The FTX exchange made its debut to the cryptocurrency exchange market in May 2019. Since then, FTX has come to be known as one of the biggest, most credible cryptocurrency exchanges. Yesterday, this exchange took its platform a step further. From yesterday, FTX users can send cryptocurrencies to one another via phone number and email. This makes the process of transferring crypto in centralized exchanges far easier. While most centralized exchanges require you to provide your personal phone number and email, actually using them other for security reasons is beneficial for users.
The founder of FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried, tweeted regarding this update. In his tweet, SBF simply informs the public about the new feature. According to SBF, users can also send US dollars to one another, not just cryptocurrencies.
How Will This Feature Work For non-FTX users?
One of Bankman-Fried’s followers, however, was not sure how this feature will work for non-FTX users. Not just that, but you cannot link traditional crypto wallets to your phone number or email. Well, SBF made sure that everybody can benefit from this feature, thus, he came up with a solution.
Sam Bankman-Fried attached a picture under the original tweet showing how someone without a wallet will receive the funds. To keep this simple, let us split the process in three steps:
- The receiver of the funds gets an email or phone message with instructions
- Then, he/she will have to open an FTX account
- Once they open an account using the email where they received the funds, they need to verify their identity
- After the receiver verifies their identity, they will get access to the funds
Ultimately, if the receiver does not respond to the email or phone message, the funds will get returned to the sender in a timely manner. The same will happen if the receiver fails to pass the verification process successfully.
Crypto enthusiasts have contradicting views regarding this feature, however. While most people believe this feature is useful, there are some that are criticizing FTX, claiming that this might create new opportunities for phishing attacks. Nevertheless, FTX measured the risk that came with implementing such a feature and decided to take its chances. This cryptocurrency exchange is continuously working towards becoming the biggest exchange in the world. At the time of writing, Binance holds the crown for the biggest exchange globally, with a 24-hour trading volume of $15.4 billion; 15 times that of FTX