4 ms·

What do people think of Binance? More likely to stand the test of time?

aviv 9y ago
Once a huge exchanger like Bitfinex fails, there will be a run on exchangers. Nowhere is safe. Never keep coins with an exchange, even if your uncle is the CEO.
- cperciva 9y ago
  Serious question (I wasn't paying attention at the time): What happened to other exchanges after MtGox collapsed? Did they also see "bank runs"?
  - hisabness 9y ago
    Depends on your perspective. Prices dropped significantly because people started to prefer dollars to some extent. Several of the large exchanges that existed back then are still around, however, and others were acquired. Examples of those still around: Coinbase, Bitstamp, Bitfinex, Kraken. Sure I'm missing others. I mention the above only to say it didn't feel like a true bank run to me at the time. People were still able to get in and out, but prices were certainly depressed. And several of the exchanges survived.
  - bfuller 9y ago
    there was a huge spread between the price of bitcoin on the exchanges. i also distinctly remember people sending money to mt gox LONG after every mention of them on the internet was followed by angry people calling them a scam.
  - aviv 9y ago
    Today's ecosystem is different in many ways. The next big exchange failure, especially it one in the US, will have a cascading effect.
- fbdjskajxb 9y ago
  Seems like exchanges should be fine as long as their books balance. Even in a “run” you would just have delays waiting for cash outs to process, they would go through eventually.
  - stefano 9y ago
    > as long as their books balance This is a really strong assumption that I wouldn't bet on.
    - saalweachter 9y ago
      There is a certain irony to companies built to profit off a distributed public ledger having accounting problems.
  - rhino369 9y ago
    I'd also be worried that any exchange that used tether, would realize their jig is up, and just run away with all the coin.
- mikevm 9y ago
  Bitfinex was already hacked: https://medium.com/@bitfinexed/bitfinex-never-repaid-their-tokens-bitfinex-started-a-ponzi-scheme-86a9291add29 https://medium.com/@bitfinexed/bitfinex-never-repaid-their-t... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bitfinex_hack https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bitfinex_hack
  - bdcravens 9y ago
    hacked != failed
rajacombinator 9y ago
Binance is the best by a wide margin right now. Most stable, good tech, great job scaling, and lowest fees. The crypto market moves very fast though. “Standing the test of time” isn’t really a thing.
- CryptoPunk 9y ago
  It also has an ERC20 token so you can become a stakeholder in its success.
- argonaut 9y ago
  None of those things tell me Binance is safe. Binance is not even a year old! Low fees and the fact that their servers haven't crashed yet are hardly reassuring. Being based in China doesn't help me trust them either.
  - mobilefriendly 9y ago
    They are based in Hong Kong which has a different set of rules and legal system than mainland China.
  - rajacombinator 9y ago
    Indeed, safety isn’t really a thing in the crypto market either.
- simik 9y ago
  I don't know about scaling, at least technology wise. Their trading web interface maxes out my CPU core at just 4-8 tx/s. And that's usually the time of big movements, exactly when you don't want trading interface to freeze up on you.

aviv 9y ago

Once a huge exchanger like Bitfinex fails, there will be a run on exchangers. Nowhere is safe. Never keep coins with an exchange, even if your uncle is the CEO.

cperciva 9y ago
Serious question (I wasn't paying attention at the time): What happened to other exchanges after MtGox collapsed? Did they also see "bank runs"?
- hisabness 9y ago
  Depends on your perspective. Prices dropped significantly because people started to prefer dollars to some extent. Several of the large exchanges that existed back then are still around, however, and others were acquired. Examples of those still around: Coinbase, Bitstamp, Bitfinex, Kraken. Sure I'm missing others. I mention the above only to say it didn't feel like a true bank run to me at the time. People were still able to get in and out, but prices were certainly depressed. And several of the exchanges survived.
- bfuller 9y ago
  there was a huge spread between the price of bitcoin on the exchanges. i also distinctly remember people sending money to mt gox LONG after every mention of them on the internet was followed by angry people calling them a scam.
- aviv 9y ago
  Today's ecosystem is different in many ways. The next big exchange failure, especially it one in the US, will have a cascading effect.
fbdjskajxb 9y ago
Seems like exchanges should be fine as long as their books balance. Even in a “run” you would just have delays waiting for cash outs to process, they would go through eventually.
- stefano 9y ago
  > as long as their books balance This is a really strong assumption that I wouldn't bet on.
  - saalweachter 9y ago
    There is a certain irony to companies built to profit off a distributed public ledger having accounting problems.
- rhino369 9y ago
  I'd also be worried that any exchange that used tether, would realize their jig is up, and just run away with all the coin.
mikevm 9y ago
Bitfinex was already hacked: https://medium.com/@bitfinexed/bitfinex-never-repaid-their-tokens-bitfinex-started-a-ponzi-scheme-86a9291add29 https://medium.com/@bitfinexed/bitfinex-never-repaid-their-t... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bitfinex_hack https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bitfinex_hack
- bdcravens 9y ago
  hacked != failed

rajacombinator 9y ago

Binance is the best by a wide margin right now. Most stable, good tech, great job scaling, and lowest fees. The crypto market moves very fast though. “Standing the test of time” isn’t really a thing.

CryptoPunk 9y ago
It also has an ERC20 token so you can become a stakeholder in its success.
argonaut 9y ago
None of those things tell me Binance is safe. Binance is not even a year old! Low fees and the fact that their servers haven't crashed yet are hardly reassuring. Being based in China doesn't help me trust them either.
- mobilefriendly 9y ago
  They are based in Hong Kong which has a different set of rules and legal system than mainland China.
- rajacombinator 9y ago
  Indeed, safety isn’t really a thing in the crypto market either.
simik 9y ago
I don't know about scaling, at least technology wise. Their trading web interface maxes out my CPU core at just 4-8 tx/s. And that's usually the time of big movements, exactly when you don't want trading interface to freeze up on you.