Consumers are on their own in world of cryptocurrency

ORLANDO, Florida - Cryptocurrency - basically digital money - has grown in popularity in recent years, and many people are curious about it.

Lots of people are investing in it too, including Jayson Moser.

What you need to know

• Cryptocurrency funds or digital money can be lost overnight
  
• The regulation is "very little or nonexistent," says the UCF finance professor
  
• Unintentionally, scams are widespread, says Dr. Buvameshwaram Venugopal
  
• Only invest in cryptocurrency when you are ready to risk money, he says

Moser shared his experience with cryptocurrency as a warning to others.

Moser says he woke up when his Coinbase account was wiped out and $ 2,000 was gone overnight.

"It said zero and I said, 'Well, that can't be right," said Moser.

Where did his money go? Moser said he had no idea.

“Eighteen emails later, 45 days later, no response. No meaningful non-automated answer, ”said Moser. “It's hard not to feel like theft! It's hard not to feel like you've given someone $ 2,000. "

And Moser is not alone. He shared a Reddit thread with others who encountered the same problem.

Dr. Buvameshwaram Venugopal, a professor of finance finance at the University of Central Florida College of Business, said regulation of the cryptocurrency was "very little to none."

"At this point, all responsibility rests with the consumer," said Venugopal.

Lack of government regulation is exactly what cryptocurrency founders wanted, Venugopal said. No centralized bank. No government oversight and no insurance for people whose money is disappearing.

"As of 2018, nearly 80% of the market is fraud - $ 1.8 billion," he said. “That's a lot of money that people get cheated out of. It is very difficult to identify. "

Since the government cannot easily regulate the industry, this is a prime target for scammers.

According to FBI reports, the number of victims and money lost from crime in virtual currencies increased from 2019 to 2020.

"This is kind of a wild west here," said Moser.

Moser said he had no hope of getting his money back.

Spectrum News then contacted Coinbase about Moser's case. A spokeswoman replied immediately, stating, "The matter is now resolved." She declined to offer details, citing client confidentiality.

Moser previously received a detailed response from Coinbase regarding his account and the matter has been fully resolved. However, further information on this case was not provided for reasons of customer confidentiality.

"We have made significant investments in regulatory compliance and cybersecurity and continue to do so to gain the trust of our customers," the letter reads.

“We pride ourselves on being one of the longest running crypto platforms where customers have not lost money due to a platform security breach, and we protect our customers' funds with multiple layers of protection by running what we believe to be the largest hot Use the platform - wallet crime program in the insurance market, ”says the letter. “As of December 31, 2020, more than 15% of our full-time employees were responsible for legal, compliance, finance and security.

“Coinbase works proactively with regulators in all markets we operate in and we invest heavily in regulatory compliance. This approach has enabled us to become the trusted entry point for interacting with the crypto-economy. "

Moser said Coinbase put the money back in his wallet.

Two days later, Coinbase went public and became the most valuable US exchange that day.

Venugopal said he believes the United States needs to find a way to regulate the industry ahead of other countries to make it safe for consumers.

See you? When you're ready to take the risk, invest in cryptocurrency, he said. If not, don't do it.

While Moser is relieved that his case has been resolved, he said he was no longer willing to take that risk.

"My grandmother collected silver coins," said Moser. "I think I'll just stick with silver coins and not necessarily with digital coins."

Source link

https://thedailytradingnews.com/consumers-are-on-their-own-in-world-of-cryptocurrency/