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NOTICE OF ACCOUNT CLOSURE (locked out of Coinbase)

3 points by gviperrr ↗ HN
I received an email from Coinbase saying my account (with a significant amount of $ invested a while back) has been closed due to violation of terms.

I haven't done anything to violate the terms...

Anyone else get an email like this?

2 comments

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BravoCo
There is one term that is guaranteed to get you closed.

In legalese it is called "structuring" - where people do multiple transfers of under $10k each in order to try to avoid the banks reporting them. It is a federal crime. People go to jail for that.

Coinbase wants no part of that. They already are fighting the IRS about turning over records.

(And the truth is that banks now report nearly everything; certainly anything more than $3000 so people that do this can be easily caught. And they DO sometimes go to jail.)

Example: https://thebitcoin.pub/t/coinbase-closed-my-account-for-unkn...

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If you haven't done that then it is probably just a glitch. Try their support. They have no legal right to keep your money without a warrant.

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Meanwhile, they are also having technical problems.

Here is what is happening to them: https://steemit.com/bitcoin/@steembusiness/coinbase-hit-10-m...

"Coinbase Hits 10 Million Users - Struggles To Keep Up"

greenyoda
The laws pertaining to "structuring"[1] have to do with requirements to file "currency transaction reports"[2], which are for moving physical cash around. Bitcoin isn't considered to be a currency under U.S. law - the IRS treats it as a capital asset, like shares of stock. Thus, unless someone is handing you a large pile of bills in exchange for your Bitcoin, and you're depositing that cash into your bank account in increments of under $10,000, it doesn't seem like you could be guilty of structuring.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Structuring#United_States - "In the United States, the Bank Secrecy Act requires the filing of a currency transaction report for transactions of more than $10,000 in currency (US or foreign)..."

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Currency_transaction_report - "Used in this context, currency means the coin and/or paper money of any country that is designated as legal tender by the country of issuance. Currency also includes U.S. silver certificates, U.S. notes, Federal Reserve notes, and official foreign bank notes."