Shell-Shocked HitBTC Users Shout 'Fraud' in Response to Severe KYC

By CCN: HitBTC users are being asked to provide excessive detail about the derivation of their funds, according to multiple sources. Even Bitcoin developer Luke-Jr was forced to undergo KYC in order to withdraw funds. The famous small-blocker reportedly had chosen the exchange for its perceived lack of know-your-customer compliance.

High-Profile Users Get Their Issues Resolved

⚠️🔥Looks like @hitbtc have decided to go full scammer, and are stealing balances of users (including me).🔥⚠️

Probably a good idea to get anything you have there off, and take care not to use it.

(And as always, keep as little on exchanges as possible!)

— Luke Dashjr (@LukeDashjr) March 28, 2019

They’re locking accounts and making unreasonable demands for private information, which many people *can’t* provide even if they wanted to. And when you don’t/can’t comply, they just keep your bitcoins instead of closing your account and sending them to you.

— Luke Dashjr (@LukeDashjr) March 28, 2019

Citing their ToS, they claim the user agreed to cooperate with the KYC when they signed up.

But the KYC nonsense wasn’t in their ToS until recently, long after most people signed up. Indeed, many people probably signed up specifically because HitBTC had a reputation of no-KYC.

— Luke Dashjr (@LukeDashjr) March 28, 2019

And while every exchange does update their ToS from time to time, HitBTC’s explicitly said they would notify customers of any changes. They did NOT give any notification of adding the KYC clauses.

— Luke Dashjr (@LukeDashjr) March 28, 2019

Update: Can confirm my withdrawl has been broadcast.https://t.co/HaIArONT1V

— Luke Dashjr (@LukeDashjr) March 29, 2019

HitBTC, Would You Like A Blood Sample Too?

One user reports that HitBTC has frozen around $12,000 with the following message, which came after he provided all the requested verification documents:

“The source of funds report has to describe all the actions you have performed with these funds before sending them to HitBTC, e.g. purchasing them, exchanging, transferring from one address to another. Kindly present the chain of such events in chronological order. Please attach screenshots, which will confirm each step.”

The unusual request for further information is viewed as a violation of the user’s privacy and an attempt to simply withhold the funds. Meanwhile, other users claim that their funds have been stopped with limited response from customer support, sometimes for weeks on end.

It’s unclear if these demands are even in compliance with the laws that exchanges must abide by or what laws HitBTC is purportedly trying to respect. Various professional services exist, such as Chainalsysis, which are meant to help companies verify the legitimacy of crypto funds.

Any chance to get a serious answer, @hitbtc?
It’s been a week and still no news.
If you still wonder why i’m doing this, that’s because i can and i have an audience large enough to bring the attention on these cases.
Too many people have life changing money on your platform. pic.twitter.com/arB5WcpwHV

— The Crypto Monk ⛩ (@thecryptomonk) May 9, 2019

hitbtc are you Ethic? I CAN NOT Withdraw my BITCOIN FROM 4 OF MAY 2019, YOU WILL REPLAY ME THE SAME. Hi Carlos, we are working on this issue. We’ll get in touch with you once there is an update, AGAIN? pic.twitter.com/9SHWoQVhNI

— Carlos Leonardo Coro (@12345678910clc) May 15, 2019

FRAUD ALERT.
HITBC WITHHOLDING FUNDS. HIDING BEHING KYC DEMAND THAT ARE IMPOSSIBLE TO FULFILL.
JUST LOST $12k.
ALLOWING DEPOSITS, BUT NOT WITHDRAWALS.

— Kenny Akman (@NYCrypto777) May 15, 2019

Another Month, Another HitBTC Problem

Complaints against HitBTC seem to stack up and stack up. Here’s a gentle reminder that the crypto trading world has hundreds of exchanges.

The exchange recently found itself under our microscope for inappropriately handling a token swap during a bull rush. Having closed the market in question, HitBTC users who held MaxiMine tokens were effectively locked out of realizing their gains. HitBTC later promised to send the tokens back to MaxiMine so that it could fairly distribute the tokens. The effect on the traders remains, as the price eventually collapsed.

A Reddit user says of HitBTC:

“Here is their favorite tactic: they wait until you send a large amount of funds to your account (for example, more than 1 btc) and then suspend the withdrawal and start an exciting quest called “go f**k yourself”.”

As recently as today, the exchange promised that a resolution is coming for its storied affiliate program, which has been in “maintenance” for several months.

Hello, @MalcolmRoseGM – can you provide us with a ticket number regarding the affiliate program? We need it to directly reach out to you once our team comes with a solution regarding the affiliate earnings. Thanks in advance.

— HitBTC (@hitbtc) May 17, 2019

Hardly a month passes without some public complaint against HitBTC. In the words of Luke-Jr:

Reminder: The technology required to secure a #Bitcoin exchange does not exist today. Plan accordingly.

— Luke Dashjr (@LukeDashjr) April 26, 2019

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Shell-Shocked HitBTC Users Shout ‘Fraud’ in Response to Severe KYC

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