Crypto exchange account frozen or restricted: what to do first

    A frozen or restricted exchange account is usually the result of the exchange's own security, verification or compliance check, and the right response depends on which one it is. Identify the type from the notice, reply only through the exchange's official channel, send exactly what it asks for, and ignore unsolicited offers to unlock it for a fee.

    Only the exchange can confirm why it restricted your account. This page helps you read the notice, find the right channel and avoid the mistakes that make a restriction harder to resolve.

    Last updated · 10 November 2026Covers · Self-lock · security hold · KYC refresh · AML and source of funds · court order · platform pause

    1Frozen, restricted, locked: what the words tell you

    Exchanges do not use these words the same way. OKX, for example, separates a restriction it places itself from a freeze that you or your emergency contact place on the account (OKX), and KuCoin and Crypto.com also let you lock your own account. What still works on the account tells you more than the word in the notice.

    What you seeWhat it usually points to
    You cannot sign in at allA lock you placed yourself, or a security review after unusual sign-in activity
    You can sign in and trade, but withdrawals are pausedA timed security hold after a password, two-factor, phone or email change, or a withdrawal under review
    A request to verify your identity or update your detailsA KYC refresh or a periodic compliance review
    Deposits, withdrawals or trading are blocked and you are asked where the money came fromAn AML or source-of-funds review
    One deposit or withdrawal is held while the rest of the account worksA check on that transfer, for example Travel Rule information or proof that you own the wallet
    No reason, no timeline and no appeal routePossibly an external order from a court, a regulator or law enforcement

    Treat this as a rough guide: the notice and the exchange's help page decide, and restrictions can overlap.

    2Which restriction do you have?

    The table sets out six types: how each one looks, who decides, what the exchange asks for and where your answer goes. The quoted phrases in the first column are the exchanges' own words from their help pages; the rest of the column paraphrases them.

    How the exchange describes it (examples)TypeWho decidesWhat the exchange asks forWhere to reply
    “Freeze Account” in your security settings, or the freeze link in a security email (KuCoin); One-Button Lock (Crypto.com)Self-lockYou placed it; you ask the exchange to lift itKuCoin: an unfreeze application once the account is safe. Crypto.com: identity verification in the app, or a manual unlock by support, which it says may take several business daysThe unlock flow in the app or on the sign-in page, or support chat
    Withdrawals suspended for 24 to 48 hours after a password change (Binance); a 24-hour suspension after a two-factor, phone, email or trading-password change (KuCoin)Security holdAutomatic, on a timerNothing. Binance states that the suspension cannot be lifted before the period endsNo reply needed: wait for the timer to run out
    “A periodic account review is required as part of our compliance obligations” (OKX); ID or contact details missing, expired or unconfirmed (Kraken)KYC refreshThe exchange's compliance teamConfirmation that your identity details are current, and the supporting documents the request names. OKX says this review cannot be skippedThe verification prompt in the app, or the ticket the exchange opened
    “Our risk system identified unusual or suspicious activity on your account” (OKX); an anti-money-laundering restriction (HTX); a withdrawal on hold for security and regulatory checks (Kraken)AML or source-of-funds reviewThe exchange's compliance team, case by caseAn explanation of the activity and evidence of where the funds came from. HTX uses a security questionnaireThe ticket, questionnaire or form named in the notice
    A freeze “authorized by the court” (Binance P2P policy); a freezing order from a judicial authority (HTX)Court or law-enforcement orderThe court or authority; the exchange applies the orderNothing it can lift itself. Binance's P2P policy sends the user to the judicial authority rather than the platform; HTX says to contact both its support and the authorityThe authority named in the order, with a lawyer (see below)
    Withdrawals “temporarily suspended due to wallet maintenance or a network upgrade” (Bybit); an incident on the exchange's status page (Kraken)Platform-wide pauseThe exchange's operations teamNothingNo reply needed: follow the status page or announcement

    Review times belong to the exchange, and only some publish them. Kraken says its reviews usually take 10–14 business days; HTX's restricted-accounts notice asks users who file its security questionnaire after an anti-money-laundering restriction to allow up to 5 working days; OKX says to contact support with your ticket number if 48 hours pass after a submission with no update. More on how long a review takes.

    3Is it your account, or the whole platform?

    Before you treat a stuck withdrawal as a restriction, check whether the exchange has paused it for everyone. Bybit, for example, suspends withdrawals on a network during wallet maintenance or a network upgrade, and suggests another network or a later retry (Bybit). Kraken posts incidents and maintenance on its status page.

    • Probably the platform: the exchange's announcement or status page names the coin or network, other networks still work, and your account shows no notice and no request.
    • Probably your account: a notice in the app or by email, a request for documents or answers, or a block that covers every coin and every network.

    4The first 48 hours: do and don't

    Do

    • Save everything: the notice, every email and ticket number, dates, times and any deadline the request gives you.
    • Find the request in your email, spam folder included, and in the app's notifications. Kraken, for example, sends its requests both ways (Kraken).
    • Check that it is genuine. Open the exchange's app yourself rather than a link in a message. Kraken says it never calls or emails to ask for your login details or for remote access to your device.
    • Answer exactly what was asked, completely, in one reply. Kraken notes that partial answers can add days to a review.
    • Collect the origin of the funds under review, not your whole financial history: deposit addresses, transaction hashes, the trades or transfers behind the money, and bank statements for bank deposits.
    • Secure the account if the restriction followed activity you do not recognise: a new password, unknown devices removed and two-factor authentication on, as Kraken advises.

    Don't

    • Don't pay an “unfreezing fee”. HTX says removing a withdrawal limit through its official channel is free, and that anyone asking for “unfreezing fees”, “handling fees” or “security deposits” is attempting a scam (HTX).
    • Don't share passwords, two-factor codes or remote access, even with someone who says they work for the exchange.
    • Don't answer unsolicited offers to recover or release funds. The FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center advises against sending money or personal information to an unknown person who says they can recover cryptocurrency (IC3).
    • Don't send altered or borrowed documents, or documents that contradict what you sent before.
    • Don't route money around the restriction through someone else's account or wallet. Kraken allows only first-party transactions, from one of your own accounts to another (Kraken), and the Crypto.com Exchange does not allow transfers to or from wallets you do not own (Crypto.com).
    • Don't flood support. Follow up on the same ticket, so the whole case sits in one place.
    • Don't miss a deadline. OKX says that a missed deadline can extend the restriction or suspend the account until the information arrives (OKX).

    5Source of funds and the Travel Rule

    Exchanges ask where your money came from because anti-money-laundering rules apply to them much as they apply to banks. In the EU, the European Banking Authority notes, crypto-asset service providers authorised under the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation are subject to the same anti-money-laundering requirements and supervision as credit and financial institutions (EBA).

    One of those rules is the Travel Rule: information on the sender and the recipient has to travel with a transfer. The EBA explains that the EU rule follows Recommendation 16 of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), which the FATF has extended to virtual asset service providers, and that Regulation (EU) 2023/1113 extends it to transfers of certain crypto-assets. That Regulation requires providers to detect a transfer that lacks the information and decide whether to execute, reject or suspend it; the EBA's guidelines, which apply from 30 December 2024, set out how (EBA, Travel Rule Guidelines).

    This is why a single transfer can stop while the rest of the account works. Kraken asks its EU and UK clients to verify that they own a private wallet for crypto deposits and withdrawals above 1,000 EUR, and releases a held deposit once that is done (Kraken). Crypto.com holds a deposit from an address you have not declared until you confirm that the wallet is yours (Crypto.com).

    Answer a Travel Rule hold with the information or wallet confirmation asked for, and a source-of-funds question with the transactions and documents that show where those specific funds came from.

    6If a court or law-enforcement order is behind it

    Some restrictions are not the exchange's decision. HTX writes that on a freezing order from a judicial authority it restricts the account and freezes the assets as the order requires, and that the user should contact that authority as well as its support (HTX). Binance's P2P policy tells a user whose account a court has frozen to contact the judicial authority rather than the platform (Binance), and its withdrawal help page notes that not all account restrictions are open for appeal, particularly those involving law enforcement orders or regulatory obligations (Binance).

    Signs that may point this way: a notice that gives no reason, support that cannot share details, and no appeal route or timeline. What helps:

    • Ask the exchange in writing whether the restriction comes from its own review or from an external order, and which authority or reference it can share with you.
    • Do not move funds around the restriction or open a new account.
    • Speak to an independent lawyer qualified in the jurisdiction of the court or authority. Whether and how an order can be challenged is a legal question.
    • Choose the lawyer yourself and check their licence. The FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center warns about fictitious law firms that target victims of cryptocurrency scams, and suggests asking for documentation or a photo of their law licence (IC3).
    Unblock.Exchange is not a law firm and does not give legal advice. A compliance file does not change a hold placed by a court, law enforcement or a regulator, and our terms say we decline cases where the restriction is not open to appeal, such as a hold placed by a law enforcement or regulatory authority.

    7Not an exchange-account problem

    Two situations can look like a frozen exchange account and are not covered here. A token frozen by its issuer: some stablecoin issuers can block tokens at a blockchain address, USDT among them. That freeze sits on the token and the address, not on your exchange account, and an exchange account review does not address it. Stolen funds: if a hacker or a scammer took your crypto, report it to the police in your country and to the exchange involved. That is a theft investigation, not an account restriction. Unblock.Exchange works only on restrictions an exchange places on its own customer's account.

    8Exchange-by-exchange guides

    Each guide below covers one exchange: why it restricts accounts, what it may ask you for and where to reply. They are grouped by the market the exchange mainly serves; platforms that serve many regions are listed together. The full directory is on the all exchanges page.

    International platforms

    Aivora Exchange · AscendEX · Binance · BingX · Bitfinex · Bitget · BitMart · BitMEX · BloFin · BVOX · Bybit · Changelly · CoinEx · Crypto.com · Deribit · FMFW.io · Gate · HashKey Global · HitBTC · HTX · KuCoin · LBank · MEXC · OKX · Phemex · Poloniex · WEEX · WOO X · XBO.com · Zoomex

    United States and Canada

    Binance.US · Coinbase · Gemini · INX One · Kraken

    Europe

    Bitstamp · Bybit EU · NBX · P2B

    Japan

    bitFlyer · BitTrade · GMO Coin Japan · OKJ

    Asia-Pacific

    Bitazza · Coins.ph · HashKey Exchange · MAX Exchange · OSL · WazirX

    Africa

    Luno · VALR

    Latin America

    Bitso

    9Where Unblock.Exchange fits

    Unblock.Exchange is an independent compliance service for people whose exchange account has been restricted. We review the exchange's messages, your transactions and your documents, and work out what the exchange is asking for. You send the reply through the exchange's official channel; we prepare it with you. We never contact the exchange on your behalf. We do not guarantee any outcome: the decision is the exchange's.

    Related pages: why exchanges restrict accounts, how long a review takes, how the service works, all exchanges, frequently asked questions.

    10Sources

    Each page below was read on 10 November 2026. Exchanges change their rules, hold periods and review times, so check the current version before you rely on one.

    This page is informational and is not legal advice. Exchange rules, hold periods and review times quoted here are the exchanges' own, as published on the date checked, and may change. Unblock.Exchange is not affiliated with any exchange and does not act on behalf of any exchange, regulator or law enforcement authority; the exchange makes the final decision. No outcome is promised.