Bitcoin Forum

Economy => Service Discussion => Topic started by: mr.relax on July 24, 2019, 05:45:43 PM



Title: Bitfinex blocks withdraws
Post by: mr.relax on July 24, 2019, 05:45:43 PM
With the excuse of suddenly asking for KYC of unverified accounts,
Bitfinex is locking tons of funds.
They ask anything like proof of source of funds, proof of personal income, and so on,
explanations of each transaction(which is impossible for active traders).
I started to trade there because they did NOT ask for KYC.
It was also explicit allowed to send  from/to cryptoaddresses, you dont control!

I am aware that many,many accounts are recently blocked from withdraw.
g.e. https://www.reddit.com/r/bitfinex/comments/by15zs/bitfinex_is_locking_accounts/
If you search, you find a lot of reports...

Well I am a victim too.
Take care, they can use any excuse for not to pay out anymore.
It seems as if Bitfinex is really in trouble and starts to fuck selected customers.
Somehow this remembers me to the beginning of the end of BTC-e.

Can only recommend not to send anything anymore to Bitfinex until this reports of abusing users stops.


Title: Re: Bitfinex blocks withdraws
Post by: AdolfinWolf on July 24, 2019, 06:13:32 PM
Huh. I always thought Bitfinex was like coinbase considering you could withdraw to your bank accounts?

Could you, up till today, withdraw to bank accounts?

I've never used them so i don't know, but that would be strange considering all the regulations that were forced on Bittrex, Poloniex, who were only crypto -> crypto.



Anyway, companies that claim to offer a KYC-free experience (or don't mention it), only to then subject the user to it, are scum. Plain and simple.


Title: Re: Bitfinex blocks withdraws
Post by: leowonderful on July 24, 2019, 06:57:55 PM
I didn't know it was possible to trade on Bitfinex without KYC in the first place, considering nobody's really mentioned it to me (perhaps for a good reason considering the hacks and news about them now and in the past). Just read the Verification section of their FAQ and it does seem like they can ask for verification if they claim something raises 'flags', though I do agree that this is extremely scummy as well. Reminds me of crypto casinos that only ask for KYC upon withdrawal but are open to deposits without KYC.

Link to where this is quoted from: https://support.bitfinex.com/hc/en-us/articles/115003424209-Verification-Frequently-Asked-Questions
Quote
Do I need to verify my account to start trading?

No, you do not need to verify your account to start trading on Bitfinex. Verification is only required for users wishing to deposit/withdraw fiat currencies (e.g. USD), and for users who wish to speed up the deposit process. Users wishing to deposit/trade/withdraw cryptocurrencies are not required to verify their account. However, as per our Terms of Service, we reserve the right to ask for KYC information at any point in time if your account activity raises flags.  


Title: Re: Bitfinex blocks withdraws
Post by: Slow death on July 24, 2019, 08:14:46 PM
With the excuse of suddenly asking for KYC of unverified accounts,
Bitfinex is locking tons of funds.

maybe with that they intend to have funds to pay lawyers to defend them

Bitfinex and Tether Double Down on Claim of No Customers in New York (https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitfinex-and-tether-double-down-on-claim-of-no-customers-in-new-york)

Metropolitan Commercial Bank Shuts Down Tether’s Accounts (https://cointelegraph.com/news/metropolitan-commercial-bank-requests-that-tether-close-its-accounts)

or they want to show the authorities that they comply with KYC so they are responsible and serious, but I believe it only makes their situation worse, which is not good for them


Title: Re: Bitfinex blocks withdraws
Post by: BitHodler on July 24, 2019, 08:41:35 PM
Huh. I always thought Bitfinex was like coinbase considering you could withdraw to your bank accounts?
Not even close. Bitfinex has been selectively allowing a small portion of their clientele cash out to fiat while the rest is either subjected to random verification or fiat withdrawals that never go through.

It has been like this for almost two years now so it's definitely not new. I wouldn't recommend anyone to use Bitfinex with solid alternatives such as Coinbase Pro, Bitstamp, Gemini and Kraken having a great trackrecord.

In the last 6-12 months people have withdrawn over 100k in BTC from Bitfinex because they no longer trust it. These are smart people avoiding future problems.


Title: Re: Bitfinex blocks withdraws
Post by: joniboini on July 25, 2019, 06:46:08 AM
As far as I remember Bitfinex already screw up from the beginning of last year when they started pending user withdrawal, removing complains from Reddit and so on. The tether issue seems real even until today, which is why it's such a risky move if you use them.

OP case is definitely not the first, and probably not the last one either. Their KYC request could also be a tactic to prolong user withdrawal so they can get some funds first.


Title: Re: Bitfinex blocks withdraws
Post by: o_e_l_e_o on July 25, 2019, 08:19:02 AM
Bitfinex and Tether are borderline criminal operations at this point. Tether keep lying and quietly changing their terms of service to say that USDT isn't backed up 1-to-1 with USD like they claimed, in fact it isn't backed up 1-to-1 with anything, and in fact the proportion that is backed up is backed up with anything they like, including (get this) repayments on loans to affiliated entities. In other words, they print Tether out of thin air, loan it to Bitfinex, Bitfinex dump it on the market for profit, and they claim the Tether is backed up by future repayments from the profit they just made after creating it out of nothing. It's honestly worse than fractional reserve banking. The NYAG is currently stringing Bitfinex up over all the regulations they have broken and the lies they have told: https://archive.fo/sZD01. A search on here or on reddit will find many, many users in the same situation as you.

This all feels very similar to when Quadriga went insolvent and then exit scammed a few months ago - stopping or delaying users from withdrawing, so they can wait on more deposits coming in to cover the withdrawals. Either way, everyone would do well to steer well clear of both Bitfinex and Tether.


Title: Re: Bitfinex blocks withdraws
Post by: Saint-loup on July 25, 2019, 12:17:12 PM
With the excuse of suddenly asking for KYC of unverified accounts,
Bitfinex is locking tons of funds.
They ask anything like proof of source of funds, proof of personal income, and so on,
explanations of each transaction(which is impossible for active traders).
I started to trade there because they did NOT ask for KYC.
It was also explicit allowed to send  from/to cryptoaddresses, you dont control!

I am aware that many,many accounts are recently blocked from withdraw.
g.e. https://www.reddit.com/r/bitfinex/comments/by15zs/bitfinex_is_locking_accounts/
If you search, you find a lot of reports...

Well I am a victim too.
Take care, they can use any excuse for not to pay out anymore.
It seems as if Bitfinex is really in trouble and starts to fuck selected customers.
Somehow this remembers me to the beginning of the end of BTC-e.

Can only recommend not to send anything anymore to Bitfinex until this reports of abusing users stops.
I'm sorry but you're not very clear, are you talking about fiats or cryptos?
Leowonderful quoted a paragraph from the FAQ saying only fiats need KYC, so I hope it's still the same, and they are not trying to withhold user funds  :-\


Title: Re: Bitfinex blocks withdraws
Post by: mr.relax on July 25, 2019, 01:54:25 PM
I am talking about withdraw of crypto, not bankwithdraws!!!
I never did Fiat deposit or withdraw there.


Title: Re: Bitfinex blocks withdraws
Post by: AdolfinWolf on July 25, 2019, 01:58:26 PM
Leowonderful quoted a paragraph from the FAQ saying only fiats need KYC, so I hope it's still the same, and they are not trying to withhold user funds  :-\
I would be surprised if it only is for fiat, considering their counterparties (Bittrex/Poloniex) had to force verification upon their users for just trading crypto a long time ago.


Not even close. Bitfinex has been selectively allowing a small portion of their clientele cash out to fiat while the rest is either subjected to random verification or fiat withdrawals that never go through.

It has been like this for almost two years now so it's definitely not new. I wouldn't recommend anyone to use Bitfinex with solid alternatives such as Coinbase Pro, Bitstamp, Gemini and Kraken having a great trackrecord.
I've always read worrisome things about them but i didn't know they were Poloniex-tier. Seems bad.


Title: Re: Bitfinex blocks withdraws
Post by: figmentofmyass on July 25, 2019, 08:03:39 PM
Leowonderful quoted a paragraph from the FAQ saying only fiats need KYC, so I hope it's still the same, and they are not trying to withhold user funds  :-\
I would be surprised if it only is for fiat, considering their counterparties (Bittrex/Poloniex) had to force verification upon their users for just trading crypto a long time ago.

bitfinex =/= bittrex and poloniex. they have never mandated KYC for all users. when bittrex and poloniex did that, bitfinex banned USA residents instead and kept allowing unverified accounts for trading and crypto deposit/withdrawal.

however, just like binance, they can freeze your account and require KYC at any time: (https://support.bitfinex.com/hc/en-us/articles/115003355893-Account-Verification-Individuals)
Quote
As per our Terms of Service, we reserve the right to ask for KYC information at any point in time if your account activity raises flags.


Title: Re: Bitfinex blocks withdraws
Post by: gentlemand on July 25, 2019, 08:32:53 PM
I wouldn't put any money in somewhere with the possibility of KYC without verifying myself to pieces. It's just too much potential ball ache and some of the demands these places make are so stupid I want to see the demands up front before deciding to go with them before they have me by the nads.

KYC is a ticking time bomb. Better to defuse it before you're in too deep.

Hope your issue gets resolved in a timely manner.



Title: Re: Bitfinex blocks withdraws
Post by: squatter on July 25, 2019, 08:49:26 PM
I wouldn't put any money in somewhere with the possibility of KYC without verifying myself to pieces. It's just too much potential ball ache and some of the demands these places make are so stupid I want to see the demands up front before deciding to go with them before they have me by the nads.

KYC is a ticking time bomb. Better to defuse it before you're in too deep.

It all depends on your risk tolerance and the price you're willing to pay for privacy. People often say don't put anything on an exchange that you're not willing to lose and I think this is an extension of that. If you think you can double or 1000% your bitcoins by trading but are unwilling to verify identity, the risk might still be worth it. Withdraw profits quickly and regularly and if ever forced to verify, just consider your balance lost.

I'm very paranoid about my ID documents being compromised. I'm verified on Coinbase so if a market isn't listed there, I'm looking for an exchange that allows unverified users and limiting the funds I deposit there.


Title: Re: Bitfinex blocks withdraws
Post by: gentlemand on July 25, 2019, 08:58:53 PM
I'm looking for an exchange that allows unverified users and limiting the funds I deposit there.

Everywhere will eventually fall into line unless they want to recede into the shadows. That's just the way the world is going. Hopefully they'll have the courtesy to tell their users that they're going full KYC too but a few seem fond of keeping it to themselves until it's too late.

If you're happy with the amounts risked then that's cool. It would REALLY get on my tits.


Title: Re: Bitfinex blocks withdraws
Post by: versprichnix on July 25, 2019, 09:38:19 PM
On bittrex I lost some coins, and on hitbtc I lost a lot of them. I trusted hitbtc, it worked many years very smoothly, and suddenly they have sent me a KYC mail.

I'm paranoid, the worst case for me is the exchange ops are criminals, visiting me whenever they want. There are many signs in history this is probably the case. This said, the "loss" on some exchanges like bittrex and hitbtc in my view is a sort of donation to them, they will need it. The signs they give to me is worth all the money.


Title: Re: Bitfinex blocks withdraws
Post by: mr.relax on July 26, 2019, 05:37:21 AM
Update: after 3 weeks of negotiation they finally let mr withdraw.And they closed my account afterwards.


Title: Re: Bitfinex blocks withdraws
Post by: squatter on July 26, 2019, 05:42:32 AM
Update: after 3 weeks of negotiation they finally let mr withdraw.And they closed my account afterwards.

What do you mean by "negotiation?" Were you able to withdraw without being forced to provide any KYC documents? If so, that's a much better outcome than I expected.


Title: Re: Bitfinex blocks withdraws
Post by: mr.relax on July 26, 2019, 06:12:45 AM
The forced me to do full KYC, including showing source of fiat-funds and declaring my personal income before.
In the end I am happy with that outcome.
In Future I will avoid Bitfinex and Tether.


Title: Re: Bitfinex blocks withdraws
Post by: versprichnix on July 26, 2019, 09:15:56 AM
The forced me to do full KYC, including showing source of fiat-funds and declaring my personal income before.
In the end I am happy with that outcome.
In Future I will avoid Bitfinex and Tether.

There are a lot of people without a personal income, me too, and especially the poor all over the world. Will take Bitfinex the wealth of the poor? They are criminals!

Bitstamp asked me in their KYC, on which platforms I trade or use cryptos. Of course I answered nowhere, and left them. The trading platforms will misuse the questions to get ahead.


Title: Re: Bitfinex blocks withdraws
Post by: timerland on July 26, 2019, 10:37:30 AM
Don't touch Bitfinex or Tether. Both of them are extremely corrupt and offer you no safety. Tether constantly lies about their arrangements and their model of tethering 1 USDT to 1 USD. Bitfinex has also been very dodgy with their practices with their customers, with most exchanges requiring ID verification or banning users from certain regions, but Bitfinex allows trading of unverified users, and then when they have funds in their accounts and they "suddenly" find that they are from the US, they take the money and lock the account.

I'd be willing to bet that they do something really dodgy with your IDs. They've been getting into the IEO scene as well, and haven't been doing so well on that front as well.


Title: Re: Bitfinex blocks withdraws
Post by: figmentofmyass on July 26, 2019, 08:21:09 PM
Bitfinex allows trading of unverified users, and then when they have funds in their accounts and they "suddenly" find that they are from the US, they take the money and lock the account.

is that a fact? i haven't heard about any of these cases with bitfinex. i know with bitmex, USA traders have had their positions liquidated and accounts closed but i think they are allowed to withdraw their funds. (https://www.reddit.com/r/BitMEX/comments/99yo3u/us_citizen_used_fake_info_vpn_to_trade_on_bitmex/ee77ad1/) i've never been able to get a straight answer about what bitfinex does in these situations.


Title: Re: Bitfinex blocks withdraws
Post by: adaseb on July 30, 2019, 08:16:58 AM
As far as I know Bitfinex doesn't do KYC. There were some rare cases that they had to perform it or for some very high balanced accounts.

Can you provide more info like how much did you deposit, could be a ballpark figure?

Also where did the deposits originate from, if you used some Mixer of some sort it might of set off some red flag and that's why you got KYC.

Glad it worked out in the end, and that you got all your money back.


Title: Re: Bitfinex blocks withdraws
Post by: gentlemand on July 30, 2019, 09:30:39 AM
As far as I know Bitfinex doesn't do KYC. There were some rare cases that they had to perform it or for some very high balanced accounts.

They most certainly do if you're depositing or withdrawing fiat - https://support.bitfinex.com/hc/en-us/articles/115003355893-Account-Verification-Individuals

They say they don't do it if you don't touch fiat but there've been cases where they have imposed it on people who were crypto only.


Title: Re: Bitfinex blocks withdraws
Post by: timerland on July 30, 2019, 02:32:29 PM
Bitfinex allows trading of unverified users, and then when they have funds in their accounts and they "suddenly" find that they are from the US, they take the money and lock the account.

is that a fact? i haven't heard about any of these cases with bitfinex. i know with bitmex, USA traders have had their positions liquidated and accounts closed but i think they are allowed to withdraw their funds. (https://www.reddit.com/r/BitMEX/comments/99yo3u/us_citizen_used_fake_info_vpn_to_trade_on_bitmex/ee77ad1/) i've never been able to get a straight answer about what bitfinex does in these situations.
I should have structured this a bit clearer, but there is truth in what I said. If you want to use fiat currencies, you will 100 percent need to verify your ID - this is standard for basically most big exchanges. I have seen cases though if you are only trading crypto to crypto and you still get your account closed if you are found to be from the US. It's really dodgy from them, and I wish they could either allow no US customer to touch their exchange, or allow them to move their funds away from the exchange when it's found out to be a US customer.

Exchanges nowadays are pulling too many tricks to get ahold of user funds, it's crazy and it's one of the reasons why I choose to use and support DEX's mostly (although there is an immense lack of them).

Good job OP with getting your money back - glad to see it was worth the hassle.


Title: Re: Bitfinex blocks withdraws
Post by: piqlet13 on January 01, 2020, 08:24:48 PM
confirmed. having the same issue right now , withdrawals blocked until i declare every single data they want according to their KYC form which is full of question that are out of line.. in addition never requested fiat withdrawals just used the account for coin deposits and withdrawals..

Reasons for transfers from and to your Bitfinex account;
A clear and detailed explanation your account activity and objectives.
A detailed explanation of the sources of all funds deposited to Bitfinex; provide details on how and where you acquired the funds that were deposited to your account. Make sure to include TXids and addresses that describe the source of the funds deposited to your Bitfinex account.
A proof of source of funds confirming how the deposited funds were originally acquired.
A detailed description of the destination you are sending your funds to from your Bitfinex account
Have you ever opened and used any other account(s) on Bitfinex? If so please provide the user name(s) and email address(es) of any account ever opened. explain why you operated more than one account, if you have.


Title: Re: Bitfinex blocks withdraws
Post by: squatter on January 01, 2020, 08:53:31 PM
confirmed. having the same issue right now , withdrawals blocked until i declare every single data they want according to their KYC form which is full of question that are out of line.. in addition never requested fiat withdrawals just used the account for coin deposits and withdrawals..

Good to know. Bitfinex has obviously been ramping up their AML/KYC process over the past few months. There have been increasing reports of accounts being frozen and KYC demanded, and they also just added additional KYC requirements for verified users (https://www.reddit.com/r/CryptoCurrency/comments/eho66m/bitfinex_has_updated_its_kyc_policy_asking/).

Fortunately, these cases generally seem to end with customers getting their money back. Unfortunately, you will probably need to complete their KYC process unless you're willing to forfeit the funds in your account. They apparently flagged your account for risky behavior so there's also the possibility that they will close it.

In general, I would steer clear of Bitfinex if you're trying to avoid KYC. Too many people are getting caught in this net.


Title: Re: Bitfinex blocks withdraws
Post by: piqlet13 on January 01, 2020, 10:03:42 PM
the documents they are asking has to be notarized according to other posts. how can you have a notarized document between you and your friend, while exchange  allows you to deposit  from 3rd party wallet without notorized document aka KYC decleration lol. this just seems like an ultimate scam.


Title: Re: Bitfinex blocks withdraws
Post by: dkbit98 on January 01, 2020, 10:10:49 PM
Thank you for updating with latest news.

Bitfinex  asking 'notarized document'...  means that De Facto they don't have no-kyc level anymore.
Now they have crazy strict kyc  :P


Title: Re: Bitfinex blocks withdraws
Post by: o_e_l_e_o on January 01, 2020, 10:13:05 PM
What a joke.

This is some of the most invasive questioning yet. Where did your money come from, how and where did you earn it, what you are doing with it on Bitfinex, where is it going, what are you going to use it for, and "proof" of this things (whatever they define "proof" as). And they want it all notarized? At this point you might as well just send them your bank statements, tax returns, bills, shopping receipts, passport, selfie, and colonoscopy report. I know we covered this in another thread which was unfortunately deleted squatter, but no other financial service requires this kind of detail for individual users (unless you are trading millions).

Not only that, but coming from Bitfinex it is doubly scammy. They want you to provide a "proof of source of funds" for your deposits of a few hundred dollars, but they can't provide "proof of source of funds" for billions of dollars worth of Tether. Hypocritical scammers. Avoid Bitfinex and avoid KYC.

Let's look on the bright side though - more and more exchanges pulling this scammy nonsense will drive the growth and development DEXs.


Title: Re: Bitfinex blocks withdraws
Post by: squatter on January 01, 2020, 10:51:11 PM
I know we covered this in another thread which was unfortunately deleted squatter, but no other financial service requires this kind of detail for individual users (unless you are trading millions).

Except for cryptocurrency exchanges. Bitstamp and others are known for this level of customer due diligence. More will follow.

I think it's clear from the scope of the FATF travel rule and 4th/5th AML Directives that VASPs are going to be regulated more strictly than traditional banks. The 5th directive limits anonymous remote or online transactions to €50, which basically destroys the notion of anonymous trading accounts. Not to mention the customer due diligence and suspicious activity reporting requirements, which extend to all custodial platforms and don't seem to have clear minimum thresholds.

Let's look on the bright side though - more and more exchanges pulling this scammy nonsense will drive the growth and development DEXs.

I agree. I still don't think it's nonsense, though. Regulators are breathing down the neck of custodial/centralized services very hard right now. I'd love to be a fly on the wall in the war room of these exchanges to understand what they're dealing with.

My sense is that it's a "rock and a hard place" situation. The only real solution for end users is don't use centralized exchanges, particularly large ones that are being targeted by regulators and law enforcement agencies.


Title: Re: Bitfinex blocks withdraws
Post by: mr.relax on January 02, 2020, 09:47:08 AM
I was able to proof anything they asked for, so after a long struggle they let me withdraw and closed my Account.
Actually I could not show that I bought the SAME coins before I sent them to Bitfinex,
but I could proof that I bought 2014 much more coins(at a lower price) at another exchange, paying from my bankaccount.
Half year ago finex did not yet ask for Notar signed documents.
One possible reason for this ransomholding of users coins might also be,
all big exchanges now use blockanalysis for to check the origin.
And almost ALL coins had once been in the darknet, even if it had been 3years and 25 transactions before.
So almost NOBODY is safe , the red alert can be on on virtual everyone.

To me this looks like bitfinex is no more liquid.
Withdraw everything as long as you can...


Title: Re: Bitfinex blocks withdraws
Post by: o_e_l_e_o on January 02, 2020, 11:16:15 AM
To me this looks like bitfinex is no more liquid.
It's something I've suspected for a long time (although they would obviously never confirm it). The whole business surrounding Tether, where they slowed moved from "backed up 1-to-1 with USD" through ever more loose definitions before finally arriving at "some of it is backed up with a variety of unspecified assets, including future loan repayments on a loan we made to ourselves, maybe", should alone be enough to make anyone wary of them. The fact that they printed $700 million Tether out of thin air without proving it was backed up by anything, and then "loaned" it to themselves, is outright scammy. Or their ICO launch of a useless token which was only done to cover their losses.

Plenty of exchanges in the past have used unannounced and invasive KYC to force users to choose to either upload their documents or forfeit their coins, and then just kept whatever coins aren't claimed. I wouldn't at all be surprised if Bitfinex does the same, but given how scammy they are, no one should be trusting them with their documents (or their coins, but if people followed that advice then they wouldn't be in this mess in the first place).


Title: Re: Bitfinex blocks withdraws
Post by: piqlet13 on January 02, 2020, 03:16:59 PM
I was able to proof anything they asked for, so after a long struggle they let me withdraw and closed my Account.
Actually I could not show that I bought the SAME coins before I sent them to Bitfinex,
but I could proof that I bought 2014 much more coins(at a lower price) at another exchange, paying from my bankaccount.
Half year ago finex did not yet ask for Notar signed documents.
One possible reason for this ransomholding of users coins might also be,
all big exchanges now use blockanalysis for to check the origin.
And almost ALL coins had once been in the darknet, even if it had been 3years and 25 transactions before.
So almost NOBODY is safe , the red alert can be on on virtual everyone.

To me this looks like bitfinex is no more liquid.
Withdraw everything as long as you can...

Mr. relax can i pm you buddy, about the steps i should follow maybe you can give some usefull information :)


Title: Re: Bitfinex blocks withdraws
Post by: mr.relax on January 02, 2020, 04:54:30 PM
I wrote here, what I did.
I explained them everything and brought the evidence that I could.
It did not always match, what they wanted to see.
There was plenty of writing back and fourth, and in the end, after 1 month and maybe 30 emails, they let me withdraw.
Actually I could also never say, where I got exact this coins, because I only deposit and Withdraw crypto, and used Finex only for buying/selling into USDT.
But fortunately I could show screenshots from another exchange, where I bought a ton of BTC 2014 with euros.

Anyway I had a quite big volume. But just only during the ransom time, I lost big because BTC was falling.
I neved had to show notar signed statements, but finex even asked me about my income, my bankaccounts and how much euros i have and earn.
About my profession. If I remember well, they also asked for taxdeclarations of my past!
INCREDIBLE!!!
Simply asking that amount of very private informations, would bring any european companys CEO into jail! This is not KYC. This is RANSOM and pure illegal!!!
Its against all data-protection-laws, at least in Europe.

A clear sign that they dont show good will, is that they let you deposit and trade, but they block when you want to withdraw ;-)

In addition to not use Bitfinex anymore, I strongly recommend not to use Tether too!!!
If you only trade in BTC/Altcoins, you should use something like waves https://waves.exchange/
If you want to go to fiat temporarily, use any ETH dex, but waves now also provides a stablecoin: usd-n.


Title: Re: Bitfinex blocks withdraws
Post by: squatter on January 02, 2020, 09:03:38 PM
To me this looks like bitfinex is no more liquid.
It's something I've suspected for a long time (although they would obviously never confirm it). The whole business surrounding Tether, where they slowed moved from "backed up 1-to-1 with USD" through ever more loose definitions before finally arriving at "some of it is backed up with a variety of unspecified assets, including future loan repayments on a loan we made to ourselves, maybe", should alone be enough to make anyone wary of them.

The elephant in the room is the $850 million that law enforcement seized from Bitfinex.

I'm not trying to defend Bitfinex/Tether but I really wonder, what would you have expected Bitfinex to do in that situation? Enter bankruptcy proceedings like Mt. Gox? Haircut customer balances to account for the losses?

It seems like they are damned if they do, damned if they don't. What was the best course of action to protect Bitfinex and Tether customer interests?


Title: Re: Bitfinex blocks withdraws
Post by: o_e_l_e_o on January 04, 2020, 10:01:48 AM
What would you have expected Bitfinex to do in that situation?
Be honest with their users and the community would be a good start. "The Fed has seized $850 million, we are fighting to get it back, and in the meantime we will set up a structured plan to use our profits to replace the losses" or something similar. Not print $700 million Tether out of thin air, back it up with nothing, and then loan it to themselves. They essentially have haircutted customer balances, as everyone currently holding Tether now holds less value than they did before as Tether is no longer backed up. If everyone tried to cash out their Tether, they wouldn't be able to. Bitfinex have just shrouded it in loans and ICO launches and other shady behavior so half the people using Tether don't even realize it isn't worth what they claim.


Title: Re: Bitfinex blocks withdraws
Post by: squatter on January 04, 2020, 11:10:54 AM
What would you have expected Bitfinex to do in that situation?
Be honest with their users and the community would be a good start. "The Fed has seized $850 million, we are fighting to get it back, and in the meantime we will set up a structured plan to use our profits to replace the losses" or something similar.

That's exactly what they did after getting hacked in 2016. Much of their customer base was naturally disgruntled about getting their balances haircut and being issued USD-denominated debt tokens valued lowly by the market. Not to mention that in common law countries (including the US), that haircut was likely very illegal, which may have played a role in this decision.

The fact is, there were no victims in this case. No one lost any value. Withdrawals are operational at Bitfinex and Tether and the USDT dollar peg is holding perfectly fine.

The same cannot be said for the case where balances were haircut and debt tokens issued. If you wanted to immediately liquidate, you had to lock in large losses. If you wanted to wait for repayment, you had to lock your capital into USD-denominated debt instead of bitcoins. That made for a market full of victims.

That's what I mean about protecting Bitfinex and Tether customer interests. They are better off today than if Bitfinex acted strictly by the books -- which probably would have entailed bankruptcy.

They essentially have haircutted customer balances, as everyone currently holding Tether now holds less value than they did before as Tether is no longer backed up.

Didn't the $1 Billion raised in their private token sale cover the insolvency?

Anyway, the market -- and their customers -- don't seem to care. That's really what matters. Tether was proven to be insolvent and the market simply didn't care. In fact, the market injected another $1.3 billion into Tether over the next several months.

They may be shady and unprofessional, but they made this entire problem disappear extremely quickly. If the alternatives were a replay of the 2016 Bitfinex hack or the Mt. Gox bankruptcy proceedings, I prefer the route already taken. I think most users exposed to Bitfinex and Tether counterparty risk would agree with me.


Title: Re: Bitfinex blocks withdraws
Post by: o_e_l_e_o on January 04, 2020, 12:05:23 PM
The fact is, there were no victims in this case. No one lost any value. Withdrawals are operational at Bitfinex and Tether and the USDT dollar peg is holding perfectly fine.
They did, though. Many people are still holding, trading, and using USDT under the mistaken assumption that it is backed up 1-to-1 with USD. We know that isn't the case, and that only some of it is backed up with a variety of unspecified "assets". If many people tried to convert their USDT back to USD, there would essentially be a bank run and many people would end up losing value.

Instead of openly haircutting Bitfinex users and issuing debt tokens, they have instead secretly haircutted Tether holders.

Didn't the $1 Billion raised in their private token sale cover the insolvency?
The self-loan from freshly printed Tether came first. My understanding was that the $1 billion raised in useless token sales was to pay back the loan they made to themselves.

Anyway, the market -- and their customers -- don't seem to care. That's really what matters. Tether was proven to be insolvent and the market simply didn't care. In fact, the market injected another $1.3 billion into Tether over the next several months.
I agree with you here, but I think that's a massive problem. Tether can't continue being printed out of thin air with no backup indefinitely. At some point, the whole system will come crashing down, and people holding USDT will suffer massively. With the creation and rise of several other stablecoins, there isn't really a good reason to continue using Tether.


Title: Re: Bitfinex blocks withdraws
Post by: squatter on January 04, 2020, 11:54:02 PM
The fact is, there were no victims in this case. No one lost any value. Withdrawals are operational at Bitfinex and Tether and the USDT dollar peg is holding perfectly fine.
They did, though. Many people are still holding, trading, and using USDT under the mistaken assumption that it is backed up 1-to-1 with USD.

How have they lost money?

If many people tried to convert their USDT back to USD, there would essentially be a bank run and many people would end up losing value.

Aside from very short-lived episodes, that hasn't happened. I would argue that the 2016 haircut -- a discreet 36% loss to every single customer -- was much more damaging. I really don't see any comparison.

Instead of openly haircutting Bitfinex users and issuing debt tokens, they have instead secretly haircutted Tether holders.

That gets back to my original question: Which one is really worse?

Didn't the $1 Billion raised in their private token sale cover the insolvency?
The self-loan from freshly printed Tether came first. My understanding was that the $1 billion raised in useless token sales was to pay back the loan they made to themselves.

Not that this matters, but technically they didn't print Tether to make the loan. Bitfinex was insolvent, Tether loaned existing funds to Bitfinex, and Tether therefore became insolvent.

My point is that they swiftly raised the funds required to plug the insolvency and restore market confidence -- which is really the paramount concern of Bitfinex and Tether customers. Bank runs, haircuts and bankruptcies all seem like considerably worse outcomes.

I agree with you here, but I think that's a massive problem. Tether can't continue being printed out of thin air with no backup indefinitely. At some point, the whole system will come crashing down, and people holding USDT will suffer massively.

Honestly, I'm not convinced that Tether has ever been printed out of thin air. I think Bitfinex and Tether have ridiculous legal conflict of interest issues, and I think they operate in a very shady and borderline criminal manner, but after years of watching this drama I just don't buy that claim.

USDT holders are of course exposed to third party custodial risk -- doubly so if they are storing it on an exchange. And yes, the bigger Tether gets the more people it will hurt when it comes crashing down. But that's true of any custodial service -- just ask Mt. Gox customers.

Sometimes I feel like much of the ire pointed at Tether = people venting about third party trust issues that apply to a whole swathe of other services. For some reason, people like to hyper focus on Tether simply because there is transparent blockchain data to point at. When it comes to regular custodial exchanges, no even thinks to ask about an audit.


Title: Re: Bitfinex blocks withdraws
Post by: Lynfax on January 05, 2020, 12:11:54 PM
The fact is, there were no victims in this case. No one lost any value. Withdrawals are operational at Bitfinex and Tether and the USDT dollar peg is holding perfectly fine.
They did, though. Many people are still holding, trading, and using USDT under the mistaken assumption that it is backed up 1-to-1 with USD. We know that isn't the case, and that only some of it is backed up with a variety of unspecified "assets". If many people tried to convert their USDT back to USD, there would essentially be a bank run and many people would end up losing value.

Instead of openly haircutting Bitfinex users and issuing debt tokens, they have instead secretly haircutted Tether holders.

Didn't the $1 Billion raised in their private token sale cover the insolvency?
The self-loan from freshly printed Tether came first. My understanding was that the $1 billion raised in useless token sales was to pay back the loan they made to themselves.

Anyway, the market -- and their customers -- don't seem to care. That's really what matters. Tether was proven to be insolvent and the market simply didn't care. In fact, the market injected another $1.3 billion into Tether over the next several months.
I agree with you here, but I think that's a massive problem. Tether can't continue being printed out of thin air with no backup indefinitely. At some point, the whole system will come crashing down, and people holding USDT will suffer massively. With the creation and rise of several other stablecoins, there isn't really a good reason to continue using Tether.

I think something like printing more Tether should not be allowed anyway.
It is pure shilling in huge amounts.
Gov's regulations should come in short and prevent everything like this to happen


Title: Re: Bitfinex blocks withdraws
Post by: o_e_l_e_o on January 05, 2020, 12:16:38 PM
How have they lost money?
Because Tether is insolvent. They are holding USDT, believing it is worth the same amount in USD, when it is not. We know this because of the court records which admit that Tether is not backed up 1-to-1 with USD anymore.

Which one is really worse?
I think these ongoing lies and cover-ups surrounding Tether are worse. Not only is it highly unethical, but as I said, at some point it's all going to come crashing down, and the users of Tether will be hit with much larger losses than a 36% haircut.

Honestly, I'm not convinced that Tether has ever been printed out of thin air.
See the following court document:
As of the date I am signing this affidavit, Tether has cash and cash equivalents (short term securities) on hand totaling approximately $2.1 billion, representing approximately 74 percent of the current outstanding tethers.
That Tether does not now keep liquid, cash reserves equal to 100 percent of the outstanding tethers is not only disclosed to customers, but hardly a novel concept. Commercial banks operate under a “fractional reserve” system whereby they keep cash on hand representing only a small fraction of customer deposits
They openly admit that they do not have cash to redeem every Tether, and that they are taking part in a "fractional reserve" system like fiat banks do. This is how banks create money out of nothing in the fiat system, and Tether are doing the same with USDT.

Sometimes I feel like much of the ire pointed at Tether = people venting about third party trust issues that apply to a whole swathe of other services.
Oh sure, and don't get me wrong here - I dislike all centralized and custodial exchanges, but Tether are a cut above below the rest.


Title: Re: Bitfinex blocks withdraws
Post by: squatter on January 05, 2020, 08:16:39 PM
How have they lost money?
Because Tether is insolvent. They are holding USDT, believing it is worth the same amount in USD, when it is not.

They haven't lost money. They can redeem their USDT through Tether or trade it at 1:1 on the secondary market.

Suggesting this is worse for customers than a 36% haircut is simply insane. You obviously aren't putting yourself in their shoes.

Which one is really worse?
I think these ongoing lies and cover-ups surrounding Tether are worse. Not only is it highly unethical, but as I said, at some point it's all going to come crashing down, and the users of Tether will be hit with much larger losses than a 36% haircut.

If you asked any Tether customer whether they would prefer a 36% haircut today or a chance to exit at 1:1 any time, they'll take the latter every single time. You aren't thinking about customers' best interests. You're only thinking about your own sense of ethics.

The risk of collapse applies to any custodial exchange. If Tether were shut down and entered liquidation tomorrow, their customers would be completely screwed regardless of any insolvency. Their money would be locked up for many years and bled dry by the courts.

Honestly, I'm not convinced that Tether has ever been printed out of thin air.
See the following court document:
As of the date I am signing this affidavit, Tether has cash and cash equivalents (short term securities) on hand totaling approximately $2.1 billion, representing approximately 74 percent of the current outstanding tethers.
That Tether does not now keep liquid, cash reserves equal to 100 percent of the outstanding tethers is not only disclosed to customers, but hardly a novel concept. Commercial banks operate under a “fractional reserve” system whereby they keep cash on hand representing only a small fraction of customer deposits
They openly admit that they do not have cash to redeem every Tether, and that they are taking part in a "fractional reserve" system like fiat banks do. This is how banks create money out of nothing in the fiat system, and Tether are doing the same with USDT.

You stated that Tether issues (prints) un-backed USDT, and you've implied this is a practice they regularly engage in. No court documents have ever proved either claim. As far as we can tell, USDT was only ever issued based on real deposits. The "insolvency" arose when Tether made a payment to Bitfinex in exchange for a loan agreement instead of burning the associated USDT.

Do you see the difference? You are painting this picture where Tether is constantly printing fake money and operating in a completely illegitimate way, but there is really no evidence of that. All the facts point to a one-time hole in Bitfinex's balance sheet that Tether covered with a one-time loan. And they didn't issue Tethers to do it. Like I said, nothing I've seen indicates that Tether has ever printed USDT out of thin air, and nothing indicates a pattern of such behavior either.

Sometimes I feel like much of the ire pointed at Tether = people venting about third party trust issues that apply to a whole swathe of other services.
Oh sure, and don't get me wrong here - I dislike all centralized and custodial exchanges, but Tether are a cut above[/i] below the rest.

How so? Huobi and Okcoin were caught operating as shadow banks, using billions of CNY in customer deposits to invest in high yield instruments (https://www.reddit.com/r/BitcoinMarkets/comments/6vadb8/chinas_two_biggest_bitcoin_exchanges_huobi_and/). In fact, I'm very confident that most exchanges have -- at one time or another -- acted in very illegal ways with customer money.

It's just that nobody cares unless we're talking about Tether. Why do you demand audits of Tether and no other exchanges? Why is no one out with their pitchforks digging into possibly insolvency at Bitstamp, Kraken, Coinbase?

Mark my words: The next few QuadrigCX-type collapses are going to happen while everyone is staring at Tether.


Title: Re: Bitfinex blocks withdraws
Post by: o_e_l_e_o on January 05, 2020, 09:36:35 PM
They can redeem their USDT through Tether or trade it at 1:1 on the secondary market.
The ones who are smart enough to get out now can. The ones who are left holding USDT which is backed up by nothing with no buyers will be left with a 100% loss.

If you asked any Tether customer whether they would prefer a 36% haircut today or a chance to exit at 1:1 any time, they'll take the latter every single time.
It's not at any time, though. They can exit now, sure. Once the courts seize everything Bitfinex have (which I don't think is an unlikely scenario), then they won't be able to exit at all.

The risk of collapse applies to any custodial exchange.
Again agreed, but not many custodial exchanges have already had just shy of a billion dollars seized with ongoing investigations.

You stated that Tether issues (prints) un-backed USDT, and you've implied this is a practice they regularly engage in. No court documents have ever proved either claim.
I don't think we will get definitive proof until it all collapses. What we do now is that the data suggest USDT is printed out of nothing[1], there are court proceedings against them for being suspected of printing USDT out of nothing[2], and they flat out refuse to release an audit proving that they don't print USDT out of nothing. All in all, very untrustworthy.

All the facts point to a one-time hole in Bitfinex's balance sheet that Tether covered with a one-time loan.
Even if that is true, every Tether they have printed since then is not backed up 1-to-1, since they still have a several hundred million dollar hole in their "assets".

Why do you demand audits of Tether and no other exchanges? Why is no one out with their pitchforks digging into possibly insolvency at Bitstamp, Kraken, Coinbase?
I don't use any centralized exchange so I can't really comment, but none of these exchanges are being accused (as far as I am aware) of probably scams as large as Tether.



1 - Is Bitcoin Really Un-Tethered? (https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3195066)
Quote
Negative EOM price pressure on Bitcoin in months with large Tether issuance indicates a month-end need for dollar reserves for Tether, consistent with partial reserve backing. Our results are most consistent with the supply-driven hypothesis.
Quote
Rather than demand from cash investors, these patterns are most consistent with the supply-based hypothesis of unbacked digital money inflating cryptocurrency prices

2 - https://www.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.524076/gov.uscourts.nysd.524076.1.0.pdf
Quote
In other words, Tether and Bitfinex purchase bitcoin with fake USDT to draw in momentum investors then cash out by selling it to them for real U.S. dollars.
Quote
In other words, Tether ran its printing press to issue an asset supposedly backed by U.S. dollars at a time it was losing access to U.S. dollar clearing. This makes no sense unless Tether issued unbacked USDT despite its 1:1 guarantee.


Title: Re: Bitfinex blocks withdraws
Post by: piqlet13 on February 11, 2020, 04:35:04 AM
UPDATE!! i got my funds but still it was annoying..they are letting unverified accounts use the website, once balance appears they come out with KYC.. just feels bad. in addition support was pretty responsive which was the only good thing however this doesn't change the fact that their business style is very invasive and just seems like a setup.


Title: Re: Bitfinex blocks withdraws
Post by: mr.relax on February 11, 2020, 07:17:57 AM
The year 2020 is the year of the decentral stable coins and the decentral exchanges.
Everyone is sick of KYC, hassle, hacked exchanges, scams, manipulated central USDT.
Just watch the rise of decentral  Waves-Exchange. No more need for 80% of my exchange needs to use a central exchange that treat you like a dog.
There is a whole decentral banking sector rising, this could take over a huge portion of the up-to-now-not-crypto-financial sector...


Because of their orderbook, Bitfinex makes only sense for whales,  not for small users.


Title: Re: Bitfinex blocks withdraws
Post by: gentlemand on February 11, 2020, 10:53:03 AM
The year 2020 is the year of the decentral stable coins and the decentral exchanges.

I predict they will make an inroad of, ooh, up to 0.00001% in the market. It's going to be amazing to witness.

People are lazy and stupid in the main. They will go for the easiest spoon fed option 9.9 times out of 10.

Crypto would be a much healthier place if there were less reliance on centralised services. It ain't happening.


Title: Re: Bitfinex blocks withdraws
Post by: Scotslass on February 11, 2020, 10:58:00 AM
The year 2020 is the year of the decentral stable coins and the decentral exchanges.

I predict they will make an inroad of, ooh, up to 0.00001% in the market. It's going to be amazing to witness.

People are lazy and stupid in the main. They will go for the easiest spoon fed option 9.9 times out of 10.

Crypto would be a much healthier place if there were less reliance on centralised services. It ain't happening.
Moreover, people are rarely check any feedbacks on services and it is surprisingly easy to find negative feedback on bitfinex.
why bother themselves using it..


Title: Re: Bitfinex blocks withdraws
Post by: mr.relax on February 11, 2020, 11:23:12 AM
Quote
I predict they will make an inroad of, ooh, up to 0.00001% in the market.

well lets look Dai: Now 115Mio USD are in Dai, a decentral stable coin. So Dai is already more than 5% size compared to USDT.
Well its February, more will come.
Yes in Tether is more than 2Billion USD. But DAI volume and its advantages are more and more obvious to many traders.
Now with the creation of Neutrino-Stablecoin, Waves is really gaining momentum. Well you can trade several Coins there, not only ETH-token like at
Etherdelta. Sure Trading volume is still low, but we will see. I expect Waves-coin to rise to the Top20 at CMC(now 53).

Even if decentral exchanges still cover only a small portion of all cryptoexchange-market, well 99% of people still use only fiat and only banks and no crypto.
That does not say that you have to follow the crowd...

Anyway I also still use central exchanges when it comes to payout/payin Fiat. But for sure never ever again Bitfinex.


Title: Re: Bitfinex blocks withdraws
Post by: piqlet13 on February 12, 2020, 01:03:43 PM
so anybody knows exchange which has funding feature ?  ;D


Title: Re: Bitfinex blocks withdraws
Post by: squatter on February 12, 2020, 10:03:28 PM
so anybody knows exchange which has funding feature ?  ;D

Binance has a borrowing/lending feature (https://www.binance.com/en/support/articles/360030486551). It's not directly P2P. They act as a market maker, profiting from the bid-ask spread.

Poloniex has a P2P lending market like Bitfinex (https://poloniex.com/support/aboutMarginTrading/). A word of warning before you start lending there: Poloniex's taking money from its customers to cover its loss (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5151636.0)