The largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world, Binance, announced that its users will now be allowed to make use of hardware security keys on its platform. This exhilarating news was shared on Friday, in an official announcement on Twitter by CEO of Binance, Changpeng Zhao (CZ).
Hardware security keys now allowed on Binance
The use of hardware wallets by crypto traders is on the rise and this is mainly because of the security they provide. Users can integrate their hardware wallets to their cryptocurrency, this simply means that they will need to verify every transaction they carry out with the use of a button present on the hardware wallet device. This completely eliminates the risk of online cyber attacks. This same button will be used to authenticate transactions on Binance.
Binance in a statement on its official blog, said that the feature will be available for both desktop and mobile websites. Right from the beginning, Binance has always insisted on two-factor authentication (2FA), this definitely improves security when compared to simple logins. In its report, it added that: “Doing 2FA via hardware security keys works a bit differently. With hardware security keys like YubiKeys, you just plug in your hardware key to the USB or Type-C port of your desktop/laptop or phone, and the key completes the verification for you. In the case of your Binance account, when you’re prompted to attach your key and you do so, it confirms that your withdrawal transaction is legitimate.”
In terms of security, hardware options are seen as better than software-based options, which is currently what is employed by Binance. Although in making use of software security measure, they added SMS and Google Authenticator as an added security layer. This, however, does not completely eliminate the possibility of the exchange being attacked by remote hacks. Though hardware security measures may be a teeny little bit of an inconvenience, I believe it is a small price to pay for having safer and more secure transactions.
