Buda is a Chile-based cryptocurrency exchange that requires selfie verification whenever a user wants to withdraw funds to a new address. This new security measure will require users to take a selfie in order to verify their identity. However, it won’t be mandatory for anyone who doesn’t have 2FA enabled.

Buda Exchange to Request Selfie to Make Withdrawals to New Addresses

Buda, a Chile-based exchange formerly known as Surbtc, will now implement new security measures to protect its users from hacking attempts. Every time a withdrawal is requested to a new bitcoin address, the platform will require that the user send a selfie verification. This will not affect users who have not activated two-factor authentication (2FA).

The measure was announced in a mail delivered to the customers of the exchange on June 22, when it asked users to enable their 2FA option in order to be excluded from having to comply with this new measure every time a withdrawal is directed to a new crypto address. The email stated that the decision was made in response to phishing emails targeting the company. The email explained

These last weeks we have detected several pages that are posing as Buda.com. This is very similar to the fake SMS you receive to get credit from the bank. Phishing is the name of this scam.

There have been no losses related to these phishing attempts.

Banks are Now Allies

While the exchange has had run-ins with banks in the past in Colombia and Chile, where these institutions denied servicing it and even ran a banking embargo against it in June 2018, today the story is different. The exchange is now part the Colombian Sandbox, which allows and pairs cryptocurrency exchanges with banks to test their combined operations.

As part of this new framework, Buda has now partnered with Bogota’s Bank, offering its customers the possibility of making direct deposits and withdrawals to and from the exchange respectively. These operations were supported by Colombian banks. However, the new alliance recognizes them as official transactions to exchanges. This allows the bank operator to remove any restrictions or other measures the user might take. This has happened with Binance and several banks in the U.K.

What do you think about Buda’s new selfie verification for deposits to new Bitcoin addresses? Please leave a comment below.

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