Looking at the volumes on Luno, my guess is they want to keep Luno traders locked in so there is no flight of coins. The exchange probably controls about 80-90% of the volume which explains the price being kept higher than the BTC actual value. if you keep an eye on the buy and sell walls, you can see they're banding it in the 70k range and it seems deliberate. Otherwise we'd have seen the drop like the rest of the world. Now, it may be a matter of 'protecting' Luno traders from panicking and losing out 30% or more, or it may be a matter of keeping them 'locked in'. What it does mean for investors is loss of confidence no matter what they're doing. There was a very simple workaround to all this but they seem like cowboys who jumped in with guns a-blazin and now the traders are left in the lurch. I'd say crypto trading is officially dead in Malaysia for now, except for the P2P platforms which I have very little trust to deal with. Can some vets suggest how one may trade through singapore?

Sellers sure - but i think many figured out that selling doesn't equal withdrawals. in fact, if you see their app -> wallet, if you've sold recently, it shows "MYR balance" with the total amount but "available funds" are what you had before this issue surfaced. No explanation offered about the difference between "available" funds and "balance".

c'mon Luno. if you cannot be transparent about people's wallets - how do you ever expect people to trust you?

I'm also in the same boat but maybe its time to bite the bullet and vote with our feet. if all (bonafide) traders transfer coins out, then Luno feels the consequence. Otherwise they can let this fester for months and hold our cash ransom. I strongly believe the price and volumes on the exchange are (now) being manipulated.

EDIT: typo (fest=fester)

This post has been edited by dirkgently75: Jan 22 2018, 12:05 AM

I'd agree with you on anonymity and ease. but i found sellers and buyers on local bit coin implementing bank like KYC!!!??? WTF? its none of their business! and on the other hand, scams galore "come meet me in a dark alley with a wad of cash" - seriously?

how about buy? and what guidance would you have on the amounts? I'd say anything about 5k onwards is risky.

Do all exchanges in SG require residence? Can an expat or non-resident malaysian use a SG exchange?

if you read the conditions set by sellers on some listings, its almost like bank KYC: i.e. they ask for IC, bank account must match IC and localbtc account name, they can ask for further verifications etc.. etc.... Its ridiculous! I'm never sharing sensitive data with an individual, as it is: the banks and telcos know more about us than necessary but at least they can be held to account for abusing our data. What to say of a random individual on localbtc?

It’s examples like this that make people jittery about revealing personal details linked to banking information. The luddites in government and banking think everyone using crypto is a criminal, money launderer or terrorist but they don’t have the sense to think that people have a right to privacy, specially for sensitive information like net worth and financial transactions.

thats from the Coinhacko site. can someone confirm if they have withdrawn MYR? Because if that is the case, and coinhacko and Luno have the same issue, then Luno is up to no good by blocking MYR withdrawals. Come on Kimberly, give us some transparency and TRUTH.

And we still have people believing there was no manipulation on their part. See the price drop today. Worst exchange ever, crooks.

crypto has a bad name due to such tactics. Luno discredited all exchanges in the country with their actions over the past month or so. Luno should've been transparent. It doesn't matter if you made 63% or lost 50% - this is bad for all traders and crypto enthusiasts in the country. no wonder regulators and govts. want to shut it all down. don't rejoice in the scummy tactics of such exchanges - gives the entire industry a bad name. your/my short term/one time gain is a loss for the foreseeable future of crypto in the entire country. when regulators come down hard i wonder who will be rejoicing being targeted for capital gains or worse: tax offences or money laundering.

Lets take a step back and think about how we'd like crypto markets to mature in this country in the long term. DO you think you could ask a corner shop or your grandmother to accept/adapt to crypto transactions under such circumstances? If wider adoption is low, how do you see any success in your crypto portfolio?

This post has been edited by dirkgently75: Feb 5 2018, 10:17 PM

Mr Luno. you're a new hire, but you're representing Luno (if verified). So...

Have you any idea the damage you've caused to confidence in the local markets? Its not good enough speaking of "demand/supply" or "not manipulating the price" when Luno could've sold/allowed us to buy/sell BTC at international rates with our stuck money at your exchange. Instead you hid behind "willing buyer and willing seller" - really? Isn't there an option to buy direct from Luno? Are you not operating across various international markets? Is a bitcoin in malaysia any different from a bitcoin in London? You make it sound like it is...

Would it not have been responsible for you to sell at market rate - even at remitano or localbitcoin rate - say 10% over international markets? Instead you held our cash hostage and hid behind blaming IRB and everyone else but yourselves?

You honestly expect everyone to fall for your lies and deceit when you couldn't be transparent about OUR money? You really think people should trust you with their money? whether its speculation or investment or gambling isn't the question here - its about placing trust on a platform, a business. You made us go thru KYC for deposit and withdrawal limits. You charge exchange fees. You charge extra when buying direct from Luno. You charge transaction fees. Its not charity, its not a favor. Its business.

Yet you play fast and loose with our money when you have it on your exchange. Your exchange prices - if not manipulated were what then? You scalped your customers, or, at the least, made them bear the brunt of your misdeeds with local banks and authorities. People lost out on opportunity and access to funds, or the ability to cash out when they may have needed to. This wasn't a market problem. This wasn't an "investment risk" issue.

It IS downright dishonest AND criminal. And you're being deceptive to suggest otherwise. The least you could've done was be transparent, the most is restitution but I do not expect that from CROOKS. Look at the Japanese exchange, coicheck: they were contrite enough to immediately ensure their customers were recompensed... Luno... lies or silence.

Keep in mind... people may be fooled, but the internet does not forget. Your Malaysian customers would be downright STUPID to ever trust their cash or crypto assets with you lot again.

Oh... and welcome...

let me spell it out for you: Luno ensured that they were holding peoples money hostage by artificially inflating the price-so people wouldn't be able to withdraw funds by buying bitcoin and exiting your exchange

I agree that they'd want to continue biz, but Luno messed up-whether it be lack of due diligence or not paying their taxes or not appointing the correct legal advice or not following procedure or whatever else they were doing in the background. At the least, they didn't plan for, nor calculate nor mitigate for the potential disruption, let alone be in a position to address the Malaysian community concerns. Companies like this make hay while profiting but have little regard for the public trust. But what is clear is they held people's cash hostage by:
1. the inflated market price (so, can't buy BTC with deposited cash, or be forced to buy at 30-50% higher rate as penalty for withdrawing from the exchange)
2. blocking withdrawals (they could've had alternatives in place - this is not a small mom n'pop store - see their website and history, they're a global business)
3. misdirecting and/or withholding information from their customers - people who placed their trust in them - so the customers couldn't make informed decisions (no need to look further than 'kimberly's' lack of answers previously and their pathetic blog posts)

IF Malaysia is such an important market, IF they really want to show commitment to this community, I challenge Luno to affect restitution for the investors that had to incur loss or opportunity cost due to their callousness.

Thanks for your considered reply but let’s start with this little nugget you stated a few days ago

“I have no faith in LUNO at all, they are dodgy AF”

Now, going thru your responses, 3 is a matter of opinion. The first two, however, are easily rebutted. Question for you: can Luno not be the mythical whale? Do they not have motive, specially given the circumstances? Did you follow the price, volumes and buy/sell walls during this incident? “I have no faith in LUNO at all, they are dodgy AF”

and 2 when I mentioned withdrawal alternatives, I didn’t say anything about international bank accounts - I mentioned alternatives. For instance, an exchange I used previously issued transferable vouchers in lieu of fiat - a USDT of sorts (not the same) - which provided their customers greater leeway if not trading crypto and access to their funds if they didn’t want to transfer through crypto.

Let’s return to your concern which I share with you. About educating ourselves. It’s not about crypto plan B or C or decentralised vs centralised. It’s about faith.. fiat is another word for faith. Crypto, as lucrative as it seemed during the hype, is about a monetary system, albeit a new one. The risks are inherently it’s strengths : anonymity, decentralised, non reversible transactions etc... the exchanges are the gatekeepers. They’re providing a service for a fee and they’re helping the crypto unbanked to become crypto asset owners. If the masses cannot trust their cash with exchanges to enter or exit crypto markets , we're going to lose out on adoption - price fluctuations be damned. If exchanges behave this way, they’re killing the goose that laid the golden egg. Authorities will clamp down, people will stay away and, unfortunately , markets like Malaysia will be left behind. Look at Dubai and Singapore or Japan and Estonia and tell me an exchange there could do such a thing and get away with it. Luno played us, yes I lost a bit, so did many others. The bigger issue is what can be done to restore confidence , or rebuild trust.

And let me end by quoting a brilliant writer, who once said

“I have no faith in LUNO at all, they are dodgy AF”

😉

Thanks for the decent response-although pretty much non-answers.

So whats the buy BTC directly for (see attachment)? its not trading on the exchange for sure[attachmentid=9578648]


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trying attachment again




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While they earn interest on your dime 🙄🙄

"We confirm that all customer funds remain safe within the Maybank account."

Hahahahaha , these guys really take the cake when it comes to scamming people. Holy crap, they’ve already got away with a lot in these three months! Nice work Mr Luno, buying time and getting all your ducks in a row while staving off the obvious outcry and backlash . Well done in scamming your guillable customers. Well done with pushing off today’s problems to tomorrow. Well done with destroying public trust in bitcoin and exchanges in this country. I wouldn’t fault anyone pursuing legal (or worse) action against luno.