Consumer complaint received 2021-06-20
Company: Winklevoss Exchange LLC
State: CA
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service
Sub-product: Virtual currency
Issue: Other transaction problem

Complaint:
My issue is with the Gemini cryptocurrency exchange ( https : //www.gemini.com/ ). 

I recently opened an account to purchase and trade crypto. The service is otherwise fantastic, but I've had some inexcusable issues that I'm concerned aren't legal. 

I have placed several limit orders to both purchase and sell that Gemini does NOT allow me to cancel once placed. This means if I were to do something ridiculous such as put the entire cash balance of my portfolio into a limit order for ETH  ( currently trading at $ XXXX ) at {$1.00}, I will NEVER be able to cancel this limit order, and thus my fund will FOREVER be locked up. Is it legal to withhold me access to my own funds? 

Because of my inability to cancel these limit orders, I have made several purchases that I did not intend to. Trading crypto, much like the stock market, can be very volatile and it's imperative to be able to update my buy and sell levels as new information is being presented to me. 

All dates and amounts listed below are from transaction documents emailed to me from Gemini. 

Order Initiated : XX/XX/2021 XXXX XXXX Order Filled : XX/XX/2021 XXXX XXXX Order Type : Limit Buy Individual Trades : 2 Order ID : REDACTED Individual Trades : Trade Date : XX/XX/2021 XXXX XXXX Amount : XXXX ETH Price : {$2500.00} per ETH Subtotal : {$24.00} Fee : {$0.00} Total : {$24.00} Trade Date : XX/XX/2021 XXXX XXXX Amount : XXXX ETH Price : {$2500.00} per ETH Subtotal : {$220.00} Fee : {$0.00} Total : {$220.00} Order Initiated : XX/XX/2021 XXXX XXXX Order Filled : XX/XX/2021 XXXX XXXX Order Type : Limit Buy Individual Trades : 2 Order ID : REDACTED Individual Trades : Trade Date : XX/XX/2021 XXXX XXXX Amount : XXXX ETH Price : {$2500.00} per ETH Subtotal : {$99.00} Fee : {$0.00} Total : {$100.00} Trade Date : XX/XX/2021 XXXX XXXX Amount : XXXX ETH Price : {$2500.00} per ETH Subtotal : {$0.00} Fee : {$0.00} Total : {$0.00} Order Initiated : XX/XX/2021 XXXX XXXX Order Filled : XX/XX/2021 XXXX XXXX Order Type : Limit Buy Individual Trades : 1 Order ID : REDACTED Amount : XXXX ETH Price : {$2300.00} per ETH Subtotal : {$140.00} Fee : {$0.00} Total : {$140.00} Each of these orders I attempted to cancel long before being filled, but I am presented with this message : " The provided account is restricted and can not perform this action. '' So I'm free to deposit all the money I want, but unable to withdraw anything until my account is verified. This is understandable, however, my account has been verified since XX/XX/XXXX. 

And while the above statement makes sense, what doesn't make any sense whatsoever is allowing users to place limit orders and not allowing them to cancel. I don't see any proper reasoning or logic behind this. I don't understand how it could potentially protect the user or the exchange from anything either. I see it as a complete failure on the part of Gemini. 

In addition, at the bottom of each email they have this disclaimer : " If you would like to dispute this order, please contact us at XXXX within three days. 
Team Gemini '' I have contacted Gemini numerous times about these transac

tions, one of them less than 3 minutes after I had been filled. Over 5 days with no response now.

I have little-to-no faith I'll ever get a proper response either, as I have sent in support requests to Gemini twice before on different occasions. I received an automated response 2-4 days afterward that was completely irrelevant to the issue at hand. However, they both list this exact sentence in full bold print : " I see that your account has been verified since opening this support ticket. You now have full trading and transfer capabilities. '' If the above statement is true and I have full trading and transfer capabilities, then why am I unable to cancel my limit orders? I haven't tried to initiate a withdrawal but I assume I'm locked out of doing that as well. I've done everything I can as a customer to contact Gemini support and rectify the situation, they are complacent and happily screwing me over. 

Finally, I also have a limit sell order that I am unable to cancel. This means that the ETH I was forced to purchase, I don't even have control of. I can't cancel my sell order, so my ETH is constantly locked up. I can't withdraw it or even choose to sell it at a lower price. If ETH never hits the original price target I set, it'll be sitting in the account forever. How is this legal? 

Order Initiated : XX/XX/2021 XXXX XXXX Order Type : Limit Sell Order ID : XXXX I receive the same restricted account message I put above when I attempt to cancel this limit sell order.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation