Happy Halloween: BitMEX Leaks User Data While Coinbase And Deribit Flash Crash, Where Should Traders Go?

The past 24-hour have been wild for the crypto frontier, as some of the most popular exchanges have shown that they still lack the safe-guards and privacy procedures standard in more traditional markets, with BitMEX leaking private user data while Bitcoin’s price incurred anomalous behavior on Coinbase and Deribit, causing Halloween nightmares for crypto traders.

These events have led traders and investors alike to consider the options that lie in front of them, and also shows that platforms like BitMEX and Deribit may not be best for traders who are looking for a consistent and safe experience that also offers protections for their privacy.

BitMEX Doxes Users in Wide-Reaching Privacy Data Breach; The BitMEX Era May Be Coming to an End

Popular margin trading platform BitMEX unintentionally leaked user email addresses yesterday after forgetting to utilize the “Blind Closed Copy” (BCC) feature, which allowed all of the recipients of the email to see the email addresses of other users.

This data leak – which was acknowledged by the exchange in a recent blog post – has sparked outrage within the crypto community, with Jake Chervinsky, a prominent attorney who focuses primarily on cryptocurrencies, explaining in a tweet that this event occurred in “the most outrageously incompetent way imaginable.

“BitMEX just doxxed its users in the most outrageously incompetent way imaginable: forgetting to use blind copy on mass email,” he explained.

This data leak may mark a breach of the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) in the European Union, which may subject the exchange to more stringent regulations or possibly even fiscal penalties.

This event also comes on the heels of news regarding the US Commodities and Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) probing the exchange over client trades, and it does appear that the platform could be in violation of multiple rules surrounding the trading of digital currencies within the United States.

The controversy surrounding the popular exchange doesn’t end here, however, as it also faces wide-spread accusations that the exchange uses their trading desk to trade against their own clients in an effort to boost their profitability.

Additionally, in the midst of all this chaos, BitMEX’s Twitter account was also briefly compromised, with tweets being sent saying things like “Take your BTC and run. Last day for withdraws,” and “Hacked.”

Naturally, this fueled a significant amount of fear amongst traders on the platform and will likely spark a mass exodus of users away from the embattled exchange. 

Bitcoin Price Flash Crashes on Multiple Prominent Platforms

Adding to the Halloween horrors experienced by traders over the past 24-hours is that fact that Bitcoin’s price anomalously crashed into the $7,000 region on multiple popular cryptocurrency exchanges, including Deribit and Coinbase Pro.

This move caught traders by surprise and led many to incur unintentional trades that severely impacted their account balances, with some traders on Deribit facing account liquidations.

Users were outraged by this flash crash, with one popular trader taking to Twitter to bash the exchange, telling his followers that he would withdraw all his funds from Deribit and never use it again if he were a user.

“It’s over. I would withdraw all funds and never use this exchange again If I was a user,” he said while referencing the flash crash in a tweet that has since garnered great popularity. 

Time for Traders to Consider Alternative Options

The plethora of “Halloween horrors” surrounding popular crypto trading options should act as an impetus for traders to consider alternative platforms to trade on, especially when there are more solid and stable options, including PrimeXBT and Binance. 

PrimeXBT continually adds new features to enhance their infrastructure, and in the time since their initial launch they have been offering traders a solid and stable experience that far exceeds that of platforms like BitMEX and Deribit.  

Binance also recently launched a leveraged trading platform in addition to their physical exchange, although it still remains far less advanced than that of PrimeXBT – which utilizes state-of-the-art technology to help traders execute successful leveraged trades on a variety of different assets, including Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. 

The recent BitMEX email imbroglio also shines a light on the importance of finding a platform that prioritizes user privacy.

PrimeXBT places user privacy at the forefront of their priorities, and is currently moving all of their infrastructure to Switzerland in addition to offering robust security features like address whitelisting, cold storage capabilities, and more. Additionally, PrimeXBT also does not require users to participate in “Know Your Customer” (KYC) proceedings and allows users to create an anonymous account in just a few seconds without surrendering any private information.

It does appear that the era of BitMEX being the leading margin trading platform is long gone, and the inconsistency of other platforms will likely drive a significant number of users towards more secure and technologically advanced platforms.