Not your keys not your coins for traders

[Ndabagi01]

These are the ways I have reduced the probability of losing too much money on exchanges. I want to see your own opinions of what you are doing to reduce the chance of losing too much money on exchanges during hack.

I am using different exchanges but I have not really thought about it in this direction. I use Bitget also, but it has been a while I used it and had to even uninstall it at some point but before this hack happened, I already downloaded it back but don’t have any money inside. Most of my money going into exchange are what I want to swap to fiat or trade with, and when I make profit from the trading, I immediately withdraw everything.  I still use more than one exchange but until now, I am very careful of how much I leave in these exchanges in case of hack or bankruptcy itself which is unlikely to happen.

[Gozie51]

But, isn't this setup of your's stressful and tedious? Juggling different accounts amongst different CEXs isn't something I can handle, honestly. If I get to a point where I feel unsafe keeping my funds in a particular CEX or CEXs in general, I'll simply quit trading.

It actually takes alot to be splitting up funds into different exchanges. Sometimes you also lose them by yourself as a result of bad trade because you are likely and or probably going to be trading those accounts simultaneously. In such case, if a trade goes bad in one account, it is likely going to affect the other account. It means you will eventually lose that which you are trying to safeguard from incident of all the funds being affected by hack. It is better to reduce the risk by transferring an amount you can lose one time and when you want to refund you do that at a lesser amount. This, the risk is still high with splitting funds and diversifying through different exchanges.

But the good part is that if you are profitable, you may also gain from all the accounts if you are trading them simultaneously and same pairs.

[Hamza2424]

I am sure others have told you by now that you got lucky, it was not a strategy because luck can't be involved every time, so don't strategize around it.

Grid trading is really a smart idea, not many even know about the term, but they are doing it. Also, I have found it better because I can hit my orders a bit lower or higher than I normally could on tier 1 exchanges.

But bro, the leverage you are using is making no benefit and has no difference at all, it's the same thing, 3x on one exchange and 1x on three exchanges on the same coin, so don't you think you are getting the same exposure?

I don't hold funds in exchanges unless they are tier 1.

[nelson4lov]

A smart approach to not put all your eggs in one basket. For a day trader, you have to do without that "Not your keys, not your coins" logic. That logic only applies if the individual is a holder rather than a trader. For traders, you want to minimise how much you spend on fees to move funds around the place. Which is why I think Op's current approach is a good one.

I think it would be even better to trade on an exchange that has an active insurance fund in place. Binance, Bybit, and now Bitget have all been hacked in the past but they were already prepared for it.

[Futurexxx]

These are the ways I have reduced the probability of losing too much money on exchanges. I want to see your own opinions of what you are doing to reduce the chance of losing too much money on exchanges during hack.

The truth is that we cannot deny the fact that we need to have some fiat in our exchange account, if we are a trader, because you may need it urgently at any moment or given time, so the idea of not keeping your money in an exchange isn't that logical if you are a trader, because you will lose a lot of money making opportunity if you decide to only move money from your personal wallet to the exchange when an opportunity arise in the market, since it would be time wasting.

As a holder it's more logical to hold in a self custodian wallet, but as a trader, you must have some fiat currency in your exchange account if you are really serious on your trading activity.

[AVE5]

These are the ways I have reduced the probability of losing too much money on exchanges. I want to see your own opinions of what you are doing to reduce the chance of losing too much money on exchanges during hack.

The centralized exchange is entirely a dangerous system to hold your coins because, if the exchange can be exploited as the recent one on Bitget, it could also affect the user's because, the exchange that's under custody of your private keys had been compromised. So I nodes my head on the topic of the threads.
I bet it's hard for trader's to even sleep with their two eyes closed especially when bad news or threats on centralized exchange arises.
They feel scared over hack and again, faces the other challenges of loosing his trade which trading alone is surrounded with risks.
In summary Op, you seems to have been so lucky that you spread your coins over number of exchanges like that and you haven't fall victim. To reduce risks in the exchange as a trader could be as better as spreading your funds just as you did so that you don't put all eggs on one basket while hackers ravages online.

[suzanne5223]

I believe you have make the best decision so far that's only if the fund you are splitting among many exchanges is mainly your trading capital, but if that's not the situation then tactics won't help you to reduce the chance of losing too much during exchange hack.
You might be lucky things are working for you, having a narrow escape from the previous exchange you're using that experienced a hack

[batang_bitcoin]

These are the ways I have reduced the probability of losing too much money on exchanges. I want to see your own opinions of what you are doing to reduce the chance of losing too much money on exchanges during hack.

That is good for you and you know what you are doing. To me, it's not so complicated at all, I only deposit if ever I buy and that's why I don't get to keep some funds in exchanges. I think that I still have some left in there but they're just the dust amounts that I can no longer move and even convert in some stable coins. I've learnt in the past incidents of these exchanges that any amount of fund could be at high risk when deposited on them.

[danherbias07]

I only used one back then, but I learned a lot from this forum. I appreciate all members who shared their experience and gave their tips on how we can secure our own money.

Anyway, now I use 4: 2 KYC and 2 non-KYC. I don't trade that much anymore because I really don't have enough time for it. I know how demanding of time trading can be, especially if you do not have the tools to make it easier. Also, I was not that profitable back then, so I thought it was not for me.
Today, there's only a bunch of cryptocurrencies left on one of those trading platforms that I use, and I don't actually use it. Just waiting for the right time to sell, and then I will probably withdraw it.

[Sandra_hakeem]

I am sure others have told you by now that you got lucky, it was not a strategy because luck can't be involved every time, so don't strategize around it.

That was what I thought after reading the entire post. He was lucky because in a situation like this, it could have been any exchange. I think he already made mention of that on a part of post here, but what he said right after that made it look more like he was expecting the hack which doesn't make any sense.

Some of the exchanges that I am using have been hacked before, but luckily I always do not have money on the exchange at the time of the hack. Example is Bitget, I was having just $1 on the exchange while having money on four other exchanges at the time of the hack.

These are the ways I have reduced the probability of losing too much money on exchanges. I want to see your own opinions of what you are doing to reduce the chance of losing too much money on exchanges during hack.

But bro, the leverage you are using is making no benefit and has no difference at all, it's the same thing, 3x on one exchange and 1x on three exchanges on the same coin, so don't you think you are getting the same exposure?

Perhaps he's not after the extra benefits but having less exposure and not losing everything in a situation where a hack ocurrs. The latter fulfils that process for him.

[Nothingtodo]

OP, your topic applies to all types of assets, especially if you invest and hold it in a wallet and lose the key to that wallet or someone steals your key, then that crypto asset is not yours. In the case of exchanges where you do not have control, it would certainly be foolish to claim your assets as your own. For example, the news of the recent Bitgate exchange hack is that if any trader had dollars there, it was hacked, but those who did not have them were fortunately saved. But the main point is that the coin for which you do not have the key will be assumed not to be yours.

[PERtua]

I think one thing that is not known by many is that diversifying your portfolio across exchanges doesn't necessarily mean that you are going to have less risk. In addition to providing a level of protection against one exchange failing. It can also cause an increase in the number of operational issues that can lead to errors. For example if a user sends funds to an incorrect network. Or if an outdated API key is left active. If you're me it would be a better idea to simply save what is necessary for active positions on a CEX and send the rest somewhere else. This allows diversification of exchange to act as an additional layer of protection. Instead of a primary protection.

[CryptopreneurBrainboss]

These are the ways I have reduced the probability of losing too much money on exchanges. I want to see your own opinions of what you are doing to reduce the chance of losing too much money on exchanges during hack.

I don't believe it's just luck but it all about your strategy and how long you spend in the market, when you don't spend too many hours or days then the chances of your trade still being on when the hacks happens are slim. A trader that spends just few hours and always withdraw after each trade for that day isn't going to have much or anything left on the exchange to lose them to hacks. I also have being in what you called a lucky situation because I had accounts with platforms that were hacked but I didn't lose any money. I know it's advisable to keep some money on exchanges to avoid losses over time from withdrawal fees but I don't mind paying for those fees instead of leaving my money on any CEX especially when I know I can't risk losing that amount. So my strategy is always take short trades, withdraw and hold in my own wallet.

[knowngunman]

I don't trade grid, I trade futures and sometimes spot; so...I really don't like diversifying the trading platform I use. Most Centralized exchanges do have a safe mechanism for hacks because that's something that can happen at any time. Most recent cases of hacks on CEXs saw those CEXs refunding some parts or all of their users' funds. Because of this, I'm not that bothered or paranoid about hacks while trading—that'll add another layer of stress to trading itself.

But, isn't this setup of your's stressful and tedious? Juggling different accounts amongst different CEXs isn't something I can handle, honestly. If I get to a point where I feel unsafe keeping my funds in a particular CEX or CEXs in general, I'll simply quit trading.

I don't think he trades at all the exchange the same time. He's just managing his asset with basic risk management instead of going all in one exchange. But to be honest, whether trading at all or not, managing too much exchange accounts would be stressful for me too.

I understand his concerns but all exchanges are the same. I would rather move out my coins to a more secured wallet after trade if I'm scared of exchange hack instead of having them divided in multiple exchanges accounts.

[Webutxo]

A smart approach to not put all your eggs in one basket. For a day trader, you have to do without that "Not your keys, not your coins" logic. That logic only applies if the individual is a holder rather than a trader. For traders, you want to minimise how much you spend on fees to move funds around the place. Which is why I think Op's current approach is a good one.

I think it would be even better to trade on an exchange that has an active insurance fund in place. Binance, Bybit, and now Bitget have all been hacked in the past but they were already prepared for it.

I like your approach. What OP is saying is very understandable but the truth is that you can't avoid Cex if you want to trade. First of all, many Dex including the ones that has perpetual trades does not have coins that are trending and most traders go for coins that are volatile and large volume where they can make money very quickly, day traders don't joke with such kind of coins and mostly you see this in centralized exchanges, they even purposely list these coins to attract traders.

Secondly, positions matters here. Some trades can be so good that trades are opened for long periods more than the days it was intended. This is why many keep their coins on Cex and trade for long time. The best way way just like you point out, don't leave your coins on one exchange, distribute your risk if you are a trader. If you are not a trader, withdraw everything to your custodial wallet.