Crypto-currencies

The table below shows the crypto-currencies currently supported in Nexus and their relative internal code.

Crypto-currency	Nexus internal code	Business model
Algorand	ALGO	Broker, Custodian
Bitcoin	BTC	Broker, Custodian
Bitcoin Cash	BCH	Broker, Custodian
Cardano	ADA	Custodian
Chainlink	LINK	Custodian
EOS	EOS	Custodian
Ethereum	ETH	Broker, Custodian
Litecoin	LTC	Broker, Custodian
Polkadot	DOT	Custodian
Ripple	XRP	Custodian
Stellar Lumens	XLM	Broker, Custodian
USD Tether	USDT	Custodian

Crypto-currency settings

Nexus allows to tweak advanced settings for each crypto-currency you decide to support. Thanks to these preferences, you will be able to adjust the desirable spread and further tweak the delay time that your customers will have to complete the payment.

Open the Crypto-currencies overview page by clicking on Configuration->YourCompanyName and select the Crypto menu item from the left sidebar. Choose then the crypto-currency for which you want to tweak the settings (BTC in the example below) and click the Edit button found at the top right corner of the same panel.

Once you accessed the Edit page, you will see different information in the interface. However, we will focus on the panel called {Cryptocurrency} internal pricing settings since it is the one containing the parameters that influence the spread and the delay (see image below).

What do these parameter mean, and what do they influence?

• Primary / secondary price exchange: choose which of the available exchanges will be the primary/secondary source for up-to-date price information. These two settings influence the outcome of the next parameter.
• Price selection method: this setting defines the strategy of price retrieval from the previously chosen exchanges.
  • Default: the bid/ask price is retrieved from the primary exchange, with the secondary exchange used as fallback.
  • MinPrice: the price will be established by choosing the exchange which has the lowest average value between bid and ask price.
  • MaxPrice: same as MinPrice, with the difference that the exchange with the highest average value between bid and ask price is selected.
  • MinSpread: the lowest ask price and highest bid price are chosen between the primary and secondary exchanges.
  • MaxSpread: the highest ask price and lowest bid price are chosen between the primary and secondary exchanges.
• Maximal reference deviation: sets the price difference that is considered ok between the price sources / exchanges. This allows to avoid potential losses due to inaccurate pricing regarding issues that exchanges are experiencing (like being hacked or down). The price service of Nexus always uses at least 3 reference sources and only when the ticker price of an exchange is at most 1 minute old and deviates less than the ‘Maximal reference deviation’ it will be available (a fraction of 0.03 means up to 3% deviation is accepted).
• Volatility delay: allows to set the delay in minutes that allows a customer to buy that crypto to the fixed price of the current order. So for 15 minutes the customer has time to pay, but they might want to wait to profit from the high volatility. This setting allows to put a limit to that window of time, therefore reducing that risk.
• Minimal artificial spread: You can decide to set an artificial symmetric minimal spread (the max value allowed is 1%) on the bid/ask prices coming from the price sources. This allows an additional profit margin and additional risk management in case of high volatility. Moreover, if two transactions buy and sell can be matched (therefore not needing any transaction through the exchange platforms), you can make a direct transaction between the two wallets and still profit from the 1% margin.

Crypto Functionality

• Sending halted: Blocks the sending of already created on-chain customer transactions for broker and custodian models.

Minimize risk

Dealing with crypto-currencies and fiat reserves yields gains, but also leads to potential risks. Here are some tips to allow you to consider different options and better understand how to minimize the risks.

Keeping your crypto-currencies in the right place is paramount and allows you to better handle risks from external factors. For instance, storing crypto-currency amounts on the Nexus exchange reserve comes with the consequence that they will be available depending on the external exchange service (e.g. Kraken, Bitstamp). If the exchange temporary closes due to technical difficulties or other reasons, those funds would not be redeemable until the service is newly available. For these reasons, we recommend to hold an amount that matches your daily operational needs on the exchange reserve.

Another storage option is the hot wallet reserve, however similar issues as the exchange reserve apply. Crypto wallets can be hacked, therefore it is recommended to store on the hot wallet an amount that allows you to carry out the daily necessary transfers.

Should you need to store important amounts of crypto-currency, the safest option is to use the coldstore reserve, which allows you to connect your own coldstore wallet / service.

The transfer of funds between these different storage options can be either executed manually or through our Nexus tradebot. For a more in-depth explanation, please refer to the following sections: Tradebot - Broker and Tradebot - Custodian. By using the tradebot, you will be able to balance the price risk versus the potential transaction spread benefit.

WARNING

Depending on your business model, you can decide to hold a (limited) crypto position. Since the crypto-currencies prices are very volatile and could change quite drastically on a daily basis, these additional funds represent a financial risk which could lead to gains or losses.