Bitcoin Forum

I received a mail from Coinbase today,


prohibited use in violation of our Terms of Service - WTF ???

I do not have any funds in my coinbase account now, 13DHU877EnKy8uvCg2NSWNcSPhdCuMuLLz, but still closing the account without citing any valid reason is not professional. I have read about many complaints regarding coinbase on this forum as well as reddit, guess most of them were true.

Whether there is money in your account in not the point. The point is that they scrutinise your account's activities and track the transactions. Once found any input or output is related to any services which are frown by Coinbase, which will close your account immediately. But you are lucky, there is no fund there.

Coinbase is always trying to be on the safe site. Maybe You can try to check with them which T&C item you have violated? Not sure if this will help but for me the actual reason is important.

That's an eye opener for me. I was recently been using coinbase for purposes of moving funds around as they do not charge any transaction fees over there. And usually they set a good amount of fees and usually it takes less than 30 minutes to confirm at any given time.

Anyway, can you share what were you doing at coinbase that could have triggered this problem?

People aren't even reading the entire mail they sent;

Coinbase is closing the account, however they are letting people withdraw their funds before the account is closed. What is wrong with that? They don't steal anything, they just comply with financial regulations and if you're doing something wrong then just make an account on another site.

Anyone vilifying Coinbase for this specific event is probably mentally handicapped.

I too felt the same. There is nothing wrong on the side of Coinbase, other than not telling clearly why they are closing your account. Coinbase wants to be on the safer side. Check with their customer service and query for the details of this situation, If you got what was wrong then do post it here so that others will know.

I have this Coinbase account for about couple of years now and I have not done anything illegal through this or any one of my other wallets. I had my last incoming transaction to this account from lenny_, https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=60727 (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=60727) (he had bought a website from me). I am not blaming lenny_, but the transaction might have been processed through services which are frown by Coinbase. Yeah, I am going to contact them to provide me the specific detail for closing the account.

If they ever start allowing users to purchase Monero (XMR) that will be hard to do.

I don't know for sure. but it seems to me that you are indeed making a problem so Coinbase must do it, because right now it's coibase is very sensitive, small problems can culminate in banned. So, if you are less satisfied over the that action is better you contact coinbase back and ask those things so that they can help you if you don't do it. Maybe if you're already bored with coinbase, you can use other online wallet provider and according to you it is indeed better and more appropriate than coinbase

this is strange, usually when Coinbase is closing an account or giving them a warning like this, it is because they have used bitcoin in something against their TOS. this doesn't necessarily mean an illegal activity, it is just against their rules for example using it in gambling.

if you don't really need that account, just close it and use a wallet.

The only thing for you is just to move on as they have rightly suggested. No matter how much time you dedicate in reading the unending terms and conditions, it won't mean they will unban your account and neither are you sure you will find your real fault because if you even look through there are some terms that are even violated unconsciously. Move to another platform as simple as that.

Yes most of them are true so its better to stay away from coinbase before you will loss your hard earned bitcoin. You seem quite lucky to not have any bitcoin in your account when they closed your account. I have also seen someone with 10+ bitcoin in his account got banned from them. They are just like paypal..

Maybe it's a mistake do try to find out the reason. Having said that what differently have you been using your account recently? Have you engaged in some illegal dealings or made some suspicious transactions lately? Just reflect too and you might come up with something.

if OP engaged in any illegal activities especially if he use coinbase for gambling it will trigger this problem but if OP didn't do anything he can proceed and ask them why the account will be closed without any valid reason aside from he email he received i guess if he can provide proofs that he didn't do anything illegal coinbase will review everything again.

This topic take me to think about Coinbase. As I already have blockchain wallet but still I am using coinbase for small transactions as Coinbase don't charge fees on transactions. And I am both app and web user. Most of time use app just because it gives more convenience.

In moring I was checking for Coinbase account for confirmations of deposit. But when tried to access my Coinbase wallet via app it require login information with authorizations. It was strange for me because most of time it just only require PIN to access app wallet.

After reading this notice I checked my emails twice. To check for such notice. Sharp time 48 minutes ago I authorize my android device and using Coinbase smoothly.

I am just use Coinbase to receive, send and store small amount of BTC. My country is not listed to buy or sell BTC / ETH via Direct Deposit from Bank or Card.

Here is snap.

Like I mentioned some posts above, I have not engaged in any illegal activity with my Coinbase account. I had sent them a mail about an hour to clearly specify the reason or TOS I had broken to get my account closed. Choosing another wallet provider (also I have more than two years old Blockchain and Xapo wallet) is not the issue but abruptly closing a two year old account without giving a valid reason is the issue.

Since I am from India buying/selling is disabled and since this is one of the oldest bitcoin addresses I have been using I used it to receive majority of my incoming transactions on this address.

As they said, "We are FinCEN's bitch" so we have to dance according to their rules or they close our doors. The
government still pull the strings and they force businesses to adhere or they will close their doors. We should avoid using these "regulated" and centralized services at all cost, if at any way possible.

Unfortunately for many people they are the safe gatekeepers for conversion to fiat, and this is where it gets tricky. You will then have to resort to services like Localbitcoin to get pass that, with higher risk. ^hmmmmmm^

That's very simple & straightforward what they said.
I believe Coinbase has their reasons.
So if ever you find out why & for you it's not valid or appropriate, then, maybe you can share that to the community.

Absolutely, the whole working model of coinbase is based on "regulation and centralization" which is exact opposite of the core principle of bitcoin. If you are just looking for a wallet provider using them is not worth it, but yeah majority of coinbase users are into conversion.

Definitely if they give a reason I will share with the community. I am not a gambler nor into drugs or dark web so if they give a reason I do not have a reason to not share it.

coinbase wallet, in rule not accepted use in gambling site and money laundry policy
i think yuoure addres indicate use in gambling site or indicate money laundry, so youre account in suspended

At least they allowed you to withdraw all your funds before closing your account, I think that is good enough  :)

I received a reply from coinbase today,


They did a huge favor by allowing me to access my zero balance account. I just asked for a specific reason and here they come up with elaborate internal process. I guess discussing this further or prodding coinbase to let me know the specifics is not worth it so closing the thread. In fact, this has made me think should I be using web wallets anymore.