Introduction
6.1 This Section 6 provides users with information on the risks associated with trading in digital assets and any other services offered by GoTrow. Applicants and users should read this Risk Statement carefully before applying to open accounts and execute trades. This risk statement should be read in conjunction with the Risk Disclosure and disclaimer.
6.2 This Section 6 is not intended to disclose or discuss in detail all risks associated with trading or holding digital assets or using the services offered by GoTrow. This risk statement is not exhaustive and only outlines the general nature of the risks involved. Users should ensure that their decisions are made on a fully informed basis, and users should make their own assessment of the suitability of digital asset transactions based on their own experience, objectives, financial resources, and their specific needs and requirements.
6.3 By opening an account and transacting, the User is deemed to have reviewed, understood and accepted the risks associated with the services provided by GoTrow.
6.4 The digital asset market is very new and evolving rapidly, and the risks of trading such assets are not yet fully understood. Therefore, GoTrow may periodically update this risk statement and notify users from time to time to list other risks in digital asset transactions, but GoTrow assumes no responsibility even if a risk is not covered in the risk statement.
6.5 The User acknowledges and agrees that it is the User's responsibility to keep up to date with updated risk statements issued by GoTrow from time to time.
Risk profile
6.6 This Risk Statement includes the following risks associated with digital asset trading, which relate to:
(a) the nature of the digital asset;
(b) the value of the digital asset and the risk of loss;
(c) past performance;
(d) applicability;
(e) availability of digital assets;
(f) currency risk;
(g) the risk of financial and cybercrime;
(h) technical risks;
(i) legal risk;
(j) regulatory risks;
(k) risk of stop loss;
(l) margin and leverage.
The nature of digital assets
6.7 Digital assets are not fiat currencies, are not backed by any government, and may not be backed by any physical assets.
6.8 There can be no assurance that those who accept digital assets as a method of payment or store of value will continue to do so in the future.
6.9 Digital assets are often seen as a high-risk asset class. Therefore, you must exercise careful judgment when trading digital assets (and any other asset).
6.10 The nature of digital assets can be very complex and their terms, characteristics and/or risks may not be easily or fully understood due to their complex structure, novelty and reliance on technical features.
The value of digital assets and the risk of loss
6.11 Investing in digital assets carries a high risk and therefore may not be suitable for all investors. If users are seeking a regular or low-risk return on their invested capital, they should not trade in digital assets. Unlike traditional investment products, digital assets typically do not have any underlying or intrinsic asset value or any asset that supports their price.
6.12 Trading in digital assets is highly speculative and involves significant risks. The underlying reasoning behind the pricing of digital assets is limited or has no underlying reasoning, which can be subject to irrational and uncontrollable market forces. Whether the future price of digital assets will rise or fall is unpredictable and purely speculative. Again, there is a risk that digital assets may not have any value. Therefore, the transaction risk of digital assets is borne by the user.
6.13 The value of digital assets is highly volatile and can fluctuate dramatically compared to fiat currencies or traditional investment products. As a result, market conditions can change significantly in a very short period of time. Furthermore, if there is no interest or development in digital assets, the value of digital assets may never recover. As a result, users risk losing all or most of the value of their digital assets. This loss can occur in a very short period of time.
6.14 The use of instructions relating to the order may not necessarily limit the loss to the amount expressed, and market conditions may result in the inability to execute the order or obtain the limit price.
6.15 The User understands that it should be able to bear the risk of potential loss of up to or more than its entire invested capital, and that the User should invest only funds that it can afford to lose without affecting its standard of living and in proportion to its income. If personal circumstances no longer allow, users should stop trading digital assets.
6.16 Digital asset trading is not suitable for:
(a) limited resources;
(b) limited investment experience; and/or
(c) low risk appetite for investment or trading losses.
6.17 Users should ensure that they understand the economic and other types of risks involved in trading digital assets. Users should seek professional advice where appropriate.
6.18 The User is deemed to have assessed and confirmed his understanding of the risks involved before opening an account.
Past performance
6.19 The value of any digital asset may go down as well as up. Digital asset trading can be vulnerable to irrational market forces. Any data on a digital asset's past performance is not guaranteed and may not be a reliable indicator of future performance.
Applicability
6.20 GoTrow provides the services only and does not advise on the merits of any particular transaction, the risks of the transaction or the associated tax consequences, and GoTrow does not provide any other financial, investment or legal advice in connection with the Services.
6.21 GoTrow is a platform for trading order execution and custody of digital assets. As described in Section 4.4, GoTrow and its affiliates may engage in certain trading activities.
6.22 Accordingly, GoTrow is not responsible for assessing whether:
(a) the service is appropriate for the user; or
(b) the transaction is tailored to the needs of the user.
6.23 Any information provided on the GoTrow Platform is for informational purposes only and is not and is not intended to be used as financial advice, investment advice, financial advisory services, trading advice or any other advice. GoTrow does not warrant the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of such information, and such information should not be considered an offer to buy or sell digital assets. The User is solely responsible for determining whether any transaction is appropriate.
6.24 By opening an account, the user accepts the risk of trading in digital assets. At the time of any transaction, users represent that they have, are, and will be responsible for independently assessing and investigating the risks of each transaction and the underlying digital asset.
6.25 By using GoTrow's Services, each User represents that it has sufficient knowledge, market maturity, professional advice and experience to assess for itself the merits and risks of any transaction or any underlying digital asset prior to opening an account.
6.26 Each user must ensure that professional advice is sought where necessary, taking into account their investment objectives, level of experience and risk tolerance.
6.27 Each user shall be fully aware of the specific characteristics and risks associated with the particular digital asset that the user intends to trade.
Availability of digital assets
6.28 A user's ability to purchase a digital asset using the GoTrow Platform may depend on the existence of a counterparty willing to sell the same digital asset (and vice versa). This is out of GoTrow's control. GoTrow does not guarantee the timing of the purchase or sale of digital assets through the GoTrow Platform or the availability of the service.
6.29 The value of a digital asset may result from the continued willingness of users to trade digital assets for digital assets, which may result in a permanent and total loss of value if the market for a particular digital asset disappears. Sparsely traded or illiquid markets may increase the risk of potential losses due to increased volatility, and users may not be able to open or close positions in digital assets at favorable prices when needed or at all.
6.30 Digital assets may change or otherwise cease to function as intended as a result of changes or the use of their underlying technology, including through cyberattacks. Such changes may dilute the value of the User's digital asset position and/or assign the value of the User's digital asset position to another digital asset.
6.31 "Fork" refers to an upgrade of the blockchain network code, for example, which may be due to a disagreement between stakeholders over the update of the digital asset protocol, or a deliberate attempt to restore the history of the blockchain to a point in time prior to the cyber attack. A hard fork could result in a permanent separation from the previous version of the blockchain and would effectively create a new digital asset. The fork happens outside of GoTrow's control. The supply of digital assets resulting from a fork or similar change in the digital asset protocol and GoTrow's ability to provide services in respect of the new digital asset as a result may depend on third party providers over which GoTrow has no control. GoTrow does not own or control any protocols relating to digital assets and their associated networks. Accordingly, GoTrow assumes no liability for any change in the value of such protocols or any digital asset, whether as a result of a fork or any similar change in the digital asset protocol or otherwise, and GoTrow makes no warranties as to the security, functionality or availability of such protocols.
6.32 The User is deemed to accept all risks associated with the use of the Services, including but not limited to hardware, software and internet connection failure.
6.33 There is a risk that you may suffer loss due to the fact that the digital asset cannot be immediately sold or exchanged for a preferred alternative asset or can be exchanged but suffers a loss. Such liquidity risks for digital assets may arise from a variety of reasons, including, but not limited to, a lack of buyers, limited buying and selling activity, or an underdeveloped secondary market.
Currency and exchange risk
6.34 Transactions may be made in a currency different from the one deposited by the User into his account. Users should be aware of the risk of currency fluctuations and any risks associated with them. Changes in exchange rates may have a positive or negative impact on the gain or loss of any transaction.
6.35 If you exchange the digital asset after the execution of the order, or if the order is denominated in a digital asset other than your principal reference asset, there is a risk that the net proceeds may be substantially less than the initial amount of your principal reference asset at maturity or earlier, and that any income or gain may be completely offset if the market is adverse to your position.
Custody risk
6.36 GoTrow may hold fiat and digital assets with third parties. However, the digital assets held by GoTrow are not "deposits" and are not intended to be held as any other regulated product or service under applicable law.
6.37 In certain circumstances permitted by applicable laws and regulations or market practices in the relevant jurisdiction, GoTrow may register or record user accounts in the name of the custodian or in GoTrow's name. If the account is held in the name of the custodian or GoTrow, such assets may not be segregated from GoTrow's assets, and in the event of a default by the custodian or GoTrow, such assets may not be segregated in the same way that a user's client assets are segregated from the custodian's assets or GoTrow's assets, providing proper protection against claims by creditors of the trustee or creditors of GoTrow. For GoTrow Singapore users in particular, the user's assets are held in one or more separate escrow accounts for the benefit of the user.
6.38 In the event of the bankruptcy or any other similar proceeding of a third party holding the User's fiat and/or digital assets, GoTrow can only file unsecured claims against third parties on behalf of the User. The User may be exposed to the risk that the fiat currency, digital asset or any other property received by GoTrow from third parties will not be sufficient to satisfy the claims of the User and all other related users.
6.39 If GoTrow deposits a User's fiat and/or digital assets with a third party, such fiat and/or digital assets may be combined with fiat and/or digital assets belonging to other users. In such a case, the user's individual customer rights may not be individually identifiable by separate certificates, other title documents or equivalent electronic records, and in the event of unavoidable losses following GoTrow's insolvency, any user whose assets have been collected may share such losses in proportion to their share of the original assets in the assets. Any rights or other benefits associated with the assets will be distributed proportionally to the respective users of the assets.
6.40 Fiat currencies and/or digital assets may be held by third parties designated in good faith by GoTrow or GoTrow's agents or sub-custodians. Such third parties are not under GoTrow's control and GoTrow shall not be liable for breaches of any nature by such third parties; if such breaches occur, the User may suffer losses in whole or in part in respect of the User account. The extent to which a user can recover their fiat currency and/or digital assets in the relevant jurisdiction may be subject to specific laws or local regulations.
Risks of trading on the GoTrow Platform
6.41 Transactions in digital assets may not be subject to the claims of investor compensation funds established by governments or regulatory authorities; digital assets held in a GoTrow account may not be protected by any deposit protection scheme in any relevant jurisdiction.
6.42 In the course of using our services, you may be required to pay various fees. Before entering into any transaction, you must obtain detailed information and fully understand all commissions, fees and costs that you may be liable for. If you are not aware of any of these fees, you should ask for an explanation of what fees apply to the relevant payment terms before using the Services or entering into any transaction.
6.43 Please note that digital assets received or held by GoTrow may be subject to other applicable laws in international jurisdictions other than your country of residence and/or nationality.
6.44 Allowing others to trade or operate your account on our Platform carries significant risks and any instructions you provide may not be properly authorised or executed. You accept all risks of such actions and fully and irrevocably discharge GoTrow from any and all liability arising out of or in connection with all of the foregoing.
6.45 Digital asset transactions are irreversible. As a result, accidental or fraudulent transactions related to digital assets may not be recovered. Therefore, you must exercise caution when making any digital asset transfers and take full responsibility for any losses that may arise.
6.46 Orders placed on the GoTrow Platform are binding upon completion of the steps described in these Terms. Orders will not be held unless otherwise specified in these Terms. Final binding orders may not occur at the same time as your instructions. As a result, you may suffer losses if the order is not executed at the required time. In particular, contingent orders such as options or perpetual contracts may not limit your losses to the expected amount due to fluctuating market conditions.
6.47 There is a real risk that an unauthorised third party may access your account and transact without your knowledge or authorisation, whether by gaining control of the device or account you use or by other means.
6.48 GoTrow is under no obligation to make any changes, enhancements and/or modifications to the materials and information available on the GoTrow Platform. So, for example, your version of the GoTrow application may be out of date, and the version of the application you are using may not include new features. It is your responsibility to ensure that applicable updates and versions are updated and downloaded.
The risk of financial crime and cybercrime
6.49 The nature of digital assets means that they may face a higher risk of financial crime or cyber attacks, including but not limited to malware, hacking, phishing, double-paying, smurfing, spoofing, witch attacks, social engineering, majority mining, consensus-based or other mining attacks, misinformation campaigns, distributed denial-of-service and forking. Transferring digital assets into digital wallets exposes them to risks such as security breaches from hackers and cyber attacks that steal digital assets.
6.50 Mechanisms for recovering lost or stolen digital assets are limited or, in some cases, impossible to recover.
6.51 You may store your digital assets in hot wallets, but such hot wallets may be subject to hacking, cyber attacks or any of the risks mentioned in Section 6.49. Unfortunately, outages, thefts, cyberattacks and hacks on digital asset trading platforms, and thefts of digital assets are very common. Victims may face very difficult recovery of losses from hackers, trading platforms or other relevant industry organizations and/or individuals. This may result in significant losses and other adverse effects that may materially affect your interests.
Technical risk
6.52 Understanding digital assets requires advanced technical knowledge. Digital assets are often described in extremely technical terms and require a thorough understanding of applied cryptography and computer science to understand the inherent risks. The listing of a digital asset on the GoTrow Platform does not imply that GoTrow agrees or disagrees with the underlying technology associated with the digital asset and should not substitute for each user's understanding of the risks associated with the digital asset.
6.53 The underlying software protocols for digital assets are typically open source projects, which means:
(a) the development and control of such digital assets is outside GoTrow's control; and
(b) such software protocols may be subject to sudden and drastic changes that may have a material impact on the availability, applicability or value of a particular digital asset.
6.54 Technical difficulties encountered by GoTrow may prevent users from accessing or using their digital assets. GoTrow may experience sophisticated cyber attacks, unexpected surges of activity, or other operational or technical difficulties that may cause service disruptions or that may result in the loss and/or theft of digital assets. By using the Services, the User agrees to accept the risk of transaction failure due to unexpected or exacerbated technical difficulties, including the risk of transaction failure due to sophisticated attacks.
6.55 Digital asset transactions are irrevocable. Once a user sends a digital asset to a wallet address outside the GoTrow Platform, there is a risk that the user may permanently lose access to the digital asset. For example, the wallet address may have been entered incorrectly, the true owner of the wallet address may never be discovered, or the wallet address may belong to an entity that will not return the user's digital assets.
6.56 A person who owns a private key to an external wallet address will be deemed to own a digital asset associated with that external wallet.
6.57 Use of the GoTrow Platform on jailbroken devices may compromise security and result in loss and/or termination of services.
6.58 Digital assets and the GoTrow Platform rely on the internet and other technologies (including various means and mediums of communication). However, the public nature of the internet means that part or all of the internet may be unreliable or unavailable at any given time. In addition, when transmitting data over the internet and/or other technologies, data interruption, delay, corruption or loss, loss of confidentiality or privacy during data transmission, or transmission of malware may occur. The above may result in your transaction not being executed according to your instructions at the requested time, or not being executed at all.
6.59 No technology is completely safe. Therefore, you should exercise caution when using any technology.
6.60 The internet, as well as other electronic media (including but not limited to electronic devices, services provided by third party telecommunications service providers, such as mobile phones or other handheld transaction devices or interactive voice response systems), is an inherently unreliable form of communication and such unreliability may be beyond GoTrow's control.
6.61 Any information (including any documents or data) transmitted or carried out in communications or transactions over the internet or other electronic media (including but not limited to electronic devices, services provided by third party telecommunications service providers such as mobile phones or other handheld devices or interactive voice response systems), there may be interruptions, transmission interruptions, delayed transmissions due to data volume, internet traffic, market fluctuations, or incorrect data transmission (including incorrect quotes), or suspension and/or delay in the delivery of price data due to the public nature of the internet or other electronic media.
Legal and market risk
6.62 It is your responsibility to comply with applicable laws and regulations and to determine which laws apply to your transactions, including any applicable tax laws. You are solely responsible for reporting and paying any taxes incurred as a result of your use of the Services.
6.63 Due to the nature of digital assets, if your bank determines that such funds are the result of the purchase or sale of digital assets, your bank may freeze your account or refuse any transfer of funds.
6.64 You may suffer losses due to the depreciation of the digital assets you pay for due to controls imposed by the authority. Controls or other actions imposed by governments or regulatory authorities on digital assets and/or their ecosystems controlled or regulated by such authorities may delay or prevent the repayment or payment of any monies due to you.
6.65 Digital assets may be due to their inherent design or through cyber events rather than fixed supply. If and when additional digital assets are minted, the price of a certain digital asset may decline due to the inflationary effect of putting the additional digital asset into the total amount of available assets in the market.
6.66 At any one time, one or more persons may control, directly or indirectly, a significant portion of the total supply of any one digital asset. Such people are often colloquially referred to as "whales". Whether acting individually or collectively, these whales can have a significant impact and could affect or cause significant market events that could adversely affect the price, value, or functionality of digital assets. In addition, these whales or other network participants and users may make decisions that are not in your best interest as an investor in digital assets.
Regulatory risk
6.67 Any regulatory change or action by a competent authority or any regulatory authority not related to GoTrow may adversely affect the use, transfer, conversion and value of digital assets or limit your ability to transact on the GoTrow Platform.
Stop loss
6.68 A stop loss order is an offer to trade if our quotation is against you. Stop-loss orders are often used to provide some risk protection, such as in the event of a loss on your trade, and can be used to open or close a trade. Each stop loss order has a specific stop loss level set by you. If our bid price (in the case of a sell order) or our ask price (in the case of a buy order) moves against you and meets or exceeds the level you specify, your stop loss order will be triggered. Although you have set a specific stop loss level, applicable laws and regulations may require us to close all or part of your stop loss order before it is triggered.
6.69 You agree and understand that stop loss orders do not necessarily limit your losses to the expected amount because market conditions may make it impossible to execute such orders at a price close to your expected stop loss price or at all. In an extremely volatile market, the price of a digital asset may quickly fall to the price of your stop loss order, and you may suffer losses that far exceed the amount realized by the execution of your stop loss order at the stop loss order price.
Margin, leverage and leverage ratio
6.70 Before you are allowed to enter into a contract with us, you are usually required to deposit funds with us — this is called a margin requirement. This margin requirement is usually a portion of the total contract value. This means that you will be using "leverage," which can work to your advantage or disadvantage. A small price move in your favor can result in a high return on the margin requirement for the contract, but a small move against you can result in a significant loss.
6.71 At any time when you have an open position, you should ensure that your account balance (taking into account position gains and losses) is at least equal to the total margin requirement we require you to deposit with us. Therefore, if our prices move against you, you may need to provide us with substantial additional funds immediately to meet your margin requirements and maintain your open positions. If you fail to cover a position, we will have the right to close one or more or all of your positions in any digital asset at our sole discretion. You shall be solely responsible for any loss arising therefrom.
6.72 Due to leverage, it is even more important to monitor your position when you enter into a contract with us. Leverage amplifies the rate at which a profit or loss can be made, so it is important to monitor your position closely.
6.73 We are under no obligation to keep you informed of your account balance and the margin required (the "margin call"). However, if we make a notice, margin calls may be made by phone, post, email, SMS or through your GoTrow Platform.
6.74 We reserve the right to increase or decrease your margin requirements for open trades at any time and on short notice. You agree that, regardless of the normal means of communication between you and us, we have the right to notify you of changes to the margin level or credit arrangement of your account by any of the following means: telephone, email, text message, or by posting notice of changes on our GoTrow Platform. Any increase in margin levels will be immediately due and payable upon our request. We will only increase margin requirements or change the credit arrangements on your account when, in our sole discretion, we reasonably deem necessary, including but not limited to the occurrence or anticipated occurrence of:
(a) changes in the volatility and/or liquidity of the digital asset market;
(b) economic news;
(c) rumors that a digital asset has been suspended from trading on another digital asset trading platform;
(d) you change the way you transact with us; or
(e) any changes in applicable laws and regulations.
6.75 In accordance with applicable laws and regulations, we reserve the right to specify the method of margin payment we accept.
6.76 Please note that in some cases, we may trigger an apportionment mechanism to take a portion of your earnings to cover any losses. The apportionment mechanism is triggered when GoTrow's risk insurance funds are unable to cover the user's losses. In such cases, GoTrow will use its apportionment mechanism to recover the net profit from other users to make up the shortfall.
6.77 If there is a potential loophole in the trading rules or a failure of the platform system, or there is a loophole that leads to the user's unjust enrichment, we reserve the right to recover the unjust enrichment and may take any and all necessary measures, including but not limited to restricting the account transactions, freezing the account or the funds in the account, deducting the account assets, taking legal action or any other recourse measures. If the user does not cooperate, the user will also bear all recourse costs.
6.78 In some cases or circumstances, it may be difficult or even impossible to close a position in a digital asset. Certain events that occur on the network can occur quickly and affect the ability to conduct transactions on the GoTrow Platform. Information related to these network events may be difficult to predict or determine in advance and may be subject to limited oversight by any third party that can intervene to stabilize the network.
Other potential risks
6.79 The website and internet pages, investor relations releases, oral or written outlooks, presentations, audio and video recordings of events, and other publications from the website may contain optimistic, forward-looking statements and events that reflect the current views of GoTrow and its management regarding potential projects. Certain expressions, including, but not limited to, "expect", "assume", "believe", "estimate", "intend", "may", "plan", "project" and "should", and other expressions that often identify forward-looking statements. These statements may be subject to risks, uncertainties and changes due to a variety of factors, including, but not limited to: changes in digital asset and fiat currency exchange rates, interest rates and commodity prices; introducing new and/or competing technologies and ideas; increasing market incentives; and a decline in demand for current services or other products.