HitBTC flagged you
for AML review? We resolve it.

HitBTC freezes accounts through their compliance review process, which operates at a much slower pace than newer exchanges due to legacy systems and understaffing. HitBTC has a reputation in the crypto community for prolonged KYC reviews and account freezes that can last months. The exchange is one of the oldest in the industry (founded 2013) but has accumulated significant compliance debt — accounts frozen years ago remain unresolved without professional intervention. This background matters because it shapes how HitBTC handles compliance — and how we approach resolving your case.

The compliance framework: HitBTC operates under Cyprus AML Law 2019 (transposing EU AMLD5/AMLD6), overseen by Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC). Their compliance infrastructure uses Elliptic for blockchain analytics and Sumsub for identity verification. HitBTC is known for listing hundreds of altcoins and providing deep order books, serving altcoin traders and market makers — and their compliance team is calibrated to flag deviations from typical user behavior in that segment.

What triggers aml review on HitBTC:

• Risk score escalation: When your HitBTC account's cumulative risk score exceeds a threshold (based on transaction patterns, counterparties, and volume), HitBTC triggers a formal AML review under Cyprus AML Law 2019 (transposing EU AMLD5/AMLD6).
• Suspicious Activity Report (SAR): If HitBTC's compliance team files a SAR with Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC), your account enters an AML review that cannot be resolved through standard support.
• Regulatory inquiry: Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) may request an AML review of your account as part of a broader investigation — HitBTC must comply and cannot disclose the reason to you.
• Periodic compliance check: HitBTC conducts periodic AML reviews on accounts above certain thresholds — even without suspicious activity, high-value accounts are reviewed annually.

Real case — prolonged freezes: A trader's HitBTC account was frozen in 2022 pending 'enhanced KYC verification'. For 14 months, HitBTC sent automated responses to every support ticket. The user had €240,000 in various altcoins. After we submitted a formal legal demand citing CySEC's obligation to resolve AML reviews within a reasonable timeframe, HitBTC's compliance team responded within 72 hours and the case was resolved in 3 weeks.

What HitBTC requires to resolve this: Depending on the trigger, HitBTC may ask for government-issued photo ID (verified through Sumsub), proof of address (utility bill or bank statement within 3 months), source-of-funds documentation (exchange statements, bank records, payslips, tax returns, or business documents), detailed transaction explanations with on-chain evidence, and in some cases a video verification interview. The challenge: HitBTC rarely tells you which specific trigger caused the aml review, so you're guessing at what documentation to provide — and each rejected submission makes the next one harder.

Our approach is specific to HitBTC: HitBTC's compliance team is notoriously slow — not because they're thorough, but because they're understaffed and rely on automated systems that deprioritize cases without legal pressure. A formal letter from a Swiss law firm citing CySEC regulations and EU AML Directive 6 obligations forces them to assign a human reviewer. Without legal escalation, HitBTC cases can remain frozen indefinitely.

AML Review on HitBTC — our strategy: We prepare a comprehensive AML compliance package: transaction tracing, source-of-funds documentation, explanation of trading patterns, and a legal cover letter demonstrating your compliance with applicable AML regulations in the platform's jurisdiction.

The submission that matters: Instead of submitting through HitBTC's standard support channels (where you'll get automated responses or generic template replies), we prepare a professional legal submission — a structured compliance package with a cover letter from a Swiss law firm citing Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) obligations and Cyprus AML Law 2019 (transposing EU AMLD5/AMLD6). HitBTC's compliance team processes legal submissions differently from regular user tickets — they're assigned to senior compliance officers, not support agents, and they bypass the automated response loop that delays most cases by weeks.

When standard compliance isn't enough: Some situations fall outside the normal compliance flow — inherited crypto holdings, accounts registered under another person's name, unprovable source of funds through conventional documentation, or cross-jurisdictional complications where your residence, the exchange's jurisdiction, and the fiat banking path all differ. If that sounds like your case, our complex cases practice handles scenarios that other firms decline.

Further reading: our guide on crypto AML laws across Europe covers the documentation and legal strategy in more depth.