Leading European bitcoin exchange Bitstamp said today that in order to ensure maximum security of their platform, they have decided to make two-factor authentication (2FA) obligatory for all Bitstamp accounts. Starting from June 30th onward, only accounts with enabled 2FA will be able to trade at Bitstamp.
After the deadline, accounts without enabled 2FA will be able to log in and change account settings, but will not be able to execute any trades. The Two-factor authentication feature represents an extra layer of security for Bitstamp accounts, functioning as an encrypted, automatically generated second password.
Once 2FA is enabled, users will be asked to provide two pieces of information every time they log in to their account: account password and a 6-digit authentication code.
A new authentication code is generated every 30 seconds by an authentication app. Bitstamp currently supports Google Authenticator and DUO two-factor authentication applications. The Bitstamp team says they plan on adding support for more authentication apps soon.