USA Exchanges and VPN questions

[f22parts]

I need advice on using a VPN to access and use USA exchanges below. I feel sure others and done this. Not sure of there success rate.? Watching Vosk he leads me to believe that he also my do this, idk.? I have used VPN’s before but never like this, mostly for movies.

Im trying to access one or more of the below exchanges:

FTX
Phemex
ByBit
Binance Futures
AAX
Bitfinex
BitMEX

Would this be safe to do so long term?
I want to mainly use the exchanges for the “SlamBot” at stackedinvest.com
As of now im somewhat new to the crypto world still, but have built myself with I consider to be a decent portfolio from investing and some mining.

Any advice for any aspect of this will be greatly appreciated…

[Kadiyania]

Hmm, so take this as my opinion cause I’m afraid it stinks.
I have mixed feelings about a few points.
Here is what I copy/pasted from the internet, my comments will be in the “*( )”

www.ftx.us (United States) FTX is a Bahamian cryptocurrency exchange. FTX is incorporated in Antigua and Barbuda and headquartered in The Bahamas.
*(traders I know refuse/will not trade on exchanges located in tax havens which have zero legal obligation to not take your money and run)

Jack Tao, founder and CEO of Phemex,Phemex. Phemex is a Singapore-based cryptocurrency exchange that specializes in spot and derivatives trading.
*(I know a couple people who use this one. All Sing based exchanges are the same, 2 versions. 1 reports to the US tax/IRS the other version blocks US users from KYC so they do not have to report on you)

Under normal circumstances, citizens of the US can’t use Bybit. … service-restricted countries that include: The U.S, Quebec (Canada), Singapore, Cuba, Crimea, Sevastopol, Iran, Syria, North Korea, Sudan, and Mainland China.
(US users banned)

Binance .US
*(to each their own but BEP20 is pure trash. Since Binance owns BSC/BEP binance is trash by proxy. After the “crypto declaration” binance can GF themselves. Binance.com is banned in the US so they force people to use Binance.US … a partner with VISA…)

Atom Asset Exchange(AAX) is a cryptocurrency exchange founded in 2018. They commit to integrity, performance, and security.
*(High note on this one, many traders I know love this group/exchange/ATOM and Atoms partnership with KAVA has put ATOM into a new light as far as DeFi)

Bitfinex is a cryptocurrency exchange owned and operated by iFinex Inc registered in the British Virgin Islands. Their customers’ money has been stolen or lost in several incidents, and they have been unable to secure normal banking relationships
*(tax haven, no dice, they can walk with your money, no laws protect you)

BitMEX is a cryptocurrency exchange and derivative trading platform. It is owned and operated by HDR Global Trading Limited, which is registered in the Seychelles. If you’re in the United States, you won’t be able to use BitMEX.
*(banned to US users)

So I get why you talk about VPN (side note dVPN yep, decentralized VPN, the crypto/blockchain version of VPN) Personally I don’t like to use that method. In a way I want KYC because I have a large amount of assets tied to my accounts. Aside from that I would use a Dex. And I understand most Dex’s are ERC20 (Ethereum based) or other networks such as AVAX, LUNA, POLY, BEP20, KAVA, Fantom ect ect ect which does limit you to that network token and does very little for traded/mined coins. I still use Shapeshift Dex because they allow “Coins” traded.

So about Stackedinvest, no bueno. Stackedinvest is FTX exchange. So while Stackedinvest might talk a big bame about multi-exchanges … they Use FTX because they gain trade profits. It is in there vested interest to secretly use API bots to cycle and trade crypto through there exchange. Which benefits the FTX token and byproxy makes the exchange more profitable.
The are in the Bahamas, Stackedinvest can legally walk away with your portfolio.

So maybe I’m plumb wrong about much of this, it’s my opinion. I’m sorry to be a negative nelly. But I’m not. It’s us Vs them, so my opinion at least comes from a place of concern for you. If it’s negative, who cares. Better to be rubbed wrong by me , now, than to have some D-bags rob you later.

Some thoughts about Singapore exchanges. Generally they do help/support the crypto world. Local laws and alliances to the US force them to report all KYC users to their respective governments, but a non-KYC member is very safe. Only if your country specifically request information about your account by subpoena will they release your info.

Personally I do not trust nor support any crypto trading firms. We crypto to get away from Wallstreet scumbags. Crypto is designed to be all you, safely and securely. And yes a million and a half entrepreneurs are all trying to figure out how to make money from you making money. If they were so awesome they would make the money/trades for themselves, but they are not, so they risk your assets.

I would suggest making 1 real solid KYC account at Kucoin, Binance or Coinbase. Then making 1 or 2 other accounts (non-kyc) for other trades. Then focus on obtaining knowledge about various network wallets so that you can access numerous Dex’s. Many of the most modern wallets for Dex’s are Google Browser Extensions (to pitch a couple MetaMask, Phantom, Keplr).
Some people use Trezors or Razors to access Dex’s , I do not like doing this as I feel it compromise’s your ability to remain Anon.

I hope my comment is a stimulating read and doesn’t upset you. Again, I’m sorry if I sound negative. Some people see the glass half full, some see it half empty. I say it doesn’t matter because 100% chance it will get kicked over anyways. hehe

[iSnowy]

@Kadiyania , thank you for the plethora of information, and of course the humor!!!

I do have a question along the lines of bittrex and bittrex global. I am USA based, though im a dual citizin, and it seems bittrex is limited compared to bittrex global. The idea of using vpn to bittrex global has crossed my mind many times.
My question is what are your thoughts on this regard, my knowledge is very very limited with VPN, and still on the learning curve of crypto exchanges.
Much appreceated your feedback bro, i always enjoy reading your posts, lets just call it colorfull knowledge

[Kadiyania]

Let’s start with the basics/facts. So Bittrex and Bittrex Global are both registered Companies in Seattle, WA USA. They are the same corporation. Bittrex is open for US users, while Bittrex Global is for all users expect US and any nation America has an embargo against.

I kind of see this as more risky than other global(non-us)exchanges. Both exchange servers are located at the same location. So if they feel you violated the terms of use at Bittrex Global, you will be IP, Email, user name banned from both exchanges.

Why Bittrex global, is kind of the question. Is it a specific Coin or Token they trade? Any cash out option might get too tough with VPN and fake identity. And also, how much $. Are we talking about an 80K hold , or $30 ? If you plan to access the Global Via VPN but will take your coins out to your own wallet ASAP , that may be a viable idea, assuming that coin/token gets listed on your exchanges in the future. So yes, it is possible but does run risk that may not be worth it.

Lets talk about VPN’s. I prefer the ‘do it myself’ method, I’ll get into that in a moment.
So basically a modern VPN is a company or group who has a list of signed up volunteers who provide their own IP addresses to use in the system for the right to use someone else’s.
By signing up, another User might route through your computers IP and pretend to be a US user while you use their IP and pretend to be in Netherlands.
Normally your IP address is given by your ISP, combined with your MacIP is your real Identification. (MacIP’s are regional and assigned to the computer by the manufacture, so a MacIP will tell me what continent you purchased your computer on along with language version and BIO version) . So even with a VPN a server/company will be able to ID your computer and the continent it is on (most don’t, as exchanges kind of don’t care, and very often poorer countries smuggle US tech in. So in theory a person in Chile is likely using a US sold computer).
You can see how this runs variables. If you plan to use a VPN to access Bittrex global you will want to pick a country and always use a IP address located in that country. You don’t want to log in from England today, then Spain tomorrow and Australia the next day. Signing up for a VPN group will give you this option, to always route through a specific country.

Taking this back a Tech step. Proxy scanners, such as Charon or ProxyFire can do this for you by yourself. You would run a proxy scanner across a specific bandwidth of IP’s. Doing this will provide you a list of open IP across the world. From there , you pick the fastest IP and check the country/region they are in. From there, you need a browser that is IP Proxy accessible . I use IE 7.1 (discontinued, but available). The reason to do it this way is so that you can always be the same IP instead of variable. A flaw to this is that the computer you are piggy backing IP’s on might discover what’s going on and lock you out. So when you pick a Proxy IP to use you need to be sure you have a few from that country/nation so you can always log in from that nation.

A flaw to VPN’s and proxy IP’s is that someone else might have used it or got it banned. For instance you want to access a Global exchange by using a VPN that routes you through England. The person in England who signed up for the VPN also uses the exchange you plan on using. So when you VPN and log in to the Exchange, they auto recommend that users Email address upon log in as they have just identified the IP and assumed it was that person in England, not you. That might still work, but if you get banned, so does that other user as bans are IP based.

Complete side note here, but this is an example of proxies gone wrong. Back in the day I used to knuckle around with some hacker folks. Over 10 of us scanned only US proxies for months, getting over 150,000 Proxy IP’s to use. Then we spam flooded US Blizzard Entertainment servers. They had to shut the servers down to stop us. They IP banned every IP we used, in essence banning 150K US gamers. The server was forced to lift all the bans because we specifically scanned port 6112 which was the open port for Startcraft (also a blizzard game). So we specifically piggy backed gamers computers. And of course this lead to a giant investigation. My internet was disconnected, the L.A. FBI wrote me stern letters about my computer usage. Good times. But that says a lot. Obviously Blizzard had enough pull to track me down on Spectrum internet and even called the Authorities to try to bust me, I did not break the law nor did I open the IP’s. Yes I violated Terms of Service and was banned from Blizzard but it was not illegal. If Blizzard Entertainment can do this to me, Imagine what a crypto exchange who has bank partners might be able to do. Something to consider. Accessing a Exchange via VPN might be a violation of securities and exchange regulations. If Bittrex has bank partners, they might call this bank fraud or some weird law and have enough pull to be actionable.

I do believe the crypto world knows of these issues and is actively working to fix them. Lets talk MX exchange. ooww… dicey OK I just realized MX has concealed what I’m going to say… Good for them. MX token and the 3 MX exchanges. Because they are now hidden I’ll try not to dime them out 100%. So the 3 MX exchanges skirt the laws using MX token. 1 of the exchanges is in Singapore and is subject to US laws and allows US users by KYC only (meaning they can 100% report on you and likely will to the US Gov), the 2nd exchange is in Gibraltar and focuses on Middle Eastern traders (which bans most western nations users), the 3rd exchange is on the west coast of Africa and allows all users world wide with no KYC and very little sign up requirements. The MX token is the token that binds. The 3 exchanges use the MX token to trade exchange to exchange in order to say it was always the companies assets so they did not “trade” per say, allowing them to swap numerous coins and tokens between he 3 exchanges.
I’m not saying you should sign up for MX, just using them as an example. We can see that they are obviously trying to make crypto accessible to all by playing the thin line between various laws.

Sorry if I type too much, I can’t help myself LOL. I hope this paints the picture of the info you’re looking into. Cheers Friend.

[Kadiyania]

Something I forgot that applies to both you guys.
The Phone # associated with your VPN account.
I’ll explain what I know and use, I’m sure there are many paths.

Textnow phone app. Upgraded to accept SMS messages.
There is a method to my madness, hear me out.
You need to use an old cell phone with the Sim card removed, or a android device you have that is not tied to your name. Preferably an old cell phone with no sim card.
On the old phone, connect via wifi, DL the app textnow , sign up, get it open/working.
When you sign up, they let you pick the Area code and country for your phone #.
Turn the phone off, done with that part.
Go on your computer to the web site textnow and sign in using the credentials you just set up.
Once signed in, you will need to pay the 1.99/month upgrade to be able to recieve SMS messages.
This will allow you to use that phone # for any VPN exchanges you sign up for.
Just be sure to match your phone # to the country you plan to VPN through.

[iSnowy]

Kadiyania, thank you and apologies. I held out till had time to sit down and absorb the humor….oh I mean the information. Again thank you.
Love the extra extra information especially .

Gave me a good backdrop of the scene on it.
To answer you in regards to bittrex global, I am a bittrex user in the USA, California by the way.
Since kadena is being a pain in the ass, and well I have a bittrex account after all, figured look into the avenue.

Secondly I’m dual citizen, USA and the Middle East, Lebanon to be exact. Let’s just say I had some “conversation thoughts” and see what avenues if their are.
Sadly found out in the regards of Lebanon with its economic situation stock exchanges and crypto exchanges are a no go with the banking system( or lack of system to better said)

Though it is very interesting that you have mentioned MX and their 3 exchanges.
It’s worth taking look into, just see what use cases I can find with that.

I will put more thought into your posts.
Thanks Bro! Seems to be one needs well informed and be smart to be “free” lol