<blockquote>
<p><strong>They should be independent of the exchange that manages them I assume.</strong></p>
</blockquote>
<h3>Should be</h3>
<p>If coinroom was a regulated currency exchange then there might be some financial arrangements they would be required to make by law. There is no indication this was the case. Even if it were the case, people often set up businesses that do not obey the law, through carelessness, incompetence or deliberate criminal intent.</p>
<h3>Cold storage</h3>
<p>Coinroom may have claimed they kept funds in cold storage but I am not aware of any independent audit of their processes - no one can easily tell whether such claims were true.</p>
<p>Even if they were kept in cold storage - that does not by itself provide any guarantees about how those funds would be disposed of when the business ceases operations.</p>
<h3>Not your keys, not your bitcoin.</h3>
<p>When you buy BTC at an exchange, you are giving money to someone else that you trust. The exchange owns the BTC not you. What you &quot;own&quot; is a debt whose amount is denominated in BTC.  You have 0 BTC until you use that exchange's facilities to transfer that BTC out of the exchange and into your own standalone wallet - to an address for which only you know and/or control the private-key.</p>
<blockquote>
<p><strong>How do I recover my bitcoins</strong></p>
</blockquote>
<h3>Creditors of a failed business</h3>
<p>When you gave money to the business in Poland, you would, if prudent, have made a note of the registered company (if any), its address, registration details and it's owners and managers names etc. You could then find out the legal status of the company and if it has been placed into any insolvency process by company regulators in Poland. If so, you might be able to register as a creditor in any winding up proceedings.</p>
<h3>Debt recovery, breach of contract etc.</h3>
<p>You gave some money to a business in Poland. The way to recover money from a business in Poland is to engage a lawyer in Poland and see if a prosecution is possible under Polish law. This is likely to be expensive. It will take a long time (compare <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mt._Gox" rel="nofollow noreferrer">MtGox</a>) there is no guarantee that this process will be successful.</p>
<h3>Recovering stolen money</h3>
<p>If you believe a crime was committed, you could report the crime to your local police. I wouldn't hold out too much hope of recovering your money, especially if you are not a resident of Poland.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-05-16T10:25:11.453Z
2019-05-16T10:49:27.723Z
2020-06-16T11:10:03.350Z
RedGrittyBrick
<p>If you send your bitcoin to an exchange and their website say they have no more, then they are lost, you should contact them.</p>

<p>How did you assume those are independant, do you have a cold wallet with a private key ?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-05-15T11:07:44.993Z
2019-05-15T11:17:11.223Z
2019-05-15T11:17:11.223Z
Saxtheowl
<p>I had bitcoins with Coinroom exchange but I see they are gone. They should be independent of the exchange that manages them I assume. How do I recover my bitcoins or get them allocated to another wallet? Thanks, Peter</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-05-16T10:30:41.550Z
If you do not have the private keys for the bitcoin addresses where the bitcoins were stored you never really controlled those bitcoins.  If the exchange is gone, sorry but your bitcoins are gone
Fuzzybear
<exchanges>
bitcoin recovery when exchange ceases business
peter
# bitcoin recovery when exchange ceases business

(Asked by: username_0 on 2019-05-15)

I had bitcoins with Coinroom exchange but I see they are gone. They should be independent of the exchange that manages them I assume. How do I recover my bitcoins or get them allocated to another wallet? Thanks, Peter

**Tags:** exchanges

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: If you do not have the private keys for the bitcoin addresses where the bitcoins were stored you never really controlled those bitcoins.  If the exchange is gone, sorry but your bitcoins are gone  

---

## 2 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2019-05-16. Score: 1

> **They should be independent of the exchange that manages them I assume.**

### Should be

If coinroom was a regulated currency exchange then there might be some financial arrangements they would be required to make by law. There is no indication this was the case. Even if it were the case, people often set up businesses that do not obey the law, through carelessness, incompetence or deliberate criminal intent.

### Cold storage

Coinroom may have claimed they kept funds in cold storage but I am not aware of any independent audit of their processes - no one can easily tell whether such claims were true.

Even if they were kept in cold storage - that does not by itself provide any guarantees about how those funds would be disposed of when the business ceases operations.

### Not your keys, not your bitcoin.

When you buy BTC at an exchange, you are giving money to someone else that you trust. The exchange owns the BTC not you. What you "own" is a debt whose amount is denominated in BTC. You have 0 BTC until you use that exchange's facilities to transfer that BTC out of the exchange and into your own standalone wallet - to an address for which only you know and/or control the private-key.

> **How do I recover my bitcoins**

### Creditors of a failed business

When you gave money to the business in Poland, you would, if prudent, have made a note of the registered company (if any), its address, registration details and it's owners and managers names etc. You could then find out the legal status of the company and if it has been placed into any insolvency process by company regulators in Poland. If so, you might be able to register as a creditor in any winding up proceedings.

### Debt recovery, breach of contract etc.

You gave some money to a business in Poland. The way to recover money from a business in Poland is to engage a lawyer in Poland and see if a prosecution is possible under Polish law. This is likely to be expensive. It will take a long time (compare [MtGox](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mt._Gox)) there is no guarantee that this process will be successful.

### Recovering stolen money

If you believe a crime was committed, you could report the crime to your local police. I wouldn't hold out too much hope of recovering your money, especially if you are not a resident of Poland.


---

### Answer by username_3 on 2019-05-15. Score: 0

If you send your bitcoin to an exchange and their website say they have no more, then they are lost, you should contact them.

How did you assume those are independant, do you have a cold wallet with a private key ?


---

