The Bitfinex cryptocurrency exchange has released a new product called Shimmer, which it claims will detect suspicious market activity and ensure safe trading for all.
How Shimmer works
The cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex said it is trying to limit harmful activities in the crypto space with the help of a new tool called "Shimmer". In a press release, Bitfinex announced that its latest product will work to combat "market abuse" and promote "orderly trading" in the cryptocurrency sector.
Shimmer is built to find and investigate manipulative practices and suspicious transactions that occur on the Bitfinex platform itself, in order to protect both funds and customer data, thus strengthening the legitimacy of the market.
According to Bitfinex, if Shimmer identifies an extraordinary proceeding, he would immediately send the details of the alleged manipulation to the Bitfinex surveillance team. The specialists who receive the relevant e-mail summaries and become aware of any suspicious trading patterns between all the pairs offered on the exchange, will then move on to manual checks and possibly to the next necessary steps.
"Different actions will be applied depending on the seriousness of the situation," explained Bitfinex CTO Paolo Ardoino. "The purpose of this new tool is to ensure fair and safe markets for all, so we will always act in the best interest of the Bitfinex community."
Among the best-known manipulative tactics that Shimmer could block is wash trading - in which users buy and sell assets in order to mislead the market - and layering, where purchase orders are used to confuse traders on how much offer and application exists for a specific token.
Shimmer may just be a mirage
There is concern, however, that Shimmer may be a cover or mirror for larks, given Bitfinex's ties to the controversial payment processing company Crypto Capital.
Bitfinex is reported to have lost nearly $ 1 billion in funds over a year ago. The money was held by Crypto Capital, which claims that the funds were seized by Polish, American and Portuguese officials.
According to an April 2019 lawsuit filed by the New York attorney general's office, iFinex, the company that owns both Bitfinex and Tabl, illegally used Tether's reserves to replace up to $ 850 million of the funds that belonged to the Bitfinex users.
According to the lawsuit, iFinex also claimed that the funds in question had been "seized and safeguarded" and that the company was doing everything possible to get the money back. The attorney general is not particularly convinced by this explanation. Meanwhile, the company claims to have paid another $ 100 million in the loan from Tether in February.
And what do you think of all this? Use Bitfinex as a cryptocurrency exchange, or other programs like Bitcoin Pro for automatic trading? Let us know in the comments!
