Luxembourg Team Focuses on Crypto Security
The University of Luxembourg has partnered with a Luxembourg based cryptocurrency exchange, VNX Exchange, to focus on improving the security levels of cryptocurrencies.
VNX is a trading platform and marketplace for tokenized venture capital assets that was founded in 2017. The exchange is also a member of fintech incubator LHoFT (Luxembourg House of Financial Technology), APSI (L’Association des Professionels de la Societe de l’Information) and Infrachain.
The Focus of the Collaboration
The collaboration between the two organizations will focus on developing higher levels of security for crypto networks.
University of Luxembourg’s Interdisciplinary Center for Security, Reliability and Trust (SnT) is reportedly expected to design new technology frameworks that will improve the levels of security in cryptocurrency exchanges. The team will also focus on improving the security of digital assets that are held in custody.
The resident expert in network security at the University, Dr. Radu State said that there were several issues that needed to be resolved for heterogeneous systems that issued digital tokens via a Blockchain. State noted that there should not be any vulnerabilities in the “software layer” so that contracts that controlled individual transactions were secure.
According to VNX’s founder and Chief Executive Officer Alexander Tkachenko, his exchange’s development would depend on regulatory clarity, compatibility with market standards as well as investor protection. He said that by creating a secure as well as regulated marketplace, they aimed to introduce security mechanisms that would secure not only their platform but also have an impact on the cybersecurity industry.
Tkachenko also stated that he believed that Blockchain was the next big step in the financial industry’s evolution.
Sustaining Profitability in a Bear Market
The cryptocurrency market has been steadily losing value this year, and November has been the worst month of the year so far, with most of the digital assets plunging.
Additionally, a study conducted by the market research company Ipsos for ING Bank BV, the Dutch bank, showed that Luxembourg had the lowest rate of people owning digital assets. In fact, the study showed that respondents living in Luxembourg, France and Spain still did not trust the cryptocurrency market and preferred to invest in traditional markets through bank or financial advisors.
However, despite the fact that trading volumes have plunged around 60% to 70% this year and the wariness of the citizens of Luxembourg, the exchange’s CEO stated that they have remained profitable. This is because of the fact that despite the bloodbath in the market, the average price of cryptocurrencies have still been higher than the previous years for most of 2018.