WEX.nz

[neotes]

So apparently, to verify with Wex, you cannot reside or be a U.S. citizen.  That means anyone who is in the U.S. will not be able to verify, and thus locked out of their accounts?   =/

I am in the same situation since I am a US citizen. Wex has blocked my account which, originally was with BTCe. I requested Wex to return the funds in my account since I cannot maintain an account in the future under their new requirements for US citizens.

Wex made arrangements to take over the former BTCe client accounts.
Each client asset account has a corresponding custodial liability that they assumed along with the assets. From a legal standpoint, Wex is acting as a custodian for their clients’ funds. As such,  they have a legal liability to return funds to the client upon request. If Wex refuses to return client’s funds, I would deem it to be an act of fraud and theft. Wex is not the legal owner of said funds, and therefore, has no legal right to keep those funds for their own account.

They are using the excuse that the account is blocked if the client is a US citizen. If the account is blocked, then the client cannot access the account and process a withdrawal or any other type of transaction.
The reality is that it is not necessary for the client to actually process the withdrawal. All the client should need to do is make a request for withdrawal to the Wex exchange.  The Wex administrators have the ability to access all accounts and process any clients withdrawal request, regardless if they are a US citizen or not. If necessary, Wex can get pre-approval  from the appropriate regulators.

I believe there should be coordinated effort to submit complaints to a governmental/regulatory agency.
Does anyone have suggestions what agencies to submit complaints to?

I'm in no way endorsing WEX, and really sorry for what you are coming through, but you have to take some things into consideration.

From legal standpoint WEX is not BTC-e and even though they obtained BTC-e's digital assets (database and cold wallet) they did not took liabilities of BTC-e. Restoring btc associated with previous BTC-e accounts was done out of their good will (i.e. WEX wanted to continue being exchange, so they figured they will pay back to some of their users instead of just leaving with tons of BTC that will be really painful to cash). Basically this means that you are in a limbo - all obligations to store your property (afaik BTCs are considered a property, not funds in US) was taken by BTC-e and FBI siezed their assets (so legally speaking your property now is in FBI posession even though it is in form of encrypted and probably long time emptied cold wallet key). Meanwhile WEX denies (and probably will continue to deny) any responsibility even though they took over after BTC-e's demise.

Thank you for your reply. However, I think you made some assumptions that are contrary to  basic legal principles for Wex’s takeover of the BTCe Exchange.
And, your statements that WEX did not obtain any Client Funds and that they have no liability for Client accounts is also contrary to WEX’s posted Update 5 on August 9,2017 and Update 6 on August 14,2017.
 
I agree, WEX is not BTCe. They apparently agreed to take over certain assets “OWNED” by BTCe, such as business operations, goodwill, computer related assets, etc. I would guess WEX did not assume any of BTCe’s “General” Liabilities which would include obligations to pay Loans, and Accounts Payable for goods and services purchased, etc. etc.
 
However, they did take over Custody of Client Assets. A custodial account is an asset of the Owner of the account, it is not owned by the Exchange (Wex nor BTCe). As such, the Exchange holds the asset for the Owner and has a liability to the Owner by “Legal Definition” of it being held in “Custody”. BTCe could only sell or transfer the business operations (Goodwill, Computer related assets, etc.) to Wex ,it could not sell the Client’s Assets since BTCe did not own the Client Assets. Wex stepped in the shoes of being a Custodian and thus has a corresponding Liability to the Client Owner. You can’t be a Custodian of an asset without also having a liability to the Owner of the asset. It’s a basic Legal Principle.
 
With regards to your comment that the FBI is in possession of my asset, that is not correct (See WEX update statements below). True, that the FBI confiscated a certain amount of assets and assessed a Fine to be paid from the confiscated assets. And if the FBI took and retained 100% of the assets, then WEX would not have offered to pay 55% of a Clients account that could be withdrawn by the Client Plus tokens equal to 45%,thus acknowledging 100% (55% +45%) liability to Client’s. If WEX did not receive any of the Client assets they would have offered ZERO to the Clients since there would be no assets to back up the accounts. Therefore, if WEX received 55% of a Clients account Funds they have a liability to that Client for that amount. 
See extract of WEX’s August 9 & 14,2017 updates 5 & 6 below where they confirm they received 55% of the Clients Funds and Clients will have opportunity to withdraw the 55% in Funds:
Per WEX update #5 .......“Last 14 days we were engaged in struggle for your means, it was possible to gain control over 55% of funds, the remaining 45% are arrested funds, the most part in fiat.“
Per WEX update #5 .......“Upon all recalculations, all users will have the opportunity to withdraw 55% of their funds from the system”.
Per WEX update #6........ “For each currency, a recalculation will be made, for each individual account available assets.
At the moment 55% of funds are available, so 55% will be returned for all currencies, and 45% will be converted to currency in tokens.”
 
See WEX’s August 9, 2017 update #5 below, where they state 45% of the funds are  ”arrested”, meaning 45% is used to pay the fine and WEX will credit the Client with the 45% shortage to make them whole at 100% with “Tokens” (55% in Funds + 45% in Tokens):
Per WEX update #5  ........“If you have a balance in BTE, then you will be credited with 45% in Tokens”
 Accordingly, WEX has confirmed they received and are in control of 55% of the Clients Funds. And, they have confirmed they have a liability to the Clients for 55% in Funds and 45% in Tokens.
I trust this clarification is helpful.

[1714182903]

1714182903

[Admired]

I am not sure what they mean by percentage redeemed, does that mean taken out of circulation by WEX buying them back at market not 1:1 ?

They used the significantly lower rates of the debt tokens to buy them back on the market, and thus lower their active debt without paying the full 1:1 price. In other words, people who put their coins in the market, will never get 1:1 as WEX will buy these debt tokens at current rates. You will only get paid the full 1:1 ratio (if ever) if you patiently keep them in your account. It was to be expected, and honestly, you can't blame them for buying back their debt at far lower rates. All tokens move below the 0.6 level, and some even below 0.5 currently.

Do you have to be verified in order to obtain the 1:1 token payback? As WEX buys back more and more tokens will the ratio get closer and closer to 1 rather than .5 what is is now?

[raptorred81]

Is it possible to use WEX.nz to retrieve your BTC-e coins if you are in the US? I clicked a "BTC-e refund" link and ended up at WEX but despite recognizing my account they needed me to verify yet wouldn't let me select the US (which is described in their User Agreement).  Are there any remaining options to access BTC-e accounts in the US?

[perrolococz]

 Hi, Wex should be clerarer about the whole token situation..

 Is anyone from Wex here? Can they answer these questions I have, because their statements so far have been so vague in the wording that they can be interpreted in many ways..

https://wex.nz/news/4

"The WEX token is a contract between us and users, according to which we are obliged to buy out the WEX tokens during a certain interval of time (2 years). In this case from the legal point of view it is the creditor’s right (right of the user) to get a compensation / payment for tokens and also to trade it."


 So does this mean that basically WEX is obligated to buy the tokens in the interval of 2 years BUT if we (the creditors) don't sell those tokens in those 2 years then we are screwed and we get nothing?

 From what I understand is it means basically that after 2 years (say the deadline is november 3rd 2019, 2 years after this post) if we haven't sold our tokens they will automatically be bought at the market value instead of the 1:1 ratio?

"In the first stage, tokens are redeemed from the market at regular intervals (daily, weekly, monthly). This stage has already been launched and changes can be seen online by the percentage of redeemed tokens."


 Does this mean they will be randomly paying users using the current rate without their consent? e.g. BTCET/BTC right now is at 0.483?


"At the second stage, tokens will be bought out 1 to 1 from user balances. The time of the launch of this stage has not yet been determined."

 So I'm guessing 1 to 1 means that in the second stage the tokens will be bought 1:1 ratio?


 What I don't understand is, if this were the case then wouldn't you expect the tokens to be way above .50? I mean if they are in fact promising 1:1 ratio compensation in the near future (2 years) I would think people would be buying Tokens e.g. BTCET/BTC since you would be basically doubling.. Unless I got something wrong?

 Or maybe the userbase just doesn't believe on their promise of 1:1 ratio change in 2 years??

 Please can someone clarify this?? Thanks in advance.

[Puff Pastry Hangman]

Did everyone else whose BTC/LTC disappeared after verification get it back?

[x4m4x]

Hello dear guys,

I'm a newbie user in wex and i want to starting trading in wex trading market. however, i'm from Iran, Islamic republic and i live here. but wex have not region of iran for verify my account.Now If i want to deposit my funds to wex and starting to trade without account verification,Will I be having trouble in the future?

best wishes

[Maurice Strong]

Hello dear guys,

I'm a newbie user in wex and i want to starting trading in wex trading market. however, i'm from Iran, Islamic republic and i live here. but wex have not region of iran for verify my account.Now If i want to deposit my funds to wex and starting to trade without account verification,Will I be having trouble in the future?

best wishes

Run from Wex. They have been given the central bank directive to steal your money, when they can. Plus, Iran doesn't yet have a private central bank, which is why it is considered a "threat." I doubt that any crypto exchange will want to deal with you, given the high probability that most of the crappy little crypto exchanges that exist were created by central banks to ultimately get you excited about a fully tracked and cashless society, while ensuring you also don't get wealthy from it, either.

[jakefrey]

I'd like to add my voice to those who are seemingly getting ripped off by wex. I'm a US citizen and I was in locked out status at the time of the fed raid. I tried to get myself verified per wex requirement in order to access my account but the US isn't listed as an option. So wex took 55% of my coins and now claims that they can't refund or credit because of legal issues. This claim would sound legitimate if they would be more transparent about it, as in: We can't allow you to withdraw your coins but you can see your account and as soon we can figure out how to get you back your funds. we will reimburse you.

Just telling US citizens, Too bad. Or worse, just ignoring us completely is not defensible.

I specifically wrote "seemingly getting ripped off" because I'm still holding out hope that they will do the right thing as soon as they can get themselves stabilized.

[jakefrey]

I'm a US citizen, and my account was suspended for inactivity prior to the raid. I'm unable to get myself verified because your process for verification does not include the US as an option for "country". What are your intentions for users like me? I understand if it will take time to get everything squared away, but at least a statement with your intentions for these account would go along way to help restore faith in your exchange even if you can't do business with the US for now. A quick search of the forums will show that i'm not the only one with the issue.
How do you think non US users of wex feel about your legitimacy if you just keep for yourself all us citizen account holdings?

Thanks

[BitHodler]

WEX definitely needs to do a better job when it comes to sorting things out properly, but they are known to act vague and from time to times quite shady, so it shouldn't really be a surprise at the end.

If the funds that are stuck in your account are worthwhile, and then I am referring to a value of minimum $1000 in funds (could be fiat or crypto), then you might look for someone from another country to verify for you.

It's an extreme last resort solution if you're desperately looking to get your funds back, but it's the only option that makes sense to a certain extent. If even that's not possible, you can officially kiss your funds goodbye.

[JamesNoJosh]

I'm a US citizen, and my account was suspended for inactivity prior to the raid. I'm unable to get myself verified because your process for verification does not include the US as an option for "country". What are your intentions for users like me? I understand if it will take time to get everything squared away, but at least a statement with your intentions for these account would go along way to help restore faith in your exchange even if you can't do business with the US for now. A quick search of the forums will show that i'm not the only one with the issue.
How do you think non US users of wex feel about your legitimacy if you just keep for yourself all us citizen account holdings?

Thanks

There alot of us that got screwed, my account is still locked and have been since July 2017

[Metsadah]

I'm very happy to have my deposited ETH back.

I made a transfer from Bitstamp to WEX.NZ (I like the simple UI ), but WEX didnt support smart contracts, so my ETH never showed. Asked for support (made a ticket on kayako via their website, made a post here and asked in their telegram app). Got response on this website and in the app, and finally as well in the ticket and its fixed.

Within 24 hours. So for me personally great support for a smaller issue.

Happy trading!

[mymenace]

I'm very happy to have my deposited ETH back.

I made a transfer from Bitstamp to WEX.NZ (I like the simple UI ), but WEX didnt support smart contracts, so my ETH never showed. Asked for support (made a ticket on kayako via their website, made a post here and asked in their telegram app). Got response on this website and in the app, and finally as well in the ticket and its fixed.

Within 24 hours. So for me personally great support for a smaller issue.

Happy trading!

thats great news, I have been using Wex(btc-e) for 4 years and never had a problem until the US gov showed up.

[jakefrey]

WEX definitely needs to do a better job when it comes to sorting things out properly, but they are known to act vague and from time to times quite shady, so it shouldn't really be a surprise at the end.

If the funds that are stuck in your account are worthwhile, and then I am referring to a value of minimum $1000 in funds (could be fiat or crypto), then you might look for someone from another country to verify for you.

It's an extreme last resort solution if you're desperately looking to get your funds back, but it's the only option that makes sense to a certain extent. If even that's not possible, you can officially kiss your funds goodbye.

Part of the verification process is giving them a copy of your license or passport. I would need to find someone with my name in another country. not to mention, they also want a picture of said person holding their ID card plus utility bill. Bottom line, I'm not finding this special someone so fast. Lastly, holdings are definitely over 1000$.

thanks

[jakefrey]

For those interested in helping, here are the requirements for verification on wex:

"A photograph or a scanned copy of one of the following documents: a passport, a foreign passport or ID card. This is necessary to verify your identity.
A photograph or a scanned copy of one of the listed documents: bank statements, utility bills, tax documents, a document confirming your residence permit issued by local authorities, court documents or documents issued by the state or other competent authorities. Since these documents are needed to confirm the actual residence, the address of your actual residence must be indicated on them.
Photo of yourself (selfie) with a passport / ID card in hand. (bold in the original)
Documents with duplication of basic information in English take precedence over national documents.

File requirements:

Images should be coloured, should not be edited (trimming, photo filters, etc.), there should be no light spots, glare, shadows and other artefacts.
File size - no more than 2 MB, extension -.jpg, .png.
The quality of the images should be very good - you and the photo documents should be clearly visible, and the text - easily readable. (my italics) Recommended resolution starts at 300 dpi."

[marky89]

I'm very happy to have my deposited ETH back.

I made a transfer from Bitstamp to WEX.NZ (I like the simple UI ), but WEX didnt support smart contracts, so my ETH never showed. Asked for support (made a ticket on kayako via their website, made a post here and asked in their telegram app). Got response on this website and in the app, and finally as well in the ticket and its fixed.

Within 24 hours. So for me personally great support for a smaller issue.

Happy trading!

thats great news, I have been using Wex(btc-e) for 4 years and never had a problem until the US gov showed up.

Same here. BTC-e was always the most reliable exchange in a sea of unreliable APIs and broken trade engines. I used it since 2012 and I miss it a lot. Even though I lost a lot taking the 55% refund option, I'm sometimes tempted to come back to WEX.

But I'm still upset that they waited until the very last moment to say that verification would not be required to trade on the new platform (WEX). They were vaguely threatening KYC requirements for days until I finally said "screw it" and took the refund. I couldn't risk KYC as a US customer.

Part of the verification process is giving them a copy of your license or passport. I would need to find someone with my name in another country. not to mention, they also want a picture of said person holding their ID card plus utility bill. Bottom line, I'm not finding this special someone so fast. Lastly, holdings are definitely over 1000$.

thanks

Here's what I don't understand: When WEX launched, they said that all previous verification data had been "destroyed." Why is there a name associated with your account? Was it carried over from BTC-e or did you provide it in an attempt to verify?

[lilacsforall]

I am a US citizen in the same situation with Wex. These guys have been completely unresponsive knowing I'm in the US. The BTC-E guys had a tough break with the FBI raid but these new guys in Singapore have flat out stolen my money. Account locked, no method to verify and no response to tickets.

[jakefrey]

I'm very happy to have my deposited ETH back.

I made a transfer from Bitstamp to WEX.NZ (I like the simple UI ), but WEX didnt support smart contracts, so my ETH never showed. Asked for support (made a ticket on kayako via their website, made a post here and asked in their telegram app). Got response on this website and in the app, and finally as well in the ticket and its fixed.

Within 24 hours. So for me personally great support for a smaller issue.

Happy trading!

thats great news, I have been using Wex(btc-e) for 4 years and never had a problem until the US gov showed up.

Same here. BTC-e was always the most reliable exchange in a sea of unreliable APIs and broken trade engines. I used it since 2012 and I miss it a lot. Even though I lost a lot taking the 55% refund option, I'm sometimes tempted to come back to WEX.

But I'm still upset that they waited until the very last moment to say that verification would not be required to trade on the new platform (WEX). They were vaguely threatening KYC requirements for days until I finally said "screw it" and took the refund. I couldn't risk KYC as a US customer.

Part of the verification process is giving them a copy of your license or passport. I would need to find someone with my name in another country. not to mention, they also want a picture of said person holding their ID card plus utility bill. Bottom line, I'm not finding this special someone so fast. Lastly, holdings are definitely over 1000$.

thanks

Here's what I don't understand: When WEX launched, they said that all previous verification data had been "destroyed." Why is there a name associated with your account? Was it carried over from BTC-e or did you provide it in an attempt to verify?

I actually was unaware of them saying that their previous verification data was destroyed, so Great point. not sure I believe it though. Either way, I did send them documentation in an attempt to verify. do you think they won't be so particular to go through what I sent them previously?

[mymenace]

I am a US citizen in the same situation with Wex. These guys have been completely unresponsive knowing I'm in the US. The BTC-E guys had a tough break with the FBI raid but these new guys in Singapore have flat out stolen my money. Account locked, no method to verify and no response to tickets.

I know it sucks but I would be blaming the US gov on that one, I think its fair that wex not trade with US citizens,

This has been an ongoing issue for US residents in the crypto space.

In particular the lockout regarding ICO's

Hope it all turns around for you Americans - Things are looking better that Obama, Clinton, Bush era is finally being shut down

Along with their funding - 11 Saudi Princes

And thier Manchurian candidates run by the CIA - Robert Mugabe and Kim Jong-il

Hollywood elitism going as well

Exposure of Prescott Bush (Nazi ammunition and banks), Georg H W Bush in Dallas Texas Nov 22 1963

In our country the CIA removed one of our duly elected politicians in the past.

[jakefrey]

I am a US citizen in the same situation with Wex. These guys have been completely unresponsive knowing I'm in the US. The BTC-E guys had a tough break with the FBI raid but these new guys in Singapore have flat out stolen my money. Account locked, no method to verify and no response to tickets.

I know it sucks but I would be blaming the US gov on that one, I think its fair that wex not trade with US citizens,

I understand the sentiment. Most likely that's why they are freezing us out. I believe this is wrong. Leaving alone the points you mentioned that are not related to crypto, the US has NOT been hostile to bitcoin, (I was actually surprised about that). Overall, they have basically left the industry alone. Yes there are some isolated incidents, also the ICO situation, But by far they've been surprisingly cautious about messing with the industry. If you want to see hostile, Look at China, practically one day to the next, and NO MORE EXCHANGES! That's highly unlikely to ever happen in the US.

Regarding specifically the raid on BTC-E, there definitely was a lot of smoke there. I don't know about the fire. But can we agree that if they did some of the things they are accused of, then they had it coming? which country would've allowed them to knowingly operate a money laundering machine? I must admit that I loved that they reconstituted themselves, effectively giving the FBI the finger. It was great seeing the strength of the whole bitcoin idea proven. However, stealing funds from US citizens as payback is certainly wrong and frankly can get them into further hot water.