1. Introduction
BTC Markets Pty Ltd (referred to as BTC Markets, we, our, us) is bound by the Privacy Act 1988 (Privacy Act), including the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs), and recognises the importance of ensuring the confidentiality and security of your personal information.
BTC Markets makes this Privacy Policy available free of charge and it can be downloaded from our website at www.btcmarkets.net.
This Privacy Policy contains information about how:
- you may access the personal information we hold about you;
- you may seek the correction of your personal information;
- you may complain about a breach of the Privacy Act, including the APPs; and
- we will deal with a privacy complaint.
2. Types of personal information we collect and hold
We may collect and hold a range of personal information about you to provide you with our services, including:
- name;
- address;
- phone numbers;
- email addresses;
- occupation;
- bank account details;
- wallet details;
- identity and KYC information details, such as:
- driver's licence, passport, VISA;
- photographs, selfies and video recordings submitted for identity verification purposes;
- biometrics information, including facial recognition data;
- proof of address;
- results of electronic identity verification checks;
- source of funds and/or source of wealth;
- financial and transaction information, including details of:
- your investments;
- transaction history, including all trades, deposits, withdrawals and transfers;
- order and instruction history;
- deposit and withdrawal wallet addresses;
- transaction hashes and blockchain confirmations;
- on-chain analytics data;
- device and technical information, including details of:
- IP addresses,
- browser type and version
- operating system
- device identifiers, including screen resolution and language settings
- approximate geolocation derived from your IP address
- communications and support data, including details of:
- records of communication between you and BTC Markets such as emails, support tickets
- feedback and survey responses and complaints
3. How do we collect personal information?
We generally collect personal information directly from you. For example, personal information will be collected through our application processes, forms and other interactions with you in the course of providing you with our products and services, including when you visit our website, use our mobile app, call us or send us correspondence.
We may also collect personal information about you from a third party, such as electronic verification services, referrers and marketing agencies. If so, we will take reasonable steps to ensure that you are made aware of this Privacy Policy. We may also use third parties to analyse traffic at our website and mobile app, which may involve the use of cookies. Information collected through such analysis is anonymous.
We will not collect sensitive information about you without your consent, unless an exemption in the APPs applies. These exceptions include if the collection is required or authorised by law, or necessary to take appropriate action in relation to suspected unlawful activity or serious misconduct.
If the personal information we request is not provided by you, we may not be able to provide you with the benefit of our services, or meet your needs appropriately.
We do not give you the option of dealing with us anonymously, or under a pseudonym. This is because it is illegal for us to deal with individuals who are not identified.
We may receive unsolicited personal information about you. We destroy or de-identify all unsolicited personal information we receive, unless it is relevant to our purposes for collecting personal information. We may retain additional information we receive about you if it is combined with other information we are required or entitled to collect. If we do this, we will retain the information in the same way we hold your other personal information.
We recognise the importance of securing the personal information of our customers. We will take steps to ensure your personal information is protected from misuse, interference or loss, and unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. Your personal information is generally stored in our computer database. We do not hold physical files or records.
4. Who do we collect personal information about?
The personal information we may collect and hold includes (but is not limited to) personal information about:
- our existing and previous clients;
- potential clients who have sought to obtain our services;
- service providers or suppliers;
- prospective employees, employees and contractors; and
- other third parties with whom we come into contact.
5. Cookies
We collect personal information when you submit forms on our website (www.btcmarkets.net).
We use cookies and similar technologies on our website. Cookies are small text files transferred to your device through your web browser that allow our website to recognise your browser and remember certain information. Cookies do not contain personal information in themselves but may be used to identify you when combined with other information.
We use cookies and analytics tools to operate and improve our website, understand how users interact with it, and compile data about website traffic and usage. Where you are a registered customer, we may link analytics data to your account using a unique user identifier. This means information collected through these tools may be associated with you and treated as personal information. We use this information to improve our products and services, personalise your experience, and for the other purposes described in this privacy policy.
We may also share information collected through cookies and analytics tools with third-party service providers who assist us in operating our website and analysing its use.
You can manage cookies through your web browser settings, which allow you to accept, refuse or delete cookies. To do this, follow the instructions provided by your browser. If you choose to refuse cookies, some features of our website may not function properly.
6. Purposes for collecting and holding personal information
We may use and disclose the information we collect about you for the following purposes:
- provide you with our products and services;
- review and meet your ongoing needs;
- provide you with information we believe may be relevant or of interest to you;
- let you know about other products or services we offer, send you information about special offers or invite you to events;
- consider any concerns or complaints you may have;
- comply with relevant laws, regulations and other legal obligations;
- help us improve the products and services offered to our customers and enhance our overall business;
- preventing, detecting and remediating unauthorised activities.
We may use and disclose your personal information for any of these purposes. We may also use and disclose your personal information for secondary purposes which are related to the primary purposes set out above, or in other circumstances authorised by the Privacy Act.
We do not adopt identifiers assigned by the Government (such as drivers' licence numbers) for our own file recording purposes, unless one of the exemptions in the Privacy Act applies. Sensitive information will be used and disclosed only for the purpose for which it was provided (or a directly related secondary purpose), unless you agree otherwise, or an exemption in the Privacy Act applies.
7. Who might we disclose personal information to?
We may disclose personal information to:
- a related entity of BTC Markets;
- an agent, contractor or service provider we engage to carry out our functions and activities, such as external custodians, customer relationship management systems and other software providers that are used to help us deliver products and services;
- professional advisers, such as our lawyers, accountants, debt collectors or other advisers;
- organisations involved in a transfer or sale of all or part of our assets or business;
- organisations involved in managing payments, including payment merchants and other financial institutions, such as banks;
- regulatory bodies, government agencies, law enforcement bodies and courts;
- financial product issuers;
- anyone else to whom you authorise us to disclose it or is required by law.
If we disclose your personal information to service providers that perform business activities for us, they may only use your personal information for the specific purpose for which we supply it. We will ensure that all contractual arrangements with third parties adequately address privacy issues, and we will make third parties aware of this Privacy Policy.
8. Offshore disclosures
We will disclose personal information to third-parties that are located outside Australia. Details about how we disclose information overseas are set out in our Offshore Disclosure Consent, which is available on our website (www.btcmarkets.net). In order for us to provide you with our products and services, we require your express consent to the disclosure of your personal information to overseas recipients, as described in the Offshore Disclosure Consent.
By giving your consent, you acknowledge that:
- APP 8.1 will not apply to such disclosures;
- that we will not be accountable under the Privacy Act if an overseas recipient handles your information in a way that breaches the APPs; and
- that you will not be able to seek redress against us under the Privacy Act in respect of any such breach.
If you do not provide your consent, we will be unable to provide you with our products and services, as the delivery of those depends on the involvement of overseas service providers.
9. Direct marketing
Where we have collected personal information from you directly, we may use it for direct marketing purposes without obtaining your prior consent, provided that all of the following conditions are met:
- the information in question is not sensitive information;
- a reasonable person in your position would expect their information to be used in this way;
- each communication includes a clear and easy mechanism for you to unsubscribe; and
- you have not previously indicated that you do not wish to receive such communications.
If your personal information has been sourced from a third party rather than from you directly, we will not use it for direct marketing unless you have given us permission to do so (or it is not practicable for us to seek your permission). In either case, we will ensure you have an easy way to let us know if you would prefer not to receive marketing communications from us. Every marketing message we send will remind you of this option.
At any stage, you can tell us that you do not want your personal information used for marketing purposes, whether by us or by any other organisation on whose behalf we may act. You are also entitled to ask us to disclose where your personal information originally came from.
10. Correcting personal information we hold
We are committed to keeping your personal information accurate and up-to-date. Please notify us promptly if your circumstances change or if you believe any details we hold about you are out of date. In circumstances where corrected information has already been shared with a third party, we will advise that third party of the correction within a reasonable period. Once we have established that information we hold about you is incorrect or out of date, we will make reasonable efforts to update it within 30 days, unless a different timeframe is agreed between us. There is no fee for you updating your records.
11. Accessing your personal information
Unless prohibited by the Privacy Act, you may obtain a copy of the personal information that we hold about you by contacting us. We will provide your access request within 30 days of receiving your request. In the event that we are unable to grant your request, we will write to you explaining why. We may ask to verify your identity before actioning your request.
12. Amendments
This Privacy Policy may be updated by us at any time by uploading a new version of the Privacy Policy on our website (www.btcmarkets.net).
13. Making a complaint
If you are unhappy with how we have handled or used your personal information, you may make a complaint on our complaints page (www.btcmarkets.net/feedback-and-complaints). The Privacy Officer will investigate your complaint and may ask you for more information about your complaint to understand all the facts. You should promptly respond to requests for further information from our Privacy Officer.
The Privacy Officer will communicate the outcome of your complaint as soon as possible, and no later than 30 days after you first made the complaint. If you are unhappy with the outcome, you have the option of lodging a complaint with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner using any of the following methods:
- phone – 1300 363 992
- mail – Director of Complaints, Office of the Australian Information Commissioner, GPO Box 5218, SYDNEY NSW 2001
- online submission – www.oaic.gov.au
14. Definitions
The following definitions apply throughout this Privacy Policy:
- Disclosure of information refers to making information available to any person or entity that is not part of BTC Markets;
- Personal information has the meaning given in the Privacy Act, being information or an opinion about a person whose identity is apparent, or can reasonably be worked out, from that information;
- Privacy Officer is the designated person at BTC Markets who is responsible for responding to privacy-related enquiries and complaints;
- Sensitive information has the meaning given in the Privacy Act, and covers information about a person's racial or ethnic background, political views, religious or philosophical beliefs, trade union or professional association membership, sexual orientation or practices, criminal history, health, genetics and biometrics; and
- Use of information refers to the internal handling, processing or application of information by BTC Markets.