Centralized exchanges put your digital tokens at risk
$9,800,000,000 worth of Bitcoin has been stolen by hackers.
Most cryptocurrency exchanges are centralized, storing billions of dollars worth of tokens in a single repository. By taking custodial control of your tokens, they create a virtual honeypot for hackers: all they need do is exploit a single weakness to access the funds of every trader doing business on that platform. Since June 2011, hackers have infiltrated about 30 exchanges, stealing billions of dollars in digital currency.
Some of the major Bitcoin heists in the last 5 years:
Month / Year | Exchange | Number of Bitcoin Lost |
Apr '17 | Yapizon | 3,816 |
Aug '16 | Bitfinex | 119,756 |
Jan '15 | Bitstamp | <19,000 |
Feb '14 | Mt. Gox | 650,000 |
March '12 | Bitcoinica | 43,554 |
All the major cryptocurrency exchanges you've heard of, like Coinbase, Binance, Poloniex, and Bittrex, are all centralized.
Some Popular Centralized Cryptocurrency Exchanges
Altcoin.io: a decentralized exchange for decentralized currencies
We're decentralized because trades are made peer-to-peer: we never hold your tokens so there's no single honeypot for hackers to break into. For crypto trading to truly flourish, we need an exchange that is safe, fast, easy to use, and highly liquid.
Our Purpose, Mission, and Values
Decentralized exchange
Our mission is to create a decentralized altcoin exchange built by traders for traders.
Secure against theft
Decentralized means you cannot lose your tokens through hardware failure, lost credentials, or other negligence
Intuitive user experience
Our users can trade faster and without worrying if they're exposing themselves to risk.
24/7 customer support
Our customer support team will be available 24/7 to ensure all of our traders get the help they need.
Introducing a sidechain for Ethereum trades
We're developing a Plasma sidechain for tokens on the Ethereum network which locks token value and provides users with proof of locked value before making tokens available to trade. It's a secure way to trade off-chain and then put everything back on-chain once the swap is done. It's a little complex, so if you're curious, you can learn more here.
Our future: a highly liquid exchange
The decentralized exchange that wins will have the largest amount of digital assets. Having lots of digital assets means a highly liquid market where users can trade quickly.
To do this, we plan to white-label and license our secure trading engine to non-technical businesses that want to launch their own exchanges. They can customize the interface to cater to different traders' needs. In this strategy, everyone wins – we all share liquidity, making Altcoin.io's engine the strongest decentralized exchange on the market.
Our Progress So Far
Altcoin.io Founded
Completed first ever Ethereum and Bitcoin Atomic Swap
Released first ever Alpha Atomic Swap Wallet
Released Beta Atomic Swap Wallet with multiple tokens to trade
Updated Atomic Swap Wallet with order matching and more
Pivoted to a sidechain/Plasma trading model
Launched V1 testnet Plasma DEX
Mainnet launch of first ever sidechain/Plasma DEX
Meet Our CEO & Founder, One of Inc. Magazine's 30 Under 30
Our founder, Andrew Gazdecki, sold his first technology company at 19. Two years later, he founded Bizness Apps, an app maker for small business. Bizness Apps was placed on Inc. 500's list of Fastest Growing Companies twice: at #58 in 2014 and then #91 in 2015. Last year, he was named to Inc. Magazine's 30 Under 30 list. Bizness Apps was acquired in May 2018 by Think3.
He started trading altcoins last year. He made some good trades and some bad, but really loved how much energy was in the community. He appreciated how people were willing to share and discuss how fast altcoin technology was emerging.
Ultimately, he discovered the vulnerabilities in centralized exchanges, so he and the rest of the Altcoin.io team set out to build something better.
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