The WEX exchange, which faced a crackdown last fall in its incarnation as BTC-e, keeps seeing a price anomaly in Bitcoin. The leading digital asset traded above $7,300, while the rest of the market saw BTC trade at around $6,251.79 as of Friday morning (June 13).
Bitcoin Cash (BCH) prices also saw an anomaly on WEX, trading at vastly different levels depending on the pairing. According to data from Cryptochartindex, BCH was as high as $812 against the euro but around $698 against ETH and a $658 equivalent against ZCash (ZEC). In other pairings, BCH was at about $702, as shown by CoinMarketCap.
Fortunately, the return of the exchange calmed fears that WEX was preparing for an exit scam. Deposits and withdrawals were opened in the past 24 hours.
https://twitter.com/WEXnz/status/1017379448948215808
The most significant addition to WEX was the BTC/USDT trading pair, which may have fueled the price spike. Other assets were also trading at a premium on the exchange. Litecoin (LTC) was above $89 though it traded at around $77 on other markets. Ethereum rose to $511 while its price sank again toward $430 elsewhere.
Some believe WEX is a highly risky exchange for arbitrage and may create problems with fund withdrawals. At one point, the illiquid market saw USDT rise to as high as $1.70, revealing an anomaly that affects the entire exchange. Total WEX trading volumes reach $27.5 million, CoinMarketCap estimates, but separate markets are smaller, allowing for low-liquidity price fluctuations.
The WEX exchange also gained a bad reputation in the past for freezing user accounts and not ensuring assistance. The exchange started a rigorous KYC (know your customer) procedure, but this did not improve service, as Reddit users complained.
In the past year, exchange innovation has swept across the crypto sector. However, some platforms have faced troubles, and users have become highly skeptical. While WEX has not been hacked, other exchanges keep seeing exploits and losses, so any anomalous trading activity is causing unease. As for WEX, despite the attractive prices, potential problems with accounts and withdrawals make arbitrage highly inadvisable.
Neither the author nor the publication assumes any responsibility or liability for any investments, profits or losses incurred through using this information. Cryptocurrency trading and investing are risky propositions, and market participants are advised to always conduct thorough research.
This article appeared first on Cryptovest
