Newton was working on a feature “allowing you to login to Balance directly to verify your balance and move funds independently of Newton”. I wasn’t able to obtain further information from the Newton team, and searches performed did not find evidence this was launched. It’s unclear if this means that crypto-assets will be stored in distinct wallets, and how a customer could be certain that a given wallet is theirs.

Recommendations: Clarify their multi-signature wallet, and require at least 3 of 4 signatures. We need greater information to assess the insurance and backing visibility.

Apparent Verification

CoinBerry - “[T]he only Insured, OSC & FINTRAC registered & PIPEDA compliant crypto trading platform trusted by Canadian Municipalities.” After an unexplained incident in August of 2020, CoinBerry now has a “Financial Institution Bond”, against “financial losses due to dishonest acts and unethical behavior from Coinberry employees”. What about owners, contractors, system security breaches, or impersonation attacks? “200M in insurance coverage” is provided by “Gemini Trust Company LLC™”, to whom CoinBerry has generously transferred cryptographic ownership of “not less than 80% of the total value” of customer funds. Insurance is provided by “Nakamoto, Ltd. (Nakamoto), a captive insurance company licensed by the Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA)” with limited detail.

Cold storage funds are now in “institutional-grade crypto storage”, an "offline, air-gapped Cold Storage system.” They “use a multisignature digital signature scheme (multisig)”, however it's unclear how many signatures are required. “CEO (Tyler Winklevoss) and President (Cameron Winklevoss) are unable to individually or jointly transfer cryptocurrency out of [Gemini's] Cold Storage System.” “We cannot and do not guarantee or warrant that the Site or the content on the Site are compatible with your computer systems or that the Site or the content will be free of viruses, worms, trojan horses or disabling devices.”

The details of the OSC arrangement can be found here. CoinBerry "has provided and will continue to provide audited annual financial statements in accordance with section 12.10 of NI 31-103." Past audits appear to have been conducted by the accounting firm MNP. Despite a stated goal of “demonstrating a rigorous commitment to trust, security and transparency”, no information is publicly available and customers of the platform have no evidence of inclusion of their funds.

Last year saw multiple issues with withdrawals, including one affecting hundreds of customers. Fees increased from 0.5% to 1%. The fee is now “between 0% and 2.5%”. “We are proud to offer fully transparent pricing with NO hidden charges and NO additional fees.” “Coinberry shall be entitled to charge to any Dormant Account a monthly fee of $5.00, either in Funds or any form of Crypto Assets, plus any other additional costs as Coinberry may, in its absolute discretion, apply.” “You agree to indemnify and hold us, and our subsidiaries, affiliates, officers, agents, co-branders or other partners, and employees, harmless from any claim or demand”.

Recommendations: Clarify multi-signature structure requires at least 3 of 4 signatures at all levels. Use company funds for hot wallets, or self-insure the full amount. Get a third party to attest the setup and validate customer funds are backed on the blockchain or in company accounts.

CoinSquare - CoinSquare is “[t]he world's home for digital currency”. “Everyone in the world deserves a safe, easy-to-use way to access digital currency markets.” Their “100% proprietary system”, “[b]uilt in-house with proprietary technology”, has so far apparently “never (ever, since 2015) lost a single coin”. “[Y]ou are aware of and accept the risk of, and agree not to hold Coinsquare responsible for any loss resulting from any operational challenges to which the Services may be subject, such as malicious cyberattacks, exploitable security system flaws and other security breaches”.

CoinSquare has grown a lot! Only last year they received a multi-million dollar fine for inflated trading volume, and only the year before when CoinSquare mysteriously went offline and suffered “a data breach of...approximately 5,000 records of customer...data.” They have a “95% cold storage” policy. The site still doesn’t appear to mention whether multi-sig is being employed. Their regular audits by an undisclosed “national accounting firm” are not published. They’ve previously described themselves as solvent rather than fully backed. They presently state that “Digital Assets held in trust will be fully-paid assets beneficially owned by you and not by Coinsquare.”

Recommendations: Multi-signature setup with at least 3 of 4 signatures. Use company funds for the 5% in hot wallets, or self-insure the full amount from funds in cold storage. A third party can attest the setup and validate all customer funds are backed.

Kraken - “Kraken is a crypto exchange for everyone.” Kraken recently achieved the momentous accomplishment of becoming the first cryptocurrency exchange to be a regulated bank in Wyoming. Kraken calls itself the “most trusted cryptocurrency exchange” and apparently “provides world class financial stability by maintaining full reserves, healthy banking relationships and the highest standards of legal compliance”. “95% of all deposits are kept in offline, air-gapped, geographically distributed cold storage.” No specific details of whether a multi-signature arrangement is in use.

According to alleged court papers, Kraken operated illegally in the state of New York and previous staff have been legally silenced. Kraken’s website features a Proof of Reserve page, stating that “[o]ver the past several weeks, Kraken has successfully developed and completed an industry-leading, independent, cryptographically-verified audit.” But the page was written in 2014 and among the long list of limitations, there are no wallets. Kraken assures users that “[w]e keep full reserves so that you can always withdraw immediately on demand.” However, one of the former employees for Kraken alleges wrongful dismissal and that the bank accounts of Kraken are actually running millions of dollars short of where they should have been.

Recommendations: A multi-signature setup with at least 3 of 4 signatures. Use company funds for hot wallets, or self-insure the full amount from funds in cold storage. Get a new third party attestation to validate that all customer funds, as the previous assessment is 7 years old.

NetCoins - "Canada's easiest, most trusted way to buy and sell crypto." Mitchell Demeter remains president although he no longer appears on the team page. He “co-founded Cointrader Exchange, one of Canada’s earliest online digital currency exchanges”, which shut down after “an internal audit showed “a deficiency of bitcoin" in company wallets that was causing a delay in withdrawals”. There does not appear to be any blog post on the matter, although we found one about how "crypto is plagued with a bad reputation". “At Netcoins we understand that sentiment. We know of people, and heard of countless others, who have lost their investments and been burned by the industry.”

Their “customer funds are held in cold storage” “and insured with Bitgo”, with no policy information. “Accessing these funds requires a specific number and combination of video calls from our top executives.” (See their team page for the list.) “We do our best to protect our users by putting all the right bells and whistles (ex: warning signs) within our emails, website and platform.” For example, heavily advertising on TV to less experienced users who are less likely to "take possession of the crypto they’ve bought through us by transferring them to a crypto wallet that they are in direct possession of.". BIGG Digital Assets (the parent company of Netcoins) is audited by Manning Elliott LLP, with no outside visibility into what portion of funds are backed.

Recommendations: Use a multi-signature setup requiring transactions to be signed by the physical possession of keys. A third party to validate that all customer funds are backed.

Full Backing Report

BitBuy - "Bitbuy is Canada's trusted and secure platform." The platform has operated since 2016, and was the very first to get a “Proof of Reserve and Security Audit Report” from third party CipherBlade. Since that time, they’ve continued to get third party validations, with the second and third ones from Blockchain Intelligence Group. BitBuy now has three independent reports from two different third parties, more than any other platform.

The site states that “99% of your crypto is kept secure in our Cold Storage, and covered by a comprehensive insurance policy.”, contradicting the June 2021 report which showed levels as low as 96.29% on some crypto-assets. It is unclear from the website whether a multi-signature wallet is in use and how many operator signatures are required to authorize withdrawals.

Mentions of custodian Knox have disappeared from the new BitBuy website. More detail on Knox’s security model can be found in the 2020 post. While their new CoinCover policy is publicly verifiable on the BitBuy website, it gives high-level features only, with no details. At the moment, there's no visibility to the actual policy details.

Recommendations: A multi-signature setup with at least 3 of 4 signatures. Provide details on insurance policies. While the validations are awesome, we recommend not repeating validators within a 14 month period, and to generate a hash list enabling customers to independently validate their inclusion.

ShakePay - “At Shakepay, we make the security of your account, personal information, and money a top priority.” Rather than be upfront, ShakePay lists one price and promotes the service as “commission-free”. The profit model is only found by clicking through to a separate page. Spread/pricing information is only available within a registered account.

ShakePay was analyzed by CipherBlade over a year ago. CipherBlade found that reserves appeared to be fully backed including extensive analysis of the transactions. ShakePay states that the “majority of all digital currencies are stored securely offline”. The CipherBlade report found this ratio was at “93% of Bitcoin and 91% of Ethereum” in cold storage at the time of the report, though it “var[ies] periodically to some degree throughout the day”. The report refers to a “multi-signature wallet interface”, which they later call a “service to access its sending and receiving multi-signature wallets”, which apparently also “does not have control over cryptocurrency in the hot wallets”. Apparently, this “not mentioned” service is “without any known security risks”.

“The vast majority of digital currencies are held offline on air-gapped, cold storage wallets.” However, the majority of funds are no longer stored with ShakePay but given to an undisclosed “trust company registered under the NYDFS”. While ShakePay won’t identify the third party, “CipherBlade can confidently conclude that Shakepay controls these cold wallets” even though “they are controlled by [the] cold storage provider” and “the cold storage provider ultimately holds the private keys”. “Multiple people are required to authorize transactions. Neither of the two founders, Jean or Roy, are able to perform withdrawals from our cold storage wallets.” It's unclear how many signatures are required.

“Shakepay holds an insurance policy on the digital currencies held in cold storage. This policy covers most damages, theft, and loss of private keys.” It's unknown in any “quite unlikely” events what “the cold storage provider’s policy and Shakepay’s own policy” would cover. ShakePay does receive “an account statement” “which includes applicable wallet addresses and balances held” and “[d]ata found on the blockchain was also in line with information found on these statements.”. Shakepay does not provide customers any tool to validate inclusion in the report published August 2020.

Recommendations: Use a multi-signature setup with at least 3 of 4 signatures. Provide greater details of the insurance policies. Obtain a new report to provide certainty funds are still backed.

Full Proof of Reserves

More information and definitions can be found on Nic Carter’s blog, who has been working on these concepts far longer than any of us. He’s confirmed that “what [Canadian exchanges] are doing is not a full PoR”. All platforms in Canada have failed to publicize wallets. All verifications have been against data provided by the platform with no ability for customers to validate they were included.

Preventing Future Disasters

All past crypto-exchange disasters have at least one of three factors in common:

  • Funds were stored online. Crypto OPSEC 101! They think their system is super secure or (like Liquid) get enamoured with buzzwords like MPC. If your line of defense against a hacker is a smart contract, firewall, or proprietary control logic, be sure you are ready to fully cover funds.
  • Funds in the hands of one person. I get it’s your CEO who has X years of experience but if he can single-handedly authorize a transaction to take funds, even if 100% perfect, the next CEO may not be. Multi-sig! Don’t use the same hardware for all keys. Train. Background check.
  • No proof of asset backing. A page saying the customer has X bitcoin and Y ethereum is as valuable as the trust in the author. Even showing a wallet with X bitcoin, who owns it? At minimum, periodic independent reports are needed, or better a full Proof of Reserves.

Insurance Is Inadequate

After many months, I was able to view an example crypto-asset insurance contract. (This one is for Ledger Vault “specie insurance”.) As I expected, it was hilarious! Here are a few excerpts:

  • “covering the theft of certain Crypto Assets safekept with the Vault Solution if such theft is resulting from specific events such as physical intrusion by a third party in a Vault data center”
  • “neither Ledger, its Affiliates or any of the insurers under the Specie Policy provide any assurance or guarantee to Customer that (i) a theft of Crypto Assets safekept by the Vault Solution will be covered or indemnified under the Specie Policy”
  • “determination shall be made by Ledger in its reasonable discretion.”

Regulators Being Unreasonable

A sense of the complexity and cost for which the OSC is requesting of a simple platform to “buy, sell, hold, deposit and withdraw crypto assets” just “for time-limited relief” “with the objective of fostering innovative businesses in Canada” can be read from their decision on CoinBerry.

Despite the overkill, the end result still gives investors no proof their funds are backed, requires insurance that’s misleading in what it protects, creates complexity/obscurity around how customer assets are secured, and has no obligation for CoinBerry to publicly disclose hacking events like August 2020. It places Canadians in a permanent position of trust and dependence on regulators for their ongoing safety, and adds increasing costs, complexity, and expense to every transaction.

Simplified Solution

Our simplified framework of just 15 policies prevent/mitigate the entire history of global crypto-exchange incidents. We can have certainty of platform security and asset backing through a simplified ruleset. The proposed industry self-insurance fund is cost effective, not dependent on third parties, and aligns incentives with the interests of Canadian crypto users and platforms. The framework runs transparently on an ongoing basis without regulatory dependence. It’s flexible and adaptable to new technologies and innovations, and offers the possibility to fully protect Canadians against a greater range of platform loss events in the future.

I’d like to thank Jay, Jason, and Gustavo for taking many hours to help review the post, and also appreciate Ethan (TxQuick), Dean (BitBuy), Jean (ShakePay), Dustin (Newton) and many others for past discussions. We hope to have more discussions with platform operators and regulators in the future and welcome all feedback!

Thanks so much for reading! If you’re tired of sitting back and want to help create a future of innovation and security for Canadian crypto-asset platforms, join us any Thursday at the CryptOasis meetup!