General Terms and Conditions of Coinfinity GmbH for the Purchase and Sale of Cryptocurrencies
As of October 31, 2023
§1 Scope
(1) The following General Terms and Conditions (hereinafter referred to as "GTC") apply to all contracts concluded via the website https://coinfinity.co and concluded with Coinfinity GmbH, with its registered office in Graz and its business address at Griesgasse 10, 8020 Graz, Austria (hereinafter referred to as "Coinfinity"). They set out the conditions under which Coinfinity is prepared to sell units of cryptocurrencies (hereinafter referred to as "cryptocurrencies") to customers or buy them from customers.
(2) For consumer transactions, the provisions of consumer protection law apply, in particular the provisions of the Austrian Distance Selling and Off-Premises Transactions Act (hereinafter referred to as "FAGG") and, subsidiarily, the provisions of the Austrian Consumer Protection Act. Consumers are natural persons (including legal entities) and partnerships with legal capacity for whom the conclusion of a contract with Coinfinity is not part of the operation of a business. The purpose of the order does not serve a commercial, self-employed or freelance activity. Entrepreneurs, on the other hand, are natural or legal persons as well as partnerships with legal capacity for whom the respective transaction is business-related. The distinction between consumers and entrepreneurs is based on the Consumer Protection Act and the Austrian Commercial Code. A company is any permanent organization of independent economic activity, even if it is not profit-oriented. Form entrepreneurs and legal entities under public law - with regard to the regulations applicable to the specific business transaction - are always considered entrepreneurs.
(3) The customer shall inspect these GTC before concluding the contract and these shall be expressly determined by both parties to be part of the contract. The GTC can be saved or printed out by the customer at any time. Furthermore, they will be sent to the customer by e-mail after conclusion of the contract as part of the confirmation of the contract concluded with Coinfinity.
(4) Essential conditions for the conclusion of the contract: Coinfinity and the customer agree that the fulfillment of the contract for the purchase of cryptocurrencies shall commence immediately after conclusion of the contract with the separate consent of the customer by means of a checkbox and that partial deliveries may also be made. The customer expressly agrees to the premature start of the fulfillment of the contract by Coinfinity and acknowledges the loss of his right of withdrawal according to FAGG. The customer will be informed again during the ordering process about the loss of the right of withdrawal and must additionally exclude this right of withdrawal by actively clicking/checking a checkbox (in accordance with § 6 of these GTC) before Coinfinity begins with the premature fulfillment of the contract. After receipt of this separate consent of the customer by means of a checkbox, a confirmation (see § 6 of these GTC) will be sent to the customer and Coinfinity will immediately start with the fulfillment of the contract.
(5) Trading in cryptocurrencies involves a high risk of loss of the invested capital up to a total loss. It is therefore expressly recommended that the customer only invest funds that he can afford to lose in part or in full. The customer must ensure that he is sufficiently familiar with the risks associated with the trading of cryptocurrencies.
§ 2 Subject matter of the contract
(1) The subject matter of the contract is the purchase or sale of cryptocurrencies by the customer or the sale or purchase of cryptocurrencies by Coinfinity. In contrast to conventional money, cryptocurrencies are not issued centrally by an issuer, but are managed by a peer-to-peer network. It should be noted that there is a direct exchange between users, with no central authority that issues or exchanges cryptocurrencies or can control or reverse transactions. Although most cryptocurrencies focus on the payment function, in the Austrian legal system they are not a legal currency or money, but movable and incorporeal objects (digital goods).
(2) Transactions in cryptocurrencies can be carried out worldwide under the respective legal requirements and can be realized relatively quickly and inexpensively in most cases compared to conventional transaction methods. Furthermore, cryptocurrencies are fundamentally volatile. Their value is primarily determined by supply and demand, which is why there can be strong fluctuations in value within a short period of time.
(3) The so-called blockchain is a continuously expandable list of data records that are linked together in "blocks" using cryptographic processes. It is therefore a database that is not located on a central server, but on many different servers in the peer-to-peer network, and the blockchain is the basis of all cryptocurrencies. However, it should be noted that there are many different blockchains, which can be structured differently in detail. Cryptocurrency transactions can be recorded and stored in blockchains. Normally, a blockchain is publicly accessible and is stored on the user's computer in the case of local wallets (see Section 2 (4) of these GTC below). Mining refers to the generation of units of various cryptocurrencies using powerful hardware and computationally intensive processes under the respective technical or mathematical conditions, whereby new blocks of the blockchain are "calculated" by the network members and transactions are confirmed (validated) in the process. However, some cryptocurrencies have an upper limit on the total number of currency units that can be generated (around 21 million for Bitcoin).
(4) Cryptocurrencies are stored in a so-called wallet. A wallet is a virtual wallet and should be treated like a real wallet, as if it is lost, the cryptocurrencies it contains are also lost. Wallets are available for computers (local desktop wallet) and smartphones (app-based mobile wallet), as well as online and as a hardware wallet (in particular using a USB stick) or paper wallet (on paper). After receipt of payment, the corresponding cryptocurrencies are transferred to an address to be specified by the buyer, which is managed by the buyer's wallet. Coinfinity has no influence on the customer's wallet and its security. It is the sole responsibility of the buyer to protect his wallet against loss or data theft in a timely manner. In connection with the wallet, a so-called private key is required in order to gain access to the credit balance on a wallet address. It is advisable to always store a private key yourself ("non-custodial"). If the wallet is used on a computer or smartphone, various security measures can be taken: a backup copy, for example, makes it possible to restore the wallet in the event of loss. It is recommended to make regular backup copies on different storage locations and to encrypt them - especially for backup copies stored online. Offline wallets (especially hardware wallets) are considered the most secure option, as they are not constantly connected to the internet.
(5) Coinfinity sells and buys the cryptocurrency Bitcoin ("BTC") as well as other cryptocurrencies on request. The general provisions of §§ 2 para. 1 to para. 4 of these GTC apply to all these types of cryptocurrencies. The following paragraphs are intended to provide an informative overview of the functionality and possible applications of cryptocurrencies using Bitcoin as an example:
(6) Bitcoin is the first and currently most important cryptocurrency in the world. The payment units of this cryptocurrency are referred to as Bitcoin or Satoshis. The Bitcoin cryptocurrency is based on blockchain technology. Bitcoin became known in 2008 when a document entitled "Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System" was published on the Internet. However, no further details are known about the inventor of Bitcoin, who went by the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto. For more details, the document in question can be accessed via this link: https://bitcoin.org/bitcoin.pdf.
(7) It should be emphasized that Bitcoin is not accepted everywhere as a means of payment, both for Internet purchases and for other purchases. The following website can be used to find businesses that accept Bitcoin as a means of payment: http://coinmap.org/. It is also possible to pay with Bitcoin in certain online stores. In addition, donations can often also be transferred using Bitcoin.
(8) The sale of Bitcoin ("BTC") for euros is possible via Coinfinity. Bitcoin can be sold via the Coinfinity website (see Section 4 (3) of these GTC). It is also possible to exchange Bitcoin for Euro at many Bitcoin ATMs. For example, at the Bitcoin ATMs of Kurant GmbH(https://coinatmradar.com/operator/107/kurant-bitcoin-atm-operator/).
(9) A wallet is required to send Bitcoin. The Bitcoin address and the private key are stored in this wallet. A Bitcoin address is generated randomly and consists of a sequence of letters and numbers; this is publicly visible. The private key is another sequence of letters and numbers; however, unlike the Bitcoin address, this is kept secret. Bitcoin is always transferred from one address to another.
(10) The encryption method used in Bitcoin is the "Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm (ECDSA)" under the standard elliptic curve "secp256k1", which offers 128-bit encryption. Further information on the technical foundations of Bitcoin can be found on the Bitcoin Austria website (www.bitcoin-austria.at) or the BTC-Echo website (www.btc-echo.de), for example. In addition, the following technical article is recommended for a deeper understanding of the technical basics: www.datenschutzbeauftragter-info.de/bitcoin-technische-grundlagen-der-kryptowaehrung/#transaktionen.
(11) The Lightning Network is a so-called "second layer" technology that aims to improve the scalability and speed of Bitcoin transactions. The Lightning Network is a network of payment channels created on the Bitcoin blockchain. Instead of processing every single transaction on the blockchain, the Lightning Network allows users to perform multiple transactions outside the blockchain and only put the final result on the blockchain. This means that transactions can be carried out very quickly and with low fees. However, it is important to note that the Lightning Network is still under development and there may be certain risks associated with it. We therefore recommend that all customers inform themselves thoroughly about the Lightning Network and how it works before using it to purchase Bitcoin.
(12) When purchasing Bitcoin via the Lightning Network, the customer is required to provide a valid Lightning address or LNURL pay string. The maximum amount permitted for such a purchase is 250 euros. After entering this information and confirming the purchase request, the customer is obliged to send the purchase amount to Coinfinity by bank transfer. Once the full amount has been received, Coinfinity will request a so-called Lightning Invoice via the Lightning address or LNURL pay string provided by the customer and send the corresponding amount of Bitcoin to the customer via the Lightning Network. It is important to note that the customer's wallet must be online at the time of requesting the Lightning Invoice and receiving the Bitcoin via the Lightning Network. It should also be noted that the transfer of Bitcoin via the Lightning Network is usually fast, but delays may occur due to network problems or technical difficulties. The customer is fully responsible for providing a correct and working Lightning address or LNURL pay string.
§ 3 Order process and conclusion of contract
(1) In order to conclude a contract with Coinfinity, the customer must register a user account at https://coinfinity.co/. Further details can be found in § 4 para. 19, 20 and 21 of these GTC.
(2) By entering all data required for the conclusion of the contract, confirming the acknowledgement of these GTC, the express consent and its acknowledgement of the loss of the right of withdrawal in case of premature commencement with the fulfillment of the contract as well as clicking on the button "Buy subject to payment" or "Sell", the customer undertakes to purchase cryptocurrencies from Coinfinity against payment or to sell the customer's own cryptocurrencies to Coinfinity. For this purpose, the customer must select the euro equivalent of the cryptocurrencies to be purchased or specify the amount of certain cryptocurrencies that he wishes to sell to Coinfinity. Before submitting his details, the customer has the opportunity to check his details again, to change them or to cancel the order with Coinfinity or the sale to Coinfinity.
(3) The confirmation of receipt of the order for the purchase of cryptocurrencies by the customer (order confirmation) including the confirmation of the consent to the premature start of the contract fulfillment and the loss of the right of withdrawal takes place immediately after sending the order to the e-mail address provided to Coinfinity.
(4) By clicking the button "Buy with obligation to pay" or "Sell" by the customer, a binding contract is concluded, which is fulfilled by transferring the cryptocurrencies or their equivalent in euros to the seller's account. To fulfill the contract, the payment method selected when placing the order must always be used.
§ 4 Payment and Terms of Use
(1) After clicking on the button "Buy with obligation to pay" or "Sell with obligation to pay" and checking the customer's details, the customer can pay by SEPA bank transfer.
(2) When paying by SEPA bank transfer, Coinfinity transfers the entire transaction amount to the wallet address specified by the customer at the latest as soon as Coinfinity can book the receipt of payment to the bank details displayed during the purchase. The payment method SEPA bank transfer is available to the customer for the purchase of Bitcoin ("BTC").
(3) When the customer sells cryptocurrencies to Coinfinity, the customer receives the equivalent amount in euros (see § 4 para. 5 of these GTC) transferred to his bank account. For this purpose, the customer places an order and is shown a wallet address to which he must transfer the exact amount of cryptocurrencies within 10 minutes. Once the transaction has received four confirmations on the blockchain, the euro amount is transferred to the customer's bank account. The execution of the bank transfer can take several hours. If no or too few cryptocurrencies are sent or if the cryptocurrencies are not sent within 10 minutes, the order is automatically canceled and the amount of cryptocurrencies is returned if necessary.
(4) Coinfinity reserves the right to complete the contract at the beginning of the next business day for orders placed outside opening hours. The opening hours are Monday to Friday, 10 am to 1 pm and 2 pm to 5 pm.
(5) The (euro) price that is displayed for the respective cryptocurrency on https://portal.coinfinity.co/ at the time the customer clicks on the "Buy with obligation to pay" or "Sell" button is valid. This represents the current Coinfinity reference price for the purchase or sale of cryptocurrencies.
(6) The processing of the order and the transmission of further information takes place both by output in the browser and by e-mail. The customer must therefore ensure that the e-mail address he has provided to Coinfinity is correct, that the receipt of e-mails is technically ensured and, in particular, that it is not prevented by SPAM filters.
(7) The following applies to entrepreneurs: For open orders for which no incoming payment can be determined after 5 working days after clicking the "Buy with obligation to pay" button, the customer will be requested once by e-mail to pay the respective amount and temporarily blocked for further purchases. If no payment has been received after a total of 10 working days, Coinfinity reserves the right to send the customer a written reminder and to assign outstanding receivables for collection or to cancel the order at its own discretion.
(8) The following applies to consumers: Open orders must be paid within 14 days before Coinfinity sends an e-mail request and the customer is temporarily blocked from further purchases. If payment has still not been received after a total of 19 working days, Coinfinity reserves the right to send the customer a written reminder and to assign outstanding claims for collection or to cancel the order.
(9) Coinfinity reserves the right to block customers from further purchases and sales at any time without giving reasons.
(10) Costs of credit institutions (e.g. fees for transfers or booking lines) are to be borne by the customer.
(11) The customer undertakes to check his wallet address again before sending the order, as the cryptocurrencies can no longer be reversed or sent to another address after the transfer has been completed.
(12) The respective transaction ID is considered clear proof of the successful sending of cryptocurrencies; this is publicly available and can be viewed at any time. For Bitcoin, for example, via the following website: Bitcoin: https://mempool.space/de/
(13) Coinfinity considers both the purchase of cryptocurrencies by customers against payment and the sale of customers' own cryptocurrencies to Coinfinity to be completed as soon as the transaction is visible on the network and four confirmations have been received. This does not apply to Bitcoin Lightning transactions.
(14) The minimum order value or minimum sale value is EUR 21 or EUR 10 for a purchase via Lightning.
(15) For a Lightning transaction, the maximum permissible amount for a purchase is EUR 250 and the total transaction limit per day is EUR 1,000.
(16) The respective transaction fee (e.g. "Mining Fee") must be paid by the customer for both the sale and purchase of cryptocurrencies.
(17) The customer acknowledges that Coinfinity has no influence on the arrival of confirmations in the network.
(18) The customer undertakes to use all cryptocurrencies purchased on https://coinfinity.co exclusively for legal purposes and to pay any income or speculation taxes to the competent tax authorities.
(19) The customer may only register once and only create one user account. Should there be any changes to the data entered, the customer undertakes to notify us of these changes immediately.
(20) The User is not entitled to a user account with Coinfinity. By registering, the user does not receive any legal claim to use the services of Coinfinity. Coinfinity reserves the right not to register users without giving reasons and/or to delete and/or block existing users. Any claims of the user arising from this are excluded.
(21) The customer may only open a user account in his own name. The purchase and sale of cryptocurrencies may also be carried out exclusively in the customer's own name. It is not permitted to act as a trustee or intermediary of any kind for third parties with his user account or to grant third parties access to his user account with Coinfinity. In particular, the customer is prohibited from buying or selling cryptocurrencies on behalf of third parties or transferring funds or cryptocurrencies to third parties via Coinfinity's services.
§ 5 Warranty and risk distribution
(1) In addition to the statutory warranty rules, Coinfinity warrants that the cryptocurrencies purchased by the customer will be sent to the wallet address provided by the customer and that the cryptocurrencies are not encumbered with the rights of third parties. Conversely, the customer warrants that the cryptocurrencies purchased from Coinfinity will be sent to the wallet address specified by Coinfinity and that the cryptocurrencies are not encumbered with the rights of third parties.
(2) The parties are aware that due to the architecture of the networks of various cryptocurrencies, there are risks that may result in transactions not being carried out or being carried out incorrectly. Accordingly, it is agreed that the party in whose sphere of control the cryptocurrencies were last located shall bear the risk of loss. "Sphere of control" means the ability of a party to actually dispose of cryptocurrencies and carry out transactions using a wallet. If a loss of cryptocurrencies is attributable to the incorrect specification of the wallet address by a party, the same shall be attributed to its own sphere of risk. The customer acknowledges that transactions are irreversible. If Coinfinity sends any amount of cryptocurrencies to a wallet address incorrectly provided by the customer, neither Coinfinity nor the customer will be able to retrieve that amount of cryptocurrencies.
§ 6 Right of withdrawal (right of revocation)
(1) Every consumer must waive his right of withdrawal pursuant to § 11 FAGG for an effective conclusion of a contract with Coinfinity : Immediately after the conclusion of the contract and with the express consent of the consumer pursuant to § 18 para. 1 no. 11 FAGG, the early fulfillment of the contract shall commence before the expiry of the 14-day withdrawal period. Through the express active consent of the consumer and his awareness of the loss of his right of withdrawal in the ordering process, the consumer enables Coinfinity to deliver cryptocurrencies before the expiry of the right of withdrawal. The consumer's active consent and acknowledgement is given by clicking/checking a checkbox. Cryptocurrencies are digital content that is not stored on a physical data carrier within the meaning of § 18 para. 1 no. 11 FAGG. The customer will receive a separate confirmation of the contract, including instructions on the loss of the right of withdrawal, after conclusion of the contract as well as a download option of the GTC via e-mail in accordance with § 7 para. 3 FAGG.
§ 7 Exclusion of liability
(1) Coinfinity's liability is excluded, unless damage was caused intentionally or through gross negligence by Coinfinity or a third party attributable to it. This does not apply to injury to life or health of a person. Coinfinity's liability, with the exception of data loss that Coinfinity could not have prevented under any circumstances, is excluded to the extent permitted by law. This applies, for example, to damage caused by force majeure, unforeseeable events, in particular network disruptions, computer failures or criminal activities by third parties. The exclusion of liability does not apply if Coinfinity has caused the damage through slight negligence. Coinfinity is therefore liable for slight negligence of damage caused by it, unless objectively justified exceptions are made below in § 7 para. 2 to 3 of these GTC.
(2) Coinfinity strives for a trouble-free and permanently upright operation of the Website. Information on the Website of Coinfinity is partly provided by third parties. Coinfinity carefully checks the data provided, but due to technical circumstances and for data generated outside the sphere of influence of Coinfinity, Coinfinity cannot guarantee or warrant that the services offered on the Website meet the requirements of the customers, are uninterrupted, timely, secure or error-free. The services offered are operated with the utmost care, reliability and availability. However, as mentioned, it is not possible for technical reasons that these services are accessible without interruption, that the desired connections can always be established or that stored data is preserved under all circumstances. Therefore, Coinfinity does not assume any liability for material damage caused, for example, due to system failures, faulty, delayed, manipulated or abusive data transmission, unless Coinfinity has acted intentionally or with gross negligence. This does not apply to injuries to the life or health of a person. The customer is also aware that a complete and uninterrupted availability is generally not technically feasible.
(3) Coinfinity is at liberty to restrict access to the Website due to maintenance work, capacity concerns and due to other events beyond its control, in whole or in part, temporarily or permanently. Coinfinity will endeavor to schedule maintenance work or changes to the server as far as possible, generally no later than two days in advance, if it is expected that the maintenance activity or change will lead to a loss of availability of the services offered or if advance notice appears necessary for other reasons. The customer must continuously inform himself about planned maintenance work on the website; there the customer receives the information at which times maintenance work is scheduled. Outages during necessary maintenance or repair work as well as outages during the agreed maintenance windows do not lead to any claims of the customer against Coinfinity, unless Coinfinity has acted intentionally or with gross negligence. This does not apply to injuries to the life or health of a person. Coinfinity therefore assumes no liability in the event of technical malfunctions of the website or maintenance work, if it is subsequently not possible for the Customer to acquire cryptocurrencies from Coinfinity at the desired rate or to sell them to Coinfinity.
§ 8 Data protection
(1) Coinfinity attaches particular importance to the protection of the privacy and data of its customers. Coinfinity complies with all provisions of the General Data Protection Regulation (hereinafter referred to as "GDPR") in the currently valid version.
(2) It is pointed out that Coinfinity collects, stores and processes the following personal data of customers (hereinafter referred to as "personal data") in the course of its business activities: First and last name, residential address, citizenship, date of birth, e-mail address, telephone number, bank account details, tax identification number, social security number and IP address.
(3) These data processing operations are necessary for the performance of the contract on the one hand and for compliance with legal regulations to which Coinfinity is subject on the other hand. In addition, the processing of personal data is necessary to protect the legitimate interests of Coinfinity. Coinfinity therefore acts lawfully within the meaning of the GDPR (Art 6 para 1 lit b, lit c and lit f GDPR).
(4) Coinfinity will only store personal data for as long as Coinfinity considers it necessary to achieve the aforementioned purposes and as permitted by applicable law. In any case, Coinfinity will retain personal data for as long as statutory retention obligations exist or any legal claims are not yet time-barred.
(5) If the Coinfinity website contains links to third-party websites, Coinfinity no longer has any influence on the collection, processing or use of personal data by third parties after clicking on the link.
(6) For detailed information on data protection, please refer to Coinfinity's privacy policy, which can be viewed at https://coinfinity.co/datenschutzerklaerung.
§ 9 Notifications
Declarations or notifications should be sent to Coinfinity GmbH, Griesgasse 10, 8020 Graz, Austria, office@coinfinity.co, +43 316 711 744. Further details on Coinfinity GmbH can be found in the legal notice at https://coinfinity.co/impressum.
§10 Risks and technical protective measures
(1) Coinfinity is not obliged to inform the customer about impending losses in connection with the purchase or sale of cryptocurrencies or other acts of disposal of the cryptocurrencies carried out independently by the customer, about the value or worthlessness of transactions or about circumstances that could impair or jeopardize the value of these transactions, or to provide the customer with other advice or information in this regard.
(2) Trading in cryptocurrencies entails a high risk of loss of the capital invested, up to and including total loss. It is expressly recommended to seek advice from an independent and knowledgeable person or institution before buying cryptocurrencies. Any personal success in trading cryptocurrencies in the past in no way indicates success in the future. Even if cryptocurrencies have sometimes recorded high increases in value in the past, this is no guarantee of future performance. Investments in cryptocurrencies are highly risky and speculative. Price fluctuations of 10 or more percent per day are not uncommon. You should only invest sums of money in cryptocurrencies that come from free assets and are not required for other purposes, such as living expenses. An investment in cryptocurrencies that is financed with loans should be rejected, as a total loss of the invested capital cannot be ruled out. The price of the respective cryptocurrencies is subject to the laws of the free market and depends on supply and demand. If supply exceeds demand, the price falls; if demand is greater than supply, the price rises. Historical price developments are not an indicator of future price developments. It cannot be ruled out that errors found in the respective cryptocurrency system (blockchain) could lead to the respective cryptocurrencies becoming worthless because nobody wants to buy them anymore. The acceptance of cryptocurrencies is at the discretion and trust of the contractual partner. There is no legal entitlement that obliges the acceptance of cryptocurrencies as a means of payment or entitles them to be exchanged for real currencies. In addition, a possible ban on cryptocurrencies by the government would mean that marketplaces would have to cease all or part of their operations and owners of cryptocurrencies would no longer be allowed to sell them.
(3) The Customer acknowledges that transactions are irreversible. If the Customer sends any amount of cryptocurrencies to the wrong person or address, the Customer will not be able to retrieve this amount.
(4) The Customer is strongly recommended to secure his connection, his end devices as well as his access data to protect against unauthorized access. The customer acknowledges that storing passwords, access data and other secret information on the hard disk of a PC is not secure. Furthermore, he acknowledges that by retrieving data from the Internet, viruses, Trojan horses or other components can be transferred to his end device, which can have a negative effect on his data or lead to the misuse of his access codes. Likewise, the Customer acknowledges that this may be done by "hackers".
§ 11 Final Provisions
(1) Insofar as these GTC only speak of ordering cryptocurrencies, the respective provisions shall apply mutatis mutandis to the sale of Customer-owned cryptocurrencies to Coinfinity.
(2) For entrepreneurs, the following applies: if individual provisions of the GTC are invalid or ineffective, this shall not affect the validity of the remaining provisions. The invalid or ineffective provision shall be replaced by a provision that comes as close as possible to the original intention of the contracting parties.
(3) These GTC shall be governed by Austrian law to the exclusion of the conflict of law rules of private international law. The application of the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods is excluded. For disputes arising from or in connection with these GTC or a contract concluded with Coinfinity on the basis of these GTC, the competent court in Graz or, in the case of contracts with consumers, the respective court of the consumer's domicile shall have exclusive jurisdiction.
