Binance User Alleges Ethereum was Mysteriously Purchased Without Consent

Binance has had a difficult February. Earlier this month, the exchange suffered a USDT shortage which found some large traders struggling to place longs. Since then, more details have emerged about performance issues at Binance. Users claim that their balances are not appearing correctly and that processed trades are not being updated. Others reported that their cryptocurrencies held on Binance supposedly ‘disappeared’ with balances showing zero.  Binance has since issued a status report detailing the difficulties and finally admitting to them. However, some users are still struggling to recover funds and get everything in order.

Binance User Alleges Fraudulent Purchases

A Binance user who requested not to be named has made a claim which, if true, is damning for the exchange. He claims that seven ETH were purchased on Feb 13 without the user’s consent. After reporting the incident, the subject’s account was simply closed. The story was first reported by BeInCrypto Turkey.  After waiting 24 hours, the user was connected to customer service which proceeded to send the customer a poorly-translated message in Turkish. The error was eventually confirmed by the support team on Binance.com. However, in a follow-up message to the subject, Binance proceeded to change its story saying support claimed that the trade was, in fact, made by the subject and that it was done through the same mobile device as previous logins. It’s currently unclear how the trade went through without the user’s consent. Thus far, Binance has not clarified its explanation and support remains difficult to come by.

Little Support for Traders

To anyone who has experienced it, getting entangled in a problem using a cryptocurrency exchange is generally a nightmare. Binance’s customer service has been criticized in the past, but the dismissal of accusations outright and the changing of stories makes this case especially frustrating. This story, among so many others, says a lot about the state of Binance’s customer service. Not only has had it a less-than-stellar track record of dealing with requests, but it seems largely dependent on the individual that takes up your request. The explanations seem to change depending on who one is speaking to. Given that Binance has been actively expanding its margin trading services, listing new cryptocurrencies, and constantly adding new features — is it too much to ask for more user support? If funds are truly SAFU, then Binance should begin by taking a customer-centric approach by making its UI smoother and its basic exchange functionality more reliable. This particular case, and so many others, are damning for the exchange. Luckily, Binance can correct these mistakes by simply setting its priorities right.