Beware of the Bitmart KYC trap

[thefireman]

Since a few weeks Dropil is listed in Bitmart. I was happy at first that there was another exchange that I could use to exchange my DROPs. So, I signed up at Birmart and I transferred my DROPs profit from the last Dex period to Bitmart in order to exchange them to ETH. All was fine at first. The sell order I made was filled quickly, so after that I wanted to withdraw my ETH.

Then I was confronted with the fact that I had to identify myself, in order to withdraw just a little over half an ETH.

I am all for KYC, it is a step in the right direction and will help a lot. Bitmart though seem to have a strange idea about how KYC should be enforced. They allow you to make deposits without asking for KYC. They allow you to create sell orders without having identified yourself. They also take the profits from your sell orders when they are filled. All that without asking you to identify yourself.

However, when you have exchanged your crypto and you want to withdraw it, then the ask you to identify yourself! If you do not participate in their KYC, they do not allow you to withdraw it! So you either participate in their KYC, or your crypto remains trapped...

They claim that their:
"KYC regulations are intended to ensure that exchange platforms are aware of the identities of their customers to ensure that unauthorized individuals (such as minors or criminals) don’t have access to certain services. That means without knowing customers' identity, there is no way to proof the source of fund is legitimate or not."

The problems with the way they implement KYC are the following:
1) Bitmart is giving all their customers access to their services without previously enforcing KYC. They only go into enforcing KYC when their customers have already had access to the services they provide.
2) They have already collected fees from the use of the exchanges before enforcing KYC. So they have already worked with and have been in business with potential "unauthorized individuals (such as minors or criminals)" as they call their customers, before asking them to participate in their KYC process. This means that they are already collaborators of potential "unauthorized individuals (such as minors or criminals)", before they try to enforce KYC.
3) The way that they implement KYC leads to most users being surprised by the fact that KYC is required in order to withdraw their crypto. So it is a kind of entrapment.
4) There is also the issue of them not setting different withdrawal limits, with different identification levels, as most exchanges do. Asking for KYC in order to be able to withdraw half an ETH is insane.
5) As I value my privacy very much and I do not wish to participate in their KYC, I also suggested that they manually return my ETH to my MEW wallet and then close my Bitmart account after that. They never responded to this request either...

To make a long story short. I am not sure if Bitmart are just trying to entrap their customers, or if they do not have the ability to understand how wrong the way is they are trying to implement KYC.

I have tried explaining them where they are wrong, but I do not seem to have gotten through. I doubt my points were even passed over to someone with the ability to understand them, even though I have asked for this to happen.

I would hereby like to warn everybody about the KYC trap Bitmart has set for you. Please be aware of it and do not fall for it. Personally I would recommend that everybody stays away from Bitmart, at least until they remove their KYC trap.

[chandlerye]

In the most practical sense, KYC is required based on federal regulation upon common understanding, it is normal that any exchange related services asking for KYC.
Personally, I and my friends are using a bunch of crypto exchanges with similar experience, usually, you can actively do KYC even before you deposit or right after registration.
Dont understand why you think this is a "trap", wont you be surprised if you were asked to show your underaged ID before you entering TheCheesecakeFactory even if you did not have a chance to sit down and look through the menu?
Wouldnt that be common sense that you suppose to actively prepare and show your ID before you entering a bar/club/pub?
Highly doubt you have some issue with you identity, never seen people complaining about KYC regulation.

[hugeblack]

I didn’t trade on this platform yet, but as far as I know, you must agree to the regulations "KYC & AML" before allowing you to create an account or notify you if the rules are modified after that.
Did you read the Terms of Service before creating your account?

KYC docs are intended to limit the formation of money laundering and tax evasion, so imposing them before deposit or withdrawal will not make a difference "for the platform" because when you deposit money it becomes under their control.

There will be a problem if you create that account and did not notify you about KYC, but it is necessary to show your identity to be able to withdraw your coins.

[magneto]

However, when you have exchanged your crypto and you want to withdraw it, then the ask you to identify yourself! If you do not participate in their KYC, they do not allow you to withdraw it! So you either participate in their KYC, or your crypto remains trapped...

They claim that their:
"KYC regulations are intended to ensure that exchange platforms are aware of the identities of their customers to ensure that unauthorized individuals (such as minors or criminals) don’t have access to certain services. That means without knowing customers' identity, there is no way to proof the source of fund is legitimate or not."

The problems with the way they implement KYC are the following:
1) Bitmart is giving all their customers access to their services without previously enforcing KYC. They only go into enforcing KYC when their customers have already had access to the services they provide.
2) They have already collected fees from the use of the exchanges before enforcing KYC. So they have already worked with and have been in business with potential "unauthorized individuals (such as minors or criminals)" as they call their customers, before asking them to participate in their KYC process. This means that they are already collaborators of potential "unauthorized individuals (such as minors or criminals)", before they try to enforce KYC.
3) The way that they implement KYC leads to most users being surprised by the fact that KYC is required in order to withdraw their crypto. So it is a kind of entrapment.
4) There is also the issue of them not setting different withdrawal limits, with different identification levels, as most exchanges do. Asking for KYC in order to be able to withdraw half an ETH is insane.
5) As I value my privacy very much and I do not wish to participate in their KYC, I also suggested that they manually return my ETH to my MEW wallet and then close my Bitmart account after that. They never responded to this request either...

To make a long story short. I am not sure if Bitmart are just trying to entrap their customers, or if they do not have the ability to understand how wrong the way is they are trying to implement KYC.

It's definitely the wrong way to implement any form of KYC policy, in my opinion.

If you are trying to get customer identification for legal purposes, then state so while they sign up or before they deposit like what poloniex does (and poloniex is a terrible exchange). It's simply unfair to not give the user sufficient notice about KYC and do so after they have deposited, and wanting to withdraw.

That's no different from holding user funds without their consent, in my opinion. It could be even possible that Bitmart and other exchanges are using this as a tactic to do exactly that.

But it's honestly a very prevalent issue in all exchanges. Not just Bitmart, but even exchangers that previously claimed that they were "anonymous" such as changenow has held customer funds on the grounds of KYC, which imo is just pure selective exploitation.

[jhenfelipe]

Did you read the Terms of Service before creating your account?

This is the right question.

I haven't used Bitmart, but in the registration page, there's a checkbox for "I agree to Bitmart's Terms of Use". If you checked that, then you should have been ready for KYC because it was mentioned there (2.2 in their TOS). I as well believe that if it's a requirement for using the service, it should be done right after the registration not before withdrawal or at least give a notice before making a deposit. However, in your case, since you agree to their terms the exchange will definitely use their TOS to defend themselves.

Their way will really make people think that it's a trap or tactic. Well, it might be, who knows? But what users can do is be careful and read before the registration, especially now that almost all exchanges implement identity verification. Cases like this should serve as a lesson (make reading a habit).

PS. I hope potential users can read this so that they'll have an idea beforehand

[timerland]

Since a few weeks Dropil is listed in Bitmart. I was happy at first that there was another exchange that I could use to exchange my DROPs. So, I signed up at Birmart and I transferred my DROPs profit from the last Dex period to Bitmart in order to exchange them to ETH. All was fine at first. The sell order I made was filled quickly, so after that I wanted to withdraw my ETH.

Then I was confronted with the fact that I had to identify myself, in order to withdraw just a little over half an ETH.

I am all for KYC, it is a step in the right direction and will help a lot. Bitmart though seem to have a strange idea about how KYC should be enforced. They allow you to make deposits without asking for KYC. They allow you to create sell orders without having identified yourself. They also take the profits from your sell orders when they are filled. All that without asking you to identify yourself.

However, when you have exchanged your crypto and you want to withdraw it, then the ask you to identify yourself! If you do not participate in their KYC, they do not allow you to withdraw it! So you either participate in their KYC, or your crypto remains trapped...

They claim that their:
"KYC regulations are intended to ensure that exchange platforms are aware of the identities of their customers to ensure that unauthorized individuals (such as minors or criminals) don’t have access to certain services. That means without knowing customers' identity, there is no way to proof the source of fund is legitimate or not."

The problems with the way they implement KYC are the following:
1) Bitmart is giving all their customers access to their services without previously enforcing KYC. They only go into enforcing KYC when their customers have already had access to the services they provide.
2) They have already collected fees from the use of the exchanges before enforcing KYC. So they have already worked with and have been in business with potential "unauthorized individuals (such as minors or criminals)" as they call their customers, before asking them to participate in their KYC process. This means that they are already collaborators of potential "unauthorized individuals (such as minors or criminals)", before they try to enforce KYC.
3) The way that they implement KYC leads to most users being surprised by the fact that KYC is required in order to withdraw their crypto. So it is a kind of entrapment.
4) There is also the issue of them not setting different withdrawal limits, with different identification levels, as most exchanges do. Asking for KYC in order to be able to withdraw half an ETH is insane.
5) As I value my privacy very much and I do not wish to participate in their KYC, I also suggested that they manually return my ETH to my MEW wallet and then close my Bitmart account after that. They never responded to this request either...

To make a long story short. I am not sure if Bitmart are just trying to entrap their customers, or if they do not have the ability to understand how wrong the way is they are trying to implement KYC.

I have tried explaining them where they are wrong, but I do not seem to have gotten through. I doubt my points were even passed over to someone with the ability to understand them, even though I have asked for this to happen.

I would hereby like to warn everybody about the KYC trap Bitmart has set for you. Please be aware of it and do not fall for it. Personally I would recommend that everybody stays away from Bitmart, at least until they remove their KYC trap.

I'm sorry to hear that you got essentially selectively scammed.

I don't think that it comes as a surprise to anyone that an exchange would use KYC as an excuse or a tactic to hold the balance of its users for longer than it's supposed to, when conducting withdrawals.

They should in my opinion, at least have everything verified before you even are allowed to deposit. Because I think if you knew this was going to happen, you wouldn't have even deposited at their site.

You've definitely learned a valuable lesson, though. Never, ever blindly trust in exchanges. They've always got the ultimate say in things, and especially when regulation is unclear, you'll likely have no power in terms of legal actions if things do go wrong.

[Emperoar]

Just fell for this, fuck these shit exchanges freely allowing deposits but only allowing withdrawals if you upload your passport and a selfie 

[XBoomerY]

I 100% agree with OP. To allow anyone to deposit any amount with no KYC involved, knowing the only way to withdraw is by verification is very underhanded. A reputable exchange would require an individual to be verified prior to any from of deposit. BitMart's process is only to their benefit and if anything, makes a broader statement to the type of customer service they implement. They know many people use VPNs to trade on exchanges where their countries are not allowed to participate, and exploit this to their advantage. Crypto was set as a means to thwart this kind financial manipulation, yet here we are.

[TraderInc]

woww glad I read this..
I just created an account.
guess I will Not use this now.

Asking for KYC only when its time for withdrawl.
WoW what a Trap!

[Ceyflix-Rez]

Then I must be lucky, I have trade successfully on bitmart exchange through their app on my smartphone but before trading I remember going through KYC verification process and it was accepted, I never had problem with withdrawal.

[Bitstar_coin]

Bro thank you for opening this thread, I also witnesse the same shit from this shady exchange, what surprises me is there is no any warning about kyc when depositing, unlike other exchange that have limits to withdraw from none kyc accounts, bitmart will require you to do full kyc before withdrawing even as little as $10
Such a pathetic behavior from that exchange, they literally draw you into forceful kyc, it was a horrible experience.

[traderethereum]

Thank you for giving us this information, so we don't have to use those exchanges, and I hope that the exchange will not online for a long time.
That way will be considered as a trick to get personal customer documentation because they don't tell their customer to verify themselves before they can withdraw.
At least, when the member signs in into their dashboard, there will be a pop up shows telling the member to verify themselves if they want to use the exchange to trade.
If they don't use that way, it is a trick to abuse the customer, and they don't deserve to stay online.

[dunfida]

For those 5 people above that do reply into this thread. Are you aware on whats the date of the creation of this thread or just simply replying out without tending to check it?
This had been 1 year and half in silence and just been bumped up.

For the sake of on topic, its totally bullshit when a platform do ask out KYC even with $10 deposit which would really be a trap.This isnt something new and ive been wondering
why people do still end up on using up these places?

Stick out to reputable exchange and you would get rid of these kind of problems.

[Crypto_Radar]

Super sketchy to have frictionless deposits and then trap funds with a KYC ambush when you try to withdraw.

Fair warning - avoid Bitmart!

[SeaDoc]

Here is an ageist look at Bitmart and its KYC trap... I signed up in early 2021 when the upper age limit was 75 and verified to level 0.  Presently, I attempted to withdraw several tokens transferred into Bitmart this year.  I then had to go through with the verification process for level 1, allowing me to withdraw these tokens.  For over a month I have been unable to be verified and just this week, I find out it is because I am 66.  They have silently changed the upper age range from 75 to 65 and will not grandfather me, so I'm literally trapped from accessing my tokens in my account.  I spent hours in chats with Bitmart and they have been totally unhelpful.  I'm ready to go to my local Congressional members as they want the ammunition to regulate this ridiculous situation.  I would stay far far away from Bitmart... Customer Beware...