Exodus wallet balance disappeared!

[dash0520]

I've had an exchange BTC/ETH frozen a week ago and received an email from Exodus.

Hello there,
We have noticed some exposure to high-risk services on your wallet, and we would need to do a quick verification (KYC).

Since I've done the verification a few months ago, this email  surprised me a lot. Anyway, I've uploaded my data a second time and the wallet balance just disappeared after right away.

The answer is:
Hello there,
Your funds are frozen and will not be shown on your wallet until the verification is not completed or is still ongoing.

I wonder are they logged in into my account and withdraw the money ? Or what is happening?
All my emails now being ignored. Any suggestions?

Thanks

[1714143550]

1714143550

[OmegaStarScream]

From where did the funds disappear? The BTC address? If so, then that's normal (sadly). They don't have access to your wallet, but when you initiate the exchange, you basically sent them your BTC.

The issue has nothing to do with Exodus wallet though, it's the exchange (a third-party service) they were using that blocked the transaction because they detected suspicious activity with your address.

If you submitted your documents, what I would suggest you do, is to try and reach out to the exchange's support directly and give them your order/TX IDs.

[Pmalek]

I think the Exodus in-app exchange is ShapeShift, so probably they were the ones that froze your assets for some reason. According to this support article, they are also working with FTX. Having your assets blocked is unfortunately one of the dangers of using centralized exchange platforms.
 
Do your coins originate from some illegal activities maybe or can you think of a reason why they would ask who you are? Or maybe it's a significant sum which triggered their alarms.
Since they are in control of your crypto, you don't have any other choice than to do what they say and provide the documents they want.

[OmegaStarScream]

I think the Exodus in-app exchange is ShapeShift, so probably they were the ones that froze your assets for some reason. According to this support article, they are also working with FTX. Having your assets blocked is unfortunately one of the dangers of using centralized exchange platforms.

I doubt it's FTX. It's probably the in-app exchange, but they'll have to tell him which one he used (assuming that it's not already visible in the details of the transaction) because Exodus uses multiple providers and not just a single one.

[DireWolfM14]

I've had an exchange BTC/ETH frozen a week ago and received an email from Exodus.

Hello there,
We have noticed some exposure to high-risk services on your wallet, and we would need to do a quick verification (KYC).

Since I've done the verification a few months ago, this email  surprised me a lot. Anyway, I've uploaded my data a second time and the wallet balance just disappeared after right away.

The answer is:
Hello there,
Your funds are frozen and will not be shown on your wallet until the verification is not completed or is still ongoing.

I wonder are they logged in into my account and withdraw the money ? Or what is happening?
All my emails now being ignored. Any suggestions?

Thanks

Stop using Exodus, and stop using centralized exchanges.  There have been some recent efforts by centralized exchanges to preemptively comply with regulatory agencies by contracting with blockchain analysis companies.  Blockchain analysis is a joke, and an arbitrary one at that.  Their methods are not coordinated with each other, and findings are inconsistent.  They have no legitimate leg to stand on in their claims.

The regulatory agencies don't care about bitcoin, and the efforts by these greedy blockchain analysis organizations are hurting bitcoin.  Any exchange that contracts with blockchain analysis companies should be considered bitcoin saboteurs, and they don't deserve a single satoshi of your money.

More details can be found here: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5401468.msg60292655#msg60292655

[bitmover]

I think the Exodus in-app exchange is ShapeShift, so probably they were the ones that froze your assets for some reason. According to this support article, they are also working with FTX. Having your assets blocked is unfortunately one of the dangers of using centralized exchange platforms.
 

FTX is now making partnership with a lot of wallets. Recently, it made a partnership with Ledger Live. I wonder if Ledger Live will also try to frozen our coins one day if FTX says so?

Do your coins originate from some illegal activities maybe or can you think of a reason why they would ask who you are? Or maybe it's a significant sum which triggered their alarms.
Since they are in control of your crypto, you don't have any other choice than to do what they say and provide the documents they want.

Depending on the regulator point of view, a withdraw from a casino or mixer might be considered "illegal activity".

Stop using Exodus

This is the best answer.

Just get a better wallet, such as Electrum.

[DireWolfM14]

FTX is now making partnership with a lot of wallets. Recently, it made a partnership with Ledger Live. I wonder if Ledger Live will also try to frozen our coins one day if FTX says so?

AFIK Ledger Live (like Exodus) doesn't conduct any trades within the app.  All exchanges are conducted through an API with a contracted exchange service.  I don't use Ledger Live or Exodus, so I really can't tell you how one service is selected over another, but as for FTX, they do indeed require KYC just to use the exchange.

[bitmover]

FTX is now making partnership with a lot of wallets. Recently, it made a partnership with Ledger Live. I wonder if Ledger Live will also try to frozen our coins one day if FTX says so?

AFIK Ledger Live (like Exodus) doesn't conduct any trades within the app.  All exchanges are conducted through an API with a contracted exchange service.  I don't use Ledger Live or Exodus, so I really can't tell you how one service is selected over another, but as for FTX, they do indeed require KYC just to use the exchange.

In a recent update, you can swap cryptocurrencies within Ledger Live app using FTX.

https://www.ledger.com/blog/you-can-now-swap-your-crypto-with-ftx-through-ledger-live

Take a look of this screenshot, from inside ledger live app:

I'm an FTX and KYC-verified user, and here is what it looks like.

[dash0520]

Do your coins originate from some illegal activities maybe or can you think of a reason why they would ask who you are? Or maybe it's a significant sum which triggered their alarms.
Since they are in control of your crypto, you don't have any other choice than to do what they say and provide the documents they want.

Assume I have every right to know why my account is frozen and what is the reason for money holding. I keep asking them this question every time and there is no reply. I've no idea how the BTC been originated and where they comes from, same as I have no idea who previously owned the banknotes in my packet. The purchase (P2P) confirmation had been sent to them at the begging. Its a bid over 7K usd

Thanks

[Pmalek]

I wonder if Ledger Live will also try to frozen our coins one day if FTX says so?

The better question is, does Ledger have a way to do that with a wallet that is non-custodial in nature? I don't think they do, otherwise we would have seen complaints with locked funds all over the place. Not just now after the Ledger-FTX partnership. I think it's the exchange that could lock funds, not Ledger. Even though they claim you never lose control and custody of your coins, it can't be true. The swap takes place on FTX, Ledger just holds your hand and shows you were to go during the process.

Depending on the regulator point of view, a withdraw from a casino or mixer might be considered "illegal activity".

Unfortunately, that's correct.

The purchase (P2P) confirmation had been sent to them at the begging. Its a bid over 7K usd

I think they are asking for KYC because of the amount. If it was a sum below $2.000, probably nothing would have happened.

[dash0520]

If you submitted your documents, what I would suggest you do, is to try and reach out to the exchange's support directly and give them your order/TX IDs.

I'm dealing from the begging directly with the exchange's support.

I think they are asking for KYC because of the amount.

I've done it twice already.


Mod note: Merged consecutive posts

[OmegaStarScream]

I think they are asking for KYC because of the amount.

I've done it twice already.

Yes, that could be it. They will probably ask you for a proof of income if they haven't already.

Next time, If you want to avoid KYC when dealing with large amounts, I would recommend going with an exchange like OKX where the KYC policy is more clear. You only have to submit your documents when you want to exceed a certain withdrawal amount. It's less convenient than trading within the wallet obviously, but at least you know your limits ahead.

[bitmover]

I wonder if Ledger Live will also try to frozen our coins one day if FTX says so?

The better question is, does Ledger have a way to do that with a wallet that is non-custodial in nature? I don't think they do, otherwise we would have seen complaints with locked funds all over the place. Not just now after the Ledger-FTX partnership. I think it's the exchange that could lock funds, not Ledger. Even though they claim you never lose control and custody of your coins, it can't be true. The swap takes place on FTX, Ledger just holds your hand and shows you were to go during the process.

I think they can do that with ledger live, which is just a user interface.

They can just disable all buttons and demand KYC, otherwise you can't click anything. But it is always possible to use electrum or restore using seed somewhere else (few users are able to do that).

I don't think they will do it, but they might. They might be forced to do so depending on regulations...

[DireWolfM14]

In a recent update, you can swap cryptocurrencies within Ledger Live app using FTX.

Yeah, I'm aware of that.  My comment was specifically about FTX's requirements for KYC, and as you can see from crwth's screenshot that he has completed his KYC to their satisfaction.  I don't know which exchange dash0520 chose, but it appears that his issue is that he chose to engage with an exchange that didn't have his KYC at the time the transactions was placed.

~

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Forgive me if I'm wrong but I get the feeling that you're missing Pmalek's (and my) point:  The OP's bitcoin is no longer in his wallet, it's been sent to the exchange.  He cannot retrieve it by connecting his Ledger to Electrum.

You are correct that Ledger Live is nothing more than the user interface, but they've also contracted with exchanges, and imbedded those exchanges' APIs into Ledger Live's user interface.  However, no exchange can happen within the Ledger Live app, the coins must be sent to the chosen exchange for the transaction to be completed.  The only difference is that Ledger Live automates parts of the transaction.

In the OP's case the coins were sent to the exchange and now they have locked his fund because they don't have his KYC.

@dash0520, would you mind telling us to which exchange your coins were sent?

[dash0520]

@dash0520, would you mind telling us to which exchange your coins were sent?

[/quote]

The exchange transaction between my Exodus wallets BTC to ETH. As I mentioned before, I passed KYC identity verification previously
and have done the same again at the time this happened. The question is how did they withdraw the funds from my wallet?
Did they logged in into my account?




 

[Pmalek]

The exchange transaction between my Exodus wallets BTC to ETH.

That wasn't the question. He wasn't asking for the trading pair but the name of the exchange you used. The service provider. Was it ShapeShift or some other instant exchange available from within the Exodus wallet? 

The question is how did they withdraw the funds from my wallet? Did they logged in into my account?

I don't think so. You tried to swap the coins. That means a transaction was made from your wallet to that of the instant exchange that was used. That's where the swap happens. When it's done, the exchange sends you your new coins to the wallet address you provided. This all happens in the background and you don't see it. Since your assets were flagged for whatever reason (my guess is because the amount is quite big), the instant exchange froze your crypto and is now asking who you are and how you got it.

[OmegaStarScream]

The exchange transaction between my Exodus wallets BTC to ETH. As I mentioned before, I passed KYC identity verification previously
and have done the same again at the time this happened. The question is how did they withdraw the funds from my wallet?
Did they logged in into my account?

As I previously mentioned, they can't access your wallet. If you used the built-in instant-exchange (and not FTX)... It should be something like this:

You send them the BTC (to their personal wallet) -> You wait until the transaction gets confirmed -> They run KYT[1] (or something similar)  -> If everything is good, then they send you the ETH. If not, they ask you to verify your identity first.

It was you who sent them the bitcoin when you initiated the trade. Everything happens automatically in the background without you having to copy/paste the address and amount. But If you check your BTC address on Blockchain.com, you'll see that the bitcoins were sent somewhere else.

[1] https://www.chainalysis.com/chainalysis-kyt/

[dash0520]

[/quote]
instant exchange available from within the Exodus wallet? 


[/quote]

Yes it's available within the Exodus wallets.

[DireWolfM14]

Was it ShapeShift or some other instant exchange available from within the Exodus wallet?  

I've no idea, sorry

That's what you need to find out.  Again, I've never used Exodus so I can't guide you, hopefully some one here can.  There must be a transaction history that specifies which exchanger your coins were sent to.  Once you know that you can deal with them directly rather than through the Exodus app.

[16xypjnxlrew]

Post a lot of screenshots, and the BTC/ETH address will be clearer this way. This is the only way you will understand where your BTC is and where your ETH is