This summary of our Terms of Service offers you an overview of the key terms that apply to your use of our website (BITVAST.COM) and trading services. While we hope this summary section is helpful, you should read the complete Terms of Service below since they provide important information about how our services work. Please note that we refer to our online service where you can execute trades as “BITVAST”.
BITVAST provides you with a simple and convenient way to trade one type of digital asset for another type of digital asset. BITVAST provides you with a platform that matches your trades with open orders from other users of our services at your direction. Users are not able to predetermine a trade with a particular user or with a particular account. Additionally, an order may be partially filled or may be filled by multiple matching orders.
You must meet certain eligibility criteria to use BITVAST. For instance, you must be an adult and there are certain locations from which you may not be able to use some or all of BITVAST. Additionally, there are certain things you cannot do when using BITVAST, such as engage in illegal activities, lie, or do anything that would cause damage to our services or systems.
Engaging in trades may be risky, especially if you use sophisticated trading options. Please do not use BITVAST or any of the trading options if you do not understand these risks.
There are important legal terms provided below in the complete Terms of Use, including your indemnification responsibilities, our limitation of liability and warranty disclaimers, and your agreement to arbitrate most disputes. Please take the time to read these terms carefully. You can always contact us through support if you have any questions please do contact support@bitvast.com
These Terms of Use and any terms expressly incorporated herein (“Terms”) apply to your use of the website operated and maintained by BITVAST (Pty) LTD. and its wholly owned subsidiaries (collectively, “BITVAST”, “we”, or “us”), and the trading services provided by BITVAST as described in these Terms (collectively, our “Services”).
1. Key Definitions Capitalized terms not otherwise defined in these Terms will have the following meaning: 1.1. “External Account” means any Digital Asset Account: (i) from which you may load Funds into your BITVAST Account, and (ii) to which you may push Funds from your BITVAST Account. 1.2. “Financial Account” means any financial account of which you are the beneficial owner that is maintained by a third party outside of the Services, including, but not limited to third-party payment service accounts or accounts maintained by third party financial institutions. 1.3. “Funds” means Digital Asset. 1.4. “BITVAST Account” means a user account accessible via the Services where Funds may be stored by BITVAST on behalf of a user. 1.5. “Digital Asset” means Bitcoins, Ethereum, Ripples and other digital mediums of exchange that may be purchased, sold or traded via the Services. 1.6. “Digital Asset Account” means any Digital Asset address or account owned or operated by you that is maintained outside of the Services, and is not owned, controlled or operated by BITVAST. 2. Eligibility 2.1. BITVAST may not make the Services available in all markets and jurisdictions, and may restrict or prohibit use of the Services from certain jurisdictions (“Restricted Locations”). 2.2. You further represent and warrant that you: (a) are at least 18 years old; (b) have not previously been suspended or removed from using our Services; (c) have full power and authority to enter into this agreement and in doing so will not violate any other agreement to which you are a party; (d) using our platform in your own name and for your own benefit; (e) are not located in, under the jurisdiction of, or a national or resident of any Restricted Locations; and (f) will not use our Services if any applicable laws in your country prohibit you from doing so in accordance with these Terms. 2.3. Additionally, by agreeing to this terms you certify that you pursue participation in blockchain-based networks as a part of your professional activity. 3. BITVAST Account 3.1. Number of BITVAST Accounts. BITVAST may, in its sole discretion, limit the number of BITVAST Accounts that you may hold, maintain or acquire. 3.2. BITVAST Account information and security. In order to engage in any trades via the Services, you must create a BITVAST Account and provide any requested information. When you create a BITVAST Account, you agree to: (a) create a strong password that you do not use for any other website or online service; (b) provide accurate and truthful information; (c) maintain and promptly update your BITVAST Account information; (d) maintain the security of your BITVAST Account by protecting your password and restricting access to your BITVAST Account; (e) promptly notify us if you discover or otherwise suspect any security breaches related to your BITVAST Account; and (f) take responsibility for all activities that occur under your BITVAST Account and accept all risks of any authorized or unauthorized access to your BITVAST Account, to the maximum extent permitted by law. 4. Privacy Policy Please refer to our Privacy Policy for information about how we collect, use and share your information. 5. General Obligations This Section 5 applies to: (i) all trades completed via the Services, (ii) your purchase and/or sale of Digital Assets directly from BITVAST via the Services, and (iii) any transaction in which you load Funds into your BITVAST Account from your External Account or push Funds from your BITVAST Account into an External Account. 5.1. Conditions and Restrictions. We may, at any time and in our sole discretion, refuse any trade submitted via the Services, impose limits on the trade amount permitted via the Services or impose any other conditions or restrictions upon your use of the Services without prior notice. For example, we may limit the number of open orders that you may establish via the Services or we may restrict trades from certain locations. 5.2. Accuracy of Information. You must provide any information required when creating a BITVAST Account or when prompted by any screen displayed within the Services. You represent and warrant that any information you provide via the Services is accurate and complete. 5.3. Cancellations. You may only cancel an order initiated via the Services if such cancellation occurs before BITVAST executes the transaction. Once your order has been executed, you may not change, withdraw or cancel your authorization for BITVAST to complete such transaction. If an order has been partially filled, you may cancel the unfilled remainder unless the order relates to a market trade. We reserve the right to refuse any cancellation request associated with a market order once you have submitted such order. In contrast to exchange orders, all trades are irreversible once initiated. While we may, at our sole discretion, reverse a trade under certain extraordinary conditions, a customer does not have a right to a reversal of a trade. 5.4. Insufficient Funds. If you have an insufficient amount of Funds in your BITVAST Account to complete an order via the Services, we may cancel the entire order or may fulfill a partial order using the amount of Funds currently available in your BITVAST Account, less any fees owed to BITVAST in connection with our execution of the trade. 5.5. Taxes. It is your responsibility to determine what, if any, taxes apply to the trades you complete via the Services, and it is your responsibility to report and remit the correct tax to the appropriate tax authority. You agree that BITVAST is not responsible for determining whether taxes apply to your trades or for collecting, reporting, withholding or remitting any taxes arising from any trades. 6. BITVAST Account Funds 6.1. Funding your BITVAST Account. In order to complete an order or trade via the Services (as described in Section 7), you must first load Funds to your BITVAST Account using one of the approved External Accounts identified via the Services. You may be required to verify that you control the External Account that you use to load Funds to your BITVAST Account. You may be charged fees by the External Account you use to fund your BITVAST Account. BITVAST is not responsible for any External Account fees or for the management and security of any External Account. You are solely responsible for your use of any External Account, and you agree to comply with all terms and conditions applicable to any External Account. The timing associated with a load transaction will depend in part upon the performance of third parties responsible for maintaining the applicable External Account, and BITVAST makes no guarantee regarding the amount of time it may take to load Funds into your BITVAST Account. 6.2. Pushing Funds to an External Account. Provided that the balance of Funds in your BITVAST Account is greater than any minimum balance requirements needed to satisfy any of your open positions, you may push any amount of Funds, up to the total amount of Funds in your BITVAST Account in excess of such minimum balance requirements, from your BITVAST Account to an External Account, less any fees charged by BITVAST for such transactions (as described in the Fee Schedule at the time of your request to push Funds to an External Account). 6.3. Load/Push Authorization. When you request that we load Funds into your BITVAST Account from your External Account or request that we push Funds to your External Account from your BITVAST Account, you authorize BITVAST to execute such transaction via the Services. 6.4. Rejected Transactions. In some cases, the External Account may reject your Funds or may otherwise be unavailable. You agree that you will not hold BITVAST liable for any damages resulting from such rejected transactions. 7. Exchange Orders and Trades This Section applies only when you use the Services to trade Digital Assets for another form of Digital Assets. BITVAST does not purchase, sell, or exchange any Digital Assets on its own behalf. 7.1. Authorization. When you submit a new order via the Services, you authorize BITVAST to execute a transaction in accordance with such order on a spot basis and charge you any applicable fees (as described in Section 9 below). 7.2. Independent relationship. You acknowledge and agree that: (a) BITVAST is not acting as your broker, intermediary, agent, or advisor or in any fiduciary capacity, and (b) no communication or information provided to you by BITVAST shall be considered or construed as advice. 7.3. Trade confirmation. Once the Services execute your trade, a confirmation will be electronically made available via the Services detailing the particulars of the trade. You acknowledge and agree that the failure of the Services to provide such confirmation shall not prejudice or invalidate the terms of such trade. 7.4. Market rates. If you select a market trade, BITVAST will attempt, on a commercially reasonable basis, to execute the trade on or close to the prevailing market exchange rate, as defined via the Services. You acknowledge and agree that the exchange rate information made available via our Services may differ from prevailing exchange rates made available via other sources outside of the Services. 7.5. Market volatility. Particularly during periods of high volume, illiquidity, fast movement or volatility in the marketplace for any Digital Assets or Legal Tender, the actual market rate at which a market order or trade is executed may be different from the prevailing rate indicated via the Services at the time of your order or trade. You understand that we are not liable for any such price fluctuations. In the event of a market disruption or Force Majeure event (as defined in Section 22), BITVAST may do one or more of the following: (a) suspend access to the Services; or (b) prevent you from completing any actions via the Services, including closing any open positions. Following any such event, when trading resumes, you acknowledge that prevailing market rates may differ significantly from the rates available prior to such event. 7.6. Trade Settlement. Subject to the terms and conditions in these Terms, we will use commercially reasonable efforts to settle trades on a spot basis within two (2) days of the date upon which users have agreed to execute a trade via the Services. 8. Risk Disclosure 8.1. Trading risks. You acknowledge and agree that you shall access and use the Services at your own risk. The risk of loss in trading Digital Asset pairs and Digital Asset and Legal Tender pairs can be substantial. You should, therefore, carefully consider whether such trading is suitable for you in light of your circumstances and financial resources. You should be aware of the following points: All Digital Asset positions involve risk, and a “spread” position may not be less risky than an outright “long” or “short” position. All of the points noted above apply to all digital asset pair and digital asset and legal tender pair trading. This brief statement cannot, of course, disclose all the risks and other aspects associated with these trades. 8.2. Internet transmission risks. You acknowledge that there are risks associated with utilizing an Internet-based trading system including, but not limited to, the failure of hardware, software, and Internet connections. You acknowledge that BITVAST shall not be responsible for any communication failures, disruptions, errors, distortions or delays you may experience when trading via the Services, howsoever caused. 9. Fees 9.1. Amount of Fees. You agree to pay the fees for trades completed via our Services (“Fees”) as made available via the Fees and Limits, which we may change from time to time. Changes to the Fee Schedule are effective as of the effective date indicated in the posting of the revised Fee Schedule to the Services, and will apply prospectively to any trades that take place following the effective date of such revised Fee Schedule. 9.2. Third-Party Fees. In addition to the Fees, your External Account may impose fees in connection with your use of your designated External Account via the Services. Any fees imposed by your External Account provider will not be reflected on the transaction screens containing information regarding applicable Fees. You are solely responsible for paying any fees imposed by an External Account provider. 9.3. Payment of Fees. You authorize us, or our designated payment processor, to charge or deduct your BITVAST Account Funds for any applicable Fees owed in connection with trades you complete via the Services. 10. Electronic Notices 10.1. Consent to Electronic Delivery. You agree and consent to receive electronically all communications, agreements, documents, receipts, notices and disclosures (collectively, “Communications”) that BITVAST provides in connection with your BITVAST Account and/or use of the BITVAST Services. You agree that BITVAST may provide these Communications to you by posting them via the Services, by emailing them to you at the email address you provide. You should maintain copies of electronic Communications by printing a paper copy or saving an electronic copy. You may also contact us through support to request additional electronic copies of Communications or, for a fee, paper copies of Communications (as described below). 10.2. Hardware and Software Requirements. In order to access and retain electronic Communications, you will need a computer with an Internet connection that has a current web browser with cookies enabled and 128-bit encryption. You will also need to have a valid email address on file with BITVAST and have sufficient storage space to save past Communications or an installed printer to print them. 10.3. Withdrawal of Consent. You may withdraw your consent to receive electronic Communications by sending a withdrawal notice to support. If you decline or withdraw consent to receive electronic Communications, BITVAST may suspend or terminate your use of the Services. 10.4. Requesting Paper Copies. If, after you consent to receive Communications electronically, you would like a paper copy of a Communication we previously sent you, you may request a copy within 30 days after the date we provided the Communication to you by contacting support. In order for us to send paper copies to you, you must have a current street address on file with BITVAST. Please note that BITVAST operates exclusively online and it is very burdensome for us to produce paper copies of Communications. Therefore, if you request paper copies, you understand and agree that BITVAST may charge you a processing fee, in the amount described in the Fees and Limits, for each page of Communication requested. 10.5. Updating Contact Information. It is your responsibility to keep your email address on file with BITVAST up to date so that BITVAST can communicate with you electronically. You understand and agree that if BITVAST sends you an electronic Communication but you do not receive it because your email address on file is incorrect, out of date, blocked by your service provider, or you are otherwise unable to receive electronic Communications, BITVAST will be deemed to have provided the Communication to you. Please note that if you use a spam filter that blocks or re-routes emails from senders not listed in your email address book, you must add BITVAST to your email address book so that you will be able to receive the Communications we send to you. You can update your email address at any time by logging into your BITVAST Account or by sending such information to support. If your email address becomes invalid such that electronic Communications sent to you by BITVAST are returned, BITVAST may deem your account to be inactive, and you may not be able to complete any transaction via our Services until we receive a valid, working email address from you. 11. Unclaimed Property If for any reason BITVAST is holding Funds in your BITVAST Account on your behalf and BITVAST is unable to return your Funds to your designated External Account after a period of inactivity, then BITVAST may report and remit such Funds in accordance with applicable state unclaimed property laws. 12. Acceptable Use 12.1. When accessing or using the Services, you agree that you will not violate any law, contract, intellectual property or other third-party right or commit a tort, and that you are solely responsible for your conduct while using our Services. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, you agree that you will not: Use our Services in any manner that could interfere with, disrupt, negatively affect or inhibit other users from fully enjoying our Services, or that could damage, disable, overburden or impair the functioning of our Services in any manner; Use our Services to pay for, support or otherwise engage in any illegal gambling activities; fraud; money-laundering; or terrorist activities; or other illegal activities; Use any robot, spider, crawler, scraper or other automated means or interface not provided by us to access our Services or to extract data; Use or attempt to use another user’s account without authorization; Attempt to circumvent any content filtering techniques we employ, or attempt to access any service or area of our Services that you are not authorized to access; Develop any third-party applications that interact with our Services without our prior written consent; Provide false, inaccurate, or misleading information; Encourage or induce any third party to engage in any of the activities prohibited under this Section. 13. Feedback We will own exclusive rights, including all intellectual property rights, to any feedback, suggestions, and ideas or other information or materials regarding BITVAST or our Services that you provide, whether by email, posting through our Services or otherwise (“Feedback”). Any Feedback you submit is non-confidential and shall become the sole property of BITVAST. We will be entitled to the unrestricted use and dissemination of such Feedback for any purpose, commercial or otherwise, without acknowledgment or compensation to you. You waive any rights you may have to the Feedback (including any copyrights). Do not send us Feedback if you expect to be paid or want to continue to own or claim rights in them; your idea might be great, but we may have already had the same or a similar idea and we do not want disputes. We also have the right to disclose your identity to any third party who is claiming that any content posted by you constitutes a violation of their intellectual property rights, or of their right to privacy. We have the right to remove any posting you make on our website if, in our opinion, your post does not comply with the content standards set out in this section. 14. Copyrights and Other Intellectual Property Rights 14.1. Unless otherwise indicated by us, all copyright and other intellectual property rights in all content and other materials contained on our website or provided in connection with the Services, including, without limitation, the BITVAST or BITVAST logo and all designs, text, graphics, pictures, information, data, software, sound files, other files and the selection and arrangement thereof (collectively, “BITVAST Materials”) are the proprietary property of BITVAST or our licensors or suppliers and are protected by international copyright laws and other intellectual property rights laws. 14.2. We hereby grant you a limited, nonexclusive and non-sublicensable license to access and use the BITVAST Materials for your personal or internal business use. Such license is subject to these Terms and does not permit (a) any resale of the BITVAST Materials; (b) the distribution, public performance or public display of any BITVAST Materials; (c) modifying or otherwise making any derivative uses of the BITVAST Materials, or any portion thereof; or (d) any use of the BITVAST Materials other than for their intended purposes. The license granted under this Section will automatically terminate if we suspend or terminate your access to the Services. 15. Third-Party Content In using our Services, you may view content provided by third parties, including links to web pages of such parties, including but not limited to Facebook and Twitter links (“Third-Party Content”). We do not control, endorse or adopt any Third-Party Content and shall have no responsibility for Third-Party Content, including without limitation material that may be misleading, incomplete, erroneous, offensive, indecent or otherwise objectionable. In addition, your business dealings or correspondence with such third parties are solely between you and the third parties. We are not responsible or liable for any loss or damage of any sort incurred as the result of any such dealings, and you understand that your use of Third-Party Content, and your interactions with third parties, is at your own risk. 16. Suspension; Termination In the event of any Force Majeure Event (as defined in Section 22.5), breach of this agreement, or any other event that would make provision of the Services commercially unreasonable for BITVAST, we may, in our discretion and without liability to you, with or without prior notice, suspend your access to all or a portion of our Services. We may terminate your access to the Services in our sole discretion, immediately and without prior notice, and delete or deactivate your BITVAST Account and all related information and files in such account without liability to you, including, for instance, in the event that you breach any term of these Terms. In the event of termination, BITVAST will return any Funds stored in your BITVAST Account not otherwise owed to BITVAST, unless BITVAST believes you have committed fraud, negligence or other misconduct. 17. Discontinuance of Services We may, in our sole discretion and without liability to you, with or without prior notice and at any time, modify or discontinue, temporarily or permanently, any portion of our Services. 18. Disclaimer of Warranties 18.1. Except as expressly provided to the contrary in a writing by us, our services are provided on an “As is” and “As available” basis. We expressly disclaim, and you waive, all warranties of any kind, whether express or implied, including, without limitation, implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, title and non-infringement as to our services, including the information, content and materials contained therein. 18.2. You acknowledge that information you store or transfer through our services may become irretrievably lost or corrupted or temporarily unavailable due to a variety of causes, including software failures, protocol changes by third party providers, internet outages, force majeure event or other disasters including third party DDOS attacks, scheduled or unscheduled maintenance, or other causes either within or outside our control. You are solely responsible for backing up and maintaining duplicate copies of any information you store or transfer through our services. Some jurisdictions do not allow the disclaimer of implied terms in contracts with consumer, so some or all of the disclaimers in this section may not apply to you. 19. Limitation of Liability 19.1. Except as otherwise required by law, in no event shall BITVAST, our directors, members, employees or agents be liable for any special, indirect or consequential damages, or any other damages of any kind, including but not limited to loss of use, loss of profits or loss of data, whether in an action in contract, tort (including but not limited to negligence) or otherwise, arising out of or in any way connected with the use of or inability to use our services or the BITVAST materials, including without limitation any damages caused by or resulting from reliance by any user on any information obtained from BITVAST, or that result from mistakes, omissions, interruptions, deletion of files or email, errors, defects, viruses, delays in operation or transmission or any failure of performance, whether or not resulting from a force majeure event, communications failure, theft, destruction or unauthorized access to BITVAST’s records, programs or services. Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion of certain warranties or the limitation or exclusion of liability for incidental or consequential damages. Accordingly, some of the limitations of this section may not apply to you. 19.2. To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, in no event shall the aggregate liability of BITVAST (including our directors, members, employees and agents), whether in contract, warranty, tort (including negligence, whether active, passive or imputed), product liability, strict liability or other theory, arising out of or relating to the use of, or inability to use, BITVAST or to these terms exceed the fees paid by you to BITVAST during the 12 months immediately preceding the date of any claim giving rise to such liability. 20. Indemnity You agree to defend, indemnify and hold harmless BITVAST (and each of our officers, directors, members, employees, agents and affiliates) from any claim, demand, action, damage, loss, cost or expense, including without limitation reasonable attorneys’ fees, arising out or relating to (a) your use of, or conduct in connection with, our Services; (b) any Feedback you provide; (c) your violation of these Terms; or (d) your violation of any rights of any other person or entity. If you are obligated to indemnify us, we will have the right, in our sole discretion, to control any action or proceeding (at our expense) and determine whether we wish to settle it. 21. Applicable Law; Arbitration Please read the following paragraph carefully because it requires you to arbitrate disputes with us and it limits the manner in which you can seek relief. You and BITVAST agree to arbitrate any dispute arising from these Terms or your use of the Services, except for disputes in which either party seeks equitable and other relief for the alleged unlawful use of copyrights, trademarks, trade names, logos, trade secrets or patents. ARBITRATION PREVENTS YOU FROM SUING IN COURT OR FROM HAVING A JURY TRIAL. You and BITVAST agree to notify each other in writing of any dispute within thirty (30) days of when it arises. Notice to BITVAST shall be sent to legal@bitvast.com. You and BITVAST further agree: (a) to attempt informal resolution prior to any demand for arbitration; (b) that arbitration will occur in the Hong Kong Court of International Arbitration; (c) that arbitration will be conducted confidentially. Other than class procedures and remedies discussed below, the arbitrator has the authority to grant any remedy that would otherwise be available in court. Any dispute between the parties will be governed by these Terms and the laws of Hong Kong, without giving effect to any conflict of laws principles that may provide for the application of the law of another jurisdiction. Whether the dispute is heard in arbitration or in court, you and BITVAST will not commence against the other a class action, class arbitration or representative action or proceeding. 22. Miscellaneous 22.1. Entire Agreement; Order of Precedence. These Terms contain the entire agreement, and supersede all prior and contemporaneous understandings between the parties regarding the Services. These Terms do not alter the terms or conditions of any other electronic or written agreement you may have with BITVAST for the Services or for any other BITVAST product or service or otherwise. In the event of any conflict between these Terms and any other agreement you may have with BITVAST, the terms of that other agreement will control only if these Terms are specifically identified and declared to be overridden by such other agreement. 22.2. Amendment. We reserve the right to make changes or modifications to these Terms from time to time, in our sole discretion. If we make changes to these Terms, we will provide you with notice of such changes, such as by sending an email, providing notice on the homepage of the Site and/or by posting the amended Terms via the applicable BITVAST websites and mobile applications and updating the “Last Updated” date at the top of these Terms. The amended Terms will be deemed effective immediately upon posting for any new users of the Services. In all other cases, the amended Terms will become effective for preexisting users upon the earlier of either: (i) the date users click or press a button to accept such changes, or (ii) continued use of our Services 30 days after BITVAST provides notice of such changes. Any amended Terms will apply prospectively to use of the Services after such changes become effective. If you do not agree to any amended Terms, you must discontinue using our Services and contact us to terminate your account. 22.3.Waiver. Our failure or delay in exercising any right, power or privilege under these Terms shall not operate as a waiver thereof. 22.4. Severability. The invalidity or unenforceability of any of these Terms shall not affect the validity or enforceability of any other of these Terms, all of which shall remain in full force and effect. 22.5. Force Majeure Events. BITVAST shall not be liable for (1) any inaccuracy, error, delay in, or omission of (i) any information, or (ii) the transmission or delivery of information; (2) any loss or damage arising from any event beyond BITVAST’s reasonable control, including but not limited to flood, extraordinary weather conditions, earthquake, or other act of God, fire, war, insurrection, riot, labor dispute, accident, action of government, communications, power failure, or equipment or software malfunction or any other cause beyond BITVAST’s reasonable control (each, a “Force Majeure Event”). 22.6. Assignment. You may not assign or transfer any of your rights or obligations under these Terms without prior written consent from BITVAST, including by operation of law or in connection with any change of control. BITVAST may assign or transfer any or all of its rights under these Terms, in whole or in part, without obtaining your consent or approval. 22.7. Headings. Headings of sections are for convenience only and shall not be used to limit or construe such sections. 22.8. Survival. Sections 2 (Eligibility), Section 3 (BITVAST Account), 8 (Risk Disclosure), 9 (Fees), 11 (Unclaimed Property), 13 (Feedback), 14 (Copyrights), 15 (Third-Party Content), 18 (Disclaimer of Warranties), 19 (Limitation of Liability); 20 (Indemnity), 21 (Applicable Law; Arbitration) and this Section 22 (Miscellaneous) shall survive any termination or expiration of these Terms.
