Topic: Beware of Bittrex blocking withdrawals for "security" reasons (Read 3975 times)

Check the address of the company here https://bittrex.com/Home/Contact
Check the people behind the company here https://bittrex.com/home/about

Yeah, this is far from best practices...

I am disappointed, but this space has a very wild-west connotation to it. Everyone will try to protect their gains/situation as best they can and, in the case of Trex, they want to cover their regulatory-compliance ASAP, but they way they are going about doing it is less than ideal.

I definitely agree with what was said here that other exchanges should be expected to follow.

Have your own wallets folks!

There isn't any at all. And what's more American rules for withdrawing fiat only need verification if you are withdrawing more than $2000 a day.

The regulation is about looking for money laundering, so people constantly withdrawing large amounts. It most certainly is not about saying you have a grand total of $1000 in your account, you need to verify. It's ridiculous.

When an exchange is doing something no govt requires, you have to ask why.

I totally agree with you that effective communication to users is very necessary and everyone should be very well informed heads on before even being a user. Although, they are just trying to find a way to just assist some stupid guys like you said who are careless about their security protect their asset in a way but should not have been at the expense of the other. I have been using bittrex though and I really have not had any issue with withdrawal, although I just had to do the enhance verification, whatever! to at least get an easy ride.

Anyone who isn't a trader though, should not really bother putting their funds in exchanges knowing what has happened in the past. But some of us just have to trade as well for a living, and so far bittrex just seems to be the best option.

Honestly, decentralized exchange is really good and would go a long way since most of these centralized exchange are just not different from the banks we have always had to face in the past.
However, I guess we are stuck at this stage and until then, we might just have to make do with the ones we have after judging how best they serve us,.

Bittrex is a honeypot, just like Poloniex is a honeypot. They get users trading there then once volume spikes they blackmail you to verify your account in order to withdraw. Anyone with a decent amount of Bitcoin on there is a "security" reason. In theory, they could just freeze everyone's accounts citing security reasons and force traders into a drawn out legal battle for years citing "compliance" issues.

If you were a state level actor and you wanted to gain a database of all bitcoin/altcoin traders - what better way than to use an exchange in this manner?
If you were a criminal organization - what better way to get a database of high net worth traders (whales) than hacking an exchange?

Best get your funds off there to avoid theft. Legacy accounts are also being locked until verification so don't think you're grandfathered in.

In detail, I see multiple problems here:

#1 Insurance (of lack thereof)

If Bittrex is hacked, they don't provide any insurance for crypto funds. If you are waiting for support to "verify" your account because you want to withdraw funds and they are hacked. Who is liable? Most developed nations provide government backed insurance to banks in the event they are robbed. Bittrex is not a bank and they don't directly deal in fiat unless you request a wire transfer. Despite this, they are imposing "bank level security" on all users. Banks require personal information so that your funds become insured by respective national insurance programs. I don't see any benefit here for the end user.

#2 No Legal precedent for trading data

Is there any law compelling them to require verification for cryptocurrency withdrawal limits when not dealing with fiat? If there is, then shouldn't there be a law to download a cryptocurrency wallet? Where does this end? Cryptocurrency is just data. Should I need to verify my ID when downloading a file or an image? Equally ridiculous - should I be required to have verify the same information when trading MMO items on some MMO exchange? If you think thats ridiculous, some items in these MMOs are worth more than a Bitcoin: http://www.therichest.com/rich-list/most-popular/10-of-the-most-expensive-virtual-items-in-video-games/

The Hong Kong finance minister is correct with his assessment, “Bitcoin is not a currency. Just like your armour in World of Warcraft, since we don’t regulate those, we won’t be regulating Bitcoin.” -John Tsang HK Finance Minister
- https://www.economist.com/news/china/21603499-rule-law-continues-appeal-still-different

In addition, AML/KYC applies to fiat currency. Most developed nations have agreed that cryptocurrency is not money. If an exchange is not dealing in fiat (what government classifies as money) then where is the precedent?

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/jul/26/bitcoin-not-real-money-miami-judge

#3 Verification data exposes traders to criminal organizations

The recent Equifax hack has shown that even fortune 500 companies with billions invested in securing personal data are susceptible to hacks which in turn expose the most private information for identity theft. What happens if Bittrex or Poloniex is hacked? It wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility for personal information on traders (name, address, photo ID, crypto networth) to end up on the black market and sold to the highest bidder. What's to stop criminal organizations from targeting high net worth traders for kidnapping and torture until they reveal their bitcoin wallet passwords?

If you think about this possibility then the personal information on traders becomes more valuable than the actual Bitcoin on the exchanges. Not only can they come rob your house and your valuables like cold storage, but they can also ransom your family members or who knows what.

If the Jamaicans are doing it (no offense to any) you can guarantee that more sophisticated organized cartels and mafias are doing it. It just hasn't hit the news yet.
http://infocoin.net/en/2017/10/16/jamaican-police-say-traffickers-are-turning-to-bitcoin/

It's not a decentralized exchange if it has a "coin" attached to it.. and they all do.
It then becomes a scheme coin.. and almost certainly yet another scammy ICO "coin".

about a week ago i logged in and saw the verify page, which spooked me, i searched to see if others were having the same issue but didn't find much, but i decided to withdraw most of my coins. just now i withdrew the rest. in all it was less than half a btc but i still dont like the approach. ive had an account there since 2014 and it says im a legacy user, 1337 btc daily, but you cant trust that. so i guess ill find other ways of exchanging. i hope dex's finally take off.

Spot on. I'm getting Cryptsy vibes as well. Have you seen the withdrawal fees on Bittrex - they're about ten times Poloniex's. And of course Cryptsy did this too just before the end.

have you ever clicked "About"? Do you know with whom you are dealing? Nope. They want my name and my ID and don't tell me on their website with whom i will be dealing.

i would like to test it. but in don't want to sell my alt with a loss. and i don't want to download further blockchains. so i will wait and hope that my account won't be locked.

Again, it's not about if verifying your account is good or bad. Everyone has their own reason why they want to take that path or not. I just don't like the way it's done. And again, what guarantee do you have they won't use your data? As I stated before, it has to be my own decision and not Bittrex'. Imposing it like this without any notice or due diligence is wrong, they probably know it, but they don't care. As a customer, you have simply no choice but either to comply or get out.

In the end, this sort of behavior puts fear in the market and it's bad for everyone. Like it or not, centralized exchanges like this still hold a lot of power in the crypto world. As of today, decentralized exchanges are still in beta stages and you have no other choice but go through them for most altcoins if you want to cash out.

Personally, it's not like I have some shady activity on the side I want to hide. But you just can't trust any 3rd party with your personal data.

A decentralised exchange already exists:

https://openledger.info/

It's built on top of the bitshares platform. Here is some more information about it:

https://medium.com/@openledger/openledger-and-bitshares-your-security-in-mind-acb48b8a0fe0

I really feel you bruv! But as it is, the best is just to make sure the information for the basic verification is correct. They could have some reasons why they do not allow re-editing of that information, maybe in case accounts get hacked or something. I honestly questioned the authenticity of the public record they make use of when I did mine and it went seamlessly without issues, but from what you have said, after entering just any record and it bounced, my question of the authenticity got answered. Still baffled though how they make that to work. I had to just do the enhanced verification too anyway... as long as I can withdraw more than enough.

However, it is just funny that most of these exchanges are beginning to act more like banks and it is getting pissing, but do we really have a choice now than to stick with what we have until probably we get to see a decentralized exchange that can make trading cryptos easy as sites like bittrex, most especially for regular traders?

I also think that way. when we verify the data belongs to us then we will feel more secure if there is something about our account, such as hacking done by people who are not responsible. all the data we have can also make bittrex an exchange that has a good reputation level in terms of positive bitcoin usage. maybe you all have heard about using bitcoin for crime, this could be one of the main reasons. with accurate data then it could be bitcoin will be more trusted and get a favorable regulation. security of data and personal information we have also I think will be very safe awake and bittrex will not do bad actions. so there is nothing wrong to verify, because verification is a form of a legal compliance regarding the real information. oh yes this is also one of the actions to avoid from misuse of account like multiple account.

how do you know they are not going to share it? anyways it is not about them sharing it. they can simply get hacked and their database leaked. it certainly wouldn't be the first exchange to get hacked! they can even sell it themselves and say they were hacked.

and it is not about doing anything shady, it is about them not having any reason to ask for it all of a sudden. and there is no need for it. we are not deposit/withdrawing fiat there.

Maybe they have face some legal issues, I hope bittrex will deal the issues more public, some accounts from Middle Eastern countries may be blocked because of terrorism?

BTW, my limit is 100 btc now, it was 1337 btc.   

What is the problem to verify your account? Is there everybody has shady deals and you afraid to get them out? I don't think Bittrex will be share your data with somebody.

another good exchange turned bad. it is sad but they are not added to list of shitty exchanges like poloniex that we should stay away from. in the cryptocurrency market there really shouldn't be stuff like this, asking for verification, closing accounts and lack of transparency like this. it kills the market fast.

i hope something good comes out of this though. with bittrex being one of the bigger exchanges and losing customer i hope decentralized exchanges become more popular and we see people use them instead. and that is the good that can come out of it. so we can finally give up shitty exchanges like these. who close down your accounts and run away so easily.

I'm not surprised given the traction that cryptocurrencies have gained. My biggest issue with this is that no prior notification was made. Bitstamp forced all users to verify (or leave the exchange) a few years ago, but they gave us 1-2 months notice. We had ample time to get our coins off the exchange if we weren't interested in forking over documents.

It's not clear whether they are being pushed by regulators to institute stiffer KYC policies in general, or if there is something more political in nature, given that the account disablements seem to be more common in non-US/non-European countries. But it definitely feels like some kind of state/federal agency is leaning on them right now. In that situation, I don't want my funds on the exchange.

Bittrex has already blocked thousands of accounts especially of those belonging to syria,iran,india,russia,pakistan.Its unusual for a big exchange to suddenly block withdrawals.

Bittrex is even banning its users from using support tickets.Already,bitcoin holders were aware of Mt.Gox crash.Now,there is no clear response from bittrex side.

Already,many have left poloniex due to slow response in solving issues to bittrex and now here too,they are facing issues.

Bittrex had recently attracted new bitcoin investors by announcing that it would support bitcoin cash due to which it got huge support and now,this move would definitely spoil its reputation.

Yes there are few and bitsquare is one of them but they are still in premitive stage and there is not much sell/buy offers to make trades in large volumes.

Etherdelta is not decentralized but atleast you will have max control over your tokens and ETH there.

i also use bitrex and i still good alright,
it does have i can draw fund cuman 1-2 btc per day

Then we have to get real about it. In some ways having those verification is for our protection. Even if you say you are not a bad guy, their are still people who would want to take advantage of how good you are. They don't ask personal info to scam it against you. Because this is the most issue why governments dont really want to regulate bitcoin. It is virtual and not all want to use if for good reason. They ask personal info to just know who is getting how much. Because unverified are taking the site for granted trying to be smart to scatter their money to avoid putting all money in one account.

You're missing the point. What if it were your bank that suddenly said "Well guys, if you want to withdraw from an ATM from now on, you will have to confirm that you fundamentally exist by sending over all your personal information. Until then, you'll be limited to 10$ a day". All this off course with no prior notice.

I'm no drug dealer, I don't do any illegal shit with my cryptos. I just feel like I have to stand against being held hostage for bullshit reasons. And also, I don't want a company, that has no legal backing btw, to force me to give them personal information about myself. They are not a bank nor a government institution. They are just an exchange, nothing else, and unless I decide to get verified and consciously give them my personal information, they can go fuck themselves.


We're in Switzerland. I created my account some time this summer on Bittrex and my friend a while before I did, I was more of a polo user. We're not money laundring, but you'll have to take my word for it  . I'm not sure what coins my friend has on there, I think it's mostly BTC. I have bit of music, zen, exp etc. Nothing much, as I said, I got like 0.07BTC on there, hardly a sum no launder...lol


Mostly because their support is inexistant. I still have a ticket that has been open for 4 months. A lot of people tried to withdraw Sia coins at some point and their coins just got lost and Polo was incapable of fixing the issue in a quick manner. That's just one thing, there are probably others.

hmmm...thanks for the heads up.

This why the bitfinex exchange site already taken the decision to  move into the hongkong, I think that has a relation with the regulation. Bittrex team already stated that the team already banned 0.1% form the total accounts due to the security reason.

its only a matter of time before you're greeted with a "new" account. I had a legacy account which recently converted to "new" and had to go through the doc process. not fun.

my bittrex account is legacy too i withdraw BTC today, more than 3 BTC..it went out.

Decentralized exchanges are coming.  Komodo Platform's BarterDEX is in the works.  I opened a Bittrex account recently and went through all that hassle.  I think they did this to conform to KYC.  Bittrex is based in the US and if they don't collect basic information they would face serious legal consequences.  I lost a lot when Cryptsy folded so I don't keep anything in an exchange that I can't afford to lose.  This collections of data will only get worse until more decentralized exchanges pop up.

I logged in there yesterday to see how things were going..
I was right away confronted with some verification crap.. not happening.
I did not join and support crypto to fork over my picture ID to AML/KYC govt complaint exchange businesses.
If you all value crypto you will reject this bullshit NOW.

Oh and recap time..
Cryptsy told me they lied to users and froze their accounts when a govt related request was made.
Get it ?

This is what comes out of government involvement

I use Bittrex and I am safe from the news. Indeed there are many accounts disabled because they have not verified the data themselves and do not use their account (passive account).

Seems lot of user accounts from middle east are closed, even if it is verified account(cointelegraph). At least they must be informed by bittrex about what's going on. I had plan to going there (coz who don't know about mighty bittrex) but because this thing maybe i'll just trade on local exchange. Hope best for them


hey they know exactly what cryptocurrency is

Bittrex actually gives us no choice but to get our accounts verified unless you want to donate them your tokens.  My only complaint is the basic verification process should be better, mine was rejected for an unknown reason and now I need to submit my identification for the enhanced verification. 

First, I am quoting your post as proof and to put a timestamp on it.

Second, I would like to know why there is a repeating pattern in all or most of the recent complaints on Bittex. I have noticed that the problem is always with the poster and his friend, or with just his friend. It would help if you tell us what country you are from, when you and your friends made your accounts and what coins are used in the exchange.

I speculate that there is a money laundering ring that has started using Bittrex.

Yes, bittrex leads an unfair game. I think many of its users will be forced to abandon the services of this exchange. The proposed new rules and the size of daily cash limits for withdrawal from the stock exchange will not satisfy many. We need exchanges where it would be possible to freely and anonymously trade crypto currency.

Initially, I was worried because many accounts which suddenly snaps or other problems. but so far my account is secure there is no problem with bittrex, my account was already in verification and use 2FA, the last few hours I do withdraw approximately 0.5 and it success.
 

Nope. Tried tonight for the "enhanced" version. Failed. No option to retry. Fuckers.

I was just able to withdraw .025 btc from bittrex.

But what the fuck!!

Make it atleast .1 for fucks sake.

Bittrex already turned into another shady exchange as like what already did by polo for us. They disabled my account and i can't do anything rather make a complain in their slack and this already 2 days after they have blocked my account.

I believe that we all need to think about the expediency of our funds on this exchange. Because as time goes on and the lock isn't removed.

Well, it's really unprofessional from their side, they really should have inform everybody about this BEFORE limiting all accounts.
However, my bet is that they didn't do it because they wanted to, but because they were forced to do it by some government bullshit. I thus wouldn't be so pissed off at them, maybe it's not their choice.

Totally unacceptable. This is pure robbery, putting a limit to withdrawals. This was not what bitcoin stands for. We should get rid of bittrex. It's not safe to have your id on internet and I'm not sure what they need all personal information for.

It is very sad that this is happening. I thought bittrex is one of the best exchanges in terms of regulation. They have never had a problem, but probably the regulation will get all.

Agree, but one question is interesting. What is the dislike for poloniex? Because I personally never had problems with her

Nobody could expect this move from Bittrex without any warning! That is why we should use different exchanges and assets to diversify our risks.

P.S.
I hate Polo 

So what's the new shitoken exchange place?

i am happy that i only have BAY in bittrex worth about 0.15 BTC a current markeprice. it is really time that something like NVO (https://nvo.io) lifts off.

Sounds like most of you fuckers are really shady.  Whats the big deal in verification?  Why not provide them your address and name?  You and they are dealing with MONEY which is really sensitive stuff.

It takes less than an hour to verify.  I have no fucking sympathy for you people who insist on being anonymous for trading money for fucks sake like your some kind of druglord somewhere.

no answer to my request after more than 48 hours. we clearly need decentralized exchange and fxxck them all, poloniex and bit..shitty..rex

Lol, why am I not surprised

@vlom: weird indeed, it seems like what they say you can do and what you can actually do are not the same. This feels like a rushed thing on their part.

Was expecting more people to fud and bash my initial post lol. Glad (sort of...) to see other people are having the same issues. This is clearly a play to get people to reveal their identities. Lucky I can still withdraw the small 0.025 amount on a daily basis. Will remove everything I have in the next few days.

Screw you shitrex   !

they should have informed me about the change. now i have an account with coins and can't withdraw anything.


thats what they tell me after the login. but after i followed the link they write:


mhh, what now.

and what about this:

Is there any official aswer about what is going on?

That's why we need a decentralized exchange. Waiting for SAFEX to be launched.

In next year we will have decentralized exchange SAFEX so don't worry just be patient

https://safex.io/

I have never verified any account on any exchange and I don't plan to. To be honest Bittrex new withdrawal rules caught me by surprise as well (I just found out about it few days ago). Although if I remember correctly, they actually had communicated in past that their plan is to gradually get rid of non-verified accounts altogether. Luckily I haven't kept much tokens where and with recent altcoin dip and bitcoin price rally, I'm able to withdraw them much quicker (and cheaper) than I originally thought.

We need decentralized bitcoin exchange! I had a feeling of something going on with bitttrex some few weeks ago and I have been acting on that urge. I am clear as far as bitttrex is concern. None of my coin is on that exchange.

Time to stop using bittrex, already stopped using poloniex as well.
I guess we really need some good decentralized exchanges soon.

Yes, it is ridiculous - and you're right that they won't find you even when provided with true information - tested 

Is there anyone who passed the search in "public records"?

Lol 

Shit... Changes password.

Yes a basic verification would be enough as it raises your limit to 3 BTC a day provided you have 2FA enabled.

The problem is that their basic verification requires information like name, address etc. and they then check "public records" in an automated process.

As I said, I put in bogus info in the form as nothing stated it needed to be correct and your password number is optional. The problem is, if that check fails, you can't reapply for a basic account. The only option you're left with is getting and enhanced account where you need to provide a selfie and other official documents.

The whole thing is completely ridiculous. Even if I put in my true name and address, I have no idea if they would find me in their "public records".

you could of course just withdraw the 0.025BTC limit every day but this is far from ideal for those who have large amounts on there.

interesting.
thanks for the information.
i'm not that happy that they did this!
what about just withdrawing $150 usd per day. annoying yes but at least you get something out.
also what about doing the basic verification?
use something like hushed on your phone.
that would help a bit.

I always withdraw in Kraken and never had any problems

I have always verified my account with every exchange I use. Just to be sure. Never had issues with exchanges.

yes i agree with you dont you try etherdelta it is the best option i think we have. polo also sucks to me.then i move to bittrex so far good to me but i saw lot of post telling that disabling accounts and not responding to tickets what is going on in the bittrex ?

is there any  decentralized BTC exchange?

I did not have any problem with Bittrex for now. I verified via SMS and I think I now have 3 BTC withdrawing per day.

I stopped using polo after support issues they are still struggling to solve.

I have started using bittrex as an alternative and now they are disabling accounts without prior notice in the name of investigation 

We need decentralized exchange platform where we can trade freely and anonymously.

I agree with your view, Bittrex should give notice to existing accounts to withdraw funds before the new rules start. With such incident happening, I wonder whether other exchanges will follow.

Yeah well they dropped in my esteem...communication is key. When you start stabbing your client in the back by imposing new rules without prior notice, it's bad for everyone.

Poloniex have been having issues for some time now, your support requests never get answered any longer. Basic withdrawal is still 2000USD/daily though. I removed most of my funds from there recently as well because I'm pretty sure the same thing will happen on there at some point.

I have absolutely no problems with bittrex.. So far they are almost the best exchange.. the best is of course kraken.

Poloniex still need to solve my withdrawal issue since 103 days now.

this is bullshit. they just disabled all accounts without verifications to force you to submit your documents with them. and the bullshit part is that they never gave any prior warning about this.

when you change the rules of your business you should warn people who have been using your service prior to the chance so they can stop using your service if they don't like the change not push it down their throat!

i currently have about 3BTC stuck there and i had a legacy account (with 2000BTC daily limit which was reduced to ~1250BTC daily limit after price rise) and they changed my account to "basic" from legacy out of nowhere and without warning!

So a friend of mine was trying to withdraw a certain amount of coins from Bittrex (around 1 BTC) and was faced with the need to now become verified on Bittrex to withdraw anything above 0.025BTC (accounts created prior to the 1st of August have a limit of 0.025BTC, newer accounts have 0 (lol)).

I don't know how many of you use Bittrex, if this is old news and just a copycat of another topic, but I felt like it needed to be put out there.

This is what they state:

"Due to the large number of leaked username and password databases, we are making changes to withdrawals to limit the damage of unauthorized access to your account.  This is not a substitute to having strong and unique passwords, protecting your email account, and having 2 factor authentication on your Bittrex account.  Bittrex strongly encourages you to have 2 factor authentication.  "

Ok, I'm all for security, but if people dealing cryptos are stupid enough to put qwertz1234 as their password and not enable 2FA, it's their own fault for being stupid.

Then comes the fun part (all from their support section):
-----------
"Withdraw Limits

1. If your password has been changed, you cannot make a withdrawal for 24 hours
2. If your account does not have 2FA, you are limited to withdrawing up to 1 BTC (or equivalent) per day ==> wtf, I had 2FA enabled forever yet my limit is 0.025? So with less security you have a bigger limit. Wow. Much sence. Very secure.

3. Please check below to see what limit your account falls under.
Unverified Accounts created before 08/01/17: 0.025 BTC (or equivalent) per day ==> Hey, I mister miseeks, look at meee
Unverified Accounts created on or after 08/01/17: 0 BTC (or equivalent) per day
Basic Accounts: 3 BTC (or equivalent) per day with two-factor enabled. ==> I'm fine with that
Enhanced Accounts: 100 (or equivalent) BTC per day with two-factor enabled"

-----------

So I go ahead and enter some bogus name and address in their basic validation form. Hey, you can't blame a guy for trying: no official document is required for a basic account and nothing on their page states you have to input correct information (or I missed it). I click on the apply button and it says "verifying public records" or some other shit. Obviously, their results turn up empty. But oh wow, I can't even re-apply for a basic account with "correct" information. The only thing you can do from there is get an enhanced account where you need to take a selfie of yourself etc. Which is exactly what I, and any person involved into cryptos, don't want. I don't know the people at Bittrex.

Trying not to cringe...

Now, ok, I probably fucked myself I guess. But still, this poses a number of questions:

1. For one, I have never received notification from Bittrex that at some point in time, I would have to upgrade my account or be limited to 0.025 BTC a day
2. What public records are they looking up to check your info? What if I'm not in the public records they query? Imagine you have 2-3 BTCs on there that you can no longer withdraw
3. What happens if you unintentionally misspell your name or address?
4. Even if I get verified, take a nice smiling picture of myself and send over all my info, what guarantee do I have they won't use my information for other purposes? I tell you: not a single one! I don't know the people at Bittrex, and if a company I deal with starts to just change their T&C like that, stopping me from having access to my funds, you sure as fuck can't trust them.

I already knew you couldn't trust exchanges, but I thought this should be pointed out (again). Everyone should leave Bittrex (or any exchange for that matter) and stash their coins in their own wallets at home.

I know some or a lot of you will go ahead and say "big deal, just get verified and be done with it". Fuck no! This is not what the cryptos where made for. And at the very least, Bittrex should have communicated, which they haven't, and they should have made their due diligence and let people withdraw their fund before implementing all this BS. I'm sorry but this looks like a hostage situation or a play to identify everyone. Call me paranoid if you want, but their leverage is very simple and efficient: either you give them all your info or say bye bye to your coins and deal with the pain of withdrawing small amounts every day, for which you will of course pay the fees every time :-).

Lucky me, I only have like 0.06 BTC on Bittrex. I have opened a support ticket on their support page, no reply in 24 hours...