Bitvavo reliability & security: how safe is Bitvavo?

Especially for cryptocurrencies, reliability and security are essential. After all, there is no third party who can help you if you lose all your crypto to an untrustworthy party. In this article we will investigate whether Bitvavo is a reliable & safe crypto exchange.

Summary: Bitvavo is trustworthy

I have researched Bitvavo extensively, and I have come to the conclusion that they do everything they can to offer the safest exchange possible. Bitvavo is supervised, keeps customer assets separate and has implemented various security measures.

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Bitvavo is being supervised

A good sign of Bitvavo’s reliability is that the exchange is supervised by the Dutch Central bank. This means they must adhere to Dutch rules and laws at all times, which are quite strict.

When you open an account with Bitvavo, you will directly notice this: you will first have to confirm your identity before you can get started. Please read the Bitvavo manual to learn how to do this.

Your account is well secured

Hackers are constantly trying to steal crypto from users. Therefore, it is essential that a company like Bitvavo applies solid security measures.

Examples are the 2FA security and anti-phishing security. With 2FA, you must first confirm with your mobile phone that it really is your account. The anti-phishing security helps you to recognize fake emails, so you do not give your data to a malicious party.

Bitvavo also uses intelligent algorithms to recognize unusual activity. For example, if you go on holiday and try to log in from a new location, you will need to confirm this attempt through your email. Similarly, if you log in from a new device, you will need to confirm the login attempt. With these kinds of measures, Bitvavo tries to prevent malicious access to your account.

Cryptos are well protected

Your account can be hacked, but worse would be a hack of the entire Bitvavo exchange. Fortunately, Bitvavo has good security measurements in place.

Most of the cryptocurrencies managed by Bitvavo are stored in cold wallets. Cold wallets are not directly connected to the Internet, so they cannot be hacked externally. Each day the percentage needed for active trading is calculated, and only this part is connected to the internet.

Cold wallets are stored on hardware and therefore need to be kept somewhere. Bitvavo stores all these wallets in highly secured vaults in different locations. These safes are of bank quality and are monitored 24/7.

Large transactions from these vaults can only be carried out by a handful of senior executives. These transactions must be confirmed manually by several people: this is also called a multi-signature transaction.

Insured

Another nice thing to know is that the cryptos managed by custody providers are insured. In case something does go wrong, a large portion will be covered. The cryptos are covered up to $250 million.

Smart business structure

The assets of Bitvavo’s customers are held in a separate foundation. This way, creditors will not be able to take away customers’ money if Bitvavo goes bankrupt.

As Bitvavo is located in The Netherlands, you can be sure that the company has to follow the local regulations. For example, your data cannot be shared with third parties due to strict privacy regulations.

Company culture & monitoring

Bitvavo spends a lot of time selecting reliable and knowledgeable staff. New employees are extensively screened and need a certificate of good conduct issued by the police. This ensures that no shady characters can work at the company.

The company also regularly conducts stress tests to see if they can respond quickly to a crisis. In this way, they are well-prepared for a possible external attack.

Uptime Bitvavo

And finally, you want to be able to rely on Bitvavo’s accessibility. Bitvavo does everything in their power to ensure a good uptime. Critical systems, for example, are hosted on multiple servers. When an issue occurs, servers can take over from each other, which prevents downtime.