With Shapeshift going down a few days ago due to a security issue, consumers are looking for alternative solutions to instantly exchange digital currencies. Changelly seems to be popping up all over social media, but the service is vastly different from what people might expect.
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Changelly is Not Privacy-Centric At All
The main selling point for ShapeShift is how the platform lets users all over the world instantly convert between supported digital currencies without registration. This platform keeps customer privacy in mind, and they will never ask for documents to establish one’s identity either. This is part of the reason why the company pulled out of New York after the BitLicense regulation was revealed.
However, now that Shapeshift has been down for a few days, digital currency enthusiasts are looking for alternative solutions that provide a similar experience. Unfortunately, the pickings are very slim in this regard, although Changelly seems to be a contender. That is until people start taking a closer look at how this service works exactly, as it turns out this company is not privacy-centric by any means.
On the surface, Changelly offers a very similar interface to ShapeShift, as users can convert between digital currencies. However, the list of supported currencies is much shorter, albeit it does include Bitcoin, Ethereum, Monero, DASH, and Litecoin, to name a few. Most of these currencies are very common, and there will be an audience for this type of service.
However, using the service is entirely different under the hood, as executing trades is not as easy as it sounds. First of all, users need to sign up for an account to use Changelly, which will turn off a lot of users from the get go. But that is not all, as users need to verify their identity before making any trades as well.
This verification procedure includes providing Changelly with social media account information, which is very similar to what Coinbase requires these days. In the end, this platform defeats the whole purpose of adding more privacy when exchanging digital currencies and is nothing like ShapeShift at all.
Source: Reddit
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