October 18, 2026

The exchange froze your deposit. The first 24 hours matter more than the next three months

The money arrived, the balance is there, withdrawals are locked, and support says "under review". Here is what to do on that day, step by step.

1. DON'T ADD ANYTHING NEW

Don't top up this account and don't withdraw from your other accounts on the same exchange. While the review runs, every new transfer is looked at together with the frozen one.

2. GET THE REASON IN WRITING

Ask support three things: what exactly is frozen, on what basis (the clause in the terms or AML policy), and the case number. Save a screenshot of the chat. Without a case number you'll be explaining everything again to a different agent next week.

3. COLLECT THE ORIGIN OF FUNDS TODAY

The hash of the incoming transfer, the sender's address, who they are (P2P counterparty, client, exchanger), the chat, the order, the invoice. Today, not later: in a week half the screenshots will be gone — chats get cleared, orders drop out of history.

4. CHECK THE SENDER YOURSELF

That shows you what the exchange's compliance team saw: sanctions, links to a hack, a mixer. If the address is dirty, it's not your fault — but you're the one who'll be explaining it, and it's better to know before the conversation, not after.

5. ONE REPLY INSTEAD OF TEN

Facts, hashes, documents in a single message, plus a request to say what else is missing. Ten messages asking "when" push the case to the back of the queue. Threatening to sue doesn't speed it up.

6. IF THE SENDER IS A SCAMMER

File a police report the same day. Send the case number to the exchange. It's the only document exchanges accept as grounds to return funds to a good-faith recipient.

WHAT NOT TO DO

• Don't delete the chat with the counterparty — it's your evidence.
• Don't "rescue" the rest through new accounts: splitting funds is exactly what their systems flag as laundering.
• Don't pay "unfreezing agents" on Telegram who ask for an upfront fee. Exchanges have no window for agents.

TIMELINES, SO YOU DON'T WAIT FOR A MIRACLE

Exchanges usually reply within a few days to two weeks. If the issuer itself blocked the address (Tether, Circle), that's a different story: unfreezes are rare and take months.

If you need an origin-of-funds dossier for the exchange, we prepare it: https://amlconsensus.com/en/unfreeze Check the sender's address for free: https://t.me/amlconsensus_bot?start=en