Topic
Custody and cash
An exchange balance is a company's database. Dollars in and dollars out pass through firms that can check you, freeze you, or fail.
- 01Who gets paidThe exchange, the spread, and the withdrawal fee.
- 02Who can change the rulesThe firm's terms. They can change the withdrawal window.
- 03Who can stop the moneyA freeze, a halt, or a balance that was never coins you could move.
Courses
18 · 2 min
Exchanges and custody
An exchange is a company in the middle. You deposit, you trade, you withdraw. Those are three different steps.
19 · 2 min
How exchanges fail
Exchanges fail in ordinary ways. They freeze withdrawals, they lose keys, they lend out deposits, or they are robbed. The screen can still show your balance while the money is already gone.
20 · 2 min
Proof of reserves
A proof of reserves tries to show that an exchange holds assets. It is a snapshot, not a full audit, and it often says little about what the firm owes.
21 · 2 min
Fiat on-ramps and off-ramps
An on-ramp turns dollars into coins. An off-ramp turns coins back into dollars. Both ends are usually companies, with bank accounts, checks, and the power to stop.
22 · 3 min
KYC, freezes, and withdrawals
Know-your-customer checks are how a firm ties an account to a person. They are also how an account gets stuck. A freeze is the firm using its power to stop the money.
23 · 2 min
Peer-to-peer trades
A peer-to-peer trade is you and another person, plus a platform in the middle. The extra risk is the human on the other side, and the payment method they chose.
24 · 3 min
OTC desks
OTC means a large trade arranged off the public order book. It is a meeting, a wire, and a wallet. Robberies wear this costume because the amounts are large and the setting feels private.
This page does not tell you what to buy. Not financial advice.