Bitcoin Forum

Using crypto exchanges for trading means you have agreed to their terms and conditions, the question is how many of you are even reading exchanges terms and conditions before using any crypto exchanges for trading?  

https://i.imgur.com/c3vXcTw.jpeg  

I have a confession to make, I was one of those people in the past, I just sign up and deposit on exchange straight away, today I decided to  read OKX terms and conditions and the thing scared the hell out of me. Please take your time to read the following OKX terms and condition below..

By accepting the Terms, you expressly agree to the pooling of your Digital Assets with the Digital assets of other users. Digital assets of users are not protected by deposit protection or deposit insurance scheme. In this case of an irreconcilable shortfall, you may not receive some or any of your deposited assets or funds.  

It's like if things go very wrong for OKX and the law/court gets involved they will win over their users, just by saying ' every users on our platform agreed with the terms and conditions before using our exchange' , this is scary.

I read others like Crypto.com and Binance but OKX is the most scary one for me.

FTX be like: Your cryptocurrency asset only belongs to you,  if and only if the $6 billion of asset that are missing isn't discovered by Binance^[1].

[1] https://notabird.site/Hyza87/status/1590484789517488128

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Kidding aside :D, I do not fully read it, I just skim that bloody paragraphs that contains important keywords such as privacy, security, countries, fees etc. It will take you years to read such text that are composed of repetitive words that sometimes isn't important for an average user.

It is very likely that most people did not even bother to read the terms and conditions. Not specifically for cryptocurrency users, but also for many other popular services and platforms users. Where many websites are designed to let the user try/join the platform as simply as possible, a monstrous text of TnC/ToS and Privacy Policy almost certainly won't be bothered.

There is a website called tosdr (https://tosdr.org/en/about), which simplify and condense the terms of services of many popular platforms, like Google, Meta, etc. The web itself affirms the “I have read and agree to the Terms” as the biggest lie on the internet. It would be good if there is someone who also contribute to the platform specifically for cryptocurrency-related platforms/services.

I won't lie though I don't read the complete terms and conditions of an exchange all I do is to look through some parts of it like the part about privacy and how the information of its users are handled and some other information that I think are important to know at that moment before I click on "accept". But sometimes when I'm a haste I just click on the accept button and create an account for my self and this doesn't just apply to exchanges alone I still do it for some other websites also. Most times I go back and read through them while for some I never get to read them.

Honestly, I always skip this step. Almost everyone in this forum skips the steps to register on any exchange. Though now I try to read the terms and conditions of some websites while registering on other new websites. But it is important to read the terms before accepting and continuing, but when I must have to register on a site I just don't bother about the terms and conditions texts.

You should just assume that the Terms of Use of any centralized exchange allows that exchange to share and sell all your data with anyone they like, hand over your coins to anyone they like, and provides you with absolutely no guarantee whatsoever that you will ever get back a single satoshi of your deposits. Because pretty much all of them do exactly that, but just obfuscated in enough legal speak that most people wouldn't realize it even if they bothered to read the terms.

I've been encouraging people to read Terms of Use of various exchanges for years. Here's a post I made two years ago, warning people about the Terms of Use of both BlockFi and Celsius: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5315224.msg56289293#msg56289293. If people had actually read those terms, then maybe they would have been spared from losing everything when both exchanges went bankrupt from lending out users' deposits in exactly the way they said they would. Every time an exchange or platform goes bankrupt there are a flood of users complaining about how that platform was running a fractional reserve system, or was lending out their money, or was making risky trades/investments/gambles, etc., when all the time the Terms of Use said that the platform would do exactly those things. The users just didn't read it.

I am  sure that most of us will only scroll down the Term & Conditions of an exchange or other platforms to get the button of this:
Or at least, we only read the first sentences  ;D ;D
People, especially I myself will feel so lazy to read those many words that are very boring. Even I always think that this will waste my time. Actually, this is a wrong decision because sometimes, there is some very important hidden information that exchanges give to us. but, because of those so many words, the important hidden information seems not to be seen and we disregard this.

We commonly will read again the T&C if we have any problems or we find some issues with the exchanges. this is a bad condition and habit, but who will spend time reading the sentence-by-sentence of the T&C fully? I will commonly prefer to read articles or reviews or watch for reviews including specific and essential information about the exchange from other people. I understand this is bad but this is what actually I am doing so far  :'(

It seems that at first almost everyone didn't read the terms and conditions, because everyone thought it was simple, and just made a deposit.
let alone crypto regulations, Google's terms and conditions also register when many don't read it, maybe it's too complicated, even though it's something that must be read and must be paid attention to.

A few years ago I always skip reading TOS because it's a long text to read but right now it change because I have a few issues on the exchange I don't want to experience them again like a locked account or funds frozen that is very stressful and it ends up nothing all tokens are stuck forever on that exchange.

Reading TOS is very important so that you know what you are going to do if you accept their terms then make sure you follow the terms to avoid future issues like what happened to most of the newbie traders out there that always skip reading TOS.

That's my attitude before, due to laziness I didn't read the terms and conditions, who wants to read a long paragraph of more than 2-3 pages to read?
That's why I prefer to look first the FAQ before the TOS.  But that's still wrong, it should be encouraged to anyone to read the whole terms before using it.  But now, I already understand that all centralized exchange has almost the terms, they're not liable to hold your fund, and they surely ask for KYC, that's the common terms that they have and I didn't surprise.

I tend to agree with this, it should be knowing the TOS first and OP was right.
I even admit that I'm one of them before. 

Take note, not only on the exchange, any platform must read first the terms, even in gambling, to avoid being violated in the future.

I, too, am one of those users who do not thoroughly read the terms and conditions of an exchange or other platforms before using them. Since I know many people use it without complaint, I won't have a problem if I use it as well. If I'm stuck somewhere and unable to proceed, those are the only times I read to find out what's holding me back. This is due to nothing more than laziness.

It's about time we start reading platform terms and conditions because many will always put in their terms what will benefit them if anything goes wrong while using the platform in the future.

Thats one thing that everybody or should I say not all are very fond of reading the terms and agreements. Actually me too. Just signing up and mostly press OK. Well we all knew its gonna be a long read so we just simply skip all this and proceed right away. But you are rifht, we must do this to know which terms arent good for our position especially we are dealing with money here.

I really surprised to see no one pointed out if any centralized exchange or company has a right to update or change their terms of service in anytime they want!

Those centralized exchange or company doesn't always giving you notice before or when they updated their terms of service and they're don't care if you're don't agree with their new rules, if you not agree with their rules, it's not their problem, but yours.

I'm also a part who encourage everyone to read the whole TOS before using the service, but make sure you need to read it again before you want to use the service, especially if you haven't use it for a year or two years. There's a lot change that you wouldn't know, just like localbitcoins now ask user KYC when few years ago they're not ask any KYC.

This is not only true for crypto exchanges, but for almost all sites in general. Most people don't read T&C, and even if they do, they don't give up to sign up that site. So far, I haven't heard of anyone who read T&C and immediately stopped signing up. People don't change their mind easily once they decided to sign up. Of course exchanges and other sites often use this situation to their advantage. However, the end user only remembers these conditions when something negative happens to them.
Think about all the negative situations and prepare yourself as if the worst will happen when you sign up of that crypto exchange.

Very few are willing to take the time to read the terms and conditions before signing up for an Exchange. I just found this Thread on the Bitcoin Discussion Board An Example of Not your Keys Not your coins (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5433252.0). Exchange has attached terms and conditions before registering there. As long as you don't press the "I agree" button, you will never be registered with Exchange, if the terms and conditions are burdensome to Exchange users, you can choose another Exchange that is considered not too detrimental to the second party (their service users).

This happens a lot and It's because some people don't have the zeal to read long write ups 😄 which is bad.

In my own case it is not only crypto exchanges, I always press ok or agreed just to speed up whatsoever I wanted doing at that particular time not knowing that i am doing my self bad.
Therefore incase anything happened letter in the future, they have all the right to be set free because they include them in their terms and condition.

To be fair terms and conditions are always too long and sometimes they use a certain language with legal terms and things like that which makes it difficult for most people to even fully understand what they are signing! In other words this is a general problem that is not specific to bitcoin or crypto exchanges. People don't read the ToS of applications they install, or websites they sign up with either.
Besides when it comes to exchanges, even if you read the whole thing, you can be sure that they have placed some wiggle room for themselves so that they can never be sued when they "scam you"...

Such an option is available before joining any new exchange platform or others who especially very much careful to their rules and regulations. Most of the times users generally avoid these issues. Because it is often boring. Their terms and conditions are so long that is often a time-consuming affair. However, these issues should not be avoided in any way. They know that there are some common conditions that cannot be skipped to sign up unless they are excluded. As a result, they accept all their terms and conditions without reading or understanding. But when one is in trouble there is nothing else to do.

at first I never read the terms and conditions of each crypto exchange. I just use it without knowing the risks that will occur. But from several exchange hacking incidents that occurred, I started reading the terms and conditions and written to understand some of the risks that are not borne by crypto exchanges.

When the FTX case became the main focus, the centralized exchange became very vulnerable to losing our assets. then more and more people are aware of the written Terms and Conditions. when we ignore it we can't sue them for what happened when the warning was written and approved.

It can be so boring and exhausting to read those lengthy terms and conditions, but the risk of not doing so is so great. I don't usually read terms and conditions, but I will be doing that now.

Terms and conditions are not only meant to be read when they concern CEX; it is wise to read everything that contains terms and policies in order to be on the safe side. I remember watching a drama where a company owner was being offered a document by his secretary. The man signed without reading the document, unaware that the document was an agreement that his secretary intended to sell his company. 

I do not think that anyone reads these conditions, especially since they are always on multiple pages, and the average user does not have time to read them, even if he knows the importance of that.  This is for a simple reason, which is the confidence of the regular user in the means by which he was introduced to that platform or through which that platform was chosen.

Oh yes, I do love reading terms and conditions. It is like unwrapping a box of chocolates, and just like Forrest Gump's momma said, "You never know what you're gonna get." :D Except in this case it won't be a delicious treat, but a fee or restriction you weren't aware of.

So I suggest, before you start trading on any crypto exchange, make sure to read the T&C, it might save you from any unpleasant surprises. And who knows, maybe you'll find something you like there!

Sincerely have not even read the terms of condition, but sincerely humans are sometimes careless, we are mostly focused on the monetary aspect of crypto.

We would only go back to the terms and conditions only when we try to access a link in cypto and we are denied, that's when we might go back to terms and conditions to know why we were denied access,

And I also think many people don't also read the terms and conditions because it's of many pages and they are not patient enough to read them to the end...

When it comes to accepting or signing any terms or conditions, it is important to take the time to fully understand what you are getting yourself into. Unfortunately, many companies use complex language, or "fine print," to hide or minimize the visibility of important information. This can make it difficult for the average person to truly comprehend what they are agreeing to. This is especially important when it comes to financial agreements, where the terms and conditions can have a significant impact on your finances. By taking the time to carefully review the fine print, you will be able to make more informed decisions and potentially avoid any unwanted surprises down the line.

So, even though it may seem like a hassle at the moment, taking the time to review the fine print can ultimately save you a lot of headaches in the long run. Unfortunately, many people still neglect to do so.

It has become the culture of just clicking accept to every term and conditions that you are given before you can use a software because of how some software providers have been packaging their terms and conditions to be very unreadable and unpleasant for new users to want to read. If you cannot read the terms and conditions maybe because you know you are an impatient person or maybe because you would not understand it, get someone with better patience and understanding to do the reading for you. Not rushing to accept terms and conditions will save you from a lot.

To tell the truth i don't read the terms and conditions when signing up anywhere. After this title i took a look at the terms and conditions of the central exchanges where we delivered our money and saw that our money did not belong to us. I already knew this but by legally accepting it i saw the fact that we actually pledged our money.

We are always in a hurry even if we know the negative things that will happen to us. In an environment where we do not know our responsibilities and obligations we can earn as much money as we want even they give free money but it will be up to them to pull the plug.

Or simply the statement that anything you hand over to the exchange immediately ceases to be your property in any way and the exchange can do whatever they like with it. Ask the users of Celsius, Voyager, FTX, BlockFi, etc., how not reading the Terms of Service is working out for them. :P

Haha, good one!

No exchange gives out money for free. They always get something in return. Usually it's either your data, which they can see and monetize for more than the scraps they give you, or it's your deposits, which they hand out to third parties in highly risky loans and investments to make millions of dollars in profit for themselves, while you accept all the risk. Look at any of the exchanges I listed above, for example. The owners are millionaires, while their users have lost everything. Your coins being risked for their profits.

Adding to it,there are always terms and conditions listed at the bottom of anything, even exchange and food cans. Reviewing exchange terms and conditions is totally not my thing because of the protracted, dull language. Every time I have the chance to read the terms and conditions of a trade, I sigh. People disregard it as unnecessary, as nothing, not realizing how important it is for them to acquire the conditions promised to them when they signed up with an exchange.

One thing about these companies be it Crypto company or other type of  service providing company is that they exert so much effort by monotonously reiterating in a lengthy way these terms and conditions in a long scaring listing  just to make users feel bored and tiring to read through step by step all of it.
They consciously do this as a strategy to bore users seeing it as time wasting going through all the terms that could have been made concise and precise to read through without a feeling of time wasting from the user.

One funny thing is that it's only when the user might have had some issues relating to his asset that's when he sees need to go through the terms only to feel trapped already by what he would have initially avoided if he had given it time to go through. Lets learn to be patient to read through these term as the conditions that be are not actually in our best interest.

I thank God that you know yourself. Really not only in the cryptocurrency exchange platforms but for the platforms and even physical therapy literature doctor or Pharmacist prescription in the drugs or others have not been read by many users. Once they bought the drugs then next things is to take in the drugs. So that apply to a lot of things in the world. Even binance, Electrum, Remitano, and etc. Once we click the sign up button we fill the form and click submit because the for our mind reading the T/C are taking our time.

We are just lazy to read terms and conditions literature to guide ourselves.

I don't bother to read any exchange rules and regulations, it's not something you can get over in minutes because the words are too much, I choose a crypto exchange based on users' reviews and experience, I believe doing this is more than enough, there shouldn't be any problems unless you store your assets on a crypto exchange for too long, as a trader, after every successful trade I always move out my funds, a few cents on transaction fee per day is far safer than leaving your coins in the hands of an exchange.

Nobody reads exchange ToS. But is that really a big problem if you want to hold Bitcoin for the long-term? I mean if you're a long-term hodler, you don't want to leave your coins on a centralized exchange anyway. You deposit funds, buy Bitcoin or any other shitcoin and then you withdraw the funds to your personal wallet.

This way you don't have to pay attention to the ToS and you won't have any problems in case of a bankruptcy. We learned in 2022 that even big names in the industry can go bust within a few days.

Of course, it makes sense to choose a reputable exchange through which you want to execute your trades. But just by not leaving your coins on an exchange for a long time, you can avoid most problems. Bitcoin means being your own bank. Why not give it a try?

Before opening an account, I carefully read the terms and conditions of an exchange when I first started using crypto currencies. But when I am starting to become familiar with exchanges I slacked off and just registered right away, I must admit that. When you wanted to buy a coin that is not on your exchange, opening a new account on another exchange was common practice. However, thanks to the development of decentralized auto swaps platforms like pancakeswap and uniswap, we are no longer required to sign up for an account on many exchanges.

if the goal is to trade shitcoin, now it's easier indeed. because DEX will be much easier to access than CEX which maybe not have all token assets registered there.

I also often ignore the terms and conditions when registering on exchanges. not only on the exchange but in some casinos, I was too negligent in this. rather I mostly read after I made a deposit and started trading and playing. that is in my mind, maybe all the rules and regulations written are the same. but obviously, each platform has its terms and conditions.

Accepting the terms and conditions of a crypto exchange without reading the terms and conditions can be dangerous, Imagine signing your own death warrant because you failed to read what you are been given to read first, you just take a pen and put your signature on it, this is a bad manner in today's society ;D.

Whether you are going to like what you see or not you still have to read the terms and conditions first, they always contain some very vital information that could save your neck from big trouble or a blessing.

If everyone who registered on the exchange fully read the user agreement, then probably more than half would simply change their minds about depositing money. :) Or they would keep much smaller amounts there.

In a recent interview with SBF, they asked why FTX used depositors' money, Sam's answer was even somewhat ridiculous, he said that in the user agreement there is a link to a document that says that FTX has such an opportunity if necessary, or something like that. But the truth is that no one ever reads them, it's too long and tedious, and besides, new users just don't want to get upset from the very beginning, during registration.  ;)

Since this data is private, it is difficult to estimate the precise number of persons who read the terms and conditions of bitcoin exchanges. However, given that this is a widespread habit among users of many other online services, it is safe to claim that many consumers do not carefully read the terms and conditions before using a cryptocurrency exchange.

It is crucial to read the terms and conditions of a cryptocurrency exchange since they specify the obligations and rights of the exchange and the user. This can contain details about charges, safety precautions, dispute resolution procedures, and more. Lack of understanding of the terms and conditions can result in confusion, unforeseen expenses, or legal issues in the future.

It's advised to read terms & condition of an centralized exchange when you decided to use even it take sometimes.

Lol, this is really funny, but it's a serious thing that we always overlook. Someone like me, who sometimes just reads through the first line of terms and conditions to see if the exchange Pop it up before the user can proceed to the next step of registration; if not, I just click on "agreed and accepted" and go my way, always in a hurry for nothing, which is actually why most of these centralized exchanges have the right to be dealing with their customers the way they are, because they might have squeezed in some terms that will be in their favor and in turns against the customers.

A big mistake is what many investors do make leaving to read the terms and conditions of the exchanges we are using. Although I think the major reason may be because we are not having the attempt to scam or do illegal things that is why we don't have to take a look on exchanges terms.

Let me say I am also a victim of this likewise many of us that are into cryptocurrency. I know many of these good and reputable crypto exchanges will not make there terms severe to the level why it will call for questioning. I think this is the best time for me to read some of all these crypto exchanges terms and conditions.

I never did. They are so long, I just don't feel like reading. Make'em concise or don't - just know that you are giving up funds when you deposit'em elsewhere except self custodial wallet.