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Your Crypto Exchange Account Is Frozen: What to Do, in Order
Short answer. If your crypto exchange account is frozen:
- Find out which kind of hold it is: a document request, a risk or compliance review, a security lock after you changed a setting, the exchange leaving your country, or a platform-wide suspension. Each has a different fix.
- Answer only through the exchange’s own app or website.
- Keep a dated record of every message and document.
- Use the exchange’s official appeal route before you go anywhere else.
The full checklist is below, with the routes six large exchanges publish and what their own pages say can trigger a hold.
Scam warning: read this first. No one can unfreeze your account for a fee. Exchanges do not call you from personal numbers or ask for your seed phrase, private keys or 2FA codes. Only contact support through the exchange’s own app or website. Ignore anyone who finds you online and offers to “recover” frozen funds.
First, find out what kind of freeze it is
Exchanges use “frozen”, “restricted”, “on hold” and “under review” for very different situations. The notice you received, or the status next to your withdrawal, usually tells you which one you are in.
1. Verification or document request (KYC, source of funds)
What you’ll usually see: a message asking you to complete or update identity verification, or to explain where your funds came from. Withdrawals may be limited until you do.
What to do: send exactly what is asked, through the exchange’s own upload or support flow, in one complete reply. Binance, Bitget, KuCoin, MEXC and OKX all list incomplete identity verification on their help pages as a reason a withdrawal is held or limited.
2. Risk-control or compliance review
What you’ll usually see: “under review”, “risk control”, “pending asset” or a restricted account, often with little explanation. Exchanges review withdrawals linked to addresses or funds they flag as risky, and transactions that match fraud patterns.
What to do: answer the questionnaire or document request fully and keep your evidence of where the funds came from. Most exchanges do not promise a review time. Binance says it gives no fixed duration for risk reviews or anti-scam holds, and Bybit does not say how long a compliance hold lasts.
MEXC publishes a Risk Control Guideline that sets out when it can restrict accounts. It lists prohibited conduct, including unauthorised bots, hiding your identity or location, wash trading and other manipulation, multiple accounts or KYC identities, P2P fraud and links to sanctioned parties or illicit funds. The measures it lists range from withdrawal limits (MEXC says most withdrawal restrictions last about 24 hours, but they can be extended or made permanent) and account restrictions of up to 180 days or longer, to asset freezes and confiscation of remaining assets where legally permissible. MEXC says it decides at its sole discretion and does not guarantee review times or outcomes. Read the guideline before you trade there.
3. Security hold after a password, 2FA or device change
What you’ll usually see: withdrawals disabled for a fixed period after you changed your password, phone, email or two-factor settings.
What to do: wait it out. This is an automatic protection; Binance, for example, says its suspension cannot be lifted early. If you did not make the change, treat it as a possible account takeover and contact support through the official app or website at once. See the hold periods each exchange publishes.
4. Regulatory exit: the exchange stops serving your country
What you’ll usually see: an email or banner saying the exchange is closing accounts in your country, often with a “withdrawal only” period.
Examples from our data sheet:
- Binance and the EU. Binance has no MiCA licence and is not on ESMA’s register (checked 31 Oct 2026). According to CoinDesk (26 Jun 2026), it stopped new registrations and wound down EU services from 1 Jul 2026. Binance’s own notice to European users says assets “will remain accessible at all times”.
- Bitget and India. Bitget paused new sign-ups from India on 6 Feb 2026, citing FIU-IND requirements; existing users keep access.
What to do: read the exit notice for the last date to withdraw, and move your funds well before it. If your exchange no longer serves your country, see licensed Binance alternatives by country.
5. Platform-wide suspension (hack or outage)
What you’ll usually see: every user is affected at once, and the exchange posts a notice on its website or official social accounts.
Examples from official notices and press reports:
- Mudrex (India). Mudrex paused crypto withdrawals from 11 Jan 2025, saying the pause would last until 28 Jan 2025 while it upgraded compliance systems, according to press reports. We have not verified when withdrawals resumed.
What to do: do not open “help” chats from links in comments or direct messages. Follow only the exchange’s official status page and announcements, and do not send more funds to the exchange until withdrawals reopen.
6. Court or law-enforcement order
What you’ll usually see: the exchange says it cannot discuss the restriction, or that it is acting on a legal or regulatory obligation. Binance, for example, says not all account restrictions can be appealed, especially those linked to law-enforcement or regulatory obligations.
What to do: ask the exchange, in writing, which authority or order applies, if it can tell you. For this kind of freeze, speak to a qualified lawyer. We do not give legal advice.
What to do, in order (the checklist)
- Stop and do not send more funds. Do not open new “help” chats from links in emails, comments or messages.
- Read the exact notice and take a dated screenshot of it, plus your balance and any pending withdrawal.
- Check the exchange’s official status or announcement page to see whether the problem is platform-wide.
- Contact support only through the official app or website. Keep the ticket number and every reply.
- Prepare the documents exchanges usually ask for: ID, proof of address, source of funds (payslips, bank statements, earlier exchange records) and your transaction history.
- Answer fast and completely, in one channel and one ticket, so the whole history stays together.
- Track the timeline. Note each date and follow up at sensible intervals, quoting your ticket number.
- Use the exchange’s formal appeal or complaint route (see the table below).
- Escalate to a regulator or dispute body where one covers that company in your country (see “Where to escalate”).
- For large sums, court orders or no response at all, get independent professional advice.
What each exchange says can hold a withdrawal
These are the hold and review triggers that each exchange publishes in its own help centre. Hold periods are the exchanges’ own statements, not times we measured.
| Exchange | Lock after security changes | Other triggers the exchange lists |
|---|---|---|
| Binance | 24 to 48 hours after changes such as a password change; Binance says it cannot be lifted early | Abnormal account activity; withdrawals matching known fraud patterns (questionnaire, warnings or a cool-down period); identity or facial verification not completed or failed; restrictions notified by email, SMS or in-app message; wallet maintenance or network congestion |
| Bitget | 24 hours after resetting your password or fund password, changing 2FA, email or mobile number, or after unusual activity; 1 hour on a new device | Identity verification not completed; larger transactions may be reviewed manually and flagged ones held; daily limit reached; chain maintenance |
| Bybit | 24 hours after changing or resetting your password, phone, email, Google Authenticator or Fund Password, the New Address Withdrawal Lock, moving your KYC identity, reactivating your account or removing passkeys | Travel Rule check of the receiving wallet; receiving address flagged as risky (withdrawal may be rejected and the account restricted); funds linked to sanctioned entities, stolen funds or other prohibited sources (“Pending Asset” compliance review); suspended token or chain |
| KuCoin | 24 hours after deleting a passkey, changing 2FA, trading password, phone or email, unfreezing the account, or resetting the login password | Account at risk (“User Forbidden”); transactions involving KuCoin’s restricted counterparty list; identity verification not completed; large withdrawals processed manually |
| MEXC | Not stated on the pages we read | Manual review (“Under Review”); Travel Rule check; crypto bought through fiat channels held 24 hours by default (longer at higher risk levels) for users in 33 listed jurisdictions, including India, Nigeria and the UAE; risk-control measures under its Risk Control Guideline; identity verification not completed |
| OKX | 24 hours after a login-password change or a change of phone, email or authenticator; 24 hours for a newly added allowlisted address (can be turned off) | Identity verification required before any withdrawal; address flagged as high risk (48-hour restriction); double-spending risk control on recent deposits; account frozen or restricted by OKX (follow its email); 24-hour limit reached; delisting or maintenance; funds used as margin or in Earn |
Sources (exchanges’ own help pages, verified 11 Oct 2026): Binance, Bitget (help articles from 2024–2025 that Bitget marks as time-sensitive), Bybit, KuCoin, MEXC Risk Control Guideline and MEXC T+N policy, OKX.
Official appeal routes by exchange
If the hold is not lifted after you answer, use the exchange’s own appeal or complaint route. None of these exchanges publishes a complaint deadline for its global platform; only the EU companies of KuCoin and OKX publish formal complaint procedures with time limits.
| Exchange | Official route (global platform) | EU company: formal complaint procedure |
|---|---|---|
| Binance | Support chat (an AI assistant first, then “Get Support” for a human agent), with screenshots. If a withdrawal is blocked because identity or facial verification failed, use “Appeal” on the Withdraw Crypto page. Binance says not all restrictions can be appealed, especially those linked to law-enforcement or regulatory obligations. No response deadline published. | Not applicable: Binance no longer serves the EU |
| Bitget | No separate appeal process for frozen assets. Check the Notification Center, complete or update verification, cancel open orders or P2P trades holding the funds, check whitelist and asset-lock settings, then submit a support ticket with transaction IDs and error messages. Bitget says frozen funds stay in your account until the issue is resolved. | Not applicable: Bitget has no MiCA licence |
| Bybit | On the Bybit website (not the app): Funding Account → Pending Asset → Appeal, then the Enhanced Due Diligence questionnaire and documents; Bybit says it reaches out within 24 hours of receiving them. Self-deactivated accounts: “Request to Unban” (about 5–7 working days if extra checks apply). Accounts suspended for security reasons cannot use self-service. Other cases: live chat or web form. | Not yet verified |
| KuCoin | Online support (Help Center chat, or Support → Online Support in the app) or a ticket; if you froze the account yourself, “Apply to Unfreeze”. Withdrawals stay suspended for 24 hours after unfreezing. | KuCoin EU Exchange GmbH: free complaint by email (KuCoin’s page shows complaints@kucoin.eu but links complaints@kceu.exchange, so check both), secure portal or post to Vienna. Acknowledgement within 10 business days; final response within 60 calendar days; then Austria’s FMA or an out-of-court dispute body |
| MEXC | “Account Risk Review” form in the Help Center (web: link at the bottom of the homepage; app: Home → More → Services → Help Center). MEXC says reviews typically take about 3 business days and restrictions cannot be lifted early; a rejected self-service application can be resubmitted. A Withdrawal Appeal Form exists if you cannot complete verification (approved accounts keep only withdrawal and position-closing permissions). MEXC does not guarantee review times or outcomes. | Not applicable: MEXC has no MiCA licence |
| OKX | Follow the instructions in OKX’s freeze email (check spam); otherwise 24/7 chat in the Help Center. OKX’s global help pages describe no formal appeal process. | OKX Europe Limited: online form, eu.complaints@okx.com or registered post. Acknowledgement within 5 business days; final response generally within 15 business days; then Malta’s Office of the Arbiter for Financial Services |
Sources (verified 11 Oct 2026): Binance support guide; Bitget frozen-assets guide; Bybit compliance-review FAQ; KuCoin freeze guide and KuCoin EU complaints policy; MEXC risk-control FAQ; OKX Europe complaint process.
Contact the exchange only through its official website or app. Search results and social media are full of fake “support” numbers and accounts.
Where to escalate, by country
If the exchange’s own route fails, a regulator or dispute body may cover the company you dealt with. Which one depends on the company’s licence, not on your nationality.
- India. Crypto service providers must register with FIU-IND as reporting entities under India’s anti-money-laundering law (PMLA). FIU-IND does not publish a list of registered providers, and we have not found an official route for crypto complaints in India. See our India guide for the registration evidence we found for each exchange. Our list of FIU-registered exchanges sets out the registration evidence one by one.
- European Union. Crypto firms without a MiCA licence must wind down EU activity. Each licensed company is listed on ESMA’s interim MiCA register with the national authority that authorised it. Two EU companies in our data publish a further step: KuCoin EU points to Austria’s FMA or an out-of-court dispute body, and OKX Europe to Malta’s Office of the Arbiter for Financial Services.
- United Kingdom. We have not yet verified which official complaints routes cover crypto exchanges in the UK.
- United States. We have not yet verified an official complaints route for crypto exchanges in the US.
We only name complaint bodies that an official page in our data sheet names. If an exchange is not licensed where you live, a local regulator may not be able to act for you.
How common are freeze complaints?
In a sample of 95 Trustpilot reviews of Bybit, Binance, MEXC and Bitget (every review on page 2 of each exchange’s page, all star ratings, read on 9 October 2026), 47 were mainly about frozen accounts or withheld withdrawals, and 53 mentioned the problem. This is a small, self-selected sample of mostly one-star reviews, not a measure of how often accounts are frozen. How we count complaints
Almost all the Bitget reviews in the sample were written before its 24 Sep 2026 incident, so the sample says nothing about how Bitget users have fared since.
How to reduce the chance of a freeze
None of these guarantees anything, but they remove common reasons for delays:
- Complete verification before you deposit large amounts, not when you first try to withdraw.
- Keep records of where your money came from: bank statements, payslips, earlier exchange statements.
- Expect checks when your pattern changes suddenly, such as a much larger deposit than usual or funds from an unfamiliar source, and have your records ready.
- Plan around security locks. Do not change your password, phone or 2FA right before you need to withdraw.
- Keep only your active trading balance on any exchange, and withdraw what you do not need regularly.
- For long-term holdings, consider a wallet you control, where no exchange can freeze the funds; you then carry full responsibility for keeping your keys safe.
Never use borrowed or shared accounts, and never split transactions to avoid checks. We do not cover ways to bypass restrictions, including VPNs.
If your exchange was hacked or suspended withdrawals
Platform-wide incidents are different from a freeze on your account alone: everyone is affected, and the exchange controls the timeline. Follow only the exchange’s official notices, and treat loss figures or “recovery” offers from third parties with caution. We track incidents from official notices in our incident tracker, including the Bitget security incident of September 2026.
For one exchange’s rules in full, see the withdrawal sections of our Bybit review and Binance review.
How we researched this guide
This guide is Researched (not tested). We research exchanges’ official pages and regulator records and keep every figure in a dated data sheet. We do not open accounts or move funds, and we do not give exchanges an overall score. This guide summarises exchanges’ own withdrawal rules and notices, public incident reports and our dated complaint sample.
We used the help-centre pages of Binance, Bitget, Bybit, KuCoin, MEXC and OKX, the EU complaint procedures of KuCoin EU and OKX Europe, Bitget’s incident page, ESMA’s MiCA register and FIU-IND’s published circulars, plus press reports where no official page was available. Figures were verified on 10 and 11 Oct 2026. Read how we review exchanges.
Crypto assets are volatile and you can lose all the money you put in. Nothing on this site is financial or legal advice. Risk warning
Frequently asked questions
- How long does an exchange account freeze last?
- It depends on the cause. Security locks after a password or 2FA change are fixed, usually 24 hours (Binance says 24 to 48 hours). MEXC says its risk reviews typically take about 3 business days. Binance and Bybit give no fixed duration for risk or compliance reviews. We do not publish averages, because no exchange publishes them.
- Can an exchange keep my crypto?
- Read the exchange's terms. MEXC's published Risk Control Guideline, for example, lists asset freezes and confiscation of remaining assets where legally permissible among its possible measures. Bitget says frozen funds stay in your account until the issue is resolved. If a large amount is at stake, speak to a qualified lawyer.
- Someone offered to unfreeze my account. Is it legit?
- No. No one can unfreeze an exchange account for a fee. Exchanges do not contact you from personal numbers or ask for your seed phrase, private keys or 2FA codes. Contact support only through the exchange's official app or website.
- Why was my withdrawal put on hold after I changed my password?
- It is an automatic security lock. Bitget, Bybit, KuCoin and OKX say withdrawals are blocked for 24 hours after a password or similar change; Binance says 24 to 48 hours and that it cannot be lifted early. If you did not make the change, contact support immediately.
- What documents do exchanges usually ask for?
- Usually a government ID, proof of address and evidence of the source of your funds, such as bank statements, payslips or records from another exchange. Bybit's compliance appeal also includes an Enhanced Due Diligence questionnaire.
- Should I contact a regulator?
- Try the exchange's own appeal route first. If the company is licensed in your region, its regulator or a dispute body may help: for example, KuCoin EU customers can go to Austria's FMA or an out-of-court dispute body, and OKX Europe customers to Malta's Office of the Arbiter for Financial Services.
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