🇮🇷 Iran's largest crypto exchange, Nobitex, has been hacked for $48.6 million (the platform handles 87% of all crypto trading volume in the country), and now joins a growing list of compromised exchanges, including:
🚨 Bybit - lost $1.4 billion in a Lazarus Group-linked attack.
🚨 FTX - collapsed due to opaque reserves and mismanagement.
🚨 KuCoin - suffered a $280 million hack in 2020.
Nobitex's incident once again highlights the vulnerabilities in the centralized exchange (CEX) ecosystem, raising a crucial question for all crypto users:
When even giants like Binance face challenges such as temporary service outages and regulatory scrutiny, - what truly sets a reliable CEX apart?
Well, there are few key metrics we can trust when evaluating the reliability of a centralized exchange (CEX):
🔺 Proof-of-Reserves (PoR)
Audited, real-time PoR reports offer transparency on whether exchanges actually hold user funds. WhiteBIT stands out with live, Hacken-audited PoR. Binance provides Merkle-tree PoR covering 30+ assets.
🔺 Security History
Past hacks, withdrawal freezes or shady leverage practices are major red flags. Notably, Binance and WhiteBIT has never been hacked, whereas Bybit's breach still looms large in user trust.
🔺 User Feedback & Support
We cannot ignore this indicator. Platforms like Reviews.io and Trustpilot provide insights into real user experiences. Kraken, for example, boasts high reliability but scores low on customer service speed.
🔺 Liquidity & Volume
While not a security measure, it’s still a useful reliable indicator of market depth and execution efficiency that affects trading experience - Binance leads here with $21.4B daily turnover, followed by Bybit ($3.5B) and WhiteBIT ($2.3B).
With exchange hacks increasing in frequency, relying on flashy interfaces or massive volumes alone is risky. Prioritize platforms with ‼️ verified reserves, clean security records and transparent communication ‼️
WhiteBIT, for instance, combines steady growth, strong security and verified reserves - making it a rising contender in the CEX space.
🐳 If you're still on the fence about which exchange to choose, this data-driven breakdown will help you get clear on the key metrics - and objectively explore the strengths and weaknesses of top exchanges like Binance, WhiteBIT, Bybit, Kraken and KuCoin: Best Crypto Exchange Showdown: Cutting Through the Hype With Hard Numbers