[2017-07-29] btc-e domain seizure by us law enforcement sparks jurisdiction...

[Slow death]

btc-e domain seizure by us law enforcement sparks jurisdiction questions


On July 28, 2017, the bitcoin-exchange BTC-e domain was seized by six U.S. law enforcement agencies including the Secret Service. Many international bitcoin proponents are questioning why the U.S. is claiming jurisdiction over an exchange registered in another country.

BTC-e Domain Seized by U.S. Law Enforcement 

Last week we reported on the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) charges against the alleged operator of the exchange BTC-e, Alexander Vinnik. The agency has charged Vinnik with nineteen counts of illegal money transmission and money laundering. According to the indictment Vinnik and the bitcoin trading platform, BTC-e helped launder over $4B in illicit funds since 2011. Since Vinnik’s arrest, the website BTC-e has had an “Under Maintenance” static page showing up when visiting the trading platform’s domain.

Bitcoiners worldwide wondered what would happen to the exchange that stopped operating a few days before Vinnik’s detention. According to the DOJ charges, the trading platform faces a fine of $110M, but no one was sure if the site was officially closed. Now visitors of the website see a seizure notice when visiting the domain. The site says the seizure is pursuant to its warrant and was issued by U.S. Homeland Security, the DOJ, the Treasury, the Inspector General, and the nation’s Secret Service.

‘So did I just get robbed by the US Government?’

Of course, much of the discussion from bitcoiners across forums and social media was about the U.S. and its jurisdiction over this exchange. Like many other alleged crimes in the past with well-known characters like Kim Dotcom, the U.S. seems to think it can charge any person or organization even though they never operated on U.S. soil. For instance, Alexander Vinnik was a Russian native who spent time in Cyprus but never lived or operated in the U.S. Secondly, the website BTC-e is registered in New Zealand alongside the platform’s shell company Canton Business Corporation. 

Another topic people have been discussing is the amount of funds left on BTC-e by customers who are completely innocent of any wrong doings. At the moment no one knows how much bitcoin was left on the exchange, but already people are complaining about losses on forums. Some of these customers are not from the U.S. and think it’s outrageous the country is acting like the world’s police once again. One bitcoiner explains his frustrations with the U.S. stepping in and closing BTC-e down;

https://news.bitcoin.com/btc-e-domain-seizure-by-u-s-law-enforcement-sparks-jurisdiction-questions/

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[Lutpin]

Where's the trolls telling us it would come back now?
What about the trollbox mod who had direct contact and assured everyone it would be running again in a few weeks.

[Siren]

Where's the trolls telling us it would come back now?
What about the trollbox mod who had direct contact and assured everyone it would be running again in a few weeks.

LOL. I don't think that BTC-e would come back online again. That is for sure. And the trolls? They would re surface again complaining about how US is meddling with the issue, etc...

Just hoping that they can finally piece the puzzle together and caught the hacker who took funds from Mt. Gox and invested, deposited it to BTC-e. So this drama has just began.

[1Referee]

This was something I definitely wouldn't want to see become reality, but it unfortunately did. Result is that thieves (US government) steal from other thieves (BTC-E), and thus the fair and square traders are trying to get rid of the bad taste in their mouth due to the losses they suffered. People are getting sick and tired of the US government acting as a world wide law enforcer. Obviously, the wrong is still with the main figure(s) running BTC-E since they are ruthless thieves (if they really end up being responsible for the MtGox hack).

What about the trollbox mod who had direct contact and assured everyone it would be running again in a few weeks.

The main BTC-E forum account and their official twitter account were also acting like everything was just fine, perhaps due to the fact that they are nothing more than muppets, and not entities with any role of significance.

[Slow death]

Result is that thieves (US government) steal from other thieves (BTC-E)...

I only had cents (satoshi) in btc-e because i withdraw all my bitcoins a few months ago, i remember that at the time btc-e answered me very well

When i withdraw my bitcoins from btc-e it was because i read comments of big scammers in a forum where they said they steal bitcoins and then transferred to btc-e and localbitcoin

Afraid at the time i decided to withdraw my bitcoins from btc-e

It is not fair that the US government does not return bitcoin from the people, those people who have their funds in the btc-e are not guilty.

[1Referee]

Afraid at the time i decided to withdraw my bitcoins from btc-e

You did the right thing by taking out your coins immediately after you somewhat lost confidence in BTC-E. I wish I did the same, but I unfortunately kept my coins at that exchange no matter what - turns out to be a horrible decision. My loss could have been worse as I was planning to deposit even more Bitcoins, but something (not sure what, but I am extremely happy looking back now) held me back. In that regard my losses aren't as severe as they potentially could have been.

It is not fair that the US government does not return bitcoin from the people, those people who have their funds in the btc-e are not guilty.

That indeed is very frustrating. I think they look at BTC-E in the exact same way as they look at the deep web markets that have been taken down recently. In other words, according to them BTC-E is a service infested with thieves, scammers, drug dealers, terrorists, etc. More than $1 billion in user funds are now officially in the hands of the US government. These funds will get auctioned off in batches, similar to how previous coin auctions have been. This isn't justice, but pure theft committed by the US government - the ruler of the world.

[Netnox]

Result is that thieves (US government) steal from other thieves (BTC-E)

In the end, it is the ordinary user who is going to suffer. I didn't had any BTC in my account, but I was having around 10 LTC, which were worth close to $450. All of that is now gone, thanks to the Americans playing world police.

[richardsNY]

In the end, it is the ordinary user who is going to suffer. I didn't had any BTC in my account, but I was having around 10 LTC, which were worth close to $450. All of that is now gone, thanks to the Americans playing world police.

Yep that's the hard reality -- here another victim that had to swallow a hefty loss of 1 BTC. I completely gave up all hope on getting anything back since the authorities don't seem to make a difference between legit users and criminals that should be punished for whatever they have done. It's almost like blind rage. I feel really sorry for all people, but especially the market movers that have lost millions in crypto and fiat.

[Prem.Soorajpaul]

In the end, it is the ordinary user who is going to suffer. I didn't had any BTC in my account, but I was having around 10 LTC, which were worth close to $450. All of that is now gone, thanks to the Americans playing world police.

Yep that's the hard reality -- here another victim that had to swallow a hefty loss of 1 BTC. I completely gave up all hope on getting anything back since the authorities don't seem to make a difference between legit users and criminals that should be punished for whatever they have done. It's almost like blind rage. I feel really sorry for all people, but especially the market movers that have lost millions in crypto and fiat.

You should better forget your holdings and move on. If you are lucky, then you may get some compensation after 4-5 years. Look at what happened to all those people who lost their coins in Mt Gox.

[ToxicDartFrog]

Look at what happened to all those people who lost their coins in Mt Gox.

Except Mt Gox was hacked and the coins no longer were available to be returned. This is a rather different situation where (assuming the US gov now owns the coins) the feds are openly stealing from innocent people in broad daylight. Something doesn't add up with that and is why I think there's still a good chance once everything is 'audited' the legit users will get their funds back. Of course if BTC-e is now pushed into exit scamming then who knows.

The silence and lack of information is killing me though. At least with Mt Gox it was clear the funds were stolen.

[KornShell]

This not only hurts; it is sad.  I had an account at BTC-e for over four years and never had a problem with them.  They were fast, efficient, accurate and gave excellent customer service.  I have over five BTC, some 40 ETH and some 60 LTC at stake.  That's roughly $25,000 USD.  As a retiree living abroad on a fixed income, this is a devastating blow to me.  But here's a thought: suppose I had an account at, say, BofA, and a senior executive was indicted for money laundering.  Do you think that the US DOJ would freeze all accounts because of this ?  Of course not.  There would be riots in the streets, and people hung from lamp posts.  But the US DOJ thinks it can get away with this when dealing with a little foreign guy who can't fight back.  Make no mistake.  This is a declaration of war by the US gov't on cryptocurrencies.  Governments have been managing money for 4000 years, and they have never failed to grossly mishandle their charge.  We bitcoiners want to take our money back.  And witness their response.

[Shtamm_oval]

Look at what happened to all those people who lost their coins in Mt Gox.

Except Mt Gox was hacked and the coins no longer were available to be returned. This is a rather different situation where (assuming the US gov now owns the coins) the feds are openly stealing from innocent people in broad daylight. Something doesn't add up with that and is why I think there's still a good chance once everything is 'audited' the legit users will get their funds back. Of course if BTC-e is now pushed into exit scamming then who knows.

The silence and lack of information is killing me though. At least with Mt Gox it was clear the funds were stolen.

I, like many users, very much hope that the situation with this exchange will clear up. I'm very sorry that such authoritative services can not ensure the reliability of storing coins.
Yet it seems to me that there is still hope for a good end to the situation for users