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Thanks for the transparency i appreciate it, please return users BTC using this forum or however you think is a open way in doing so safely, You still have Admin access to WBX and i will not change this until all BTC is returned also you can view the user database i left that open for that reason.
Andre, the problem is that until you know how many dollars you are going to be able to get back from the banks, you don't know what the total assets of WBX are. And so you don't know what percentage of the liabilities you will be able to repay. I propose holding on to the BTC until the situation with the bank becomes clear. Do you agree? Chris, I agree, this is worst case scenario and i would like for everyone to receive a full refund of there funds but unfortunately i cannot guarantee it at this stage, as soon as i get a clear conformation from my bank what is returned then the process of distributing assets will commence, I will keep you updated here. Andre |
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Andre, thanks for responding. I think it's best that this happens out in the open so people can see what's going on. 2. Yes i Intend on returning all funds once i have access to these funds but unfortunately i can't guarantee it.
3. If this is what the clients of WBX want then yes i am happy to comply and listen to the responses.
As you can see from this thread, at least some of the clients want it done this way. Some even suggest it has to be done this way. 4. Yes i locked you out as i had to minimise further risk to the Exchange Database and code, sorry Chris its nothing personal i am just protecting my self and WBX client information.
OK, I thought you must have. Just so you know, I have backups of the site from shortly before you locked me out. As you know, the hosting company hasn't exactly had a good track record of looking after the server themselves, so I regularly made offsite backups. That includes encrypted backups of the exchange's bitcoin wallet. The wallet has a large keypool, so I will have access to any funds that are deposited into the exchange wallet for some time to come. To properly minimise risk to the exchange I would advise you to transfer the remaining funds from the exchange wallet (less than 1 BTC I think) then start from scratch with a new wallet. I also still have admin access to the WBX site, so can see client information. Disable that by setting "is_admin" to 0 for my row in the users table: UPDATE users SET is_admin=0 WHERE uid=1001; or use the web interface to the database. 5. Yes i have returned correspondence on these issues and these accounts have been locked (unverifiyed).
6. Chris you have full control over the 1768 BTC as they are in your possession if you want to handle returning these BTC to clients then i am happy for you to do that, I have other major issues do deal with at the moment, i just want to know that WBX users BTC is safe and will be returned its one less problem for me to sort out.
I have the 1768 BTC and will keep it safe until it is clear who it should be given to. I've proven in this thread that I have it, and everyone can watch the address where it is being held to make sure it isn't being spent. It seems to me that we need to find out how much of the frozen AUD will be returned by the bank before we can know how to split up the BTC. Do you agree? Hi chris, Thanks for the transparency i appreciate it, please return users BTC using this forum or however you think is a open way in doing so safely, You still have Admin access to WBX and i will not change this until all BTC is returned also you can view the user database i left that open for that reason. Andre |
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I just received an email from Andre. It doesn't address any of the flags I raised about suspicious looking accounts on the exchange with positive BTC balances, and doesn't answer my question about my access to the web host no longer working. All it says is: Hi Chris,
Please return the bitcoin you have asap users are trying to withdraw there bitcoin. I replied asking if we could discuss it in this thread: Andre, can you address the concerns I and others have raised please? 1. Is there any news from the bank about when you can expect to have access to the WBX accounts again? 2. What happens if the bank never releases the frozen funds. Will you be paying their balances back in full? 3. If not, should you not wait before allowing users to withdraw bitcoins, since the assets of WBX should be divided equally between its creditors. 4. Did you intentionally lock me out of the hosting account? I'm no longer able to access the code or the database. 5. I've emailed you about several accounts on the exchange which have suspicious trading patterns, but you've not commented. It seems you want me to return the bitcoins so that they can withdraw them - have you thought that through? Hi Chris, to answer your questions 1. No i have no indication when this issue will be resolved, when my accounts were first frozen they did give me a time frame of 6weeks to 6months 2. Yes i Intend on returning all funds once i have access to these funds but unfortunately i can't guarantee it. 3. If this is what the clients of WBX want then yes i am happy to comply and listen to the responses. 4. Yes i locked you out as i had to minimise further risk to the Exchange Database and code, sorry Chris its nothing personal i am just protecting my self and WBX client information. 5. Yes i have returned correspondence on these issues and these accounts have been locked (unverifiyed). 6. Chris you have full control over the 1768 BTC as they are in your possession if you want to handle returning these BTC to clients then i am happy for you to do that, I have other major issues do deal with at the moment, i just want to know that WBX users BTC is safe and will be returned its one less problem for me to sort out. message to all..... Yes i could have closed down the site and vanished but i didn't, i can't help the fact that I've been scammed through my bank accounts and now have no control over these accounts, these scammers new that the exchange was solid and secure so they attacked me via the banks knowingly that they will get away with it, i am honestly sorry this has happened and you the user has been caught up in this mess, i have lost a lot of personal money through this but i still intend to continue the fight in returning your Funds, what else's can i say. please be patient. Andre |
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Dear Clients,
We would like to apologize to all our clients for the lack of customer support provided over the past weeks, as of 14th February we have been faced with another banking institution issue, which includes the following;
We've had an account suspension issue with our Commonwealth processing account and are unable to execute EFT AUD withdrawals while the account is suspended. We will leave the exchange in its 'frozen' state until we are able to re-commence operations.
We've had an issue or two in the past with other banking institutions in Australia so we understand the tension this causes for customers and ourselves. However we've always managed to correct them.
We thank you for your support and appreciate your patience as we work through this.
WBX Team
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how ever withdraw requests will be slightly affected, next day processing will now be delayed.
We do want your feed back on this matter.
an estimate of how long withdrawals *should* take would be nice. happy bbq day. Hi all, Maximum 3 days Andre Hi there Andre, are you still experiencing these delays? I recently sent you an email about getting my limits raised and have been waiting on a couple of withdrawals, is everything ok? At this stage we are holding off raising the withdraw limits as this protects both you and other users of WBX of fraud, we hope to revisit this matter by the 2nd or 3rd quarter of this year. Withdraws are delayed due to banking issues. Andre |
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how ever withdraw requests will be slightly affected, next day processing will now be delayed.
We do want your feed back on this matter.
an estimate of how long withdrawals *should* take would be nice. happy bbq day. Hi all, Maximum 3 days Andre |
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I deposited 50$ last thursday that still hasn't showed up in my account, would this have something to do with it? I can't get wbx to answer my email.
i'm sad to say these guys are quite a bit slower than they used to be. withdrawal requests used to get verified by the next business day at the latest, but i'm still waiting on one from Friday morning: 08:39am 20-Jan-12 Verifying i think i'll only put quite small amounts through there until the situation improves again. Agree. I emailed them about a withdrawal and got this reply this morning. We are having slight delays with withdraw request and will resolve the problem shortly. Hi all, We have an announcement, we apologise to our members that are experiencing delays in the services we provide, over the past weeks we have had a series of charge backs to our account which has forced our banking institution to hold our funds on several occasions this year. we wanted to carry out an investigation on these criminals before we release it to the public, the good news is that we are making progress in catching these criminals. In order to protect your money we have had to increase the security around our accounts and systems, the following is the new process. 1. We now have series of accounts with minimal funds 2. We now hold a small amount of funds outside our banking institution.(in the event our account is frozen again) 3. A large portion of our transaction are manually processed. What these new security measures mean? The processing of deposits stays the same with no change how ever withdraw requests will be slightly affected, next day processing will now be delayed. We do want your feed back on this matter. Happy Australia Day Andre |
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We are back...... sorry for the delay all, we had an extended Christmas and New Year holiday, last year brought us a lot of issues with banking institutions in Australia our accounts closed and frozen and this year has similar problems we had to suspend deposits and withdraws for a few days, we are hopeful this year is better, also we have started processing deposits and withdraws today. Happy New year Andre |
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@Andre Jensen WBX
Mystery Miner is spot on. Bitcoin was designed for complete decentralized and anonymous transfer of money. All the exchanges are "Virtual Laundromats" so to speak, to pretend otherwise is stupid. Why do you think Mt.Gox is in Japan? Because Mark Karperles just likes Japan or is it because, out of all the modern countries on the planet, Japan has some of the toughest internet privacy laws in existence.
The only way an ISP hands over information in Japan is with the order of a High Court Justice, not a lower court and the only time that has ever happened with a non Japanese request was issues concerning terrorism. Almost all request for information by foreign legal entities is just plain ignored. If successful the process takes YEARS.
Implement all the bogus security measures you want, you're not going to change the fact that "Dirty Fiat" goes in, mixes with Bitcoins and "Clean Fiat" comes out. You can forget about running a non laundering exchange LOL...Bitcoin isn't even 2% mainstream...it's major use is still illicit drug buys, illegal trading and money laundering.
What you're trying to do is akin to selling Crack Cocaine and claiming its legit because you have a Business License, A Pharmacist behind the counter and a lame TOS to enter the store.
If you can't come to terms with this, I suggest you slap up a 404 Error page and be done with it.
Just my .02 BTC.
~BCX~
I agree with almost everything you have to say here.... please let me cover some points here, i am only doing whats in the best interests of the Australian Bitcoin community and thats providing a fast low fee secure escrow service that connects Bitcoin Miners with Bitcoin Buyers nothing more nothing less what ever happens in between is none of my concern. Implementing these "Bogus" security measures is to protect our customers and ourselves from fraudulent activity agin this is nothing more nothing less. We believe in the future of Bitcoin and some day like the "internet" it may break that 2% barrier, a promising out look is that around 90% of the exchange data base have complied with the new Security Measures we have implemented, You have to remember we are a small fish in a bigpond. Looking at other large exchange's you will find sophisticated trading patterns that don't reflect...it's major use of illicit drug buys or am i missing something here. it may have been a thing of the past ( e.g when the price of a bitcoin was worth $30 each) to trade Drugs and so forth, today the price indicates a more stable looking trading platform. Bitcoin is still a decentralised and anonymous way to transact and it will always be. Let me ask you a question if you were placed in my position what have you done i will patiently wait your reply Kind regards Andre Jensen |
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the shady part of these bitcoin exchanges freezing funds of their users is that there is no TOS to "agree to" or read warning new users BEFORE HAND that your bitcoins / currency can be frozen or with held indefinitely without your consent until you prove your identity to them. And if for some reason you cannot prove your identity, then too bad for you; we've got your money, thanks for playing. Well, IF i would have known you were going to trap my funds, i wouldn't have signed up with your service to begin with. Its this kind of crap which got me hating centralized banking - they would freeze my credit card every month for making an online purchase. now it seems bitcoin is headed towards the same fate. Until the day you can use bitcoins buy or pay for something useful such as land, a house or vehicle payment, bitcoins are going to be completely useless...except as a vehicle for exchanges to defraud their own customers. no wonder the value of BTC is in constant freefall.
I am very sorry you feel this way, if we had not implement the security process and frozen all accounts the short answer is, is that we would have been put out of business the next day(due to the heavy fraudulent transactions on our accounts), World bitcoin exchange is here to stay we have had our fair share of problems in the past as well as larger exchanges have but this is what to expect with a new and exciting venture as bBitcoin offers, Yes i agree we were a bit heavy handed on this occation and i do apologise for that, but when it come to your money that is what is secured first and for most and i make no apology for that, we started this exchange on the same principles as you have and unfortunately it only takes a few to spoil it for the rest Be rest assure we are around 90% completed in clearing the huge back log, we do apologise if we have not got to your account on the exchange, if you like to speed the process up please email me andre@worldbitcoinexchange.com.au and i will personally look into your situation. Sincerely Andre Jensen |
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Well, I received a one word response from Btc-e when I contacted them about my missing deposit without any resolution. I'm still waiting for a response that contains more than just one word saying "check". That was the most ridiculous response I received from an exchange. Completely unprofessional. Still, I wouldn't say it's normal considering MtGox has been very good so far with communication, but it isn't out of the ordinary when dealing with no name exchanges seeing another exchange being even worse than btc-e.
When an exchange responds with such little professionalism, it is best to just avoid them completely because that is not a normal attitude of a bitcoin exchange that will be around for a while.
Yes i would have to agree with you on every level, At WBX we like to learn from our mistakes, let me tell you this has taught us a good lesson, we have made the necessary steps to not substitute simplicity for professionalism in the way we conduct business, we will do the best we can to not let this happen again to our customers in the future. Thanks Ian for understanding. Andre |
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LOL Their "new security measures" statement reads suspiciously like it was cut and pasted from MtGox. Please be aware that due to the sudden increase in identification requests, processing of submitted documentation has become slightly delayed. We thank our users for their continued patience and support as we adjust to the requirements which have been obligated upon WBX. To be honest, a response like that is begging for a customer to complain to the Office of Fair Trading. It's a stupid thing to do when you acknowledge on your website that you're operating unlicensed. Yes we are operating unlicenced and we are open about that, we have nothing to hide, unfortunately it looks like i have made a huge mistake by responding to IAN with a one liner Reply with in 1 hour of receiving his email and i apologise for that. I have however told Ian i don't want his business on WBX and this is why i find myself here.Andre |
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My account's suspended for some reason, all i do is deposit 40-50$ every 2 weeks to buy bitcoins, strange that would seem suspicious. Anyway seeing as I have to identify now to reclaim my bitcoins is an expired drivers license + current bank statement ok?(drivers license doesn't have my current address and utilities aren't in my name)
We apologise for the incovenience you are experiencing, and would ask if you could forward your details to AML@worldbitcoinexchange.com and we will reply with a decision promptly. Andre |
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Dear WBX Users,
As you may be aware we have recently had to freeze trading on the World Bitcoin Exchange on several occasions. This is a result of recently implemented tightened security measures which have identified some accounts as showing suspicious activity. We have responded by suspending the accounts in question.
The new security measures have been brought into place at the insistence of a number of banking and policing entities after an increase in the incidence of fraud, phishing attacks and money laundering being carried out using Bitcoins to mask illegal transactions.
Should your account be suspended and you believe this suspension to be in error, we ask that you contact us in order to start the identification process. Once gathered, the documentation in question is held on a secure data store. Any submitted information will not be shared with any third party under any circumstance, except where WBX is legally obliged to do so.
Please be aware that due to the sudden increase in AML requests, processing of submitted documentation has become slightly delayed. We thank our users for their continued patience and support as we adjust to the requirements which have been obligated upon WBX.
Sincerely,
WBX Support Team
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All Systems Go
9:04pm 29-Oct-11
We're fully back up and running now. Thanks for your patience.
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Hi all,
The filesystem holding the exchange data became corrupted shortly after the nightly backup. We are working to restore everything.
Any actions you took on the exchange after the backup will be rolled back. Any orders you placed, orders you cancelled, or trades you made will have been undone. Fortunately no BTC or AUD deposits or withdrawals were carried out after the backup.
After the exchange has completed it's back up, it will be brought up in a frozen state. This prevents any trades being carried out, in order to allow you to cancel any orders that you don't want to have left in the orderbook.
We're hoping to have everything back up by this afternoon (Saturday 29th), but can't promise anything. Check back for updates as we have them.
Andre
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Hi all,
We are having technical difficulties with our exchange, the exchange will be down for the next 24-48 hours, we apologise for any inconvenience caused, we are working around the clock to fix this problem ASAP.
I will keep you updated as information comes to hand.
We're back up after a server error. The exchange will be frozen until 9pm server time to give you a chance to cancel orders you no longer want on the orderbook. See the 'news' link on the right for more details.
Andre
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Hi all,
We are working on this issue now, we will release our findings within the next 24-48 hours we apologise for the inconvenience.
Andre
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Well done bit-pay do you guys ever sleep?
andre
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Hi ALL, we are based on the goldcoast of Queensland Australia, https://worldbitcoinexchange.com you can exchange AUD for BTC, we started our exchange early August moving from melbourne to the gold coast. the exchange has achieved a couple of milestones already including out preforming the other major AUD Exchange sites (including mtgAUD,thAUD and ruxumAUD) ( http://bitcoincharts.com/markets/) we put this down to the simplicity of the exchange and good customer service, something our company prides it's self on. We have a couple of projects coming soon including BTC POS (point of Sale) operating through our exchange for brick and mortar Merchants/Retailers with our goal to replace EFTPOS !!  Andre |
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