When you receive bitcoin into Bitaroo, we check that it came from a self-hosted wallet you control. Most deposits clear straight away.
Sometimes Bitaroo cannot confirm where the funds came from, for example if they arrived from an address you have not verified, or from someone else's wallet. When that happens, the deposit is held until you resolve it.
Your funds are safe. A held deposit is not lost. It is simply waiting for you to choose how to resolve it.
Why does this happen?
Under Australia's Travel Rule, Bitaroo has to confirm that bitcoin you receive comes from a self-hosted wallet you control. When you generate a deposit address, we ask you to confirm this. If the funds then arrive from an address we cannot confirm as yours, we hold them rather than share your personal information with third parties.
How will I know a deposit is held?On the Receive page you will see a notice such as "You have 1 transaction pending verification. These funds arrived from unverified addresses and are being held until you resolve them." Select Review, or the Resolve button on the deposit, to open your options. |
Your optionsBitaroo shows three ways to resolve a held deposit. Choose the one that fits your situation. |
1. Verify ownershipProve that you control one of the addresses the funds came from. You pick the source address, then complete a verification, exactly as you would for a withdrawal: signing a message, providing an extended public key, or a satoshi test. Once you have proven control, the funds are released and credited to your account. Best when: the bitcoin came from your own wallet and you can prove it. |
2. Forward to a verified addressForward the funds on to a different address that you have already verified as your own self-hosted wallet. You pick a verified address, or verify a new one, then select Forward. The funds move on-chain straight to a wallet you have proven is yours. Best when: you cannot prove the source address (for example, someone else sent the funds), but you want to keep the bitcoin. This is the cleanest way to take possession, because the coins land in a wallet you have already verified. |
3. Return to senderSend the funds back to one of the addresses they came from. Best when: the deposit was not meant for you, or you have decided not to proceed with it.
Important: Before you return the funds, make sure that you, or someone you know, controls the wallet they were sent from. If no one you trust controls that wallet, you may lose access to these funds forever.
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What happens after I choose?
You can close the dialog. The deposit moves to resolved once the action completes. |
Privacy Matters
Bitaroo built this verification model to protect your privacy, as well as the privacy of all our other users.
The Travel Rule, introduced on 1 July 2026, forces exchanges to routinely share customers’ personally identifiable information and, in many cases, engage with globally centralised third parties (“Travel Rule Providers”) whenever bitcoin moves to or from a custodial service. Those arrangements often expose the exchange’s hot wallet to chain surveillance corporations, giving them visibility into the activity of all users transacting through it.
Bitaroo remains compliant by removing the need for these “information-sharing” arrangements altogether.
By verifying that you control your own wallet, we can keep your personal information out of unnecessary hands.
When a deposit cannot be verified as coming from your own wallet, holding it instead of simply waving it through is what allows us to meet our obligations.
However you resolve it, you stay in control of your funds: prove the wallet or address is yours, forward the funds to a wallet you have verified, or send them back to where they came from.
If none of these fit
If you cannot use any of the three options, or you believe the deposit was held in error, please contact our support team and we will help.