Helping an orange pilled friend to get his first whole bitcoin and it's been a nightmare. They asked me to guide them through the process although I last bought BTC many years ago, but I know the ropes, or at least I thought I did.
This is how it panned out...
Sell US based Shares - Two days to settle
Convert to GBP - Two days to settle
Transfer funds to FIAT Bank Account - One day
No issues with the transfer of funds but took 5 days
Set up two Exchange accounts with full KYC and AML process. One app based exchange and one traditional exchange.
Transferred £10k to each via bank transfer.
App based Exchange (let's call it Exchange A) recieved funds within minutes. All good. Set up DCA to buy £1k per hour. All working fine. Received support email requiring him to prove the source of the funds. Duly sent off but no response yet from Exchange but DCA is working and we've been able to get BTC off Exchange and into cold storage.
Traditional Exchange B - Despite leaving FIAT Bank, no sign of funds in Exchange. After a few hours, email to support and the funds had arrived but not posted to account. They arrived a few hours later. Bought 6K BTC. Then get a support email saying that BTC withdrawals suspended due to possible fradulant activity and would be receiving a phone call to review during business hours. This was 4pm in the afternoon. By 11am the next day still no phone call so emailed support. The block was lifted but was advised that when we sent the BTC, we would get a phone call to confirm to release the funds. Knowing that we were pissed, they did offer to ring back as soon as we made the transaction and go through the release process. Which they duly did. But they did advise that any further transfers out for similar amounts would need to be reviewed manually.
Then the next day he received a support email stating...
Your account has reached a threshold at which we are required to verify your source of funds so we can comply with our local AML/CFT legislation. Please can you provide the following documentation in order to verify your source of funds:
- A bank statement showing the funds being sent to xxxxxx and the 60 days prior showing how the transaction has been funded.
- A selfie of you holding both your proof of identity document and a handwritten note that states the following; "I am buying cryptocurrency from xxxxxxx for my own use and I am not under any pressure from a third party. I understand that if I send cryptocurrency to another individual or business it may be unrecoverable."
Please note that if your deposit has been funded by another bank account then we will also require a statement for that account. The statements must show how the transaction has been funded, i.e. salary, inheritance, windfall etc.
Seriously?
What an absolute shit show.
I could understand if the issues were with the Share Broker and FIAT banks but they were fine, even though it took a long time to process.
The issue has been with the BTC Exchanges in both buying and withdrawing the BTC.
Such a level of friction, it's astounding.
How on earth is anyone expected to transfer a significant portion of their wealth into BTC if they are made to jump through hoops and made to feel like a criminal.
We need to do so much better.
nobody /
npub1g0…86sls
2023-04-01 06:43:04
Author Public Key
npub1g0rnur82mave56m6cynsjw5jnhfd2jtp6lfquwja722apjgved0sn86slsPublished at
2023-04-01 06:43:04Event JSON
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"content": "Helping an orange pilled friend to get his first whole bitcoin and it's been a nightmare. They asked me to guide them through the process although I last bought BTC many years ago, but I know the ropes, or at least I thought I did.\n\nThis is how it panned out...\n\nSell US based Shares - Two days to settle\nConvert to GBP - Two days to settle\nTransfer funds to FIAT Bank Account - One day\n\nNo issues with the transfer of funds but took 5 days\n\nSet up two Exchange accounts with full KYC and AML process. One app based exchange and one traditional exchange.\n\nTransferred £10k to each via bank transfer.\n\nApp based Exchange (let's call it Exchange A) recieved funds within minutes. All good. Set up DCA to buy £1k per hour. All working fine. Received support email requiring him to prove the source of the funds. Duly sent off but no response yet from Exchange but DCA is working and we've been able to get BTC off Exchange and into cold storage.\n\nTraditional Exchange B - Despite leaving FIAT Bank, no sign of funds in Exchange. After a few hours, email to support and the funds had arrived but not posted to account. They arrived a few hours later. Bought 6K BTC. Then get a support email saying that BTC withdrawals suspended due to possible fradulant activity and would be receiving a phone call to review during business hours. This was 4pm in the afternoon. By 11am the next day still no phone call so emailed support. The block was lifted but was advised that when we sent the BTC, we would get a phone call to confirm to release the funds. Knowing that we were pissed, they did offer to ring back as soon as we made the transaction and go through the release process. Which they duly did. But they did advise that any further transfers out for similar amounts would need to be reviewed manually. \n\nThen the next day he received a support email stating...\n\nYour account has reached a threshold at which we are required to verify your source of funds so we can comply with our local AML/CFT legislation. Please can you provide the following documentation in order to verify your source of funds: \n\n- A bank statement showing the funds being sent to xxxxxx and the 60 days prior showing how the transaction has been funded.\n\n- A selfie of you holding both your proof of identity document and a handwritten note that states the following; \"I am buying cryptocurrency from xxxxxxx for my own use and I am not under any pressure from a third party. I understand that if I send cryptocurrency to another individual or business it may be unrecoverable.\"\n\nPlease note that if your deposit has been funded by another bank account then we will also require a statement for that account. The statements must show how the transaction has been funded, i.e. salary, inheritance, windfall etc. \n\nSeriously?\n\nWhat an absolute shit show.\n\nI could understand if the issues were with the Share Broker and FIAT banks but they were fine, even though it took a long time to process. \n\nThe issue has been with the BTC Exchanges in both buying and withdrawing the BTC.\n\nSuch a level of friction, it's astounding. \n\nHow on earth is anyone expected to transfer a significant portion of their wealth into BTC if they are made to jump through hoops and made to feel like a criminal.\n\nWe need to do so much better.",
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}