According to research, the US crypto-exchange Coinbase is said to hold around 966,000 BTC. This could be a risk.
Opinions differ widely about future price developments. At the moment the courses are in a sideways movement. And this, after it went down noticeably in recent weeks. And although the prospects are not the best, many investors still find their holdings on the wallets of crypto exchanges like Coinbase, Binance and Co.
As a study by Binance Research shows, most (92%) Bitcoin holders still hold their crypto assets in the wallets of crypto exchanges. A viral blog post on Reddit showed yesterday a picture of crypto exchanges that hold the most bitcoins. According to the illustration, the largest exchange is Coinbase, which manages just under one million bitcoins. According to Coinbase, more than 30 million users are registered on the platform. More than 8 million newly registered users joined in last year alone.
Managed Bitcoin on crypto exchanges (Source: reddit r/Bitcoin)
But, according to Coinbase CEO, this company is not just a provider of cryptographic services, but also an organization that contributes to the global adoption of cryptocurrencies. As the software company DataLight reported earlier this year, the United States is the most active country in crypto trading with over 22 million monthly visitors to crypto exchanges
With these powerful numbers, the question of risk is relatively close. In fact, Coinbase and Co. are becoming banks more and more. And when they make wrong decisions, they can quickly get into trouble and become systemic. During the financial crisis, the "too big to fail" made the rounds. And indeed, Coinbase could become a risk to the entire industry if things are going wrong.
Is somebody available, who can explain me the advantages of cryptocurrencies?
If I'm using inside the European Union a normal bank transfer, the transfer is free of charge and the receiver see it the next banking day on his account. If I'm transferring money from one bank account inside the European Union then I need to pay a transfer fee of € 7 and up to an transferred amount of € 1.500 € 4 (in total € 11). If I'm transferring more than € 1500 than for the amount above € 1500 will get added around 2‰ on fees.
On the other hand if I'm transferring Bitcoins I have to pay fees:
- If I'm transferring bitcoins from the left hand wallet to the right hand wallet
- If I'm buying Bitcoins
- If I'm selling Bitcoins
Why shall I use in this case Bitcoins if I'm even not able to transfer them from one wallet to another one without fees?
Please tell me, where is the mistake or my thinking error and where are really the advantages from cryptocurrencies.