Gemini Placed A Security Hold On My Account
1833 sats \ 29 comments \ @siggy47 1 Aug 2023 bitcoin
I have been dca'ing bitcoin with Gemini for two years. I routinely move my bitcoin to cold storage once the dollar transfer holds clear. This morning I set up a transfer, but was told there is a security hold on my account. I contacted support, and this is the response I received:
Hi ---------
Thank you for being a Gemini user and for your patience as we investigate your account!
We reviewed your account and have a few questions. Please provide as much detail as possible:
  1. How did you find out about Gemini?
  2. Has anyone instructed you to open this Gemini account or has any one requested payment through Gemini?
  3. Have you shared your account credentials with anyone?
  4. Why did you open a Gemini account?
If you have recently attempted to withdraw and/or send funds to an external address, please provide the following information with as much detail as possible: Please be specific in describing the purpose of this withdrawal. For example, if the purpose of this withdrawal was to send funds to a third-party platform, include identifying details such as the name of the platform or website link.
  1. How did you discover the wallet address?
  2. Are you the owner of the wallet address? If you are not the owner, what is your purpose in withdrawing to the wallet address?
  3. Did someone direct you to withdraw to this wallet address?
  4. Do you have any other relevant information on this wallet address? We look forward to hearing from you. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to reach out.
Onward and Upward,
write
preview
related posts
161 sats \ 0 replies \ @grayruby 1 Aug 2023
It's pretty evident that shitcoin casinos don't want bitcoiners as customers.
reply
44 sats \ 1 reply \ @nout 1 Aug 2023
Then they fight you...
reply
0 sats \ 0 replies \ @sudonaka 2 Aug 2023
They’ve been fighting. Kicking and screaming actually
reply
26 sats \ 11 replies \ @OneOneSeven 1 Aug 2023
I have been using Strike for about a year, last week, for the first time, I wasn't able to withdraw the bitcoin until my deposit finished. Per their support:
"As part of ongoing efforts to bolster our infrastructure, we introduced a settlement period for certain transaction (less than 5 business days) based on bank settlement times.
Debit cards are unavailable, not sure when that started.
Using Cash app for now, pretty heavy on the KYC but I could give a flyin fuck at this point.
reply
13 sats \ 9 replies \ @siggy47 OP 1 Aug 2023
Cash App has high fees but has never given me a problem. I try to sprinkle my buys all over the place, a few kyc, most non kyc now. I always am making small buys, but Swan dumped me a few months ago and I'm now obviously done with Gemini. So, it's just Cash App and non kyc now. Its all for the best
reply
0 sats \ 1 reply \ @mudbloodvonfrei 1 Aug 2023
Can you elaborate a bit on non-kyc? Asking for a friend..
reply
0 sats \ 0 replies \ @sudonaka 2 Aug 2023
Robosats bisq hodlhodl
reply
0 sats \ 6 replies \ @nerd2ninja 1 Aug 2023
You mentioned CashApp, you mentioned Swan, could always throw robosats in there, but have you looked into River?
reply
150 sats \ 2 replies \ @siggy47 OP 1 Aug 2023
I would rather use River than other KYC sources. The problem is I'm a NY resident so I can't open a River account (the ridiculous bitlicense). I do use robosats, but it's labor intensive for this lazy sob and a little hit or miss in my experience.
reply
20 sats \ 1 reply \ @franzap 1 Aug 2023
Would relai.app work for you? no kyc up to 950 usd I think (except the banking details although it could be mitigated via an LLC? not sure)
reply
0 sats \ 0 replies \ @siggy47 OP 1 Aug 2023
I don't know, but I'll look into it. I like to try all sources at least once.
reply
20 sats \ 2 replies \ @sudonaka 2 Aug 2023
Be ready to wait 30 days to withdraw unless you wire River the fiat first 😅
reply
3 sats \ 1 reply \ @nerd2ninja 2 Aug 2023
Oh no, secure FIAT transfers take a long ass time and instant settlement is a mere illusion! What will we ever do?
But hey at least you get to buy Bitcoin at a lower fee rate
reply
50 sats \ 0 replies \ @sudonaka 2 Aug 2023
Correct. It’s only jarring because river actually waits for real fiat settlement. We are too used to the debt leverage voodoo
reply
0 sats \ 0 replies \ @BlokchainB 1 Aug 2023
😂
reply
20 sats \ 2 replies \ @WeAreAllSatoshi 2 Aug 2023
I have been using Gemini for a long time and haven't had this issue. I am curious to see if this happens to me the next time I withdraw. I'll follow up here if I experience the same issue.
reply
0 sats \ 1 reply \ @siggy47 OP 2 Aug 2023
Me too. I think since late 2020. This came out of the blue.
reply
0 sats \ 0 replies \ @WeAreAllSatoshi 2 Aug 2023
I did experience a breaking change in one of their APIs 2 days ago, but that's likely unrelated to this. It took a few emails back and forth with support for them to acknowledge that they did in fact deliver a breaking change, despite it being intentional. Fun stuff...
reply
20 sats \ 1 reply \ @OriginalSize 2 Aug 2023
Sorry to hear about this siggy. Seems to me these exchanges don't like bitcoin's scarcity. You basically use them until they close your account. Good for you for going more p2p!
reply
101 sats \ 0 replies \ @siggy47 OP 2 Aug 2023
Thanks. After the Swan mess I was pretty much heading mostly p2p anyway. I guess I'm more disturbed by the general trend. Banks and centralized exchanges are behaving similarly.
reply
20 sats \ 0 replies \ @fedelang 1 Aug 2023
Interesting. Thanks for sharing. By the looks of it they are sealing all Titanic's decks so plebs don't compete for lifeboats while sinking.
Two things: 1) Utility Cost Average into BTC by mining. 2) P2P If possible try to get as many as unmarked bitcoin you can. Bitcoin usage will turn out as non-fungible. Mine only from pools sharing newly created BTC.
I completely moved out of KYC. We are sitting at the verge of fiat implosion, in no more than 10y Swift and AML will be all gone, these are pillars of the fiat standard and will be ditched for good especially from those are being antagonized by western cronyism and banking mafia.
reply
31 sats \ 3 replies \ @siggy47 OP 1 Aug 2023
Here's the latest, if anyone is still interested. I emailed them back, asking to speak to an actual human being. This was the response I received:
Thanks for following up.
I can confirm that you are speaking to a live person.
In order to move forward, we ask that you submit a single photo (saved as JPEG/JPG/HEIC file type) that contains the following:
  1. A view of your full face
  2. Your ID that was used to register with Gemini.
  3. A handwritten note that states the current date and says “[4502359]” underneath
Once you've taken a selfie that contains all of the above, please upload it to our secure dropzone.
Please keep in mind that this must be one photo that contains all of the above and not three separate photos. Once this is complete, please reply to this thread and I will escalate your case for expedited service.
reply
10 sats \ 0 replies \ @cointastical 1 Aug 2023
If you didn't have funds locked up i'ld suggest sending a goatse instead of a selfie.
reply
0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Wumbo 2 Aug 2023
If you wanted to have some fun with the situation, ask them to do the same.
I will show you my ID, if you show me yours.
What's good for the goose is good for the gander.
reply
0 sats \ 0 replies \ @brianh 1 Aug 2023
lol all this for just doing your ordinary routine? i'd drop them in a heartbeat, no thanks.
reply
0 sats \ 0 replies \ @siggy47 OP 2 Aug 2023
I sold bitcoin last night for the first time. It did not feel good. It wasn't much, but it still hurt. Gemini will not allow me to close my account until I liquidate my bitcoin and withdraw it. To add insult to injury, they have placed a hold on my USD. I won't be able to close my account for a few days. I was also getting cash back in btc on a Gemini credit card. I'll miss getting those sats every time we shop or make a big purchase. Oh well. P2P, here I come.
reply
0 sats \ 1 reply \ @mallardshead 1 Aug 2023
Coinbase "disabled access" to my account earlier this year for violating their user agreement (my coinjoins), pending a security review which has been ongoing since. Doesn't matter as I barely used it and only have a few hundred dollars shipwrecked there. I use the LN DEX Robosats pretty exclusively now along with CashApp. The DEX Bisq is amazing but a bit too power-usery. Peach I haven't tried yet. Here's the full DEX list, rankings site:
kycnot.me
reply
0 sats \ 0 replies \ @franzap 1 Aug 2023
tried peach and found it very expensive
reply
0 sats \ 0 replies \ @birdeye21 1 Aug 2023
Yeesh, time to start buying elsewhere...
At the very least, I don't see a reason why you could give them total lies for each one of these questions. None of these questions have anything to do you wanting to move your own money
reply