IC Markets is facing questions about its cryptocurrency withdrawal process after a Nigerian customer alleged that withdrawals can take more than 24 hours, require additional wallet-ownership verification and face extended delays around weekends.
The allegations appeared in a one-star Trustpilot review published on October 12, 2026. However, a review of the broker’s current withdrawal conditions shows that several practices described by the customer are already covered by its published policies.
IC Markets explicitly permits additional verification for cryptocurrency withdrawals and applies daily processing cutoffs that can push requests into the following business day. The unresolved question is whether some withdrawals are experiencing delays beyond those established procedures, particularly for customers in Nigeria.
Nigerian Trader Alleges Crypto Withdrawals Take More Than 24 Hours
The October 12 Trustpilot review, submitted under the name Cyber Ghost by a user identified as being in Nigeria, criticizes the broker’s handling of cryptocurrency withdrawals.
The reviewer claims that withdrawals regularly take more than 24 hours and that IC Markets sometimes requests proof that the cryptocurrency wallet originally used for a deposit belongs to the account holder.
The customer also alleges that withdrawals are not paid on Fridays in certain circumstances and that requests submitted around 8 a.m. or 9 a.m. Nigerian time may not be processed until a subsequent day.
The reviewer contrasts the experience with competing brokers that allegedly provide automated cryptocurrency withdrawals.
These statements represent an individual customer’s account rather than independently verified evidence of a widespread processing problem. The review does not provide transaction timestamps, payment-provider records or correspondence establishing when the broker received and approved the disputed requests.
A separate Trustpilot review dated October 9, submitted by a customer identified as being in Brazil, described difficulties withdrawing $100 and alleged slow email responses from customer support. That complaint concerns a different customer and does not establish a common technical cause or geographic restriction.
IC Markets’ Published Withdrawal Rules Explain Several Complaints
IC Markets’ international withdrawal page provides a more detailed explanation of its cryptocurrency payment procedures.
According to the broker’s official withdrawal policy, standard requests submitted before 06:00 Seychelles time, equivalent to 12:00 Australian Eastern Standard Time, are normally processed during the same business day.
During Australian daylight saving time, the corresponding cutoff is 05:00 Seychelles time or 12:00 Australian Eastern Daylight Time. Requests submitted afterward move into the next-business-day processing cycle.
That distinction is particularly relevant to the Nigerian complaint. In mid-October, the applicable cutoff translates to approximately 2 a.m. Nigerian time. A request submitted at 8 a.m. or 9 a.m. would therefore already have missed the stated deadline.
The broker also says instant withdrawal processing is available for eligible requests, with eligibility depending on the payment method, withdrawal amount, account status and processing requirements.
For cryptocurrency payments, IC Markets explicitly states that it may require a QR code, proof of deposit or evidence of wallet ownership.
Consequently, a request for wallet-ownership documentation does not, by itself, demonstrate that the broker introduced a new restriction in October.
The company additionally says cryptocurrency funds may take up to two hours to reach a customer’s wallet after the withdrawal has been processed.
This two-hour window is not a guarantee that the entire withdrawal process, from initial submission to receipt, will be completed within two hours.
Friday Requests Can Extend Into Monday Under Existing Rules
The broker’s business-day processing schedule also provides a potential explanation for the reviewer’s weekend complaints.
A cryptocurrency withdrawal submitted after the applicable Friday cutoff would normally enter the next-business-day cycle, which would typically be Monday unless an applicable holiday or other processing exception intervenes.
IC Markets’ help centre separately states that withdrawals are not processed outside business hours.
This means a Friday request submitted after the cutoff could remain pending across the weekend without necessarily violating the broker’s published processing schedule.
However, the available information does not establish whether the Nigerian customer experienced only these ordinary delays or whether additional manual checks, payment-provider problems or operational restrictions were involved.
The published rules also do not confirm a blanket prohibition on Friday cryptocurrency withdrawals.
Another distinction concerns the broker’s legal structure. IC Markets operates through different regulated entities, including Raw Trading Ltd, which holds Seychelles Financial Services Authority securities dealer licence SD018. The international website identifies this entity as the provider of its published withdrawal conditions.
As explained in a separate examination of offshore forex brokers and their regulatory protections, customers using the same trading brand may be subject to different legal entities and contractual arrangements.
The review does not independently identify the complainant’s contracting entity, making it important to establish which specific terms govern the account before drawing conclusions about compliance.
Why the Difference Between Processing and Settlement Matters
The interesting part of this complaint is not that IC Markets performs wallet checks. It is the possibility that customers are interpreting a cryptocurrency withdrawal as an instant blockchain transaction when the broker treats it as a financial-account withdrawal requiring approval.
Those are very different processes.
Sending cryptocurrency from an approved wallet can be relatively quick. Releasing money from a brokerage account involves confirming the customer’s identity, checking the source of funds, approving the destination and potentially coordinating with an external payment provider.
A withdrawal can therefore spend considerably more time awaiting authorization than it spends moving across a blockchain.
The difference between network speed and the customer’s complete payment experience is also central to comparisons such as Wise versus stablecoin transfers, where fast settlement on one part of the payment journey does not guarantee an equally fast end-to-end transaction.
For active traders, this matters because withdrawing profits or freeing capital is part of the trading experience. Access to funds can be especially important when markets are volatile or traders need to transfer capital between platforms.
Wallet Verification Protects Customers but Can Create Friction
There is a legitimate reason for brokers to scrutinize cryptocurrency withdrawal destinations.
Unlike many conventional payment methods, blockchain transactions are generally difficult to reverse after execution. A fraudulent withdrawal to an attacker-controlled wallet may leave limited recovery options.
Additional verification can help prevent unauthorized transfers, third-party payments and misuse of compromised trading accounts.
Across financial platforms, the wider development of fraud detection technology used by cryptocurrency exchanges and brokers demonstrates the trade-off between stronger transaction security and additional friction for legitimate customers.
But the quality of a verification process matters as much as its existence.
Customers should know what evidence is required, whether the documentation needs to be submitted for every withdrawal and how long additional checks normally take.
A process that is secure but unpredictable can still become a competitive disadvantage, particularly when competing platforms offer faster or more automated payment approvals.
What IC Markets Needs to Clarify About Nigerian Withdrawals
IC Markets currently promotes fast withdrawals while acknowledging that processing speed depends on eligibility, verification and business-day cutoffs.
Those statements are not necessarily contradictory, but they leave several operational questions unanswered.
The most important is whether cryptocurrency withdrawal procedures have changed for Nigerian clients or other jurisdictions during October 2026.
It would also be useful to establish whether cryptocurrency withdrawals are routinely approved by staff or whether some transactions qualify for automatic processing, and what criteria determine that distinction.
The broker could further clarify whether Friday requests submitted after the cutoff are always held until Monday, whether wallet-ownership checks have recently expanded and whether any cryptocurrency payment providers are currently experiencing delays.
There is no verified evidence from the reviewed material that IC Markets has introduced a new Nigerian withdrawal restriction, experienced a systemwide cryptocurrency payout failure or suspended Friday withdrawals altogether.
For now, the October 12 complaint highlights a possible gap between customer expectations and the broker’s stated processing practices rather than demonstrating a newly imposed policy.
If further evidence shows that properly verified requests are being held beyond the advertised business-day schedule, the issue would become more significant. Until then, the crucial distinction is between delays permitted under existing terms and delays that those terms cannot adequately explain.
Johan Shamshad is a financial markets writer at Dave Finances covering cryptocurrencies, trading platforms, brokers, fintech, financial regulation, and developments across global markets. He previously worked at Gulf News, adding newsroom experience to his coverage of fast-moving financial and digital-asset markets.
His work focuses on identifying market-moving events, company developments, regulatory changes, product launches, and shifts in trading and financial infrastructure.
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