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Poloniex
Poloniex is a cryptocurrency exchange founded in 2014 in the USA by the company Tristan D'Agosta; is based in Wilmington, Delaware. In February 2018, it was bought by the company Circle Internet Financial Ltd.
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Poloniex Review
Poloniex is one of the most common cryptocurrency exchanges in the world. It provides the highest trading volumes for most altcoin that can be exchanged for Bitcoin. The exchange was founded by Tristan d Agosto in January 2014, Many of the staff Poloniex still remain anonymous, probably because digital currencies are still in the sector of shadow economy and they do not have a license for the provision of exchange services in the United States. The company is based in San Francisco, California. Initially, the exchange focused on the United States market, but the General popularity and large volumes of trading attracted altcoin traders from around the world. There is no Poloniex app for iOS or Android, making this exchange challenging to use on the go, although it does have a mobile-friendly website.
History
The Poloniex Crypto Exchange faced a hacker attack soon after the beginning of its work, and as a result, lost 12, 3% of all Bitcoins it had. Then, the management made the decision to return all lost funds by means of their own recourses and by increasing the commission from 0,2% to 1,5%.
After that, the users of the crypto exchange repeatedly became a direct or intermediate target of the intruders. In October 2017, the security experts discovered two fraud apps on Google Play Store, supposedly tied to Poloniex. Besides collecting the account data to enter one’s account on the crypto exchange, the apps also tried to steal Gmail accounts[1].
Poloniex Exchange came into existence in 2014 and is operating in the United States. Recently, Circle– a huge Goldman-Sachs company acquired Poloniex. We think it is really a piece of great news for Poloniex along with its users indeed[2].
In September 2016, Poloniex stopped the service in New Hampshire, and in July 2017 – in the state of Washington due to the changes in the legislation regarding the cryptocurrencies in these states.
During the last months before its sale, Poloniex has been experiencing difficulties; the users complained about malfunctions, the customer service and problems with the withdrawal of funds.
As of February 2018, Poloniex takes the 14. place in the world among crypto exchanges by the volumes of cryptocurrency transactions (according to CoinMarketCap.com) with the daily trading volume of over $150 million. The list of the traded cryptocurrencies is close to 100.
Purchase by the company Circle Internet Financial Ltd.
In February 2018, the company Circle Internet Financial Ltd. announced the purchase of the crypto exchange Poloniex. According to the unconfirmed sources, the amount of the deal made out $400 million. SEC approved the deal, and in return, Circle promised to do all the necessary steps for the registration of the new licensed enterprise in SEC and FINRA, dealing with the broker/dealer activities.
The Circle App for cryptocurrency transfers with the daily transaction volume over $2 billion makes big plans regarding the crypto exchange. Primarily, the new owner will deal with the risk assessment, customer service and technical modernization of the platform. It is also supposed to extend the list of the tokens listed and create great opportunities for the transactions with fiat currencies.
In prospect, Poloniex shall become a universal platform for financial transactions with tokens, including the purchasing of goods, real estate, art objects etc[3].
Supported coins
The Poloniex exchange supports a large number of pairs. Among the main cryptocurrencies can be noted:
- Bitcoin (BTC);
- Ethereum (ETH);
- Monero (XMR);
- Litecoin (LTC);
- Ripple (XRP);
- Ethereum Classic (ETC);
- Zcash (ZEC) and etc.
Poloniex fees
Trading fees are typically below 0.20%. You can see the detailed information about Poloniex fees on their official website. Furthermore, there are no deposit fees, although withdrawal fees will vary depending on the cryptocurrency you’re withdrawing. These withdrawal fees are charged by the cryptocurrency’s network, not Poloniex exchange.
Withdrawal
Despite the lower fees for those who trade high volumes of BTC every day, you should keep in mind that you cannot withdraw over $2,000 a day with Poloniex if you stick to the first verification level. This can be an obstacle depending on the volume that you regularly trade. That verification level only requires you to input your name, email, and your country of residence. This verification still allows you to exchange, lend, and trade.
Two-level verification requires your physical address, postal address, date of birth, passport, and phone number. You must actually upload the ID and passport photos. Once approved, your limits for withdrawals and deposits increases to $25,000.
There is a higher level of verification available for those who need an even higher limit, but you must contact support directly to reach that verification.
Security
Poloniex takes care of security in multiple ways. To keep hackers out, it stores the majority of customers’ deposits in air-gapped cold storage offline. It makes an effort to only keep sufficient funds online to make active trading simple and seamless, something that minimizes exposure and risk without any negative effects for the traders.
The exchange also has auditing programs that work constantly, 24/7/365. These programs monitor the activity with the goal of spotting suspicious activity. If anything is spotted, the programs report then block it before it develops into a problem.
There was one minor security breach, and following that, Poloniex gave the affected users a full refund, indicating that it is fair when handling this type of unforeseen situation. This did take place back in 2014, when the exchange was still new. However, no breaches have been reported since then, relieving concerns that this will happen again.
The Poloniex takes the safety issue very seriously. Each registered user can increase the reliability of their account with the help of two functions:
- Two-factor authorization (2FA);
- API key.
For two-factor authentication Poloniex uses an additional login via Google. API key-a unique code that is generated for each account. These features are optional but desirable.
Poloniex Advantages
Each platform has its pros and cons, and The poloniex exchange is no exception. Huge daily trading volumes indicate that this platform is very popular among traders and investors. Among the main advantages of Poloniex can be identified:
- A large number of pairs. On this exchange, you can trade not only popular and established cryptocurrencies. Here are the pairs that you will not be able to find many other competitors.
- Margin trading. Along with Polonecks you can start investing in the cryptocurrency even with a small amount. Due to this, competent trade with an investment of even $100 will show a tangible result.
- Low commission. The Commission for operations can be increased to almost 0,00%. Of course, this is only possible if the user is a major player on the exchange and exchanges about 1,000 BTC daily.
- High security. Security for Poloniex is not an empty sound. Immediately noticeable that the developers knowingly took care of the high reliability of accounts[4].
Disadvanteges
Despite the fact that in many rankings Poloniex ranks first, this platform is not devoid of shortcomings. Among the main disadvantages can be identified:
- The lack of other languages. The first drawback that users will encounter with the CIS is the presence of only the English version of the site. Because of this, it can be difficult not only when working with the website, but also during communication with the technical support of the exchange.
- Withdrawal limits. Once registered, users can withdraw up to $2,000 per day. It should be noted that the cost of 1 BTC already exceeds this value. To increase the limits, you will have to undergo additional verification.
- Input and output only in cryptocurrency. The platform does not work with Bank cards and popular payment systems. Thus, you can replenish or withdraw funds only in cryptocurrency. Therefore, before you start working with the exchange, the user will have to use the services of the exchanger or mine.
This is the main disadvantages of Poloniex end. If you have encountered any problems while working with the exchange, leave your feedback about Poloniex in the comments. This will help to make the review more objective and complement it with relevant information.
