How BSDEX is working every day to make the platform even more secure

By comparison, the market capitalization of the SP500 in April 2022 is USD 37 trillion. These figures are an indicator that cryptocurrencies are playing a relevant role in the financial world 12 years after their invention, but are still uncharted territory for the majority of people interested in finance. Newcomers are often particularly cautious when making their first crypto investments. The more security is offered, the easier it is to get started. In this article, you can find out what the Börse Stuttgart Digital Exchange is already doing to offer its customers a sense of security and what is on the agenda to further increase security.

Safety one of the three core values of BSDEX

Trust and customer-centricity are two of BSDEX's three core values. Offering customers security is the third. As part of the Stuttgart Stock Exchange, BSDEX is very close to traditional securities trading, which the parent company has been doing successfully since 1860, i.e. for over 160 years. The trust that customers have placed in the Stuttgart Stock Exchange for many decades is something it also wants to earn when trading cryptocurrencies. Since 2019, BSDEX has been strengthening its trust among German crypto investors on a daily basis.

Campaign to raise awareness of security in the crypto world

We want our customers to have a good relationship with BSDEX. In addition to low fees and the range of different cryptocurrencies on offer, the security of the platform is probably another important reason for choosing a particular provider. Trust and transparency in the form of information is very helpful here. This is one of the reasons why we founded the BSDEX Academy. It offers an ideal, comprehensive introduction to gaining fundamental knowledge in the areas of cryptocurrency, trading and blockchain. The greater the knowledge about crypto, the greater the user's sense of security. BSDEX also focuses on confidence-building measures through articles on security, such as this one. An overview of all articles on security in the crypto sector and at BSDEX can be found here.

Secure storage by Boerse Stuttgart Digital Custody

Everyone knows the synonym for secure storage: Fort Knox. One of several places where the USA stores its gold reserves. The USA is said to hold over 8,000 tonnes of gold, which would be worth over 400 billion dollars in August 2022. Naturally, you want to protect such sums as well as possible.

Over the last few decades, the thickest possible vault has given way to the best possible IT security. Nowadays, our money is no longer physically stored at the bank, but as ones and zeros in the banks' systems. Bank robbers have become hackers who try to outwit the IT security departments of banks and insurance companies.

However, people's basic need remains the same: they want security. People want to keep their money in the bank with a very good feeling and say to themselves: "My money is safer at the bank than at home". Börse Stuttgart wants to convey this feeling to those who invest in cryptocurrencies. Within the Börse Stuttgart Group, Boerse Sutttgart Digital Custody GmbH assumes the fiduciary custody of cryptocurrencies, i.e. for BSDEX and BISON. For this purpose, Boerse Sutttgart Digital Custody has developed and implemented a multi-level security concept. In view of the new legal regulation of the crypto custody business in Germany as of 1 January 2020, Boerse Sutttgart Digital Custody has applied for the necessary licence from the supervisory authorities. Until the licence is granted, Boerse Sutttgart Digital Custody already has the status of a regulated financial services provider for the time being.

The saying "Not your keys - not your coins" is often heard in the crypto community. However, with full control over your own coins comes more responsibility. If a debit card is lost, the entire assets on the current account are not immediately lost. One call to your bank is enough to block the card. Losing a crypto wallet is similar to losing cash. If you lose your wallet or access to it, your crypto assets are gone. Unless you have a backup. For example, if you have 10,000, 50,000 or 100,000 euros in Bitcoin on your hardware wallet and you keep it in your home, you are fully responsible for your assets. Every day, Boerse Sutttgart Digital Custody works to prevent unauthorised persons from gaining access to the various hot, warm and cold wallets at Boerse Sutttgart Digital Custody. With this expertise in IT security in the crypto wallet sector, we want to offer our customers at BSDEX as much security as possible.

Deposit protection for your assets

Trust in a company does not just begin with the purchase of cryptocurrencies. Our customers already place their trust in us when depositing euro funds. In order to offer additional security here, euro balances deposited with BSDEX are subject to deposit protection of up to 100,000 euros with our banking partners.

However, there is no legal protection for crypto assets. But BSDEX ensures increased security here too. Boerse Sutttgart Digital Custody, a subsidiary of Boerse Stuttgart Digital Ventures GmbH, acts as a trustee for the cryptocurrencies purchased from Boerse Sutttgart Digital Custody. Boerse Sutttgart Digital Custody has taken out insurance for some of the cryptocurrencies it holds in custody to protect against hacker attacks, theft and technical loss. In addition, a comprehensive security concept has been developed that places the custody under the highest possible security standards. As these are cryptocurrencies, they are not covered by the German deposit protection scheme for euro deposits, as described above.

Simple interface for easy understanding

Security does not always have to be objectively measurable. A seemingly secure solution can appear insecure to the user if the handling is overwhelming and complicated. Some providers on the crypto market offer their customers apps with a wide range of functions. These many options can cause a lot of uncertainty, especially for beginners. "Have I pressed the right button now?", "Oh! What's happened now?". No matter how securely the cryptocurrency is stored, if it feels unsafe to use, that's not a good sign. For this reason, the interface of the BSDEX web app and mobile app is particularly simple. For professionals, there is a separate area that offers additional functions and therefore appears more complicated. However, the simple main view makes it immediately clear to users what needs to be done. Deposit money, buy Bitcoin, sell Ethereum, transaction costs incurred. The simplicity of the interface provides an additional feeling of security. Of course, every app can be made even better and simpler. For this reason, we are working every day to make our web and mobile app even more intuitive.

Money laundering prevention (AML)

Anti-money laundering (AML) is designed to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing. The fifth EU Anti-Money Laundering Directive (also known as AMLD5) came into force at European Community level on 9 July 2018 and has also been implemented at national level since 1 January 2020 with the Money Laundering Act. Crypto exchanges are now subject to the same provisions for the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing as banks and other financial institutions. As a multilateral trading centre for digital assets, BSDEX is therefore also bound by these regulations.

 Preventing money laundering helps both the company itself and its customers to prevent our services from being misused by criminals.

As a German provider, BSDEX is subject to the regulations of the supervisory authorities.

BSDEX is operated by Baden-Württembergische Wertpapierbörse GmbH, which is supervised in this respect by the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin). Important co-operation partners of BSDEX such as Boerse Sutttgart Digital Custody or EUWAX AG are also German companies and are also subject to strict German regulation.

German-speaking support

Easily accessible support is an important criterion for many customers. Especially when it comes to finances, you want to get quick feedback. Even more important, however, is competent support that understands and can resolve your concerns. BSDEX offers German-speaking support so that your enquiries can be resolved satisfactorily. This is available to you either by telephone or by e-mail at support@bsdex.de.

Security features on the BSDEX roadmap

We want to make the user experience a little better every day. This also includes the introduction of new security features. We would like to explain which features are already available and which are planned for the future*.

Multi-factor authentication

Multi-factor authentication is an important feature to significantly increase the security of your account. This is why 2-factor authentication is mandatory with BSDEX. It is only possible to log in using a user name and password if an SMS tan is also entered. This means that fraudsters cannot access your account even if they know your e-mail address and password.

The more factors are required for authentication, the more information fraudsters need to gain access to your account. That's why we aim to provide more factors for authentication in the future. So that you can customise your own level of security. You can find out more about multi-factor authentication in our detailed article.

Volatility interruptions during price outbreaks

The volatility interruption in continuous trading improves price continuity and can reduce the risk of loss, for example in the event of flash crashes. A volatility interruption is triggered if the next potential execution price is outside the price corridors previously defined by Baden-Württembergische Wertpapierbörse GmbH ("BWWB GmbH") as the operator of BSDEX.

Price corridor 1

Refers to the last price determined in the respective cryptocurrency, regardless of whether the price was determined in continuous trading or in an auction. BWWB GmbH defines a maximum permissible deviation from this price for each cryptocurrency.

Price corridor 2

Is wider than price corridor 1 and refers to the last price of the respective cryptocurrency determined in an auction. BWWB GmbH defines a maximum permissible deviation from this price for each cryptocurrency.

Fat Finger Warnings*

For some people, the smartphone screen is simply too small for their fingers. Instead of hitting the F on the keyboard, the letters D, G and R end up on the display. It can happen just as quickly that you want to sell your bitcoins for 35,000 euros, accidentally hit the 2 due to the small screen and large fingers and end up with 25,000 euros. A quick glance and the order is placed. A buyer will be happy about the low price at that moment, but you as the seller will be annoyed. To avoid this, BSDEX would like to implement a safety mechanism in future. If the order deviates significantly from the current market price, it will only be confirmed once the user has given their clear approval.

A safe experience at BSDEX

As you have just read, BSDEX already offers many features to make your customers' experience more secure. In addition, there are always new features on the roadmap to meet the need for even more security. If you have any requests for further features, you can simply send them to support@bsdex.de.

* The product roadmap is flexible and may change at any time. We cannot guarantee that all features mentioned will appear in the future.