LBank under pressure from wave of complaints about frozen user funds

LBank users have issued complaints about having their funds frozen. Even after successful trading, some users could not access their gains, as the exchange reportedly refused to release the funds. 

Several high-profile crypto influencers have complained about LBank locking up their gains. The reports claim that even after successful trading, the centralized exchange refused to honor their withdrawal claims. 

Crypto investigator ZachXBT noted that one of the big shareholders of LBank is also behind the MEXC market. MEXC has also received similar complaints and was locked in a months-long battle with trader The White Whale. 

ZachXBT noted centralized “bucket shop” exchanges were inherently risky, but they additionally targeted profitable traders. 

Allegedly one of the larger shareholders for LBank also owns MEXC / WEEX

A lot of these sketchy bucket shop exchanges have a “big boss” behind the scenes who runs it all

Trading against users and freezing profitable traders seems to be a part of their business strategy

— ZachXBT (@zachxbt) November 5, 2025

LBank carried some of the hottest meme tokens, allowing some traders to make quick gains. However, even prominent influencers were unable to claim their earnings. 

LBank flags accounts for breaking trading rules

One of the traders, Param, was unable to withdraw gains from PNUT, a token that achieved record trading and exposure in 2024. 

I need help from the Web3 community….

🚨 LBANK FROZEN MY FUNDS in 6 figures

Please help everyone with this post so I can get justice.

THIS IS NOT AN ENGAGEMENT FARMING POST

I never posted anything like before

The Lbank team can DM me and ask for my UID.

I didn’t want to… pic.twitter.com/g3H539Wluu

— Param (@Param_eth) November 4, 2025

The problem may not be limited to LBank, appearing to be an issue affecting smaller exchanges operating under opaque licenses. 

Some of the centralized exchanges flagged the accounts of the most successful traders for breaking obscure trading rules. Traders are then pressed to prove innocence and defend their outsized gains, which were often due to meme token rallies. 

In crypto terms, a 10X gain is considered routine, but LBank froze funds when traders attempted to take profits after such trades. The exchange has multiple rules on bot usage, but there are also reports of accounts frozen for months with no recourse. 

Previously, traders have lost funds to risky or obscure exchanges. However, LBank has some licensing rights in the USA and is instrumental in the latest trends for meme tokens and other launches.

In some instances, centralized markets are the only trading option for hot assets, exposing even more traders to these arbitrary account freezes and sanctions. 

LBank locked accounts even after modest gains

LBank users have posted around 40 complaints in 2025, though there may be a wider pool of users affected. Some of the accounts have modest gains, locking sums of between $350 and $10,000 per case. 

LBank cited incomplete KYC, and in 40% of the cases, accounts were frozen due to travel and location rules. However, some of the freezes followed specific crypto events, including the recent xUSD de-pegging. 

The random application of restrictions led some analysts to believe LBank may be trying to solve its liquidity issues or is unable to account for user funds. Over time, traders also complained of unresponsive customer service or deliberate attempts to avoid contact and reinstate accounts. 

The problem with frozen funds may not be limited to LBank, as seen in the recent complaints about MEXC. In general, centralized exchanges are seen as a potential risk. Recently, the Ourbit exchange also went viral after user reports of restricted funds and frozen accounts. 

Previous user complaints led MEXC to reconsider its freeze policy. The White Whale was among the leaders in making claims against MEXC, finally receiving his funds on October 31.

MEXC also went through batch unlocks, showing how user pressure led to an overhaul of the exchange’s standards. 

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