Dear BISON community,
Recent market events involving FTX have shaken the crypto industry and bring no comfort to anyone trading in the market. FTX investors are now worried about the future of their deposits, and investors outside of FTX are starting to question the crypto trading platform they’ve been using.
To me, this just highlights the importance of being a reliable partner for cryptocurrency trading and custody, and confirms that the path we’ve chosen at BISON is the one to follow. Issues related to risk management and strong custodial security concepts should be must-haves for any reputable crypto provider. They should never be neglected when it comes to expanding products, such as adding new cryptocurrencies or other technical innovations. After all, speed isn’t everything. We prefer to be steady and stable – reliable and secure!
As part of the Börse Stuttgart Group with its 160-year history and leading role across Europe – especially in crypto and digital business – we’re committed to maintaining the highest standards to protect your assets.
Your crypto is held in trust on a 1:1 basis by blocknox GmbH in Germany, a regulated subsidiary of the Börse Stuttgart Group. You can withdraw cryptocurrencies to your own wallet anytime upon request. The fact that this can sometimes take a few working days has nothing to do with blockchain technology; it’s due to various issues, like extensive security and protection mechanisms that we’ve implemented for our customers, or internal audit processes designed to comply with regulatory requirements. We’ve developed our product to be mass-market ready and provide easy, smart, and secure access to cryptocurrencies for all our customers. Flash transactions to other trading or marketplaces are not and have never been our goal.
Your assets held in trust also aren’t lent to third parties, which brings me to the ongoing proof-of-reserve debate.
Publicly listing wallets doesn’t create any actual evidence of how the existing assets are used. This needs to be compared with the following factors:
- a company’s liabilities
- whether the assets are really held in a fiduciary capacity
- separate custody of the assets from company funds
- not lending the assets to third parties
- use of the assets for corporate purposes other than as collateral
Actual proof of this can only be provided by an independent third-party audit. This is mandatory for financial service providers in Germany and is carried out as part of an annual audit. Here, however, not only the inventories but also the processes, as well as the receivables and liabilities, are examined in order to gain an overall understanding. The results of this comprehensive audit are reported to the supervisory authorities.
Overview: How we keep your assets safe:
- Your assets are held in trust on a 1:1 basis by blocknox GmbH in Germany, a subsidiary of the Börse Stuttgart Group.
- The custody company blocknox GmbH is committed to maintaining the highest security standards and uses a multi-level security concept. Insurance is also integrated into its custody concept, which, among other things, protects against hacker attacks, theft, and technical loss. This includes 100% of cryptocurrencies held in hot wallets. On top of that, our information security management system is certified in accordance with ISO 27001.
- Your assets in custody will not be lent to third parties.
- BISON operates in the regulated environment of the Boerse Stuttgart Group. Our trading partner EUWAX AG, a subsidiary of the Boerse Stuttgart Group, and our banking partner Solaris comply with all German regulatory requirements.
This is how we provide full transparency at BISON:
- We monitor our holdings on a daily basis and perform regular internal controls of trust assets.
- In terms of custody processes and the information security management system (ISMS), we have several internal and external audits during the year. We are subject to an annual audit of trust assets, as well as receivables and payables, and all processes by an independent auditor. The result of the audit is forwarded to the supervisory authorities.
BISON is a multi-award winning crypto trading platform that’s happy to stand by your side in these challenging times.
Best,
Dr. Ulli Spankowski
