Coins.ph Suspended Accounts?

[dothebeats]

As we all know, coins.ph is one of the most trusted bitcoin exchange in the Philippines, and they've remained at the top since 2014. However, after 4 years of doing business with them, they decided to ban my account fully due to some connections with 'fraudulent activity' on my account. I've skimmed on all the transactions I have on that wallet since 2014, and I haven't seen something suspicious, though there are some transactions that came from an online betting platform from 2015 which, according to a circular from the central bank issued @ 2018, is illegal since online betting was banned in the Philippines. Knowing that there really isn't a clear definition of what 'bitcoin' is in the Philippines, why would the platform immediately ban the account?

Has anyone experienced the same thing? Their customer support's replies were bland, and no further information were given as to why they disabled the account, but I'm inclined to think it's because of those transactions I have with an online betting site which served as a payment for some brief works. Just a heads up to people out there who use the said platform, never try to withdraw bitcoins on gambling sites directly to your coins.ph account.

[Anarchist]

online betting platform from 2015 which, according to a circular from the central bank issued @ 2018, is illegal since online betting was banned in the Philippines

You found the reason. It's the first one and not the last. That's a problem when you a company. The ToS can change at any time and usually without any warning. At least, I hope you didn't lose a lot
Sometimes companies don't give you a clear explanation in such a situation because they don't want the change becomes viral on the www

[dothebeats]

online betting platform from 2015 which, according to a circular from the central bank issued @ 2018, is illegal since online betting was banned in the Philippines

You found the reason. It's the first one and not the last. That's a problem when you a company. The ToS can change at any time and usually without any warning. At least, I hope you didn't lose a lot
Sometimes companies don't give you a clear explanation in such a situation because they don't want the change becomes viral on the www

It's kind of a bummer, but the explanation isn't even an explanation that their clients deserve. Their grounds regarding this is so vague that it confuses me as to how they came with certainty that it was indeed proceeds of a gambling money. Anyway though, what's done is done; que sera, sera. Just have to find another exchange that will lay the ToS as concise as possible in order for me not to miss out those tiniest details that they can alter at a split second. Good thing I haven't lost much money in the process and the amount of money left in the account is negligible for most people.

[Potato Chips]

Good thing I haven't lost much money in the process and the amount of money left in the account is negligible for most people.

Oh wait! What do you mean by this? so they didn't allow you to withdraw all your remaining coins in your acc?

From what I remember back in 2016.  I saw a similar case from some members i don't remember who, but they were definitely talking about banning accs, although the difference was, coins.ph gave them a chance to withdraw their remaining balance. Oh well it was a long time ago, pretty sure a lot has changed since then.

It's kinda sad that they're getting more strict as the time pass by. For some reason, I am remembering exchanges where the more popular they get, the poorer their service become.

[Baofeng]

~ snip ~

Has anyone experienced the same thing?

Nope, never experience it but its really weird though, how do they know that it came from a gambling site? Usually though wallet explorer will tell if the address came from a trading site, but I'm not sure if it can determine if the address is from a gambling site. Or it they really use wallet explorer to make a trace.

@Potato Chips - yeah probably 2016/2017 wherein coins.ph blocked/banned a lot of accounts specially during the heyday of faucets from sites like PrimeDice.

[bL4nkcode]

Usually though wallet explorer will tell if the address came from a trading site, but I'm not sure if it can determine if the address is from a gambling site. Or it they really use wallet explorer to make a trace.

It's the same thing whether its a gambling site, exchange or faucets.

Nope, never experience it but its really weird though, how do they know that it came from a gambling site?

Nope, not that weird, blockchain is public ledger means that there's always a track, some of this gambling sites have a name/tag on their address in blockchain whenever they sent or receive like these addresses https://www.blockchain.com/btc/popular-addresses

Even now there are plenty of reports that most of their users got banned with the same problem as yours you can see it on their fb page and official group, just ridiculous that their support is still shit even their users grow in numbers.

 

[crairezx20]

I never experience the same thing, but coins.ph asked me about if where my bitcoin comes from or where is my source of income? I am just wondering if why they ask about my source of income so, I think they are asking first if where your bitcoin comes from before they ban or suspend your account.

I think if you haven't known what is the real reason for suspending your account you can ask the support and request to review your account again and maybe they are mistaken suspending your account or you can request for another chance and never try to withdraw your bitcoins again from gambling casino.

You can try Abra wallet this is the only I know a good alternative for coins.ph based on other Filipinos experienced.

[mk4]

I never experience the same thing, but coins.ph asked me about if where my bitcoin comes from or where is my source of income? I am just wondering if why they ask about my source of income so, I think they are asking first if where your bitcoin comes from before they ban or suspend your account.

Isn't that a requirement for upgrading your account though? Assuming your account is upgraded, what's the point of asking the same question again?

Anyway, I think the laws in the Philippines are very strict when talking about using gambling sites, so if I'd gamble I'd probably do it like:

Coins.ph <-----> Open-source, non-exchange wallet <-----> Gambling site

Not sure if they could still trace it that way though. But it's definitely better than sending your BTC back and forth from your Coins.ph wallet and the gambling site's wallet. Also, +1 for Abra. Definitely less strict(so far, at least), and had no problems using it in the past.

[Potato Chips]

I think they are asking first if where your bitcoin comes from before they ban or suspend your account.

Isn't that a requirement for upgrading your account though? Assuming your account is upgraded, what's the point of asking the same question again?

Can confirm it's a requirement for upgrading acc although from my experience, they didn't asked any proofs for it, you just need to fill the blank in text.
If your account somehow gets flagged for suspicious activity, maybe they could go to such lengths?. I am not really sure tho, never had my acc flagged, neither did op mentioned anything about it.

Not sure if they could still trace it that way though. But it's definitely better than sending your BTC back and forth from your Coins.ph wallet and the gambling site's wallet.

or just use a mixer!

[carlfebz2]

Knowing that there really isn't a clear definition of what 'bitcoin' is in the Philippines, why would the platform immediately ban the account?

Back into the earlier years of service of coins.ph, government arent too strict when it comes to crypto specially the central bank and when bitcoins popularity increase and filipino users booms up making incoming and outgoing transactions involved millions of fiat cash then they are now making regulation which had been set.When we do read up on their ToS using it on gambling is indeed a violation.

Has anyone experienced the same thing?

Im a 2nd account user too because my main wallet is being blocked due i have using it to HYIP sites and other source of similar scheme and when regulation comes in with coins.ph by the government then they do block it out stating that i have violated their ToS. So, i decided to create a new one since i cant able to use anymore my wallet address since you dont possess its private keys which is really a disadvantage commonly on exchangers.

[LTU_btc]

It's another story why it's not a good idea to use centrallized exchanges (a.k.a. crypto banks) as your Bitcoin wallet because they don't give you full control of your cryptocurrency. And there are always a risk that they will close your account and freeze your funds even if you did nothing wrong.
OP, your story is strange. As I understand, online betting in Philippines become illegal only in 2018. But you used online gambling websites in 2015, when it still wasn't against the laws. So, why did their banned your if you received BTC from betting platform before release of law? And they even didn't gave chance to withdraw money before closure of account? It's unfair!

[BitHodler]

As I understand, online betting in Philippines become illegal only in 2018. But you used online gambling websites in 2015, when it still wasn't against the laws. So, why did their banned your if you received BTC from betting platform before release of law? And they even didn't gave chance to withdraw money before closure of account? It's unfair!

It's definitely unfair, but the problem is that authorities are so strict on their policies, that some exchanges go straight into paranoid mode and 'eliminate' what they think is a risk for them personally as business.

Coinbase has been making some headlines about the same subject as well not that long ago. Out of nothing people were literally forced to leave that exchange, but at least they were given the option to withdraw their funds.

I think overall, people have to be prepared for centralized exchanges and services to do something that might and likely will work against you. They poop their pants as soon as regulators come up with new policies.

[Maricel2017]

Dont be shock if your account will be banned since your fund is came from illegal activities and that case was listed on their terms and condition which you agreed before going through to their wallet.
Honestly i am also engage in nitrogensports.eu which is one of the best gambling site ive ever used but while doing withdrawal my fund was not directly going to coins.ph i have other wallet to received fund for gambling site before sending to my coins.ph for security of my account.

[Motusora]

sorry for grave digging , I used the search bar to know if there's anyone who experienced this and  i found this thread .
it also happened to me, my coins ph account is 4 years old and it's verified with government issued id.
i never withdrawn directly from any gambling site and i never use my btc to gamble , however they still suspended me without notice.

last march they locked my account from sending funds , and they require me to undergo same verification i did a year ago and it's really frustrating .
i did sent some of my financial proof ( paypal's transaction and invoices i sent to my clients in pdf format ) , i did interviews in one of their staffs and i showed her my driver's license and even my postal id.
yet they still continue on suspending my account without telling me what i really violated .

all my funds are clean, i earned them from offering graphics services.
now their staffs told me to wait until the quarantine is over then i can get the remaining funds.

[JeromeTash]

all my funds are clean, i earned them from offering graphics services.
now their staffs told me to wait until the quarantine is over then i can get the remaining funds.

I laughed out so loud after seeing what they told you to do  
What a stupid lousy excuse by coins.ph

What has quarantine got to do with releasing someone's funds  
Have they stopped receiving and sending other people's money due to quarantine?

Maybe you should look for an alternative exchange you can use. It's clear they have been a pain in the ass for you.

[LeGaulois]

@Motusora
That's the problem with such services. Even if you're 100% correct and in your rights, you're at their mercy, they can lock your account at any time without any warning before. And of course, they won't clearly tell you what's the problem, they will give canned replies.

...What has quarantine got to do with releasing someone's funds  
Have they stopped receiving and sending other people's money due to quarantine?...

Surely because of the reduced staff, as many companies worldwide, maybe they haven't someone in charge of such a situation. The sad thing for him is if the quarantine continues until the summer

[Sanitough]

I am a coins.ph users as well, I've had a lot of transaction with direct deposits and withdrawals from different gambling sites, especially on the sportsbook that I've been playing. I've hard transactions with sportsbets.io, nitrogensports, cloudbet, and etc.. until now, my account is still active, I guess if they will ban it, they can easily find such connection, but hey.. thank you for the heads up, at least I know now, I'll just try to minimize my transaction with gambling sites.

ps. it's still best to know the real reason behind the ban.

is your account fully verified yet? mine is level 3 verified.

[Oilacris]

I am a coins.ph users as well, I've had a lot of transaction with direct deposits and withdrawals from different gambling sites, especially on the sportsbook that I've been playing. I've hard transactions with sportsbets.io, nitrogensports, cloudbet, and etc.. until now, my account is still active, I guess if they will ban it, they can easily find such connection, but hey.. thank you for the heads up, at least I know now, I'll just try to minimize my transaction with gambling sites.

ps. it's still best to know the real reason behind the ban.

is your account fully verified yet? mine is level 3 verified.

Im also level 3 but still having that 25k monthly limit and still needs for you to undergo further verification if you do like to go back into your actual limit.
It sucks because its been 2 years ive been complaining but they havent released nor fixed it even though i sent out already the requirement they've been
asking until now im still asking help with my relatives on making cash out specially when i already have reached my monthly limit.
Dont know on what are their measures on verifying that someone had committed violations into their ToS.

[Saisher]

I am a coins.ph users as well, I've had a lot of transaction with direct deposits and withdrawals from different gambling sites, especially on the sportsbook that I've been playing. I've hard transactions with sportsbets.io, nitrogensports, cloudbet, and etc.. until now, my account is still active, I guess if they will ban it, they can easily find such connection, but hey.. thank you for the heads up, at least I know now, I'll just try to minimize my transaction with gambling sites.

ps. it's still best to know the real reason behind the ban.

is your account fully verified yet? mine is level 3 verified.

You can try PDAX for now while you try to work out your coins.ph account i can still use my coins.ph but I only do minimal transactions after reading a lot of restrictions if you go overboard or beyond the limit of your transactions, why they are doing this when they are making a lot from the transactions fee, they are one of the highest.

[asu]

@Motusora, I think everyone that has 3-4 years old account in coins.ph had done the same way you do (submitting again some verifications and interview), but not the other way around that happened to your account that.

The sad thing for him is if the quarantine continues until the summer

Yeah, the quarantine here in Philippines has just been extended for 2 more weeks, 15th of May.