Cryptopia is the brainchild of New Zealanders Rob Dawson and Adam Clark, two men that had the idea of creating a crypto exchange that was different to the already established status quo. The idea was to build an exchange that remained faithful to its user base in the face of expansion. Initial reviews were good for the project, with many opting to use it as a secondary exchange. Following launch, Cryptopia strived to become an immersive exchange that would be a one-stop-shop for crypto trading, but this goal would prove to be far too ambitious. It’s now fallen so far short of its targets that traders are actively walking away from it in huge numbers.
Cryptopia’s dramatic fall from grace has left many wondering just how this has been allowed to happen – why are traders turning their backs on Cryptopia? The following takes an in-depth look at the shortcomings of a once-promising cryptocurrency exchange.
What’s Troubling Cryptopia?
Complaints against Cryptopia are mounting and mounting in a major way. Take one look its social media pages and you’ll see plenty of complaints regarding deposits, withdrawals, and even just general day to day use of the exchange. Most alarmingly, there have even been accusations of scams and theft levied at the company, as some users claim that funds have gone missing or been “lost.” It’s not that other exchanges aren’t complained about – because they are – it’s just that in other instances the complaints are few and far between and rarely this serious.
Part of the reason for Cryptopia’s sudden struggles can be attributed to its growth. User numbers skyrocketed during last year’s Bitcoin boom, something that the exchange struggled to keep up with. Such large-scale numbers – while a positive in most aspects – can also create a huge problem. Other cryptocurrency exchanges struggled to an extent with the influx of new traders, but most eventually adapted, yet Cryptopia still lags. To this day, they just can’t seem to keep up with the changing times, let alone keep on top of customer complaints.
Mounting Costs and a Severe Lack of Interest
Cryptopia is a low-ranking exchange, there is no way around that. Of all 200 or so exchanges out there, Cryptopia is clinging on to its spot in the top 100. Given its low-ranking, it’s $60,000 charge for listing a coin is pretty steep – to the point where it’s actually scaring projects away. Its reputation isn’t great, its customer care is considered sub-par, and its trading volume is low, so it’s not hard to see why good projects are baulking at this fee and ignoring Cryptopia as an option.
If the exchange didn’t have enough to deal with, earlier in 2018 it revealed to customers that its bank – ASB Bank – had closed one of its accounts. This seemingly happened without any warning, so the company wasn’t able to brace for impact, or even present an immediate case for compliance in order to have the account reinstated. The issue has now been fixed, but in many ways the damage has been done, as it was yet another mark against the exchange in the eyes of customers.
Traders Have Had Enough
Any exchange with a strong backbone can ride out controversy, or at least minimize its impact. Even Coinbase has suffered a drop in new user registrations in the wake of Bitcoin’s price dip. The problem with Cryptopia is that it isn’t just new registrations that have tumbled, the exchange has lost over 60% of its visitors in just 6 months according to SimilarWeb. This is a terrifying statistic, as it really does show that not only has Cryptopia seen a fall in interest, but people are voting with their feet and walking away from the exchange.
The decline started in February, but has only escalated since then. Trading volume has also tanked between February and now, with its falling as low as 89th in the Coinmarketcap rankings – at time of writing it currently sits at 85th. For an exchange that had lofty ambitions of being a leading exchange across the whole of Oceania, this represents a real problem.
Down But Not Quite Out
Cryptopia is facing its darkest hour, as it can’t seem to stop the slide. For an exchange that once had so much promise, it will likely fall out of the top 100 crypto exchanges sooner rather than later. New, fresh, and exciting exchanges are on the rise, which could very well show this exchange to be out of touch.
Cryptopia isn’t a spent force, as it does still have some pretty loyal users. But, this once potentially very good exchange must change, adapt, and grow if it wants to have any chance of living up its potential. We wouldn’t write off Cryptopia – the exchange isn’t quite on its deathbed yet – but it’s going to have to do something pretty spectacular if it wants to redeem its reputation within the crypto community.
