Trader says LBank restricted account holding about $1M in USDT; ZachXBT flags similar posts
A trader says LBank restricted his withdrawals and futures activity, leaving him unable to manage positions before they were liquidated. He says about 1 million USDT remains in his spot account. LBank says the account is under review and that making a profit alone does not trigger restrictions. The available information does not independently confirm the balance or explain why the restrictions were imposed.
- The trader says withdrawal restrictions began Sept. 19, followed by futures restrictions on Sept. 29.
- He says the futures limits kept him from managing positions that were later liquidated.
- A screenshot he shared says LBank’s Risk Control Team flagged device and trading-pattern concerns.
- It remains unclear which funds and trades LBank considers abnormal.
What the trader says happened
Posting as @solyflw34, the trader says the dispute began after he made profits trading futures with high leverage, starting Aug. 31. He says he traded XRP, DOGE, XLM, NEAR, FIL and SUI.
He says LBank restricted withdrawals on Sept. 19, when he tried to withdraw some funds. According to the trader, he completed the verification and identity checks requested by the exchange. He says LBank then restricted his futures trading on Sept. 29 and asked him to provide a more detailed explanation of his activity.
The materials available do not specify a year for these dates. The trader says the futures restriction stopped him from managing or closing open positions, which were later liquidated as prices fell. The information does not identify which assets fell or when the liquidations took place. It also does not clarify whether LBank blocked him from opening positions, closing them, reducing them or taking any action in futures.
He says the liquidations are separate from the funds remaining in his spot account, which he puts at approximately 1 million USDT. That balance has not been independently verified, and he does not say that the full amount was lost in liquidations.
Futures are contracts tied to an asset’s price, often traded with leverage. If a position no longer meets an exchange’s margin requirements, the platform may close it automatically. That process is called liquidation. A trading restriction alone does not show that an exchange caused a liquidation. Without position records, margin settings and timestamps, it is impossible to establish how the restrictions and liquidations were related.
LBank’s reported explanation leaves key details open
In an X post dated Nov. 10, LBank said trading and withdrawals were operating normally across its platform and that it was working directly with the user. The exchange also said:
“We don’t restrict accounts just because someone makes a profit.”
A screenshot shared by the trader, reportedly showing an Oct. 14 message from LBank’s Risk Control Team, cites virtual environments, device-modification tools, abnormal device fingerprints and emulator-related features. The message says these indicators can point to multiple accounts under coordinated control. It also alleges that suspiciously timed position openings and closings followed coordinated market activity, raising concerns about possible manipulation or insider trading.
These claims come from a message reproduced by the trader. They are not independently verified findings about his account. The available materials do not confirm whether the screenshot is authentic or complete. As described, it does not identify specific orders, linked accounts or the agreement clauses LBank relied on.
The trader says he asked which orders LBank considered abnormal, which trades allegedly involved manipulation, which accounts it linked to him and how much money it classified as abnormal. He says he did not receive detailed answers. The reproduced message states that “the relevant abnormal funds will not be released, ” but does not give an amount.
It remains unclear whether the funds LBank calls “abnormal” are the same as the approximately 1 million USDT the trader says is in his spot account. The available information also does not show whether LBank has made a final decision about those funds.
Legal warnings and public criticism
The trader says he contacted his account manager and customer support, then sent a formal legal notice to LBank’s legal team. He gave the exchange seven days to respond before making the dispute public. He also said he would alert Bithumb and the Digital Asset eXchange Alliance (DAXA), an industry association. The available information does not confirm that either has reviewed the complaint or taken action.
LBank has reportedly said it hired outside legal counsel and warned that people publishing statements it considers defamatory could face legal action. It also asked media outlets and creators to correct coverage it considers inaccurate. Those warnings do not answer the questions about the restrictions. The trader’s allegations, on their own, do not establish that LBank did anything wrong.
Blockchain investigator ZachXBT separately criticized favorable posts about LBank, accusing key opinion leaders, or prominent online figures and influencers, of quoting the exchange with “the same script.” The available information does not identify the posts or establish who wrote them, whether they were paid for or whether they were coordinated. Similar wording alone proves none of those things.
Key questions and answers
-
How much does the trader say remains in his account?
Approximately 1 million USDT in his spot account. The balance has not been independently verified, and it is unclear whether it matches the amount LBank calls abnormal funds.
-
What did LBank reportedly flag?
A message reproduced by the trader cited device indicators and trading patterns that LBank considered suspicious. As described, it did not identify the specific orders or accounts behind those concerns.
-
Did the futures restrictions cause the liquidations?
The trader says the restrictions stopped him from managing positions that were later liquidated. The available information does not include the account and position records needed to establish what caused the liquidations.
-
Has LBank confirmed it will release the funds?
No such confirmation has been reported. The reproduced message says relevant “abnormal funds” will not be released, but gives no amount or indication of whether that position is final.
The dispute remains unresolved based on the available evidence. The trader’s timeline and stated balance have not been independently confirmed, while LBank’s reported explanation lacks transaction-level details. Assessing the competing claims would require account records, the specific trades LBank flagged and the timing of any restrictions and liquidations. Comparisons with other crypto platform restrictions do not show what happened in this case.
