Great idea, i've few improvement/idea such as :
- clear rules about deposit/withdraw/trading limit for unverified and verified users
- transparency about user compensation if their server is breached
But frankly i'd rather push the community to use DEX (at least for crypto-to-crypto trading) and atomic swap once it's available.
Topic: Code of Conduct in Exchanges: The Crypto Constitution (+ Terms of Use screening) (Read 303 times)
August 21, 2018, 01:42:43 PM
August 21, 2018, 12:35:58 PM
Looks like a -kinda- self regulatory movement is waking up in the US, too, hoping to work on legislation with the SEC:
https://blockonomi.com/virtual-commodity-association-working-group/
It's certainly a good evolution, although I would have preferred a community-driven project, in Satoshi's spirit of libertarianism and decentralization. Problem is this "VCA" will probably be protecting user's rights in the beginning, but eventually it could lead to being another tentacle for Big Brother, taking us all the way back to square one...
https://blockonomi.com/virtual-commodity-association-working-group/
It's certainly a good evolution, although I would have preferred a community-driven project, in Satoshi's spirit of libertarianism and decentralization. Problem is this "VCA" will probably be protecting user's rights in the beginning, but eventually it could lead to being another tentacle for Big Brother, taking us all the way back to square one...
June 22, 2018, 02:12:03 PM
Oh, a good topic, let's sow the scoop let it absorb 
June 22, 2018, 02:01:31 PM
I disagree. By using the exchange you are accepting their terms. As a consumer you have every ability to not accept their terms. You can choose not to trade on an exchange if you disagree with their terms.
The exchange cannot chose the customers that sign up. Their terms determine which customers they can exclude and why.
(...)
The exchange cannot chose the customers that sign up. Their terms determine which customers they can exclude and why.
(...)
I agree completely and I am quite happy and surprised to read your comments.
However, I must precise that this post and the other post with the T&C analysis, which you have also discovered in the meantime, were actually originally in one and the same post. Eventually I decided to cut them in two parts. I probably should have reformulated some parts of my OP. If you take in account the fact that CoinExchange does not respect its own terms (which is now in the other thread) for removing coins, my comments above would probably sound a lot more logical. Or as I marked in the other thread:
Quote
One cannot run around applauding decentralization all day long and then start whining and crying for mummy and government protection, because one didn't even bother reading 3 pages of text...
Nonetheless, "Pacta sunt servanda", as the Romans said, and if these exchanges don't respect their own T&C, leaving you no legal way to get your rights respected, we are all the way back to corporatism, and not free market.
Reality is however, that you seem to be one of the only people on this forum who care or who take these remarks seriously. I think Satoshi was member of a very small minority of libertarians. But let's stay optimistic and look at what's ahead: only future will tell.
June 22, 2018, 05:33:03 AM
The world of crypto has become a billion dollar business with millions of users buying, selling and speculating on the new crypto-exchanges. No explanation needed to know that this is a VERY lucrative business.
Keeping in mind that Satoshi created his Bitcoin to put an end to the power monopolies which were resting in the hands of governments, banks and corporations, I am having the feeling that many of these crypto exchanges have formed a new group of corporations. Lately I've been reading quite some complaints about people who find themselves scammed by exchanges. Someone even suggested some of the exchanges are owned by whale groups. I have never been scammed but some actions clearly feel as unlawful practices which we have no choice but to accept.
Keeping in mind that Satoshi created his Bitcoin to put an end to the power monopolies which were resting in the hands of governments, banks and corporations, I am having the feeling that many of these crypto exchanges have formed a new group of corporations. Lately I've been reading quite some complaints about people who find themselves scammed by exchanges. Someone even suggested some of the exchanges are owned by whale groups. I have never been scammed but some actions clearly feel as unlawful practices which we have no choice but to accept.
I disagree. By using the exchange you are accepting their terms. As a consumer you have every ability to not accept their terms. You can choose not to trade on an exchange if you disagree with their terms.
The exchange cannot chose the customers that sign up. Their terms determine which customers they can exclude and why.
I AM NOT SAYING THESE EXCHANGES ARE OR ARE NOT ABUSING THEIR POWER. What I am saying is this: should they want to abuse their power, you have no rights whatsoever.
My libertarian heart is bleeding when I am saying this, but: we have a lot more legal protection and rights against governments, banks and corporations, than we have against some of these exchanges.
I think we, the users, should stick together and create a Code of Conduct, as a kind of "Private Constitution", let's call it "The Crypto Constitution" or "The Crypto Code of Conduct", leaving the possibility to any exchange (voluntarily) to undersign this Code of Conduct. This Code should contain our rights as users/clients/investors.
I am thinking of the following suggestions:
- clear rules about how and where exchanges publish their fees
- clear rules about how to sign up and how to sign out
- clear rules about our privacy protection
- transparency about how and when new coins can be listed
- transparency about why and when existing coins will be delisted, and a minimum amount of time before delisting
- transparency about the owners and (possible) shareholders of the exchanges
- clear rules about what independent institution or which person will take a legal decision in case of a conflict or a discussion
- etc.
The institution or person who judges in case of a conflict, could be a court of law of a country. Personally, as a libertarian, I would suggest the creation of an independent private arbitrator institution, which could then be (voluntarily) accepted as judge by both parties in case of a conflict. If possible through the Blockchain. This could even create a whole new Blockchain industry. In the future, the Crypto Constitution could maybe even be expanded for ICOs and other crypto projects, so that these arbitrators could even be used for conflicts in ICOs and so on.
We all have read and understood the terms and conditions of these exchanges we've been using for months and even years now, telling us what we can and what we may not do. It's about time we stood up and ask them: how about OUR rights?
I agree with most of your suggestions. I'm not sure whether "shareholders" would need to be disclosed. Crypto holders are now increasingly targeted for armed robberies.
Someone owning shares may have no voting rights and have no influence over management decisions.
Some exchanges are funded by ICO tokens and the ownership is completely obscured by anonymity or pseudo anonymity.
Some exchanges work within the legal framework of a country and are registered LLC or Limited companies while others are obscured by trusts, tax haven registrations and hidden identities.
May 13, 2018, 06:07:18 PM
Codes of good practice are indeed needed, but not just for exchanges, but also for ICOs, Bounties and the like. At the moment, users are abused daily.
May 12, 2018, 10:09:17 AM
The world of crypto has become a billion dollar business with millions of users buying, selling and speculating on the new crypto-exchanges. No explanation needed to know that this is a VERY lucrative business.
Keeping in mind that Satoshi created his Bitcoin to put an end to the power monopolies which were resting in the hands of governments, banks and corporations, I am having the feeling that many of these crypto exchanges have formed a new group of corporations. Lately I've been reading quite some complaints about people who find themselves scammed by exchanges. Someone even suggested some of the exchanges are owned by whale groups. I have never been scammed but some actions clearly feel as unlawful practices which we have no choice but to accept.
I AM NOT SAYING THESE EXCHANGES ARE OR ARE NOT ABUSING THEIR POWER. What I am saying is this: should they want to abuse their power, you have no rights whatsoever.
My libertarian heart is bleeding when I am saying this, but: we have a lot more legal protection and rights against governments, banks and corporations, than we have against some of these exchanges.
I think we, the users, should stick together and create a Code of Conduct, as a kind of "Private Constitution", let's call it "The Crypto Constitution" or "The Crypto Code of Conduct", leaving the possibility to any exchange (voluntarily) to undersign this Code of Conduct. This Code should contain our rights as users/clients/investors.
I am thinking of the following suggestions:
- clear rules about how and where exchanges publish their fees
- clear rules about how to sign up and how to sign out
- clear rules about our privacy protection
- transparency about how and when new coins can be listed
- transparency about why and when existing coins will be delisted, and a minimum amount of time before delisting
- transparency about the owners and (possible) shareholders of the exchanges
- clear rules about what independent institution or which person will take a legal decision in case of a conflict or a discussion
- etc.
The institution or person who judges in case of a conflict, could be a court of law of a country. Personally, as a libertarian, I would suggest the creation of an independent private arbitrator institution, which could then be (voluntarily) accepted as judge by both parties in case of a conflict. If possible through the Blockchain. This could even create a whole new Blockchain industry. In the future, the Crypto Constitution could maybe even be expanded for ICOs and other crypto projects, so that these arbitrators could even be used for conflicts in ICOs and so on.
We all have read and understood the terms and conditions of these exchanges we've been using for months and even years now, telling us what we can and what we may not do. It's about time we stood up and ask them: how about OUR rights?
Screening analysis of terms and conditions of some exchanges
I did some research in the last days to make a somewhat deeper analysis of the TERMS AND CONDITIONS of some of these exchanges. Most of the times it was really boring - the usual stuff, trying to limit liability as much as possible - but I discovered some really funny formulations and Kafkaesque errors, too. From a user's/customer's point of view, am I the only one who finds some of these results extremely disturbing?
KuCoin came out as undisputed number one when it comes to trustworthy, solid terms of use, finding a perfect balance between customer rights and liability, whilst fully respecting our privacy. On the other side of the spectrum, I am not sure who should win the price of worst user protection, but I think CoinExchange is one of the strongest contenders in this category.
I split up this thread and posted my findings in a new thread: you can read my detailed screenings of Mercatox, CoinExchange, Binance, KuCoin, IDEX, Etherdelta, Bitfinex and Cryptopia in this thread. Feel free to add your own suggestions and comments if you want me to screen more policies and terms & conditions!
Keeping in mind that Satoshi created his Bitcoin to put an end to the power monopolies which were resting in the hands of governments, banks and corporations, I am having the feeling that many of these crypto exchanges have formed a new group of corporations. Lately I've been reading quite some complaints about people who find themselves scammed by exchanges. Someone even suggested some of the exchanges are owned by whale groups. I have never been scammed but some actions clearly feel as unlawful practices which we have no choice but to accept.
I AM NOT SAYING THESE EXCHANGES ARE OR ARE NOT ABUSING THEIR POWER. What I am saying is this: should they want to abuse their power, you have no rights whatsoever.
My libertarian heart is bleeding when I am saying this, but: we have a lot more legal protection and rights against governments, banks and corporations, than we have against some of these exchanges.
I think we, the users, should stick together and create a Code of Conduct, as a kind of "Private Constitution", let's call it "The Crypto Constitution" or "The Crypto Code of Conduct", leaving the possibility to any exchange (voluntarily) to undersign this Code of Conduct. This Code should contain our rights as users/clients/investors.
I am thinking of the following suggestions:
- clear rules about how and where exchanges publish their fees
- clear rules about how to sign up and how to sign out
- clear rules about our privacy protection
- transparency about how and when new coins can be listed
- transparency about why and when existing coins will be delisted, and a minimum amount of time before delisting
- transparency about the owners and (possible) shareholders of the exchanges
- clear rules about what independent institution or which person will take a legal decision in case of a conflict or a discussion
- etc.
The institution or person who judges in case of a conflict, could be a court of law of a country. Personally, as a libertarian, I would suggest the creation of an independent private arbitrator institution, which could then be (voluntarily) accepted as judge by both parties in case of a conflict. If possible through the Blockchain. This could even create a whole new Blockchain industry. In the future, the Crypto Constitution could maybe even be expanded for ICOs and other crypto projects, so that these arbitrators could even be used for conflicts in ICOs and so on.
We all have read and understood the terms and conditions of these exchanges we've been using for months and even years now, telling us what we can and what we may not do. It's about time we stood up and ask them: how about OUR rights?
Screening analysis of terms and conditions of some exchanges
I did some research in the last days to make a somewhat deeper analysis of the TERMS AND CONDITIONS of some of these exchanges. Most of the times it was really boring - the usual stuff, trying to limit liability as much as possible - but I discovered some really funny formulations and Kafkaesque errors, too. From a user's/customer's point of view, am I the only one who finds some of these results extremely disturbing?
KuCoin came out as undisputed number one when it comes to trustworthy, solid terms of use, finding a perfect balance between customer rights and liability, whilst fully respecting our privacy. On the other side of the spectrum, I am not sure who should win the price of worst user protection, but I think CoinExchange is one of the strongest contenders in this category.
I split up this thread and posted my findings in a new thread: you can read my detailed screenings of Mercatox, CoinExchange, Binance, KuCoin, IDEX, Etherdelta, Bitfinex and Cryptopia in this thread. Feel free to add your own suggestions and comments if you want me to screen more policies and terms & conditions!
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