Consumer complaint received 2026-05-05 00:00:00
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service — Virtual currency
Issue: Other transaction problem — 
Company: Coinbase, Inc.
State: SC

Complaint narrative:
b'This exchange below illustrates the fact that I asked Coinbase for assistance to transfer all my Bitcoin to cold storage (my own wallet). My account is restricted with no reasoning given as you will see below. It has simply referred to their "backend" review that they repeatedly said would take 48 hours. It has been more than 48 hours and I have heard nothing. I am not able to access my Bitcoin AT ALL! I am unable to transfer it or perform any other transactions on the Coinbase site. I was told I would need to liquidate my holdings and this has serious tax implications. I have spent more than 24 hours trying to resolve this with numerous chats. They have said numerous times there is nothing I am able to do to help with this restriction. I have done nothing to give them concern. I have logged in on my computer and the IP address is consistent. They have records of all the chats. I have registered a complaint with them that they responded to with it can take up to 45 days to resolve. This is not acceptable as their own security is of great concern, meaning they have had accounts hacked and funds stolen. \n\nThe best example is the chat that occurred XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX However, the following is a good example. \n\nI see, at the moment, I can see multiple restrictions on your account now, XXXX, that includes the send option you\'re trying to do, this might be the reason why you\'re unable to move your funds. Ill be reaching out to our back-end team to look into this further. Thank you for your patience, and Ill keep you updated as soon as I have more information.XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX\nThank you for your help. I apologize as I was quite frustrated at the timeXXXX XXXXThat is understandable, XXXX. Thank you so much for your patience. Im still in the process of gathering the necessary information from our back-end team. Unfortunately, I dont have an update just yet. I really appreciate your understanding, and Ill be back with an update as soon as I have more information.XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXTo keep this chat session open, please send a quick message in the next 5 minutes while we continue working on your issue. After 5 minutes, you may be connected to a new agent.\nVirtual Assistant.\nXXXX XXXX\nIll be glad to do that!\nXXXX XXXX\nPlease continue looking so this transfer can be made. Thank you!\nXXXX XXXX\nI just wanted to check in and thank you again for your patience. Im still waiting on the information from our back-end team. I know this is taking a little longer than expected, but Im committed to getting this resolved for you. I appreciate your continued understanding, and Ill be back shortly with an update.XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXI appreciate you!XXXX XXXXIm just hoping we can get this cleared up!XXXX XXXXThank you so much for your patience, while I took the time to carefully review your account. I know waiting can be frustrating, especially when you\'re dealing with account issues, and I truly appreciate you giving me the time to do a thorough review. I wanted to make sure I had all the facts before coming back to you.XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXI want to be completely honest and transparent with you because that\'s what you deserve. After reviewing your account, I have some difficult news to share, but I also have some potentially positive news so please bear with me as I walk you through everything.XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXFirst, the difficult part. Your account is currently restricted from buying, depositing, and sending cryptocurrency. I completely understand how concerning, frustrating, and even upsetting that must be especially when you need to access and move your funds. I want you to know that I take this seriously, and I don\'t want you to have to deal with this any longer than necessary.XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXNow, I need to be upfront with you about the buy and deposit restrictions specifically. Unfortunately, those restrictions are permanent. This means that going forward, you will no longer be able to purchase cryptocurrency or deposit funds into your Coinbase account. I know those words carry a lot of weight, and I\'m truly sorry for having to deliver that news. I wish I could offer a different outcome on that front.XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXHowever, when it comes to the sending restriction on your account and withdrawal option, that is something I may be able to help with. Unlike the buy and deposit restrictions, the sending restriction is something that I can escalate to our specialized back-end team for review. If their review is favorable, this could potentially result in the sending restriction being lifted, which would allow you to send your cryptocurrency to an external wallet of your choice. I can\'t make any guarantees on the outcome, but I want to make sure we explore every possible avenue for you, XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXThe expected completion time for this review is approximately 48 hours. I know that might feel like a long time, especially when you\'re eager to get this resolved, and I completely understand that. But I want to assure you that our team will be using that time to conduct a thorough and careful review of your account to ensure everything is properly addressed.XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXOur back-end team will communicate any updates or further instructions to you directly via email, so I\'d recommend keeping a close eye on your inbox and just to be safe, please also check your spam or junk folder periodically so nothing slips through. And if for any reason you haven\'t received an update within the 48-hour window, please don\'t hesitate to reach back out to us. We would be more than happy to follow up on your behalf and make sure things are progressing.XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXWell, I am sorry to hear about the restrictions. I don\'t understand why. However, if I could transfer what I own to cold storage that would be wonderful.XXXX XXXXYes, XXXX, I completely understand that your main goal is to send your funds to your cold storage, and I want to make sure we get that taken care of for you.XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXThis is precisely why I didn\'t hesitate and immediately escalated your account for a review right away. I know how important it is for you to have access to your funds and the ability to move them to your cold storage, and I didn\'t want you to have to wait a single moment longer than necessary. Your case deserves prompt attention, and I wanted to make sure it gets exactly that.XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXI so appreciate your handling of this difficult situation. I don\'t understand why the restrictions are there exactly. Is it something I can clear up? But, my main goal is to get this into cold storage and I so appreciate that.XXXX XXXXI understand you may want to know the specific reason behind this decision, XXXX and I truly wish I could provide that level of detail. Unfortunately, I\'m not able to disclose the exact reason the system placed these restrictions on your account. What I can share is that Coinbase may disable trading capabilities or services for a variety of reasons, which can include but are not limited to elevated risk of fraud, potential violations of our User Agreement, concerns related to payment methods linked to an account, certain account behaviors, and other security or compliance-related factors.XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXXBut since you\'ve also mentioned that you wish to have your buy and deposit functionality restored as well, I want you to know that I\'ve taken note of that.XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXI\'ll make sure to document this additional request and include it in your case so that our back-end team can take it into consideration as part of their review. This way, when they review the withdrawal and sending restrictions, they can also assess whether the buy and deposit functionality can be restored for you at the same time.XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXSo, I will need to wait for 48 hours to find out if I can move BTC to cold storage. What if I am unable to transfer to cold storage at that point?XXXX XXXXI am confused by the limits are that are posted on my limits page. It says I have unlimited transfers currently - so I am just confused and trying to understand.XXXX XXXXI completely understand your worries about the review, XXXX, and I want to make sure you feel prepared regardless of the outcome.XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXNow, here\'s what I\'d like to suggest to give you some peace of mind. Of course, I\'m hoping for the best possible outcome for you, XXXX I truly am. But in the event that the results come in and the decision unfortunately does not go in your favor, please don\'t feel like all hope is lost. If that happens, I would strongly encourage you to contact us back right away. When you do, we can verify the information together, review the decision that was made, and take another thorough look at your case to see if there\'s anything further we can do about the outcome or if there are any other avenues we can explore on your behalfXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXHow do I make certain I can transfer my BTC? Are you able to do that review currently instead of waiting 48 hours?XXXX XXXXIs there any additional information I can provide in the event this is unsuccessful or today to make the decision easier for everyone?XXXX XXXXI appreciate your elevated security however, my goal has always been to be moved to cold storage.XXXX XXXXAll the transactions marked suspicious have been me trying to move to cold storage.XXXX XXXX, I hear you, and I completely understand your frustration. I genuinely wish I could do more on my end if it were within my power to resolve this for you right here and now, please believe me when I say I would do it without hesitation.XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXHowever, I want to be completely transparent with you. The review of your account is being handled by our specialized back-end team, and this is unfortunately not something I have the ability to process, influence, or expedite from my level. I know that\'s not what you want to hear, and I\'m truly sorry about that. But this process is specifically designed this way to ensure fairness and consistency for all of our users. Every case goes through the same review process, and I want to make sure yours is given the same thorough and impartial consideration that every customer deserves.XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXnBut XXXX, here\'s what I want you to take comfort in I\'ve made sure to thoroughly document every single important detail about your case. Your concerns, your goals, the fact that you need to transfer your funds to your cold storage, everything we\'ve discussed today it\'s all been carefully and meticulously noted in your case file. When our back-end team sits down to review your account, they will have the complete picture right in front of them. I did this because I want to give your case the best possible chance, and I want our team to fully understand your situation.\XXXX XXXX XXXX.\n\nThe same day there was an additional chat with a virtual assistant, below:\nHi XXXX, this is XXXX from Coinbase\XXXX.\nXXXX XXXX\nWhat can we do for you today?\XXXX.\XXXX XXXX\nHi! I apologize in advance buy are you human?\nXXXX XXXX\n...but, are you human?\nXXXX XXXX\nYes XXXX, 100 percent :XXXX XXXX\nOK! XXXX, I am having difficulty and apparently AI has restricted all my activity and would like to clear this up if possible?XXXX XXXXSure, let me check the account and find out what happened here XXXX XXXX\nWould you mind holding on for a few minutes?XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX\nOk, after reviewing the account XXXX, I\'m sorry to say that you are no longer eligible to use Coinbase as a platform for purchasing crypto, deposits and adding payment methods. You can still sell your assets and cash out your funds on the available payment methods on your account.\nXXXX XXXX\nAbove is a screenshot of my limits page. What I was told was I could make no transactions which conflicts with this screenshot. I don\'t understand. I simply want to move my BTC into cold storage and trying to do that has started this entire issue!XXXX XXXX\nThis was decided by a review made on your account. After the review was conducted, the team decided that you can only withdraw your funds on the account.XXXX XXXXUnfortunately, we don\'t have any access to the details of the review that was made on your account\XXXX XXXXnWhat I want to do is move my BTC to cold storage in one transaction am I able to do that?\nXXXX XXXX\nThat won\'t be possible XXXX XXXX\nYou can only convert your crypto to cash and withdraw\nXXXX XXXX\nThat\'s the only available option\nXXXX XXXX\nI do not understand, and I have been told so many different things I am confused\nXXXX XXXX\nI\'m sorry but that the only detail I can provide you right now XXXX XXXX\nWe don\'t have more information about the review that was conducted on your account\nXXXX XXXX\nThey told me it would be 48 hours before a decision was made.\nXXXX XXXX\nBefore a review was complete?\nXXXX XXXX\nNormally it takes 24 to 48 hours, yes\nXXXX XXXX\nIn more complicated cases, it takes longer\nXXXX XXXX\nI want to address that what I was told by the previous agent and what appears on the limits page screenshot I sent above are conflicting but now what you are saying is yet another conflict. I just want to move my BTC to cold storage.\nXXXX XXXX\nwhen I first started this process I never expected so much trouble. my initial transactions were marked suspicious but even after I verified my identity there was still a limit on my account. after it was flagged suspicious again the limit was lowered. I do not understand why it is a problem for me to move my BTC to cold storage.\nXXXX XXXX\nYou can still move your funds but you will just have to convert it to cash then buy BTC again on a different platform and send it to your cold wallet\nXXXX XXXX\nI really can\'t provide you any details about the restriction and the review as I don\'t have visibility on it XXXX XXXX\nI do not wish to sell my BTC. I simply want to move it to cold storage.\nXXXX XXXX\nThat option is not available anymore XXXX XXXXnThe only option available is to cash out your funds.XXXX XXXX\nplease escalate this issue to someone above you, respectfully, so that I can resolve this. the options available at this moment are not satisfactory.\nXXXX XXXX\nI\'m sorry but even if we escalate this, the result would be the same XXXX XXXX\nThe result of the review conducted is final\nXXXX XXXXnthe information on my limits page does not reflect what you or previous agents have said. at no point was this something that Coinbase tried to resolve. this is not good. I need you to transfer this to a manager or someone in your "back end" department so I can get this taken care of. this has now gone on for weeks and is very stressful. the lack of clarity and conflicting information is not good.\nXXXX XXXX\nso are you now telling me that the review I was told and hour ago would take 48 hours and would be emailed about it resolved and final?\nXXXX XXXX\nI\'m taking about the general review which caused the restriction XXXX XXXX\nDid the previous agent you talked to submitted a report to dispute?\nXXXX XXXX\nplease review the previous chat with someone named XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXnHold on XXXX, let me look for it\nXXXX XXXX\nOne moment please\nXXXX XXXXnI\'ve found the chat already\nXXXX XXXX\nI see that they sent a request to dispute this a few hours ago XXXX XXXXnTo keep this chat session open, please send a quick message in the next 5 minutes while we continue working on your issue. After 5 minutes, you may be connected to a new agent.\nVirtual Assistant.\nXXXX XXXX\nDid the agent advise you that it would take 24 to 48 hours for the review to get back to us on this?\nXXXX XXXX\nif such drastic restrictions were going to be placed on my account, why was I not notified about that?\nXXXX XXXX\nyes, I originally just wanted to send the screenshot that showed the conflicting information on my limits page and what I was told in the previous chat but unfortunately my concerns are growing after I have received this new information from you.\nXXXX XXXXnAt this point, since a request for review was made then all you had to do is wait for that to complete\nXXXX XXXX\nwhy is my limits page STILL showing different information that you are currently telling me?\nXXXX XXXX\nThat\'s just there for reference but the restrictions are in place\nXXXX XXXX\nwhy was every option to do anything on this platform limited as soon as I tried to move my BTC to cold storage?\nXXXX XXXX\nif it is for reference and shows wrong information then what is it referencing?\nXXXX XXXX\nWe don\'t have access to that information. As I\'ve advised before. We don\'t have visibility on the review that happened on your account\nXXXX XXXX\nhow would I know these restrictions were happening since I am being given wrong information in my account?\nXXXX XXXX\nThat reference is for basic active account references. One that doesn\'t have restrictions on them\nXXXX XXXX\nI\'m sorry for the confusion because of that. I can raise that with the engineering team for feedback but that\'s the only thing I can do for you XXXXXXXX XXXXnI would like to speak to your manager.\nXXXX XXXX\nThey would only tell you the same thing XXXX XXXX\nInsisting to talk to one would not really create any difference\nXXXX XXXX\nplease escalate this to the person above you.\nXXXX XXXX\nI can\'t because a review is already in place made by the previous agent XXXX XXXX\nAgain, all we have to do right now is to wait for that review to complete in 24 to 48 hours\nXXXX XXXX\nThe next team above me is the review team that will be doing the review for your accountXXXX XXXX\nyou are telling me you are unable to see a lot of important details I am asking about. please transfer me to the department that is able to answer the questions you do not have access to.\nXXXX XXXX\nThere is no other line to transfer you XXXX to be honest\nXXXX XXXX\nThe review team doesn\'t talk to customers, they only conduct reviews returns the cases to our team after it\'s doneXXXX XXXXnAt this point, what can be done has already been completed by the previous agent you talked to named XXXX XXXX\nThey submitted the review request to dispute the results and now the next option is to wait for that review to finish\nXXXX XXXX\nit seems very common for people to transfer their BTC to cold storage. what about me doing so makes my account look suspicious? why after it was originally flagged and I completed additional verification was it not removed?\nXXXX XXXX\nPushing back will just cause delays here XXXX. I\'m trying to be frank with you here. The best course of action is to wait for the review to complete.\nXXXX XXXXnis there a difference in moving my entire balance or moving it in small amounts? do the fees change or is it the same no mater how you transfer it?\nXXXX XXXX\nIt would cost you more to move your balance in small batches\nXXXX XXXX\nI am not pushing back. I am trying to obtain information about my account and clarify multiple discrepancies from various agents.\nXXXX XXXX\nTo keep this chat session open, please send a quick message in the next 5 minutes while we continue working on your issue. After 5 minutes, you may be connected to a new agent.\nVirtual Assistant.\nXXXX XXXX\nclarifying, if it is in fact a higher cost to move things in small amounts then wouldn\'t it make sense that I would want to move my BTC to cold storage all at once?\nXXXX XXXX\nYes it does but again. The account has been restricted by the review team XXXX. We can\'t lift that ourselves that\'s they the last agent you talked to did the right thing and submitted a request to dispute it\XXXX.\nXXXX XXXX\nAll we can do right now is to wait for the result of that review in 24 to 48 hoursXXXX XXXX

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation