When is the Poloniex withdrawal deadline?

Circle announced last month that it would be spinning out Poloniex and forming a new independent firm called Polo Digital Assets. With this major change, Circle and Poloniex highlighted some of its biggest challenges, which resulted in shutting down Poloniex US “in order to be competitive in the global market.” So when is the Poloniex withdrawal deadline and what do you do if you have cryptocurrency still sitting in your account?

From the original Circle announcement:

In an effort to create a competitive internationally-focused cryptocurrency exchange, the Poloniex team and leadership are spinning out from Circle into a new independent international company, Polo Digital Assets, Ltd. Backed by an Asian investment group, the spin-out will bring significant resources and freedom to deliver the product features and marketing strategies needed to be competitive.

On the very same day, the Poloniex team announced that it would be shuttering its US-based exchange and that trading would end on November 1st. The big date to know about, however, was December 15th — this would be the last day that customers would be able to easily withdraw assets.

Unfortunately, in order to be competitive in the global market, we will not be able to include US customers in the spin out, so Circle will be winding down operations for US Poloniex customers. Beginning today, US persons will no longer be able to create new accounts on Poloniex. Starting on November 1, 2019, US customers will no longer be able to execute trades on the exchange. When trading ends, US customers will still be able to withdraw their assets through Circle until at least December 15, 2019.

When is the Poloniex withdrawal deadline?

Now, though, Poloniex has sent an email to US customers with more clarity, a new date, and some further information on how this withdrawal process will work.

Poloniex US is closing. You must withdraw your crypto before December 16, 2019. After that date, you will no longer have direct access to your account. In addition, all cryptocurrencies remaining in your account after that date will be traded into and stored as USDC. Assets in dormant accounts may be sent to the account holder’s state, consistent with state regulations for abandoned property. Poloniex US may charge fees for these services consistent with applicable regulations.

So there’s your answer on the Poloniex withdrawal deadline: The final, official last day to withdraw any cryptocurrency funds from your Poloniex account is December 16th. But what if you forget (you probably shouldn’t do that)? Well, not all hope is lost — Poloniex will be converting any currencies remaining in customers’ accounts to USDC and withdrawn until future notice.

That’s the good news here. While December 16th is indeed the final day to make withdrawals yourself, Poloniex is making clear that it will comply with state regulations about abandoned property, which includes the assets you might forget in your Poloniex account.