Given virtual asset trading is a 24/7 business, cryptocurrency traders expect their trading platforms to operate seamlessly and predictably.
However, in reality, unexpected outages are a regular occurrence with crypto exchanges. Traders find it extremely frustrating when they are unable to access funds and execute trades. Considering the volatile prices of digital assets, a slight delay in executing a transaction can lead to significant losses.
Common reasons for outages
Attacks from hackers
Platforms regularly face distributed denial of service (“DDoS”) attacks, resulting in trading suspensions and outages. Several big name exchanges had reported being taken offline in 2017, when the price of bitcoin was soaring. The timing couldn’t be worse, people were flooding in to get their hands on cryptocurrencies, and at the same time exchanges have to fend off hackers looking to cripple their platforms and breach their security to steal crypto assets.
System overload
Another common problem is exchanges not being able to handle surging trading volume. Earlier this year, a major cryptocurrency exchange had a system overload after seeing wild fluctuations in the price of bitcoin within a couple of days. This led to an influx of trading volume and as a result some users of the exchange faced delays when using the platform.
Some exchanges left users in the dark during outages
Many cryptocurrency traders have expressed their dissatisfaction towards platforms not taking a more active role in communicating with them in case of an outage. Users are particularly concerned about exchanges not notifying customers of the source or expected duration of outages, not properly publicizing what happens to pending orders when trading resumes, or responding to complaints through customer service channels.
Last month, funds owned by users and the exchange were stolen by hackers on an exchange. The exchange did not disclose the hack until the next day and did not reveal details on how much assets were lost.
AAX minimizes outages
The fact that AAX is powered by LSEG Technology’s Millenium Exchange, a reputable financial technology solution deployed in over 40 of the most well-regulated financial markets means the chance of AAX having an outage is kept to the minimum.
Even in case of an outage, AAX is well-prepared. Leveraging on the experience of LSEG Technology, AAX has developed a rigid protocol to minimize damage and to make speedy recovery.
AAX takes a proactive approach towards reporting outages
AAX believes exchange operators need to do a better job of keeping users and regulators informed about outages and other issues that users should be informed. In case of an outage, AAX will release through its blog and social media platforms the causes of the problem and updates on how the team is handling the crisis. AAX provides customer service 24/7 to help users experiencing difficulties with trading.
To find out more about AAX or to pre-register please visit www.aax.com.
