Crypto Exchange Dispute Lawyers for Stolen, Frozen, or Inaccessible Funds
When cryptocurrency disappears from an exchange account—or an exchange prevents you from accessing legitimate funds—the support process can become frustrating very quickly. Automated responses, repeated verification requests, unexplained restrictions, and long periods without a meaningful answer may leave substantial assets out of reach.
Coin Counsel helps clients evaluate legal options involving cryptocurrency stolen from exchange accounts and legitimate funds that remain frozen, restricted, or otherwise inaccessible.
If your funds are at risk, preserve your records and speak with a cryptocurrency attorney about your situation.
Request a Confidential Case Review
Was Cryptocurrency Stolen From Your Exchange Account?
Unauthorized withdrawals from an exchange account may follow an account takeover, phishing attack, SIM swap, compromised email account, stolen credentials, or an impersonation scam. In other situations, a victim may discover transactions they did not authorize without knowing exactly how the account was compromised.
Potential warning signs include:
- Cryptocurrency transferred to an unfamiliar wallet
- An unexpected password, email, phone-number, or two-factor-authentication change
- Login notifications from an unknown device or location
- Exchange-support messages you did not initiate
- A SIM card that suddenly stops working
- Transactions made after you reported suspicious activity
- An exchange refusing or failing to provide a meaningful explanation
The available legal options depend on the facts, the exchange’s user agreement, the security history of the account, the timing of the reports, and the evidence that can be preserved.
Are Legitimate Funds Frozen on a Crypto Exchange?
An account restriction does not necessarily mean the funds are stolen. Exchanges may delay withdrawals or restrict access while conducting identity, source-of-funds, fraud, compliance, sanctions, or other reviews. Some reviews are resolved promptly. Others continue for weeks or months with little information beyond standardized support responses.
Coin Counsel evaluates disputes involving situations such as:
- Frozen or restricted exchange accounts
- Prolonged KYC or identity-verification reviews
- Source-of-funds requests and compliance holds
- Disabled withdrawals or transfers
- Account closures with funds remaining on the platform
- Lost access after a phone-number, email, or authentication change
- Exchange support that stops responding or repeatedly closes tickets
- Legitimate deposits incorrectly flagged as suspicious
The goal is to identify the nature of the restriction, organize the evidence, review the applicable agreement and dispute process, and determine an appropriate path for escalation.
Legal Options in a Cryptocurrency Exchange Dispute
Every case is different. Depending on the exchange, the user agreement, the amount at issue, and the surrounding facts, possible steps may include:
- Preserving account, transaction, and communications evidence
- Documenting the timeline of the theft or account restriction
- Reviewing exchange terms and required dispute procedures
- Sending a formal legal demand or escalation
- Pursuing an available complaint, arbitration, or court process
- Coordinating blockchain forensic tracing when appropriate
- Evaluating claims involving an account takeover, unauthorized transaction, or security failure
No attorney can promise that cryptocurrency will be recovered or that an exchange will release funds. A focused legal review can help determine whether the facts support further action and which process may apply.
What to Save Before Contacting an Attorney
Preserve as much information as possible. Useful records may include:
- The exchange name and account email
- Screenshots showing balances, restrictions, and transaction history
- Transaction hashes and destination-wallet addresses
- Support-ticket numbers and complete communications with the exchange
- Login, password-reset, and security notifications
- Identity-verification and source-of-funds requests
- Phone-carrier records if a SIM swap may have occurred
- A timeline of what happened and when you notified the exchange
- Police, FBI IC3, regulatory, or identity-theft reports already filed
Do not send anyone your password, two-factor-authentication code, private key, or wallet seed phrase. Coin Counsel will not need those credentials to evaluate a potential matter.
Why Contact Coin Counsel?
Coin Counsel is a division of Franco Law PLLC focused on legal issues involving cryptocurrency fraud, exchange disputes, SIM swaps, and inaccessible digital assets. The firm evaluates both urgent theft matters and disputes in which legitimate account holders cannot access funds held by an exchange.
Coin Counsel’s principal office is in Brooklyn, New York. Whether the firm can represent you will depend on the facts, the applicable agreement, jurisdiction, and completion of a conflicts and case review.
Request a Confidential Case Review
Tell us which exchange is involved, whether the funds were stolen or restricted, the approximate value at issue, and how long the problem has continued. Do not include passwords, authentication codes, private keys, or seed phrases.
Request a Case Review
Call (646) 450-1214
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a lawyer help when a crypto exchange freezes an account?
A lawyer can evaluate the exchange’s agreement, the reason given for the restriction, the evidence of ownership and source of funds, and the dispute procedures that may apply. The appropriate response depends on the specific exchange and facts.
What should I do if cryptocurrency was withdrawn without my permission?
Secure your email, phone account, and other financial accounts; notify the exchange through its official support channel; preserve transaction and security records; and consider appropriate law-enforcement and identity-theft reports. Avoid anyone who asks for a seed phrase, private key, or advance payment to “unlock” recovered cryptocurrency.
Can Coin Counsel guarantee that my cryptocurrency will be recovered?
No. Outcomes depend on the facts, available evidence, applicable law, exchange terms, the location of the assets, and other circumstances. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
What information is needed for an initial case review?
Helpful information includes the exchange name, approximate amount at issue, relevant dates, transaction hashes, support-ticket history, screenshots, and a concise timeline. Never send passwords, private keys, seed phrases, or authentication codes.
Does an exchange restriction mean I am accused of wrongdoing?
Not necessarily. Restrictions can result from identity, compliance, fraud-prevention, source-of-funds, sanctions, security, or technical reviews. The exchange’s communications and the account history must be reviewed before drawing conclusions.
Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. This page provides general information and does not constitute legal advice. Viewing this page or contacting Coin Counsel does not create an attorney-client relationship. Coin Counsel is a division of Franco Law PLLC. Principal office: 3839 Flatlands Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11234.