Kucoin to introduce mandatory KYC

[OmegaStarScream]

So that's it, as we've all predicted, this was just a matter of time. Kucoin will officially introduce mandatory KYC starting next month (15 of July)[1]

The current users won't be able to deposit anymore but withdrawal will remain unaffected.

[1] https://cointelegraph.com/news/kucoin-crypto-exchange-to-introduce-mandatory-kyc-in-july

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[JeromeTash]

Well that was expected

I don't think I will miss them. I last used Kucoin, probably in 2019/2020 when I discovered that my jurisdiction was one of those that was restricted by them, something other popular crypto exchanges don't do. So I thought to myself that It was dangerous to deposit money in a platform that has their terms of service clear about restricted jurisdictions even when KYC verification was still relaxed

They have a long list of restricted countries, I am pretty sure their trading volumes are going to dwindle in the coming days.

[Oshosondy]

At last, this is happening. I hope Ratimov will update it on his no-KYC exchange thread. I also hope Kucoin would be delisted from https://kycnot.me site.

According to the news, old users will not be able to deposit, but they will still be able to do some things:

KuCoin’s existing users will still be able to use services like spot trading sell orders, futures trading deleveraging and margin trading deleveraging. Other available services for existing non-KYC users include redemptions at KuCoin’s staking and lending hub, KuCoin Earn, as well as exchange-traded funds’ redemption.

But all these no-KYC centralized exchanges will have no option later than to make their users submit KYC documents.

[Rikafip]

This news sucks since Kucoin has been one of the most reliable KYCless exchanges left on the market, but then again that's not something that we haven't expected to happen sooner or later and same thing will happen to others. At this point it is inevitable.

According to the news, old users will not be able to deposit, but they will still be able to do some things:

Basically they will be able to 'play" with the amount they have left there, but if you can't deposit crypto on an exchange, it will eventually become useless.

[Helena Yu]

After all any centralized exchange can't be trusted and survive for long if you want to trade without KYC.

The other popular centralized exchanges which still offer to trade without KYC e.g. OKX, Huobi and Poloniex soon will follow Binance, Bybit, Kucoin etc. Bisq, Agoradesk, Robosats are still become the best choice to trade Bitcoin without KYC.

[BitMaxz]

This news sucks since Kucoin has been one of the most reliable KYCless exchanges left on the market

No, this is not the only exchange that doesn't ask for KYC there is also a Coinex exchange run by ViaBTC and also an OKX exchange(as optional) with a withdrawal limit for non-KYC users.

I'm sure there are more bad news coming for non-KYC exchange to force people into mandatory KYC.

[Rikafip]

No, this is not the only exchange that doesn't ask for KYC there is also a Coinex exchange run by ViaBTC and also an OKX exchange(as optional) with a withdrawal limit for non-KYC users.

I didn't say that Kucoin was the only exchange that didn't ask for KYC, but that it was one of the most reliable ones without mandatory KYC requirement and there is difference between those two things.

Beside Coinex and OKX, there are few more exchanges that don't ask for KYC like Bitget, Mexc, Ascendex etc but its just a matter of time before they do the same as Kucoin and many other exchanges before them.

[rat03gopoh]

It's very sad that my first and favorite trading platform also can't go against the mainstream of global regulation. It seems that no more privacy-friendly CEXs will last long. Especially for active traders, submitting their sensitive documents is a must.
Glad I found this news earlier before the next signature payment.

[PX-Z]

Yeah, just received the email earlier and its really expected. And just like what i have said previously since it's my first exchange and regular users, i don't mind proceeding their mandatory KYC.

[Husires]

It's sad news, KYCless exchanges have started to become less and less, and the options offered may not be as good as the previous ones, as OKX seems to be on its way to making identity verification mandatory. What prompted them to suddenly make this decision, they have held out for a very long time, longer than most platforms, and I have not heard any lawsuits forcing them to do so, so why now? The price of bitcoin is not that high and depositors' requests are much lower than it was in the year 2021/2022.

[Stalker22]

When I first read the news I thought that existing accounts would be spared. However, it appears that not only are new accounts required to undergo KYC verification, but it also states that existing users won't be able to deposit funds unless they are KYC-ed too. Bummer, right? Kucoin was like the go-to spot to trade those less-known tokens without dealing with DEXs. I mean, it is always a hassle having to verify your identity and all that shit, not to mention the potential privacy concerns it raises.

[Z-tight]

What prompted them to suddenly make this decision, they have held out for a very long time, longer than most platforms, and I have not heard any lawsuits forcing them to do so, so why now?

There is no lawsuit forcing Kucoin to make kyc mandatory, but as a centralized exchange if they want to be accepted in more countries and jurisdictions they have to make kyc mandatory, just as their CEO said:

Lyu also stressed that KuCoin set their KYC policy to comply with regulations in applicable jurisdictions since there isn’t a unified global KYC regulation.

After this announcement of compliance, Kucoin will spread to some Jurisdictions where they couldn't operate before because of their previous lack of compliance to KYC regulations. The only way to trade without kyc is by using true p2p exchanges, even if centralized exchanges don't collect data now, they surely will in the long term and they may not give you the option to withdraw without submitting your data first.

[The Sceptical Chymist]

Basically they will be able to 'play" with the amount they have left there, but if you can't deposit crypto on an exchange, it will eventually become useless.

Or if they can withdraw what's still in their accounts, they might still find it useful to trade on Kucoin since they do have a ton of altcoins and good liquidity as well.

I'm not exactly saddened by this news, since I haven't used Kucoin in a while and have always found their UI to be annoying, but part of me is disappointed that another exchange is being forced to go the KYC route.  I knew it would happen sooner or later with them, and I know the whole landscape for exchanges is going to be completely different within a few years, but still.  This is how the spirit of bitcoin/crypto gets broken, by government's influence on the exchanges through which people can acquire it. 

Here's hoping that at least a few non-KYC exchanges remain in the next year, even if they're some of the smaller ones.  We're exiting the wild west days, my peeps.

[dkbit98]

So that's it, as we've all predicted, this was just a matter of time. Kucoin will officially introduce mandatory KYC starting next month (15 of July)[1]

This is obvious push to restrict all centralized exchanges as government puppets are working on canceling cash and introducing their own digital slave currencies aka CBDC.
I don't think this is such a bad thing, mostly because all centralized exchanges showed that users can't really trust them, and Kucoin is not an exception.
Maybe this will push even more users towards decentralized exchanges and P2P trading, that is much safer and nobody can force you to perform any verification.
I just hope more developers will work on improving dex solutions and making them easy to use both on mobile and desktop devices, with more fiat currencies.
Having said all that, I still hope there will be few more cex available to use in next few years.

[tabas]

First, Binance was the most likeable exchange that didn't enforce KYC until it became mandatory and it's like Kucoin was the only remaining cex that allows no-kyc for their level 1 users but it's come to an end. This is all expected and I've seen an image that US users are probably also out of the exchange, I'm not sure with that but someone who's from there and is a Kucoin user can verify if possible.

they surely will in the long term and they may not give you the option to withdraw without submitting your data first.

That's to be expected as well and that's because of the pressure that these exchanges gets from the regulators.

[Darker45]

This was coming, of course, but it's still sad to see one of the last exchanges standing finally go. But I don't agree with others calling KuCoin a non-KYC exchange. KuCoin isn't like AgoraDesk, for example. KYC has already been there as part of KuCoin's ToS long before this announcement. That it offered a certain limit to unverified users didn't make it a non-KYC exchange. I was a KuCoin user because of that feature until I was asked to submit KYC last year.

[Husires]

There is no lawsuit forcing Kucoin to make kyc mandatory, but as a centralized exchange if they want to be accepted in more countries and jurisdictions they have to make kyc mandatory
After this announcement of compliance, Kucoin will spread to some Jurisdictions where they couldn't operate before because of their previous lack of compliance to KYC regulations.

their desire to expand is the reason. I used to think that they are doing successful business due to the fact that they do not ask for any strick KYC data about customers, but now they are like Binance and I hope they have a better exchange model as their only advantage in my view has been lost.

The only way to trade without kyc is by using true p2p exchanges, even if centralized exchanges don't collect data now, they surely will in the long term and they may not give you the option to withdraw without submitting your data first.

I will try to find a new exchange until the last KYCless centralized exchange and I hope to find a decentralized exchange with good liquidity and speed in executing orders.

[jrrsparkles]

So that's it, as we've all predicted, this was just a matter of time. Kucoin will officially introduce mandatory KYC starting next month (15 of July)[1]

The current users won't be able to deposit anymore but withdrawal will remain unaffected.

[1] https://cointelegraph.com/news/kucoin-crypto-exchange-to-introduce-mandatory-kyc-in-july

So we can officially say that there is no more non KYC exchanges for cryptocurrencies or still anything left?

This isn't a big surprise but Kucoin dragged this long to enforce the mandatory KYC requirements when all the other exchanges forced to make those changes years ago.

Question: so this will force the users who never want to comply KYC to use the decentralized exchanges and bring some real volume?

[NotATether]

One important point that is not getting talked about enough is that US investors will not be able to complete the KYC. It is specifically designed to keep them out.

So the wall around the USA investors are closing.

Soon there will only be P2P services, exchanges which require a US address for KYC such as Coinbase and Binance.US, and scams.

Makes it harder when they travel tbh.

[OmegaStarScream]

So we can officially say that there is no more non KYC exchanges for cryptocurrencies or still anything left?

This isn't a big surprise but Kucoin dragged this long to enforce the mandatory KYC requirements when all the other exchanges forced to make those changes years ago.

Question: so this will force the users who never want to comply KYC to use the decentralized exchanges and bring some real volume?

There are still a few ones[1] (which will probably follow the same path sooner or later) but I'm just not sure if they're any good, compared to the exchanges we lost recently (Kucoin, OKX, Bybit) in terms of liquidity, supported coins and network, fees, etc.

[1] https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5414539.0