Cryptocurrency exchanges may not be as safe as we first thought. A report from the state of New York’s Attorney General has revealed that most exchanges do not have basic consumer protections in place, leaving them vulnerable to manipulation.

“Many virtual currency platforms lack the necessary policies and procedures to ensure the fairness, integrity, and security of their exchanges,” state Attorney General Barbara Underwood said in a statement. “Most platforms seem to cater to professional, automated traders, with many venues offering special pricing and other features to such traders, leaving retail customers at a disadvantage.”

As pointed out by The Wall Street Journal , the attorney general’s report suggests “protections for consumer funds are often limited or illusory.”

It would seem that standardized methods for auditing virtual assets do not exist.

“That makes it difficult or impossible to confirm whether platforms are responsibly holding their customers’ assets.” states the attorney general.

Thirteen platforms were approached by the attorney general’s office to participate in the study and provide information on how their platforms are secured, nine complied. These included: Bitfinex, Bittrex, Coinbase, Gemini Trust Company, itBit, Poloniex, Tidex, and HBUS.

“Four platforms – Binance Limited, Gate.io (operated by Gate Technology Incorporated), Huobi Global Limited, and Kraken (operated by Payward, Inc.) – claimed they do not allow trading from New York and declined to participate,” states the report.

The attorney general concludes the report with a list of eight questions that exchanges should be able to confidently answer. These questions concern but are not limited to: security measures to prevent hacking, insurance policies in the event of theft, measures for removing abusive traders, and if the platform is registered under forms of banking regulations.

Teen Bitcoin millionaire builds a real Dr. Octopus suit for a kid

When a teenage Bitcoin millionaire tells the world he intends to use a portion of his money to build a robotic exoskeleton in the vein of a famous Marvel super villain, it sounds like something we should worry about. Luckily the teen in question, Erik Finman, has chosen to use his resources for good.

Finman, a man Time called one of the most influental teens of 2014, recently helped finance and develop a robotic prosthetic suit resembling the one created by the fictional Spiderman nemesis Doctor Octopus.

It’s actually pretty easy to imagine this as the genesis of a plot to rule the world or visit revenge on all the people who’ve wronged him, but that’s certainly not the case here – despite the fact his backstory is just a ‘terrible accident’ away from being grade-A super villain material.

Finman began investing his money in cryptocurrency when he was 12. He spun a $1,000 dollar gift from his grandmother into a wallet clutching millions of dollars worth of Bitcoin. Now, at the age of 19, he says he wants to make the world a better place.

We caught up with Finman to find out, first of all, why he thought it was a good idea to spend a bunch of money making a four-armed robot suit. He says:

Aristou, who is only 10, suffers from hypermobility issues according to a report from Digital Trends . The suit, which was made for him, is equal parts cosplay gadget and early prosthetic prototype. It’s not ready to be declared a medical device just yet, but Finman is considering further development.

He told Hard Fork:

Finman, when he was 15, bet his parents he’d be a millionaire by the time he was 18. The stakes were whether he’d go to college or not, with him on the “or not” side – he won that bet. At the time, he’d just cashed out $100k in Bitcoin to start his own tech business – a company called Botangle focused on education.

Now he’s worth a few million dollars, thanks to his vision to invest in Bitcoin when it was worth a mere $12 per coin – yet he’s still too young to buy a beer in the US. And he plans on unveiling a “big thing” in the educational space soon, something he eluded to Hard Fork he may eventually announce on his Twitter page .

It’s impossible to predict the future, especially when it comes to cryptocurrency investments, but people like Finman, whether you call them genius or lucky, seem to find a way to accomplish anything they set out to do. And, as long as he uses his powers for good, the sky’s the limit for this would-be superhero.

Cryptocurrency exchange CEO ‘loses’ private key to user funds — claims it doesn’t really matter

The founder of a Zimbabwean cryptocurrency exchange has apparently lost the password to his company‘s wallet, preventing users from withdrawing their funds.

Tawanda Kembo, founder and CEO of Golix, is said to be claiming he lost the password for a cold wallet in May last year. According to a report from local news outlet Iharare , the wallet contained 33 Bitcoin about $300,000 at today’s exchange rate.

Loss of the password has reportedly been confirmed by two sources that previously worked at Golix.

What’s more suspicious is the timing of the indiscretion.

The password was allegedly lost during a time when customers were trying to remove their funds from the exchange after the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) ordered Golix to shut down operations. Customers began withdrawing their cryptocurrency after the RBZ banned Bitcoin trading last year.

According to another source that worked at Golix, users that kept their funds on the exchange have not been refunded.

Kembo speaks out

What’s more, Golix is reportedly not communicating with its customers, its Twitter account hasn’t been updated since February.

However, following Iharare’s report, Kembo has spoken out to give his account of events.

In a guest post on Iharare, Kembo says that his company has “never been unable to process a withdrawal because of insolvency.” He said the claims customers have been unable to withdraw funds come from a 1 percent minority.

Kembo admits the company is not profitable right now, but that the company is stable and will be for “at least a couple of years.”

He then goes on to contradict himself and say that it is true that customers haven’t been able to withdraw fiat over the last year. He claims this is because cryptocurrency companies can’t access bank accounts in Zimbabwe.

This is in part true. The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe has kept eyes on Golix for a number of years because it believed the exchange represented a risk for the country and it has fought continually to have it shut down . Which may explain why it can’t access bank accounts.

Kembo also claims that Golix “mostly never had any challenges processing cryptocurrency withdrawals.” According to him, issues arose because customers didn’t know how to use cryptocurrency. There’s no mention if Golix ever provided customer support on these occasions, though.

In regard to the lost password, Kembo doesn’t deny this, but claims the situation has been taken out of context and doesn’t affect Golix.

The Golix CEO says he was an early adopter of Bitcoin and the password he lost was connected to an account accessible only through a Linux terminal. He said the Bitcoin on the wallet was bought “dirt cheap,” as such, the actual value of the loss is not that large. It’s when the value is calculated against today’s exchange rate that the loss seems striking.

Kembo’s version of events suggest that this happened before Golix existed. The story doesn’t appear to corroborate with Iharare’s initial sources of losing the wallet in May 2018.

Given Kembo’s response, it’s unclear what exactly is going on at Golix. But considering its inability to process withdrawals and its continued battles with RBZ, I’d tread with extreme caution.