This week, CNBC broke an investigative story which discussed the many Coinbase users who have fallen victims to hackers, mostly without recourse. Coinbase is known for its historic public offering, as well as its place as an industry leader in the emerging digital assets space. Those interviewed noted that the company’s customer service was lackluster, at best. Coinbase boasts a market cap of roughly $65 billion, as well as a user base of more than 68 million across the globe.

“Brand trust is everything in an emerging industry. Coinbase quickly came out, and it is the most notable of the exchanges, but people are starting to learn that bigger isn’t always better in fintech or finance. Remember, a few years back, when there was a massive push by consumers to leave the big behemoths and transition to local banks and credit unions? In the case of exchanges, there’s even more to consider than solely fee structure and customer service,” opined Richard Gardner, CEO of Modulus, a US-based developer of ultra-high-performance trading and surveillance technology that powers global equities, derivatives, and digital asset exchanges.

“One of the things that most people don’t think about when choosing a digital asset exchange is that technology is far more important than when choosing, for comparison’s sake, a banking institution. If your bank doesn’t have a robust mobile banking offering, while it may be inconvenient, it won’t affect the security of your money. Your checking account is still backed by the FDIC, and banks will work to track down and rectify fraudulent purchases. Cryptocurrencies and digital assets are a completely different kind of asset class,” said Gardner.

“When looking at choosing your digital asset exchange, their commitment to security is critical, particularly during a time where an operation’s security apparatus is not well defined or regulated in most jurisdictions. While bureaucracy is beginning to catch up with technology, one of the biggest strategic differentiators between exchanges is in their commitment to security and compliance. Is your exchange engaging every avenue to create a safe haven for your assets? Did they build their technology stack to get to market quickly, or did they build it to stand the test of time? Security matters, even more than speed and latency. Certainly, it is more important than how well their marketing department has signed on new users. Being the biggest isn’t an indication of anything more than that, likely, the company was well capitalized among the early players,” said Gardner.

Since 2016, Coinbase users have filed over 11,000 complaints with the FTC and CFPB. “We’ve seen, time and again, that some of the biggest regional players have been hacked or otherwise involved in malfeasance. There’s just no substitute for a well-run operation, which is focused on building technology that can withstand external threats, regardless of size,” said Gardner.

Modulus is known throughout the financial technology segment as a leader in the development of ultra-high frequency trading systems and blockchain technologies. Over the past twenty years, the company has built technology for the world’s most notable exchanges, with a client list which includes NASA, NASDAQ, Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America, Barclays, Siemens, Shell, Yahoo!, Microsoft, Cornell University, and the University of Chicago.

“Granted, in many cases, we’re talking about individual users or computers being hacked. That’s not, in and of itself, the fault of Coinbase. But, I think moving forward, it is incumbent on exchange providers to supply education to their customer base. That’s, ultimately, what’s going to keep them successful. Many people are getting into digital assets for the first time. Those people need some handholding to make sure that they’re following industry best practices so that they aren’t the target of nefarious actors,” offered Gardner.