img source
This is a review on HitBTC and also my own experience with them! It was one of the worst experiences of 2021 so far.
You know most of the exchanges have a limit of money or BTC value of which you can't exceed if you haven't performed KYC. But this just doesn't stand with hitBTC...even though in your account is written that you have a limit of 1 BTC to trade or deposit/withdraw in a day or so, you will be asked to perform KYC no matter your damn value!
They have these "rules" which they slam into your face whenever you ask about "why do I need to perform a KYC when I have a limit of 1 BTC".
Under 12.3 it says that when you create an Account you agree that you have perform a KYC at any time! But this is not something that you get warned of in the beginning!
The beauty of this doesn't end here!
I did open this account like a week or two before I started using it! After starting to use it, I activated 2FA and also verified my phone number, which, normally means that this account belongs to me and I'm the one who is actually using it...so no reasons to "doubt" or "protect" my just deposited funds by blocking them for more than 3 days.
As I've mentioned it before I did activate 2FA and verified my phone number before I did send this email to them. I tried to contact the support team in the Telegram group! Got kicked because of the complains that I had. They said that I'm spreading false propaganda. Tbh, I wasn't spreading anything, I was asking question! I was really concerned because I wasn't the only one with the same problem also there are a lot of people writing in Reddit for the very same or similar problems. People were complaining that they weren't able to withdraw amounts like 1-2 BTCs and now they can't even access their accounts...what's even worse is, they (people on reddit) are saying that HitBTC asked them to declare how they got these funds!
This seems like they really do care about their clients. But do they really do? Support is super slow, their replies are like 1-2 days later.
It's awful that in the end to get my coins out of there I really had to perform a KYC verification! I wouldn't mind to give my credentials to a legit super transparent exchange! I do trade with CEXIO, ICmarkets, Binance, and never had problems with them also all of these accounts are verified...but this is forcing your clients to perform and do things that you don't notify them at first!
IF you have these rules and laws and whatever you got to ask for the same documents before they deposit anything in there...freezing your funds and asking for KYC is pretty shady and I also read that they do sell your personal data to third party companies!
Anyhow, after I verified my account (with a lot of struggle and waiting) I was able to convert my coins (here again with a lot of vicissitude) I withdrew everything and requested an immediate deletion!
I also received another email that informed me about the deletion of my account! Why I did this is I guess very clear. As I say, others experiences are their own personal experiences...but I faced the very same problems that everyone was talking about! I'm happy that the amount that I deposited wasn't anything big otherwise my stress level would be without doubt very high, but then again why just leave them with my hard earned money?
Also glad that according to their Privacy Policy they say that our personal data will stay with them to be used as they please for as long as we have active accounts!
Conclusion!
My personal experience with them was super stressful and very bitter! If someone asks me would I recommend HitBTC I will tell them to read this first. I made a pretty bad decision to trade with them, reason why I chose them was only because I wanted to buy some Electroneum. They may say that they are "the most advanced cryptocurrency exchange" but an advanced one wouldn't play you out like this, they would be transparent, responsive and there to help you out with anything that you need.
In my opinion HitBTC with this kind of behavior will lose all of their clients very soon. They just lost one though.
Do you use or used HitBTC before?
theatdhe!