I keep this topic self-moderated FOR ANTI-SPAM REASONS ONLY.
***MOST RECENT UPDATE: 2019/11/01: SMALL UPDATE FOR COINEXCHANGE***
***MOST RECENT UPDATE: 2019/11/01: NEW UPDATE FOR CRYPTOPIA and COINEXCHANGE***
***MOST RECENT UPDATE: 2019/08/11: NEW UPDATE FOR NAUTICUS***
***MOST RECENT UPDATE: 2019/04/25: NEW UPDATE FOR MERCATOX 3. and BINANCE 2. and 5. and minor changes/updates to BINANCE 3. and 4.***
***MOST RECENT UPDATE: 2018/12/27: NEW EXCHANGE: NAUTICUS.EXCHANGE***
***MOST RECENT UPDATE: 2018/12/02: NEW UPDATE FOR CRYPTOPIA 3. 4. and 5.***
***MOST RECENT UPDATE: 2018/10/25: NEW UPDATE FOR COINEXCHANGE 1. 2. 3. and 4.***
***MOST RECENT UPDATE: 2018/08/15: NEW UPDATE FOR CRYPTOPIA'S 1.***I am not an IT wonder professor or a rocket scientist, but I've got quite a bit of legal experience. I've used this to do some research in the last weeks to make a somewhat deeper analysis of the TERMS AND CONDITIONS and PRIVACY POLICY of some popular exchanges. Most of the times it was really boring - the usual stuff, trying to limit liability as much as possible - but I discovered some really funny formulations and Kafkaesque errors, too. From a user's/customer's point of view,
am I the only one who finds some of these results extremely disturbing?
I think we really need to create a community-made code of conduct.
Check my OP from some weeks ago. I honestly think this idea deserves larger support.
KuCoin came out as undisputed number one when it comes to trustworthy, solid terms of use, finding a perfect balance between customer rights and liability, whilst fully respecting our privacy. On the other side of the spectrum, I am not sure who should win the price of worst user protection, but I think CoinExchange is one of the strongest contenders in this category.
* MERCATOX:1.
Terms of Use:
- You are responsible for this, you are solely responsible for that etc. They are liable for nothing and you have to respect all their rights, such as copyrights, property rights etc.
- They can kick you out if you behave in a way they find "inappropriate or unlawful". No definition so this is pure arbitrariness.
- In case of conflict, they will settle "by means of negotiation". If no solution is found, it will be settled by "the Court of the principal place of business of the Service". It is not marked where the principal place of business is to be found. In case you're interested: they are based in London. I had to do a search and found the information on the (official) UK Companies House:
click here.
- They can change, stop, suspend their services at any time, even without notice. They are - of course
- not liable for doing so.
- This is probably a copy-paste text, because there's actually a hilarious error in this text - point 8 Limitation of Liability: "The Company, its affiliates or its partners
be liable (directly or indirectly) for any losses or damages whatsoever, whether direct, indirect, general, special, compensatory, consequential, and/or incidental, arising out of or relating to the conduct of you or anyone else in connection with the use of the Service." They are actually saying (in bad English) that they "be liable". Sadly, it's probably only a typo, so don't get your hopes up of getting any rights out of that.
2.
Privacy Policy:
They have the right to take your name and e-mail address and pass them on to other parties as well as governments. Etc.
3.
Adding coins / ICO:
The information about adding coins through payment or by voting
, and even the adding of ICOs is clearly marked on its site.
4. Coin Removal Policy:
I did not find any info about this, but feel free to let me know.
5.
Fees:
Mercatox communicates clearly about its fees for trading and withdrawal.
* COINEXCHANGE:COINEXCHANGE CLOSED DOWN ON DECEMBER 1ST 2019.1.
Terms of Use:
I think they invented or copy-pasted most of this stuff themselves. I'll remain polite and say it sounds pseudo-legal. It's some kind of legally-sounding text, formulated in a bit of an amateurish way, sometimes even contradicting themselves, probably in an effort to try to dismiss as much liability as possible.
Or maybe they were afraid of copyright claims for copying other people's Terms of Use.
- You are responsible for this, it is prohibited to that etc. Again, the predictable terms that they are liable for nothing and you have to respect all their rights, such as copyrights, trademarks etc.
- They can terminate or suspend your access to the exchange at any time, even without notice and are - again
- not liable for doing so. They can do this
for any reason! In that case, they also "reserve the right to remove or delete any information that you may have on file with us, including any account or login information".
- They can remove any content that does not comply to the terms "in their judgment". Again pure arbitrariness. By the way, if they do remove something, you consent to that removal. "Yes Sir, we removed your content, and the terms say you did consent. We are the brain police." Funny stuff.
- In case of conflict, the laws and courts of the State of New South Wales (which is not a country but a state in Australia) are applicable. Hereunder, this had already been confirmed thanks to the help of BTCtalk member xtraelv.
OLD VERSION:
- In case of conflict, "the statutes and laws of our state" will be applied. And conflicts will be solved by "the federal or state courts". Nowhere is it mentioned which state that is, nor which state's courts. Maybe I have been in the legal business for too long, or maybe I simply have a bad sense of humor, but I find this hilarious. Did some research. Not too much, though. Didn't find where CoinExchange is based.
2.
Privacy Policy:
And there's finally a page with a privacy policy (again). Looks ok. Nothing spectacular, and as you read above, you will be protected by the privacy laws that are applied by the State of New South Wales.
OLD VERSION:
In their terms, CoinExchange claims that "Your privacy is very important to us". However, if you hit the link to their policy, you are transferred to a blank page which mentions only the text: "The resource you are looking for has been removed, had its name changed, or is temporarily unavailable."
Taking the above into account, we now already know we actually consented to the removal of the privacy policy. LMAO.
3.
Coin Acceptance policy:
Clear information about how you could apply to get your coin or tokens listed on CoinExchange. There's also more technical information about the supported platforms on CoinExchange.
OLD VERSION:
Coin Acceptance policy:
It gets even funnier. First they claim to have high standards (coins concerning "innovations" and "science, humanity and the environment"), but next to that, they "also believe in letting the free market sort out which coins should thrive and survive". Oh and lastly, "We also accept paid listings". In short, they'll just list any crappy coin.
4.
Coin Removal policy:
"Coin halts and delisting’s from CoinExchange.io will be published in the News section of the website and a notice will be placed on the top of the currency market page." They have also created a
separate page where upcoming delistings are published, which can be easily found in the basic Menu on the website.
However, once again,
if the terms say delistings will be published in the News section, they have to publish it in the News section and not on a separate page. Sigh.
OLD VERSION:
Coin Removal policy:
On the same page, you will find their Coin Removal Policy. They claim to leave you 30 days at least. They also say that "All coin removals from CoinExchange.io will be advertised in the News section of the website and on Twitter." This means that if you are a long-term hodler, you have to check regularly if your coin is not being delisted, to prevent it from being lost to you forever. Moreover, there has been no removal announcement in their News section since 2017 and
their Twitter account has been suspended for several months now. Nonetheless, several coins have been removed since.
So these coins have been removed in a way that is in conflict with their own conditions.5.
Fees:
The applied fees for trading and withdrawal are clearly marked.
* BINANCE:1.
Terms of Use:
- The same good old non-liability formulations.
- The terms of use have "the legal effect as a legal contract", they say. However, it is nowhere marked where you should go, should they not respect their obligations. Well, I know, they have no obligations, right? You're the only one who does! I mean, I do understand that exchanges do not want to be responsible for the mistakes of their users, but at least have some dignity, respect these people who are your customers and want to have certain rights and certitudes without risking to be kicked out or suspended "at Binance’s sole discretion, without any prior notice, for whatsoever reason, and Binance shall not be liable to you; however, Binance shall have the right to keep and use the transaction data, records and other information that is related to such account". So yes. They have rights.
- They ask you to "refer to the company and license information at the bottom of the website of Binance for the information regarding the operator of Binance". I do not see this info at the bottom of the website, but maybe that's just me.
- Finally, watch out, because: "Binance shall have the right to delete, at the same time of suspension or termination of services, information related to any un-traded coin tokens that you have uploaded to Binance prior to the suspension or termination."
2.
Privacy Policy:
The content and reasons of the collected information are clearly stated. Binance "will not disclose or provide any personal information to third party sources without review from our legal case team and/or prior consent from the user". Understand well that the "and/or" means they will not necessarily ask for your prior consent, if the legal case team says 'go for it'.
OLD VERSION:
Looks quite kosher to me. Binance will not share your private info without your consent. That's good news.
3. Coin Adding Policy:
No conditions found. You have to
fill in a form to apply.
4. Coin Removal Policy:
No info found. Feel free to let me know, should you have any.
5.
Fees:
The fees are clearly marked for trading and [deposit/]withdrawal. [There's also a
chapter about fee structure in the support pages, which is about the same as the information on the general "Fees" page.]
* KUCOIN:1.
Terms of Use:
These are by far the most acceptable Terms of Use I've seen during my research, and I believe
KuCoin is setting a standard which should be the absolute minimum for any exchange. In a nutshell, the standard liability and non-liability formulations. In general, your account can only be suspended or terminated in case of agreement breach. "In the event of termination, KuCoin will return any Funds stored in your KuCoin Account not otherwise owed to KuCoin, unless KuCoin believes you have committed fraud, negligence or other misconduct".
KuCoin settles disputes through arbitration, which will be passed on to the "Hong Kong Court of International Arbitration". I do prefer private institutions, though.
Nonetheless, Kudos for this, KuCoin.
2.
Privacy Policy:
I was very surprised to see that here also, your rights are well respected. No personal info will be shared without consent. Even the application of the brand new European GDPR is mentioned, so these policies are perfectly kept up-to-date.
3. Coin Adding Policy:
No conditions found. A form needs to be filled in by applicants.
4. Coin Removal Policy:
No info found.
5.
Fees:
Fees are clearly marked on their website.
* IDEX:1.
Terms of Use:
These Terms of Use look regular and acceptable. IDEX also settles its disputes through arbitration in Panama courts.
2.
Privacy Policy:
You'll find the privacy policy on the same page as the Terms of Use. Nothing shocking here either. Your rights are well reserved and no info will be shared without your consent. No info about the European GDPR thought, which is probably the only detail that made KuCoin the winner of my analysis.
3.
Coin Adding Policy:
You can find a PDF document online, containing the guidelines for new coins. A form needs to be filled in by applicants.
4. Coin Removal Policy:
No info found.
5.
Fees:
Fees are clearly marked on the bottom of their website. You only pay for trades, but you have to add a gas fee for each transaction.
* ETHERDELTA:1. Terms of Use:
Only a very short Disclaimer on the website. As it is a decentralized exchange, it is probably useless to add EtherDelta to this list. There is no risk of some group or owner running of with your coins by abusing their terms of use.
2. Privacy Policy:
Since EtherDelta is a decentralized exchange, based on a smart contract, you probably haven't shared any personal information with this site. Nonetheless, if for some reason you did, I did not find a privacy policy.
3. Coin Adding Policy:
No conditions found. It's decentralized. If you know how to do it, anyone can add one.
4. Coin Removal Policy:
Idem dito.
5.
Fees:
Gas fees for transactions are clearly marked on a separate Reddit post.
* BITFINEX:1.
Terms of Use:
Very detailed legal definitions, probably to avoid any interpretative discussion. Courts of the British Virgin Islands intervene in case of a dispute. Looks normal and regular.
2.
Privacy Policy:
Everything you need for the protection of your personal info. There's an extra mention that even internally, your info is only to be used by employees who need it for the exchange.
3.
Coin Adding Policy:
On its support page, Bitfinex says that "Several factors go into our decision-making process when considering adding a new token to Bitfinex. Some of these factors include user requests, shareholder interest, market capitalization, token design parameters, and a thorough assessment of the token's development process; including, but not limited to, the team behind the coin and their strategies for solving technical and nontechnical problems.
We continue to monitor these factors and make prudent decisions to keep our customers' best interests in mind."
4. Coin Removal Policy:
No info found.
5.
Fees:
Maker and taker fees are clearly marked on the website.
* CRYPTOPIA:CRYPTOPIA WENT BANKRUPT & IS CURRENTLY IN LIQUIDATION - CHECK THE WEBSITE TO (MAYBE) GET YOUR COINS BACK1.
Terms of Use:
- recent updates confirm your rights as protected under the New Zealand Consumer Laws. Terms have become more transparent, containing a glossary with legal definitions, as well as a link in case you consider filing a complaint.
- liability definitions and limitations have become more transparent as well; following their clause 12.1(d) their liability is limited to 5000$ (which, I'd say, are Kiwi dollars, not USD).
2.
Privacy Policy:
Looks fine and transparent. I do not know New Zealand's 1993 Privacy Act, but I suppose it contains all necessary protection to not have your home address and mobile phone number published on Times Square's billboards. Also, another link is available for filing a complaint in case you feel your rights have been violated.
3.
Coin Adding Policy:
Cryptopia offers several Coin Listing Services. Under Support,
more information can be found about the demands and conditions to get your coin listed. The info is actually very detailed and also includes info about swaps, airdrops, forks etc.
OLD VERSION:
Cryptopia has its own system to add and promote new coins, called "Paytopia".
4.
Coin Removal Policy:
"(I)n most situations we will give at least 30 days notice via a Help Centre article, market and coin info notice and an email sent to all holders of coins in delisting status 4-weeks, 2-weeks and 48-hours prior to a coin being fully delisted." All pending delistings are clearly marked
on a separate page.
OLD VERSION:
Cryptopia aims to announce the delisting of a coin by e-mail to all of its holders at least 1 month before its delisting. All pending delistings are clearly marked
on a separated page.5.
Fees:
Cryptopia has added a link to the trading and withdrawal fees, which can be found on the bottom of Cryptopia's website.
OLD VERSION:
I had to go the Help Center to find out which trading and withdrawal fees are applied by Cryptopia.
* NAUTICUS.exchange:TRADING HAS HALTED FOLLOWING SECURITY BREACH - WITHDRAWAL ISSUES - BE WARNED1.
Terms of Use:
These Terms of Use look regular and acceptable. Interesting to know is that - like very often - your account can be suspended or terminated "in appropriate circumstances and at our discretion" (I am not sure if both go together
), however: "Upon termination, you must provide details for a valid bank account to allow for the transfer of any currencies credited to your account." Meaning you will not lose your coins if they do.
Further on, the usual liability (or should I say: non-liability) disclaimers and warnings. In case of legal disputes, the courts of the Australian State of Victoria are competent. FYI, the company's name is NEX Markets PTY Limited. You'll find more info about the company in the
Australian company register.
I must admit that I am impressed with the fact that there is
a clear "Make a complaint" information page.
2.
Privacy Policy:
Privacy policy is quite clear, containing also more details about what kind of information is being saved about the users. Further on, Australia's privacy laws are applicable. As a European, I am a bit surprised to see the phrase "We reserve the right to charge a fee for searching for and providing access to your information." I have no idea if Australian privacy laws allow charging a fee for accessing your information. I am however 100% sure that this is not allowed under the European GDPR.
For privacy freaks (like me), there's also a detailed
Cookie Policy available.
3. Coin Adding Policy:
No info found (yet?).
4. Coin Removal Policy:
No info found (yet?).
5.
Fees:
Fees are clearly marked on the bottom of their website, for crypto and fiat money, since Nauticus also works with fiat.
Feel free to ask if you want me to screen any other exchange for you. Also, let me know should there be any errors or updates in these exchange's policies!
It's really beyond my understanding...
I'd dare to say that the warnings I expressed in the OP, more than a year ago, were sadly completely justified. Cryptopia went bankrupt. CoinExchange is closing down. Nauticus still hasn't restarted its activities.
