The new rules published last month and expected to come into force from March 9, will ban "citizen[s] or resident[s] of any state, country, territory or other jurisdiction that is embargoed by the United States" from accessing Las Vegas-based Bittrex platform and accessing its trading services.
The new terms reportedly raised much concern with Russian traders who increasingly voiced fears that the US-imposed sanctions following the Crimean crisis in 2014 would render it impossible for them to exploit the Bittrex platform.
Some users presumably received a confirmation, that the new terms would not apply to those under "economic sanctions."
With Iran the situation is a bit more complicated.
There were reports back in 2017 that Bittrex had started closing Iranian accounts without prior notification. Yasser Ahmadi of Lioncomputer.ir complained thereafter, as reported by news.bitcoin.com, that the exchange’s technical service had failed to address the issue and Iranians were thus refused the opportunity of repatriating the funds from their accounts.
where is my money #BittrexExchange?
— Va Hid (@VahidMaldini) 23 февраля 2018 г.
Ticket number 282244
I want my funds back
more than 4month and no action form #Bittrex
when can i access my fund?
users deserve more#bittrex_disabled_accounts #BittrexTrouble #BTC #ETC #ETN #LTC #LSK #BAR #TBar #RDD #ARK #XRP #XLM
BITTREX CRYPTO EXCHANGE CLOSED. MANY CUSTOMERS CAN’T ACCESS THEIR FUNDS. pic.twitter.com/VCtwfqFdBR
— Tim Hutcherson (@hutcherson_tim) 22 февраля 2018 г.
when we open accounts #BittrexExchange said it is ok to trade
— Va Hid (@VahidMaldini) 1 марта 2018 г.
no they ban us
More than 4month since our legit accounts freezed by #Bittrex
we want access to our funds
we want to withdraw our money
tell us when we can access our money?#bittrex_disabled_accounts #BittrexTrouble pic.twitter.com/KH248yNOkQ
The newly announced list of restrictions is viewed upon in Iran as last year’s crackdown being eventually formalized and put on paper.
Ahmadi linked the problem to a reported rise of US imperial ambitions, oriented, as he put it, at a more profound monitoring of the cryptocurrency industry in pursuit of the US' own political interests.
"That is not what bitcoin and blockchain is about, it’s against the spirit of this system," he sorrowfully added.
