BTC-e hacked ??

[manchester93]

Before the raid, I sent some money from coinbase to BTC-e. They asked if the money was going to another exchange and which one. I did not lie and told them the money was going to BTC-e. This information is obviously now in the hands of the Feds or soon will be.

No, it won't be. Sending funds to BTC-e wasn't illegal. Coinbase has no legal requirement to inform the feds. And they have shown that they care about customer privacy.

My question is this: How fucked am I for using an unlicensed exchange? I didn't even know it was illegal to US customers to use BTC-e.

Not fucked at all. It's not illegal. It was illegal for them to serve you as a customer with inadequate AML/KYC and without money transmitting licenses.

I have significant holdings of cryptocurrency that I will be cashing out at some point in the future. Is all of my money now guilty of a crime and therefore subject to civil asset forfeiture laws? I have no desire to launder the money or break any additional laws, I intend to pay my taxes at the end of the year. If I even have to pay a fine for using BTC-e I'd have no problem with that. But my real fear is that one day I wake up and my bank account is frozen and I am facing federal indictment for my ignorant mistake... What can I do to get right with the law and keep my hard earned fortune?

edit/follow-up question: Was it even illegal for me to use BTC-e? Or was it only illegal for BTC-e to serve me?

Stop freaking out. You're all good! If you have funds on BTC-e (or will have funds on the new site), just be very careful about not sending those coins directly back to a licensed exchange like Coinbase. Those coins could be subject to civil asset forfeiture. Get some clean coins through another exchange/service first.

[erk]

Stop freaking out. You're all good! If you have funds on BTC-e (or will have funds on the new site), just be very careful about not sending those coins directly back to a licensed exchange like Coinbase. Those coins could be subject to civil asset forfeiture. Get some clean coins through another exchange/service first.

I think you would find there would quickly be a class actions against the seizure if people started reporting they were getting raided.
Most BTC-e customers are not from the US.

[letsbereasonable]

Before the raid, I sent some money from coinbase to BTC-e. They asked if the money was going to another exchange and which one. I did not lie and told them the money was going to BTC-e. This information is obviously now in the hands of the Feds or soon will be.

No, it won't be. Sending funds to BTC-e wasn't illegal. Coinbase has no legal requirement to inform the feds. And they have shown that they care about customer privacy.

My question is this: How fucked am I for using an unlicensed exchange? I didn't even know it was illegal to US customers to use BTC-e.

Not fucked at all. It's not illegal. It was illegal for them to serve you as a customer with inadequate AML/KYC and without money transmitting licenses.

I have significant holdings of cryptocurrency that I will be cashing out at some point in the future. Is all of my money now guilty of a crime and therefore subject to civil asset forfeiture laws? I have no desire to launder the money or break any additional laws, I intend to pay my taxes at the end of the year. If I even have to pay a fine for using BTC-e I'd have no problem with that. But my real fear is that one day I wake up and my bank account is frozen and I am facing federal indictment for my ignorant mistake... What can I do to get right with the law and keep my hard earned fortune?

edit/follow-up question: Was it even illegal for me to use BTC-e? Or was it only illegal for BTC-e to serve me?

Stop freaking out. You're all good! If you have funds on BTC-e (or will have funds on the new site), just be very careful about not sending those coins directly back to a licensed exchange like Coinbase. Those coins could be subject to civil asset forfeiture. Get some clean coins through another exchange/service first.

I don't think you will have problems if you transfer coins to Coinbase. Why would you? Coinbase has not had any problems with the gov't.

[figmentofmyass]

Stop freaking out. You're all good! If you have funds on BTC-e (or will have funds on the new site), just be very careful about not sending those coins directly back to a licensed exchange like Coinbase. Those coins could be subject to civil asset forfeiture. Get some clean coins through another exchange/service first.

I think you would find there would quickly be a class actions against the seizure if people started reporting they were getting raided.
Most BTC-e customers are not from the US.

i doubt it, since such class actions would fail. forfeiture law is such that the standards for seizure are very low, no criminal conviction or even charges are required, and the burden of proof is on the defendant. since the coins would have been sent by btc-e, the customer has no way to prove their origin.

this is just about coinbase customers; it doesn't matter where btc-e customers are based. coinbase is licensed in the US, and they are subject to US laws, including judicial orders regarding civil asset forfeiture.

if anything is clear from the past 15-20 years watching law enforcement in the USA, it's that there is no way to stop civil asset forfeiture. you can only prevent it by properly hiding your assets. (in other words, i agree----do not send any coins linked to btc-e to places like bitstamp or coinbase)

[illinest]

I see what you mean. It's a hefty price to pay though.

I've come to realize that anything held in an exchange account can evaporate overnight. 55% back (especially from a fiat holder's perspective) is a godsend.

This is very good news!

I decided to wait claiming the 55% until it was more clear what would be the status regarding verification.

As I only plan to withdraw coins, I think I should be fine waiting.

They previously said no verification was required to trade. I am concerned about this answer, though:

"Do I need to undergo verification in order to start trading on a new site?" If the balance of the account on the new site is replenished in koin, then no. If in fiat, then yes.

Does that mean that if you don't take the refund now, and you have your fiat balance transferred to the new site, that you must verify?

[Retired]

I see what you mean. It's a hefty price to pay though.

I've come to realize that anything held in an exchange account can evaporate overnight. 55% back (especially from a fiat holder's perspective) is a godsend.

I never keep anything on exchanges for that reason. However trading requires having a minimum balance to avoid missing good opportunities, and I don't blame people for that.

[Retired]

They previously said no verification was required to trade. I am concerned about this answer, though:

"Do I need to undergo verification in order to start trading on a new site?" If the balance of the account on the new site is replenished in koin, then no. If in fiat, then yes.

Does that mean that if you don't take the refund now, and you have your fiat balance transferred to the new site, that you must verify?

I think that's what it means.

[TheMafia2]

Has anyone seen this? Lets hope it's not going to affect this...

https://cointelegraph.com/news/russian-authorities-arrest-three-men-for-large-scale-illegal-bitcoin-sales

[erk]

Has anyone seen this? Lets hope it's not going to affect this...

https://cointelegraph.com/news/russian-authorities-arrest-three-men-for-large-scale-illegal-bitcoin-sales

What's it got to do with BTC-e which was not in Russia?

Or are you just trolling?

[TheMafia2]

What's it got to do with BTC-e which was not in Russia?

Or are you just trolling?

Not trolling.. I thought BTC-E was in Russia / Russia based?? (And the US servers and fund in transit were seized )

[erk]

What's it got to do with BTC-e which was not in Russia?

Or are you just trolling?

Not trolling.. I thought BTC-E was in Russia / Russia based?? (And the US servers and fund in transit were seized )

If BTC-e was in Russia, do you really think the government would have allowed the FBI to seize the servers?
They might as well take Snowden whilst they were at it. Get real!

[TheMafia2]

If BTC-e was in Russia, do you really think the government would have allowed the FBI to seize the servers?
They might as well take Snowden whilst they were at it. Get real!

Where are they based then? Antarctica? And the admins are Aliens?

I thought the people running the show were Russian, and their servers where in the US.

I have also read that they have servers in Russia now or something with the new exchange.

Not sure why the hostility?

[aaron25177]

They previously said no verification was required to trade. I am concerned about this answer, though:

"Do I need to undergo verification in order to start trading on a new site?" If the balance of the account on the new site is replenished in koin, then no. If in fiat, then yes.

Does that mean that if you don't take the refund now, and you have your fiat balance transferred to the new site, that you must verify?

I think that's what it means.

No one will have fiat in new site.  You will have coins and fiat tokens.  The question is whether the fiat token counts as fiat.   I think they are only saying if you deposit or withdrawal fiat, then you will need to be verified.  Still waiting for clarification though

[erk]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XzlWh0w73Kw

Vinnik

[NorrisK]

I see what you mean. It's a hefty price to pay though.

I've come to realize that anything held in an exchange account can evaporate overnight. 55% back (especially from a fiat holder's perspective) is a godsend.

This is very good news!

I decided to wait claiming the 55% until it was more clear what would be the status regarding verification.

As I only plan to withdraw coins, I think I should be fine waiting.

They previously said no verification was required to trade. I am concerned about this answer, though:

"Do I need to undergo verification in order to start trading on a new site?" If the balance of the account on the new site is replenished in koin, then no. If in fiat, then yes.

Does that mean that if you don't take the refund now, and you have your fiat balance transferred to the new site, that you must verify?

Quoting their website:

What do I need a verification for?
If you plan to deposit and withdraw fiat, the verification in required.

Will I have to pass the verification on the new platform to withdraw coins?
No.

[MAbtc]

They previously said no verification was required to trade. I am concerned about this answer, though:

"Do I need to undergo verification in order to start trading on a new site?" If the balance of the account on the new site is replenished in koin, then no. If in fiat, then yes.

Does that mean that if you don't take the refund now, and you have your fiat balance transferred to the new site, that you must verify?

I think that's what it means.

No one will have fiat in new site.  You will have coins and fiat tokens.  The question is whether the fiat token counts as fiat.   I think they are only saying if you deposit or withdrawal fiat, then you will need to be verified.  Still waiting for clarification though

They said there will be no conversions once the new site is launched. That means if you held fiat on BTC-e, that some will be returned as "USD" and some will be returned as "USDET." That's what it looks like from the token tab as well.

It's pretty obvious by now that they intend to offer fiat trading/deposits/withdrawals. My gut says that doesn't seem sustainable, but billions of dollars are laundered every day. So, why not? If they can get some minimal level of fiat processing through whatever shady third party payment processors, perhaps some confidence can return. After all, the BTC-e code economy, I believe, was magnitudes larger than the actual fiat deposit/withdrawal volume of the site. Time will tell.

[BlockChains]

Hey, has anyone received a refund since Sep 6?

[deisik]

What's it got to do with BTC-e which was not in Russia?

Or are you just trolling?

Not trolling.. I thought BTC-E was in Russia / Russia based?? (And the US servers and fund in transit were seized )

If BTC-e was in Russia, do you really think the government would have allowed the FBI to seize the servers?
They might as well take Snowden whilst they were at it. Get real!

I entirely agree with you

Even if they had placed the servers somewhere in Russia, they would have been quickly seized by the Russian FSB itself rather than the FBI. Btc-e owners seem to be from Russia, and now they have to stay in Russia pretty much like Snowden has. If they travel abroad somewhere, they will be caught just like Vinnik was, then extradited to the US soon thereafter, and serve a solid term in an American prison. I don't really know whether it is good or bad that the owners are now sort of "travel banned"

[erk]

I entirely agree with you

Even if they had placed the servers somewhere in Russia, they would have been quickly seized by the Russian FSB itself rather than the FBI. Btc-e owners seem to be from Russia, and now they have to stay in Russia pretty much like Snowden has. If they travel abroad somewhere, they will be caught just like Vinnik was, then extradited to the US soon thereafter, and serve a solid term in an American prison. I don't really know whether it is good or bad that the owners are now sort of "travel banned"

Why would the Russian FSB want to seize BTC-e servers? What crime was committed in Russia?

What makes you think the BTC-e owners live in Russia, do you know who they are?

[squatter]

I entirely agree with you

Even if they had placed the servers somewhere in Russia, they would have been quickly seized by the Russian FSB itself rather than the FBI. Btc-e owners seem to be from Russia, and now they have to stay in Russia pretty much like Snowden has. If they travel abroad somewhere, they will be caught just like Vinnik was, then extradited to the US soon thereafter, and serve a solid term in an American prison. I don't really know whether it is good or bad that the owners are now sort of "travel banned"

Why would the Russian FSB want to seize BTC-e servers? What crime was committed in Russia?

What makes you think the BTC-e owners live in Russia, do you know who they are?

BTC-e is banned in Russia, like most Bitcoin exchanges. Russians cannot access the .com domain, which is why they used the .nz domain. In fact, BTC-e was originally hosted on a .ru domain; they changed to .com (and supposedly moved operations to Bulgaria) when the Russian government targeted them.

Insiders like Penek and several people over the years who have suggested they know the owners' identities from the launching days of the site have suggested they are Russian. (This was in the context of whether Vinnik was an owner and whether the owners ever would have set foot in Greece -- the answer to both questions is no).