Debt Collection Dispute: crypto exchange froze my withdrawal

I've been trying to resolve this on my own but I'm stuck.

crypto exchange froze my withdrawal. I've been dealing with this for about 14 weeks now and the situation isn't improving.

The amount being held/disputed is approximately $45,602. I have tried contacting customer support 5 times with no resolution.

Has anyone been through something similar? What worked for you?

Real talk: been there. Here's what I learned.

What worked for me was having everything documented. It took 3-6 months but was worth it.

If you lost funds in a rug pull, document everything: transaction hashes, wallet addresses, screenshots of promises made by the team, Discord/Telegram messages. The FBI's IC3 takes crypto fraud reports.

The new broker reporting rules for crypto are going to be a nightmare for DeFi. Starting in 2026, brokers have to report cost basis. But for DeFi, there IS no broker. The IRS is still figuring this out.