Exchanges have become synonymous with the crypto industry, serving as the much-needed bridge between investors and the cryptocurrencies they wish to invest in. However, over the years, there have been a number of concerns regarding the safety of exchanges, especially when it comes to using them as storage mediums. In light of this, Dogecoin influencer Mishaboar has combed through the terms and conditions of a number of exchanges and has highlighted a major issue with them.
Dogecoin Influencer Reveals Exchanges Are Not Insured
In the post, which was shared on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), Mishaboar highlighted a major issue with holding crypto on exchanges. The post featured screenshots of the Terms of Service (ToS) of multiple US-based exchanges, including Robinhood, Coinbase, Kraken, and Binance.US.
Mishaboar highlighted different sections of these Terms of Services, which showed that the crypto held on all of these exchanges were not insured. The first of the screenshots was from the Robinhood ToS, with the highlighted part which read:
“Absence of FDIC or SIPC Protection. RHC is not a broker-dealer of any kind and is not a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) or the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (“SIPC”). I under that my Cryptocurrency holdings are not protected by Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) or SIPC.”
The screenshots from the ToS of other exchanges also followed the same theme, acknowledging that customer deposits were not actually insured. “Coinbase is not registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and does not offer securities services in the United States or to U.S. persons. You acknowledge that Digital Assets are not subject to protections or insurance provided by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or the Securities Investors Protection Corporation,” the Coinbase ToS reads.
Next on the list of the Kraken ToS, which reads: “ No Insurance. We are not a bank or other depository institution. Your account isn’t a deposit account or bank account. Your account and digital assets are not covered by insurance against losses or subject to Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or Securities Investor Protection Corporation protections, or protections of any comparable organization in the world.”
Last but not lease is the Binance.US ToS which simply states that that “Your Accounts and Digital assets are not eligible for FDIC insurance protections.”
Best Places To Store Crypto
When it comes to storing cryptocurrency, it is up to the investor to make sure that their holdings are properly stored so they are safe. However, when it comes to exchanges, leaving crypto on there for the long term can do more harm than good.
An example of this is the FTX crypto exchange collapse which saw thousands of investors lose their cryptocurrencies when the exchange went bankrupt in 2022. Exchanges are better for short term storage, especially for coins that are being sold.
For the longer term, self-custody has always proven to be the superior choice. Software self-custody wallets such as Trust Wallet and Metamask are very popular options. Meanwhile, hardware wallets such as Ledger and Trezor are believed to be even safer as they store crypto completely offline.
Total market cap at $2.6 trillion | Source: Crypto Total Market Cap on Tradingview.com
Featured image from Bankrate, chart from Tradingview.com
