Cryptsy was the hope of the cryptocurrency years. You likely have known about it in time, when you were trading back in the day. It was not merely a trade but a spot where you could get altcoins you could have a difficult time locating in other places, and also helpful hints on negotiating the icy sea of the crypto-trading. That’s what drew people in. The promise of having the opportunity to trade some of the wildest, most esoteric coins in the crypto space was a lure enough to have Cryptsy seem like a treasure chest to crypto enthusiasts. However, as it happens, even treasure chests are not free of charge.

The platform has achieved lift-offs in 2013 as the market was just beginning to shake. Cryptsy also had many altcoins, which was considerable at the time. Bitcoin and Litecoin were the giants, but it was an exchange that satisfied the curious, the experimental, and the I will buy anything that might hit the moon group. And it worked–for a while. Individuals were trading, trading in the new tokens, and feeling good about it.

Then came the hack in 2014. Ouch. Cryptsy squandered millions of dollars in cryptocurrencies and Bitcoin. That was not the worst, their reaction was poor at best. They assured users that they will repay their money, and most of them ended up waiting. The trust was gone. The damage had been done. The society was shaken and so was the exchange.

In 2015, Cryptsy was apparently dragging its feet, however, the cracks were growing. De-withdrawals had been halted–once more on the technical grounds. That is when things began to go down the drain. Ship jumping had already been commenced. Being among the first in the crypto exchange industry, Cryptsy should have been more secure than that. That trust was all it could hold on to, but without that trust it could not last long.

By 2016, Cryptsy was toast. It was doomed by legal suits and fraud charges. The trading came to a halt and thousands of traders ended up with nothing. It was a bitter lesson to many that the crypto market is a vulnerable entity. Even deals that appeared to be bulletproof can collapse.

The story of Cryptsy is not merely a sad one of people who lost their money. It is a wakeup to all the people involved in cryptocurrency. Had the platform made more efforts to secure its activities, pay more attention to the customer, and maintain the high level of transparency, perhaps, things would have worked out in a different manner.

The emergence and downfall of Cryptsy is still remembered today as a warning of the dangers of digital currencies. Nevertheless, it makes us remember that crypto is a fast-moving field. Otherwise you may miss the boat–or worse still take a part in a sinking boat. So, the next time you encounter a new exchange that promises all the shiny coins to you, do not forget about Cryptsy. A word of caution will go a long way.