Gemini Preventing Crypto Withdrawls With Arbitrary Security Holds (Reddit Bitcoin)

Consider this a BIG warning to all Gemeni exchange users (not to be confused with the Earn debacle).

Two weeks ago (01/05/2024), I deposited a large portion of my savings onto the platform to buy BTC in anticipation of the ETF approval. It was going to be a long term investment and generally I withdraw my crypto once there’s a large enough balance. So, in this case I was looking to withdrawl imediately.

Now before I get into all the details I’d like to say that I’ve been a long term user of the Gemini exchange and have heard some rumors that their supp0rt sucked and that they were notoriously hard to get a hold of. But I personally never really had problems with withdrawling smaller balances so I was expecting things to be pretty frictionless… Boy was I mistaken.

Eventually my funds clear, I even get a notification saying the holds for the amount I deposited via ACH had cleared and I was free to withdrawl my funds. I login to the platform imediately to initiate a withdrawl and I get an error stating that there’s a security hold on my account.

A little confused, I head over to reddit before contacting Gemeni’s supp0rt center. Here’s where the anxiety kicks in as I read many posts from other users with a very similar issue and with no indication if they ever got their money back.

Still holding out some hope, I email Gemini’s supp0rt center about the issue and they create a supp0rt ticket for the incidient. The first email I get basically asks for identification information. I end up having to send them a selfie with my ID, a unique code, and the current date. I get a reply saying the process will be “expidited” and that I can reply directly to the email if there’s any additional information I can provide to help resolve the issue.

I reply with…
Thanks, after looking over the terms of service I realize my account may be under investigation due to the recent large deposit I made in relation to transaction history. However, it would be nice if Gemini could be somewhat transparent about this process. And though I’d like to think Gemini is just trying to prevent fraud, it is a little disconcerting that the platform would allow me to make such a “large” deposit and immediately begin trading with these funds anyway. Basically encouraging trading with funds that are possibly under investigation. That alone is troublesome, not to mention the Earn lawsuit and the recent fraud we have seen in this space. And as a long term customer I would like to know ASAP if I’m not going to be able to withdraw my funds via BTC and need to sell my current position\. In that case, I would like to withdraw my funds and closs my account immediately. Hopefully Gemini staff can see how this is concerning.*

Pretty soon after that I get a slightly more intrusive message that makes it pretty clear they are “investigating” my account.

1. How did you find out about Gemini? : I don’t know, YouTube or Reddit?
2. Has anyone instructed you to open this Gemini account or has any one requested payment through Gemini? : No
3. Have you shared your account credentials with anyone? : No, and I have MFA setup that iv’e successfully authenticated with many times.
4. Why did you open a Gemini account? : So I could invest in digital assets
5. How did you discover the wallet address? : It was generated by my wallet.
6. Are you the owner of the wallet address? If you are not the owner, what is your purpose in withdrawing to the wallet address? : Yes, I’m withdrawing to self custody my own assets.
7. Did someone direct you to withdraw to this wallet address? : No
8. Do you have any other relevant information on this wallet address? : I can confirm the multiple attempts to withdraw have been to wallet addresses within my control.

At this point, I’ve yet to hear from them and who knows if I ever will. I sent one final message…
The more I read about account closures and arbitrary security holds on the platform the more I’m starting to realize I probably shouldn’t have entrusted Gemini with such a deposit.
Will I be reimbursed for trading fees and any profit loss if I’m forced to exit my position and close my account because Gemini is halting crypto withdraws?
It would be nice to know what is going on. The lack of supp0rt, getting the same run around as other users, and little information about this security hold are all red flags.

I’ve since exited my position at roughly a $1,200 loss (including trading fees). I have a pending ACH withdrawl and hope to put this company behind me once it clears.