Users accused Livecoin bitcoin exchange of appropriating “stolen” Monero

The editors of ForkLog magazine were contacted by users of the Livecoin cryptocurrency exchange who suspect thatthe site appropriated their funds in the Monero cryptocurrency.

In August 2018, the exchange reported that due to a critical bug in the Monero code that allowed it to manipulate transaction amounts, it lost more than $1.8 million in cryptocurrency.

A year later, in August 2019, Livecoin notifiedusers about the delisting of Monero in ten days. The exchange explained this step by the refusal of the developers of the confidential cryptocurrency to cooperate in reimbursing losses.

The message also emphasizes that in this case, the platform does not take responsibility for recovering the losses of its users, and the fault lies entirely with the Monero developers:

«We provide compensation for client lossesfunds that occurred through our fault, and as you know, we have done this more than once in the past. The Monero case does not fall into this category because we followed standard security protocol and promptly implemented updates that we were notified of - so the situation is not our fault.

One of the Livecoin users who contacted ForkLog noted that the exchange message was the first official comment on the site’s website about problems with Monero.

«It is important to understand that during all this time the input/output was closed, but XMR trading was ongoing!And by the time the news about the delisting came out, its value was 10-20 times lower than the market value. I, like many Monero holders, have not withdrawn my funds. And many sold for pennies»,— he said in a comment to ForkLog.

In addition, according to him, in the future, representatives of Livecoin began to completely ignore all user questions about the current situation.

Note, the editors contacted several moreExchange users who are confident in Livecoin fraud. Reddit has also formed entire communities of indignant users who cannot withdraw their Monero coins.

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On Bitcointalk, users also accused the exchange of being a scam and emphasized that the platform team’s accusations against the developers were “incredible impudence.”

Livecoin's actions sparked outrage amongRussian-speaking platform users who accuse the exchange team at best of inaction, and at worst, of misappropriation of funds. In addition, some customers of the site also report other issues with the exchange that are not related to Monero.

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In addition, users say that there are many more dissatisfied customers, however, in their opinion, negative reviews are deleted or even forced to do so.

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&#171;My personal opinion is that the stock exchange was robbed of its ownemployees, hiding behind the Monero vulnerability. Or the management itself, taking advantage of the situation, appropriated user funds to solve their financial problems&#187;,— concluded one of the exchange clients.

ForkLog tried several times to contact Livecoin representatives, but the exchange did not respond to requests.

According to users, they do not exclude the possibility of going to court for a refund.

&#171;The problem is that the exchange hides itsbeneficiaries and the legal entity that owns the site. The only known legal entity was found in cached pages. This company is registered in an offshore country, Belize&#187;,- said a Livecoin user.

However, lawyers believe it is difficultlegal proceedings may Monero's confidentiality orientation. This was stated in a comment by ForkLog, lawyer of Asnis & Partners AK, deputy chairman of the Commission for the Legal Support of the Digital Economy of the Moscow branch of the Russian Bar Association, Ekaterina Ippolitova.

&#171;The problem with anonymous cryptocurrencies is thatIn case of any violations, we cannot find out their nature or provide the appropriate legal qualifications. In this case, without the testimony of participants or third-party evidence, it is impossible to say for sure whether we are dealing with a crime. Again, it will be very difficult to assess whether the exchange’s intent was to steal user funds or whether this is really a system failure as claimed by representatives of the site, due to the anonymity of Monero.

Recall, more about the features of the Monero cryptocurrency can be found in the ForkLog cards.