The reason why BTC-E users will not get their money back

[hatshepsut93]

Well, we can track BTC-e wallet here: https://www.walletexplorer.com/wallet/BTC-e.com although maybe there are other wallets. As you can see, it wasn't emptied yet, and that would be the first move of anyone who got access to it, because it's possible that there are some other persons out there with access to this wallet (partners of Vinnik, his backup, other trusted persons, etc.).
Same goes for BTC-e ETH wallet: https://etherscan.io/address/0x91337a300e0361bddb2e377dd4e88ccb7796663d
So, there's some chance that all the crypto of BTC-e won't get seized and will be lost forever or will get moved to hands of some new people (other than Vinnik), who might or might not return it to the original owners.
But it shouldn't be hard for the US government to seize fiat funds, especially in USD.

Edit: BTC-e ETH wallet got emptied: https://etherscan.io/tx/0xa7e60cc4b56c81dc148e6b3a025cad949828dfb6b36801e5a6b42a9a94f5e33a

[giveen]

This is surely a drawback for bitcoin and another reason why many experts keep telling people no to store their funds on exchanges , getting hacked is a different thing but now we see a new trend of exchanges stealing their own users money. Yobit also has many scam accusations against not saying they can do the same thing btc-e did but beware users please don't store your funds on exchanges amd try to avoid trading on sites with poor support like yobit.

[vtrx]

Well, we can track BTC-e wallet here: https://www.walletexplorer.com/wallet/BTC-e.com although maybe there are other wallets. As you can see, it wasn't emptied yet, and that would be the first move of anyone who got access to it, because it's possible that there are some other persons out there with access to this wallet (partners of Vinnik, his backup, other trusted persons, etc.).
Same goes for BTC-e ETH wallet: https://etherscan.io/address/0x91337a300e0361bddb2e377dd4e88ccb7796663d
So, there's some chance that all the crypto of BTC-e won't get seized and will be lost forever or will get moved to hands of some new people (other than Vinnik), who might or might not return it to the original owners.
But it shouldn't be hard for the US government to seize fiat funds, especially in USD.

As of now the most recent transaction shows ETH Balance:   485,705.46805023 Ether ( USD Value: $97,369,375.18 (@ $200.47/ETH)) has been MOVED to another wallet 7 hours ago from btc-e ether wallet so ....((

[starsta]

Hello,
I can't believe this has happened... I had US$80,000 on that exchange, I didn't know it was dodgy but very angry with myself now for not doing more research. I had just sold my 30 BTC, was planning to buy cheaper then the site closed. I'm so stressed out, I feel like my heart is about to have an attack... I'm a mum with 2 young kids, don't earn much I was going to buy a house with this bitcoin money can't believe this.....
If anybody knows anyone that can help to get money back please contact me, I literally feel sick and am very very upset.
S

[joshy23]

Hello,
I can't believe this has happened... I had US$80,000 on that exchange, I didn't know it was dodgy but very angry with myself now for not doing more research. I had just sold my 30 BTC, was planning to buy cheaper then the site closed. I'm so stressed out, I feel like my heart is about to have an attack... I'm a mum with 2 young kids, don't earn much I was going to buy a house with this bitcoin money can't believe this.....
If anybody knows anyone that can help to get money back please contact me, I literally feel sick and am very very upset.
S

I'm sorry to hear that dude. That is a lot of money just sitting in an exchange. Looks like this is your life sayings. Maybe you want to follow this thread:

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1934630.0

The guy has like $25000 in BTC-e and he said that he is hiring a lawyer to help him recover his funds. Goodluck.

[aardvark15]

BTC-E users like me are last in priority line.

That's where a main part of our money will go to:
https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndca/pr/russian-national-and-bitcoin-exchange-charged-21-count-indictment-operating-alleged

Next on the line are the MtGox victims.

I guess after USGov got paid, there won't be a Satoshi left for the rest.


edit: They are not coming back in 5 - 10 days, either. Admins will be trying to run as fast as they can.

I had some bitcoins and litecoins on btc-e a few years ago. I'm glad I moved them off. I now use poloniex and so far so good but you never know with these exchanges. The best thing is to put most of your coins off an exchange for safe keeping. Only use exchanges for active trading and be aware of complaints about any exchange.

[Smarty14392]

Many people have not used their real identities for creating accounts. I dont think bitcoin will just run away with all the money. Some people have invested lacs of ruppes in bitcoins and still trust in bitcoin including me. I trust a lot in bitcoin. Bitcoin is my faith. Its sad to read such news but according to me, bitcoin will not give huge losses.

[AGD]

Hello,
I can't believe this has happened... I had US$80,000 on that exchange, I didn't know it was dodgy but very angry with myself now for not doing more research. I had just sold my 30 BTC, was planning to buy cheaper then the site closed. I'm so stressed out, I feel like my heart is about to have an attack... I'm a mum with 2 young kids, don't earn much I was going to buy a house with this bitcoin money can't believe this.....
If anybody knows anyone that can help to get money back please contact me, I literally feel sick and am very very upset.
S

Your money is gone and every PM regarding help to get your money back is a scam.

[traderethereum]

its sadly when i heard that btc-e has got problem and user can not get their money back. one market is down forever without giving compensation for the members. i only hope that in future, there will be no other market that can not give protection for the members but i know its impossible because we work in online so we can not do anything but maybe we can hire laywer like what others said and maybe we can solve our problem with the exchange.

[lonelygrimm]

that's why i never want to keep my money so long in exchange site, it's so risky, we never know what will happens next hour, hacking can be happen anytime. But for this case, i think it's 100% BTC-E their own fault, they should be ready for this.

[cryptomole]

Hello,
I can't believe this has happened... I had US$80,000 on that exchange, I didn't know it was dodgy but very angry with myself now for not doing more research. I had just sold my 30 BTC, was planning to buy cheaper then the site closed. I'm so stressed out, I feel like my heart is about to have an attack... I'm a mum with 2 young kids, don't earn much I was going to buy a house with this bitcoin money can't believe this.....
If anybody knows anyone that can help to get money back please contact me, I literally feel sick and am very very upset.
S

I am in exactly the same position as you!
All our savings for our sons education and future were there too.
I like you had traded back to fiat in anticipation of a dip which I was expecting.
I was going to buy back at the bottom and then move everything to cold storage!
I didnt know that there was anything dodgy with the exchange and the anonimity thing never occurred to me. I funded my wallet through my bank and had provided all the ID documents required. I didnt feel any need to hide my identity and was only doing ligitimate trades!
I completely empathise with you

[ValentinaValia]

A guy managed to withdraw his money before blocking BTC-e. if anyone interested: https://en.crimerussia.com/gromkie-dela/founders-of-btc-e-bitcoin-exchange-allegedly-linked-with-russian-hacker-vinnik-will-return-money-to-/

[Fatunad]

This is surely a drawback for bitcoin and another reason why many experts keep telling people no to store their funds on exchanges , getting hacked is a different thing but now we see a new trend of exchanges stealing their own users money. Yobit also has many scam accusations against not saying they can do the same thing btc-e did but beware users please don't store your funds on exchanges amd try to avoid trading on sites with poor support like yobit.

When it comes on bad experience i would really hands down on yobit exchange. Many unforgetable moments on there regarding on their service which do really suck. Bad support, usually experience downtimes, problems on their withdrawals and deposits and their shady/rigged dice games and Even those ICOs been broadcast. Storing funds on exchanges is not really a wise thing to do.

[R2Pleasent]

Couple notes:

1) The remaining staff / admins / owners of BTC-e are surely located in countries with no extradition laws to the USA.  Considering the Russian roots of the site, they're likely in Russia.  They know they will never be able to travel to countries which allow extradition to the USA.  They will also likely avoid airlines from countries with extradition laws to the USA.  Ultimately, these guys probably already did that before, because I'm sure they are well aware of what happened with Liberty Reserve.

2) If they can bring their service online from Russia, without leaving it vulnerable to another takedown, they will.  BTC-e is a brand name in the Bitcoin exchange game.  Their access to USD may be severely limited, but guess what, so is Bitfinex.  They literally can't send or receive wires, and they are still operating a Bitcoin exchange with considerable volume.  BTC-e will need to find a way to host the service, provide some sort of fiat integration (Perfect Money, OKPay, etc.)  Just something that lets their users kick the can down the road essentially.  I'm sure they'll figure something out.  Worst case scenario they use Tether.

3) There is no "greater danger" to them by continuing to run the exchange.  They already know the danger.  Enter US soil, or US extradition-friendly soil, and they're fucked.  They have targets on their back regardless of whether the exchange ever opens again.  So, opening and continuing the exchange actually creates no added risk to them.  The main risks and challenges on reopening the exchange will be that other companies will not want to do business with them.  Other companies will not want to take the risk of dealing with BTC-e.

4) The owners / admins have been running this exchange for 6+ years.  This is their life.  It's what gives them purpose and their identity.  It's not easy to just walk away from such a situation.  And to walk away defeated like they are right now, and ruin their own reputation, may not be worth the money they gain from such a thing.  If they believe they can reopen the exchange, even though it may eat into their capital at the beginning, they know longer term the profitability of running their business.  Realistically, when you run a Bitcoin exchange you can find many ways to make money.  You have control over a significant portion of the crypto eco-system.  A few insider trades a month, or integrating a new ICO on your exchange for some kickbacks, and you've made a mint.  Money shouldn't really be a problem for these guys if they reopen the exchange, even if the FBI seized a lot of funds.  It may not be super ethical, but what do people expect?

5) If the owners / admins do not want to reopen BTC-e for whatever reason, then I don't see them reimbursing anybody.  At that point, these crypto cowboys will just take whatever funds remain and fade into the abyss.  They will certainly have enough funds stored away on cold wallets / personal wallets to live a life of luxury, albeit constrained to a limited area in the globe.  At that point we should point out their lack of honesty, acknowledge that they have stolen our funds, and move on with our lives. 

In conclusion, I think there is a good chance BTC-e reopens with customer deposits intact.  There's a variety of ways they could socialize losses or lock in balances while regaining enough funds to repay customers.  It will come down to these people personally.  Do they have the drive to reopen the exchange?  If they do, then they can.  And it would regain popularity, just as Bitfinex did after their fiasco in 2016.

[pushups44]

Hello,
I can't believe this has happened... I had US$80,000 on that exchange, I didn't know it was dodgy but very angry with myself now for not doing more research. I had just sold my 30 BTC, was planning to buy cheaper then the site closed. I'm so stressed out, I feel like my heart is about to have an attack... I'm a mum with 2 young kids, don't earn much I was going to buy a house with this bitcoin money can't believe this.....
If anybody knows anyone that can help to get money back please contact me, I literally feel sick and am very very upset.
S

Hopefully you will get your money back. We will wait and see how this unfolds. In the meantime, to all readers: take your coins out of the exchanges ASAP. Don't leave them in. You've been warned again and again.

[dunfida]

This is why I don't really trust any exchanges because anytime they will shut its door leaving all the investor or users on its platforms behind without a single cent to their money which are being store on it. Its really sad to know for those people who are victimized again on this matter. They should really consider those coins as lost because owners will definitely do the best as they can to secure those bitcoin or money.

Many people have said that not 100% safe trading in some exchangers. Even a bad idea if you last too long your money there. Because we do not know what will happen in that exchanger in the future. This case can be taken as an example.

use shady exchanges and expect shady outcomes.

or:

Only play with money that you can afford to lose

or:

Don't put all your eggs in one basket.

 

If you put all of your eggs in one basket then it suddenly fall down then you will really end up crying for sure that's why its not really a wise move on securing funds or putting on one exchange because the risk is really been always there. If you do lose it all in a flash then recovery would really takes time compared on having some back up plans on other sources since you still have funds left would really help you out to stand up again inspite of loss.

[Gleb Gamow]

I am probably going to loose 450 bucks or so.
I learned not to keep large balances in any exchange.
BTC-E has been very very good to me, and I will gladly let them HAVE that 450 bucks, if they will ask, otherwise, if I loose it, then so what?
Thanks BTC-E, you have been appreciated, greatly.
You have my support, although I think your lawyers have a great argument for you.

Cryptsy, if you take todays figures, would owe me millions. At the very least hundreds of thousands.
They took me for 4 G's, in may forms of coins, and may every bird that lives, shit on their heads, collectively.
I hope they are buried in jail and by jail time.

Looks like the Texan has returned from the grave: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1286823.0

[CraigWrightBTC]

The other reason base on my opinions are the money on BTC-e was gone even it is still available will not be paid to BTC-e users
because the bitcoins and all of the funds will be confiscated by the police,
That is why many people who said that never put the funds for long time on the exchangers and always making investment with the amount of funds that can be accepted to losing the money.

[JamesNoJosh]

$10,000 REWARD AND BOUNTY OUT

https://steemit.com/bitcoin/@thejamesfund/usd10-000-reward-bounty-or-split-among-individual-s-in-helping-me-blasting-btc-e-aka-wex-nz-info-below

[AGD]

Btc-e is a scam.They took 12 btcs from me in 2014 and i requested them to return the btc but they wont.They hacked me to get my living address and banking details and harassed me for 4 years and they are still harassing me.After taking all my money they told me they could hack my bank account and take all my money from my bank account as well as they have my bank details and they hacked my phone and all the apps on my phone as well. Btc-e intercepted my emails ,phone conversations and invaded my privacy.Do you know how shameless they are?
After a few years after taking all my coins ,they sent me emails to cheat me to invest in some ico that they participated in. When I reported btc-e to the police, they sent me death threats and harassed me near my place.Btc-e is set up by the NSA to track people using bitcoins.This is because bitcoin is a NSA project.Once you use Btc-e you will be under surveillance by the NSA forever.

Wait... Bitcoin is a NSA project and they need to use a russian bulgarian exchange to track users??? Makes no sense, but hey... thinking is free