Bitcoin Forum

Hi,

Some years ago, I acquired an amount of a coin which I deposited in Bittrex.

I did not access Bittrex in years, and now I would like to transfer my savings to other exchange. Yesterday, I tried to access Bittrex, and I am requested to scan my ID and to send a photo of my face.

I wondered just whether it is legit or not. I mean, if this could lead to further consequences such as scams or I am really legally obliged to do so.

Thank you.

A centralized exchange can ask you for ID verification any time, if you used the right app or the right site to access bittrex, then it is not a scam.

This is the legit site

https://bittrex.com/

Bittrex fell to the hands of the feds long time ago. I managed to get my funds out of that shit hole by providing lulzy information to enable their lvl1 verification years ago. Few months ago I logged in again and I saw that they blocked my account and demanding the real stuff. Well, too late fucktards the ship has sailed.

If the amount you deposited is big, you have no choice. Send them whatever they ask and gtfo asap.

That's common with centralized exchanges. When you "wake up" your account that has been "sleeping" for a long time, the system will recognize it as unnatural activity. In this case you suddenly want to make a withdrawal, they consider it suspicious. There is no other way than you submit your identity as proof that the account has not changed hands or been hacked.

If the value you want to withdraw is worth sacrificing your identity to a random person, then go ahead. Make sure the Bittrex site you are visiting is not phishing before submitting KYC.
Good luck.

There are change regulations inside Bittrex. All members need to reverify their account using the latest ID such as National ID, Passport, Driver License, and members need to do face identification using their mobile phone or laptop to scan their face directly.

You can check what documents you need to send to Bittrex because there are different documents that members should submit to Bittrex and you can check them here:

https://bittrexglobal.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4406244109969-Supported-Identification-Documents-for-Identity-Verification-KYC-Bittrex-Global

I already passed the new verification on Bittrex after my account became unverified and asked their support system and got the answer that their members need to reverify their account. You do not have to reverify your account if you do not have funds on Bittrex and search for the other exchanges.

If you reverify your account, your daily withdrawal limit becomes 100 BTC.

There was quite a lot of drama some years ago when Bittrex implemented/forced KYC. It was ugly...
Nowadays most centralized exchanges ask for KYC, hence this is no longer strange / suspicious activity from their side.

So all you can do is to make sure it's the correct bittrex (bittrex.com, global.bittrex.com). Without complying their KYC requirements they won't allow you withdraw.

Yes, unfortunately, this is now quite normal.
In the beginning, the exchanges wanted to get you to verify yourself by offering higher limits or other bonuses to the customers.
Today you simply can't get your money if you don't want to be completely doxed... something is told about money laundering etc... blablabla...

Again, it shows: Never leave crypto on any exchange for a long time!

1. Centralized exchanges suddenly requiring personal identification documents is nothing new
2. If the demand is sent via email, always check if you're receiving it from the actual company
3. https://NotYourKeys.org

I think now people don't have much choice because a lot of big exchanges force us to do KYC, and Binance which is my favourite exchange before because they not asked people to do KYC and now they did it. People suggestion is right, make sure to check the web address first but Bittrex itself for now force people to KYC in there, and me not use it for long time already because mostly what people talk for now is Binance.

Yup, this is standard practice for centralized exchanges now. Lock your account and freeze your coins without giving you a chance to withdraw them, and then hold them hostage unless you agree to complete KYC. And if you do complete KYC, then it better be up to their arbitrary and completely opaque requirements, or they are just going to keep all your coins anyway.

I took a quick look at their Terms of Service. Here is what it states:

In short, they hold no responsibility for your permanent inability to withdraw your coins.

I also had a quick look around online, and it seems other people in your situation have been told the same thing from customer support and had no choice but to either risk their identity or give up their coins: https://www.reddit.com/r/Bittrex/comments/k3ue73/possible_to_avoid_kyc_for_withdrawal_only/gesqqni/

If I'm not mistaken, bittrex has been acquired already by the central organization. Hence, them requesting you to send some personal information such as your background and identification and anything that relates to it is totally normal. Most centralized exchangers really ask for KYC before they verify the accounts of their clients. There are certain verification levels that could get you use the specific features of the exchanger. You can check whether what certain level you need in order to access your account with ease such as when withdrawing, because they are very particular with withdrawals. The long time you have been inactive in bittrex adds some suspicion too, so might as well just do what they ask you to if ever you really need the amount on your account. Otherwise, just forget about it if you are not really comfortable with KYC.

I know OP is skeptical because lately Bittrex hasn't had the same great reputation it had pre–2017 with the ilks of Poloniex and Coinexchange. What Bittrex is asking for isn't anything new. Recently, Binance had its own compulsory verification. It's just that a lot of traders trust Binance and didn't bat an eyelid. That was why there wasn't so much noise about it then. Most centralized exchanges are doing that now as a way to escape prosecution from regulatory authorities. You've to weigh the pros and cons of submitting your data and what you've on the exchange. If it doesn't worth your privacy, I advise you don't submit and expose your privacy. Just forgo it and move on.

If it's coming from the exchange website itself then it's legit. And if you want to take your funds there that has been for a while and it's quite a hefty amount of money, you have no option but to take it from them through passing your ID.

It's a KYC that's very common to centralized exchanges. On binance, it's entirely different because they'll ask you for KYC so that you can trade but if not, you're allowed to withdraw only.

They already required a KYC a long time ago, you are lucky your account is not yet locked.

You know what, if you want to get your money, you should follow the instructions as that's the only way you can solve your problem.
Make sure you visit the right site and not a phishing site.

Also, read this.
https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/26592/bittrex-and-bitfinex-appear-to-step-up-kyc-controls-in-wake-of-regulatory-entanglements

They don't locked account if there's a balance inside even the account has no activity for a long time, We have 2 accounts on Bittrex which we created by my friend last 3 years ago and I just open it lately after I remember that we still have Waves token store on it which we purchase long time ago. We are asked same details as the OP indicate and we successfully withdraw the balance in y account. I thought my account will be frozen as you mention since I didn't use it anymore for a long time but it surprise me that I can still access it even many claims there account is being freeze without any reason. I believe those freeze account has a shady activity in the wallet that's why they receive that penalty as KYC/AML protocol.

That's very common on the centralized exchange because they want to avoid common scam account which are a protection to their clients, what if your account has been hacked? You have a chance to recover it if it was waking up from a long time of inactivity. This was posted so many times on Reddit, you may research there for further explanation.

Not only by that, but they also have punishment on inactive accounts, they charge a fee as compensation for maintaining your account.
Maybe you need to read this Bittrex review.
https://comparebrokers.co/bittrex-review/

I think too many are focusing on the KYC thing and overlooking this:


Did you leave your coins for years on a centralized exchange?
I'm genuinely amazed you consider it a risk to send a scan of your ID to the exchange you've entrusted for years with your money!

Just don't do that, the exchange might get hacked, it can shut down, your account can be hacked, in case you have altcoins they might delist those, etc etc. Just don't!

First of all, try to log in to your Bittrex account. After that, Check how many altcoins/USD you are holding there? If it's still tradeable, Try to withdraw those coins. If they ask for KYC Than it's fine. To withdraw those funds you need to do KYC, I think it's the only option to withdraw your fund. You can talk to their support if there is any other way to withdraw your coin if you don't want to submit your KYC. But centralized exchange nowadays asks for KYC and it's mandatory.

I am just logged in there after a while and everything works fine for me (Yes, I am passed KYC a long time ago)

if I remember correctly, they announced a mandatory KYC and sent emails with such notice. there was a period when it was possible to withdraw funds before KYC. Probably everyone needs to care about his own funds and to follow their TOS updates.

I had a very similar situation. From what I remember, I sent the documents for verification probably 2 or 3 times and they still had doubts. Eventually, I was asked to verify through a video interview. In the end, everything worked out, but I must admit that I was very irritated by this situation.

Unfortunately, the cryptocurrency exchanges are controlled by governments more and more and we must expect that such situations will occur more and more often.

However, OP got many answers which would help you. I have been using Bittrex from the beginning of my crypto journey. This was the first exchange for me where I registered. Suddenly they asked to verify the account and disabled withdrawal. So there was no way to skip that. So I complied with their KYC policy by force. So this isn't a scam at all though I do not use Bittrex much. Just holding the account for some shitcoin there. This is a privacy issue rather than a scam issue as long as you are visiting the right URL.

Hope you took the lesson leaving funds on a centralized exchange. Do store your cryptocurrency in a custodial wallet or exchange for a long time. Otherwise, you will face the same issue in the near future. Other users should take a lesson as well from here.