PDAX: Crypto mart integrity strong
When we discovered that an unfunded order made it to the system, we took the exchange down to prevent that order from affecting other accounts
The domestic cryptocurrency market remains credible as the Philippine Digital Asset Exchange (PDAX), which is the local platform for virtual money, announced on Tuesday the reactivation of trading after services were cut off last week following an upsurge.
In a virtual press conference, PDAX Founder and CEO Nichel Gaba assured the public that the PDAX accounts have always been safe and secure.
“When we discovered that an unfunded order made it to the system, we took the exchange down to prevent that order from affecting other accounts,” He acknowledged the concern and anxiety that PDAX users felt during the downtime, but reiterated that the 36-hour system check was necessary to “protect them, the public, and the integrity of the market,” Gaba said.
The surge came as the primary cryptocurrency bitcoin rocketed to a price of above $50,000 each last week.
While a small portion
of the user base, or 0.2 percent, remains unable to access their accounts, PDAX expects to complete all the system and user account restoration by 24 February.
As an added safety measure, PDAX will not yet be fully automated which will mean that users may still encounter transaction delays.
Virtual money starts 2019
PDAX began retail operations in 2019 and had witnessed the steady increase in Filipinos’ interest in cryptocurrencies, amid the pandemic.
It experienced an increase in transactions up to 70 times its norm during the past 11 months, and saw 15 times growth in users. Gaba described the surge as “unprecedented” and had exceeded growth expectations.”
“The crypto exchange has been scaling its capabilities to accommodate more users and more volumes
of transactions. Still, one isolated and unfunded order found its way into the PDAX system and affected the accounts of other users,” Gaba noted.
Detecting the unusual flurry of activity almost as soon as it started, PDAX’s team quickly held an investigation.
As Gaba described it, “when we discovered that an unfunded order made it to the system, we took the exchange down to prevent that order from affecting other accounts. We’ve recorded a total of 2,800 infected user accounts. However, we took the 36-hour outage to protect the public and crypto market. Today, we have already restored all accounts. Yet due to some certain measures that we’re still working on, withdrawals will remain a manual process.”
BSP oversees mart
Gaba also specified that “in many jurisdictions, some cryptocurrency trading platforms are unregulated which means risks are
extremely high. But what we can assure the public is that PDAX is overseen by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). We are happy to work with the BSP to protect the crypto industry.”
Given the unabated interest in cryptocurrency, which can propel future surges and drive price values and volumes higher, PDAX continues to scale up its capabilities to improve customer service and protect the public. Gaba revealed that by March 2021, the exchange will “be looking to triple our headcount. We are a small company that has to scale up. We have a very lean team and we’re working on increasing our customer support whom users can immediately turn to during incidents like these. Over the next two months, we will be closely examining our corrections to ensure that every transaction made on the PDAX system is safe, accurate, and compliant.”