In the cryptocurrency trading circle, safely withdrawing funds is a crucial aspect that every investor must take seriously, as a moment of inattention may lead to the risk of bank card freezing. Mastering the following safe withdrawal methods can effectively reduce risks and ensure the safety of funds.
I. Practical precautions to prevent card freezing
Pay attention to the following points to effectively prevent receiving dirty money and having your card frozen:
Choose reputable large platforms: Try to choose large platforms like Binance and OKEx for OTC transactions. These platforms have good communication channels and risk control measures with regulatory and law enforcement agencies in mainland China.
Preferred specific withdrawal strategy platform: Try to choose OTC platforms that support T+1/T+2 withdrawal strategies. Although you cannot withdraw immediately after selling coins, it reduces the risk of being implicated in money laundering through OTC transactions. For example, Binance T+1 and Huobi's strict trading (compared to free trading, T+2 withdrawal).
Choose mainstream coins for OTC transactions: Avoid using stablecoins like USDT for OTC transactions directly; instead, try to use mainstream coins like BTC and ETH for OTC transactions.
Use a dedicated bank card: The bank card for OTC transactions must be a separate card that you usually do not use, separated from salary cards, so that even if it is frozen, it will not affect the use of other funds, and it will also be easier to clarify the flow of funds during investigations.
Prefer local banks: Try to use local bank cards for OTC transactions, such as local urban commercial banks and rural commercial banks. Large and medium-sized joint-stock commercial banks like Agricultural Bank, Industrial Bank, and China Construction Bank, due to their branches spread across the country, law enforcement agencies can freeze them directly.
Avoid frequent trading with fixed parties: Do not trade frequently with fixed merchants, and do not conduct frequent transactions with fixed users. Purchasing from the same user more than three times in one day, or buying and then selling within a few hours, can be very dangerous and has a strong suspicion of money laundering.
Choose reliable OTC merchants: Look for reliable OTC merchants for transactions. Try to actively take orders from large merchants and market makers, minimize placing orders, and avoid merchants in problematic areas. In reality, as an ordinary user, it is difficult to distinguish which merchants are reliable. For example, many friends who traded with Huobi Blue Shield service merchants also had their cards frozen.
Reasonably plan withdrawal frequency and amount: Reduce the frequency of withdrawals and increase the cash amount.
Regulate fund usage: After OTC transactions, do not transfer to other bank cards to avoid contaminating other funds; cooperating with investigations can be troublesome. If you urgently need money, you can withdraw cash through ATMs or spend it online.
Choose appropriate trading time: Try to choose weekdays for cashing out. It is best to conduct transactions during normal working hours, such as between 9 AM and 9 PM on weekdays.
Delay in transferring after receiving payment: After selling USDT and exchanging it for RMB, do not transfer it out immediately; keep it in the account for a while.
II. How to prove your innocence after the card is frozen
If your card is unfortunately frozen, we can explain from the following aspects to prove that you did not participate in money laundering activities:
Individuals are engaged in normal Bitcoin buying and selling transactions and do not involve money laundering or other illegal activities.
You are unaware of any criminal activities related to the debts received from selling coins.
Cooperate by providing all transaction records, chat records, on-chain transfer records, etc.
Be very clear that engaging in digital asset transactions does not violate the law.
III. Materials needed for unfreezing after the card is frozen
In OTC transactions, if the withdrawal bank card is frozen by law enforcement, the other party usually requires individuals to provide the following materials to lift the freeze: complete transaction records, such as bank statements, on-chain transaction records, order records from the trading platform, WeChat chat records (which should include communication details of the transaction process), and other evidence proving the legitimacy of assets, including income proof, etc.
IV. Solutions after the card is frozen
If unfortunately your account is frozen due to receiving dirty money, you can follow the steps below to resolve it:
First, go to the bank where the account is held to understand the reason for the card freeze and which authority froze the card. The reasons for freezing the card mainly fall into two categories: bank risk control and law enforcement freezing.
(I) Bank risk control and solutions
Reason for the card freeze: The bank's risk control may be triggered by recent frequent large transfers, scattered inflows and concentrated outflows, concentrated inflows and scattered outflows, quick in and out, frequent night transactions, and accounts not retaining balances, collectively referred to as abnormal transactions, thus triggering the bank's anti-money laundering risk control system.
Solution: Bring your ID card and bank card to the bank for communication, and submit relevant transaction reconciliation proof. If it involves local law enforcement policy directives, you must also go to the local public security department to cooperate with the investigation. If it triggers the anti-fraud center's model control, you will have to fill out the anti-fraud application form required by the anti-fraud authorities, and only after passing the review can the freeze be lifted.
(II) Law enforcement freezing and solutions
Reason for the card freeze: Usually, it is because the account has received other involved illicit funds, which may have been received directly or indirectly. Law enforcement will freeze all related accounts that have processed the involved transaction records to prevent the transfer of funds and facilitate case investigations.
Solution: First observe for 3 days to see if the temporary stop payment has turned into a formal freeze (continuing for six months). If it becomes a formal freeze, immediately go to the bank where the account is held to inquire about the name of the law enforcement unit that froze the card, the case number, and the name of the police officer in charge of the case. Then contact the responsible police officer to understand the reason for the freeze and cooperate with their investigation. Once it is verified that you have not engaged in any illegal or disciplinary actions, your account will be unfrozen.
