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SparkMinds
SparkMinds
blockchain-development-sp

Cryptocurrency Exchange platform

This is a project to develop a crypto exchange platform that allows users to buy and sell cryptocurrencies with full functionality such as Auto-KYC, Deposit/Withdrawal of FIAT and Crypto, Trading with a Matching Engine, and Liquidity Provider integration. Additionally, the project needs to meet the challenging security and functional standards set by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to ensure legal protection for users. 

Project Overview

Client

Client name: Private
Nation: Private

Industry

Private

Team Size

Private

Platform

Web & Mobile 

Technologies

Private

Features & Security

Functional

  • eKYC (Automated KYC compliant with Anti-Money Laundering regulations)
  • FIAT Deposit/Withdrawal with banks 
  • Crypto Deposit/Withdrawal 
  • Support for Multiple Coins and Networks 
  • Trading (Buy/Sell – Full order/Partial order matching) 
  • Integration with Liquidity Providers 
  • Helpdesk Center 

Non-Functional

  • High Performance The server system incorporates auto-scaling to handle a large number of concurrent users, optimizing the matching engine to process hundreds of thousands of orders simultaneously (including BOT trading)
  • Multi-Platform Ensuring the platform operates smoothly on various platforms, including responsive web browsers (PC, tablet, mobile), Android and iOS applications

System Security

  • HMAC Authentication Verifies that requests are coming from expected sources and have not been tampered with during transit
  • DDoS Attack Prevention  Utilizing CloudFlare, the system can monitor and quickly block DDoS attacks based on request IP addresses
  • XSS, CSRF & SSRF protection
  • Encrypted data User’s sensitive information related to banking, phone numbers, addresses, etc., is encrypted in the database
  • CloudFlare (CDN) integration  Integration with CloudFlare enables easy prevention of DDOS attacks, unauthorized access through OTP verification, and real-time security monitoring
  • IP Whitelist/VPN Access to the web admin system is restricted to IP Whitelist or authorized VPN accounts
  • Secret key stored in Vault All project keys (such as secret keys, third-party API keys) are stored securely in a separate storage system (without any information stored in the database or source code)
  • Multisignature cold wallets
  • Hide sensitive data in logs All important information is hidden in the system logs
  • Frequent security scanning with OWASP, SynkIO, and AWS Security Scans Integration of well-known security scanning tools such as OWASP, AWS Security Scans, and mandatory SEC tools ensures the detection of security issues and daily updates on new security vulnerabilities

User Security

  • Two-factor Authentication Integration of One-Time Password (Google Authenticator) for functions such as FIAT/Crypto Withdrawal and User Security Features
  • Login Throttling Limits the number of logins attempts an attacker can make while providing multiple opportunities for users to remember their passwords
  • Non-guess message response Custom-defined HTTP Responses and Error Messages to prevent hackers from extracting critical user information based on these responses
  • Complexity policy for password and PIN Ensures a certain level of complexity for passwords and PINs (for mobile phones) to prevent easy guessing by hackers

Challenges

The project team encountered no technical challenges, including achieving the system’s functional criteria as specified by the SEC, based on prior experience working on other exchange systems. However, the project has to face challenges due to the Cryptocurrency downtrend:

Financial Impact of Cryptocurrency Downtrend

Risk of Uncertain Market Conditions

Balancing Project Quality and operational Cost

Managing Stakeholder Expectations

Ensure legal protection for users set by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)

Solutions

To build a satisfactory Crypto Exchange application that meets SEC requirements and minimizes costs while ensuring the committed release timeline to investors, SparkMinds has implemented the following strategies:

Building the system based on previous experience.

Maximizing the utilization of third-party service providers for integration (based on experience to determine the optimal third-party provider). 

Emphasizing automation.

Harnessing the power of AI.

Deploying experienced experts to accompany clients, advising and supporting the approach and solutions.

Cost & Quality Optimization

The way we save cost and optimize quality for this project:

Utilizing AI in the workflow

With the current capabilities of AI in assisting various tasks, applying AI to tasks such as UI design, testcase review, and source code review has helped the project team save a significant amount of time and effort.

Automation of code review

Using SonarQube for automated code review helps save costs associated with manual code review and ensures the quality of the source code. 

Proper task allocation

Each project involves both experienced and new team members. Although all team members receive training before joining the project, it is not possible to cover the entire system comprehensively. Therefore, to accelerate project progress and ensure the highest quality, it is essential to assign experienced individuals to tasks that require expertise in a specific domain. For example, when developing a Mobile App, experienced individuals can handle API integration for screens with complex logic, while newcomers can focus on UI development, requiring little or no experience in Crypto Exchange.

Adhering to strict quality processes

It may seem difficult to persuade, but usingthird-party services can save more money than handling a service internally. For instance, by using a third-party service for Slider Captcha (a service provided by a dedicated team), the project can save costs compared to implementing and maintaining a separate service. Based on the company's experience and project team's expertise, they have identified third-party providers with the best cost-effectiveness, stable service quality, and sustainability.

Utilizing third-party services to save costs

Each error results in a series of related actions, such as logging bugs, fixing and retesting, reporting, and capturing evidence. By ensuring strict quality processes within the company, the project team has minimized the occurrence of errors, reduced rework time and saving costs.

Experience from previous projects

With their own experience and a team of experienced consultants, the project's technical and business implementations are streamlined and accurate, minimizing costs, time, and resources. For a large-scale project, even a single incorrect business or technical approach can lead to a cascade of issues. By forecasting and providing appropriate solutions based on previous project experiences, this project ensures the highest quality while maintaining reasonable and cost-effective measures.

Accomplishment

SparkMinds has assisted its partners in realizing and successfully operating a Crypto Exchange platform with incredibly low expenses, ensuring profitability from the early stages and luring new investors to the business. This has been made possible by improved automation/AI methods and using existing experience. 

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