The crypto market has attracted several stakeholders since Bitcoin came to life a decade ago. Some of these participants include traders looking to capitalize on the volatile market. Nonetheless, they are faced with some challenges when it comes to Know Your Customer (KYC) procedures. These are laid out requirements in terms of official documentation that must be presented for one to be qualified as a client within a given crypto exchange. If you’re looking for a new best crypto exchange in 2021, you can check this list
As expected, most crypto traders and HODLers believe in the fundamental aspect of anonymity. This concept has, however, been under much criticism from regulators across the world citing illegal activity such as money laundering and terror financing. In fact, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) released a set of guidelines back in June 2019 with an intention to curb illicit transactions in crypto ecosystems.
Despite the skepticism, some crypto exchange service providers have maintained minimal or no KYC requirements. Such platforms are currently being hailed as the ‘darlings of crypto traders’ amidst the regulatory uncertainty. These go-to exchanges for anonymity include Binance, Nominex, Bitzlato, Yobit, and Changelly.
1. Bitzlato
Bitzlato has a minimal KYC approach which allows traders and its P2P clients to operate with ease. The sign-up process requires one to create a username and provide an email address together with a password to be used as the login credentials. With this in place, you can leverage Bitzlato’s existing services which also include a digital asset storage in the platform’s wallet. Another interesting initiative about this project is its referral program; Bitzlato users can get up to 90% of the service fees as commission for new referrals to the exchange. As for P2P referrals, they are rewarded with 32% of the fees and 8% on Ads by the new referral that gets a reaction. According to the firm’s website, 107.9 BTC has been paid out to the referral program participants within the last year.
This crypto exchange and Peer-to-Peer trading platform offers a range of services in the modern digital asset industry. It began back in 2013 with a focus on cloud mining, data centers, and the development of mining equipment. The business scope has, however, changed over time with the company building a P2P exchange on Telegram for seamless settlements in BTC, ETH, LTC, DASH, BCH, and DOGE. In addition to this, Bitzlato pioneered its own crypto platform back in 2019 and has since introduced several assets including the Monolith stablecoin. This digital currency is based on the RUBM and USDM coins which are backed by the Ruble and USD on a 1:1 basis, respectively.
2. Binance
This Malta-based crypto exchange has emerged as a force to reckon with in the industry. Its client base is past the 6 million mark and reported a $10 billion exchanging volume in the past 24 hours as per Coinmarketcap stats. Binance features a range of crypto products and is perhaps among the most diversified crypto exchanges in existence. Some advanced crypto instruments offered by the exchange include a spot and futures market whose underlying is digital assets.
Notably, all these services can be initiated without KYC documentation. This basically means that interested crypto traders or new market entrants can join Binance through a basic sign-up and ultimately leverage their desired functionality. However, for withdrawals above 2 BTC within a span of 24-hours, Binance will require the user to provide KYC information. The exchange also recently extended an ID verification for U.S clients owing to the strict market approach by regulators like the SEC.
3. Nominex
Nominex exchange is another platform whose value proposition in KYC favors the inherent anonymity designed for cryptocurrencies. Prospective crypto traders can register on this Seychelles based exchange and engage in transactions without the provision of KYC documents. Nominex traders can leverage the platform’s market, which is made up of over 40 trading pairs. The dominant ones include BTC/USDT, ETH/USDT, and BCH/USDT. The only limit placed for KYC is withdrawals above 3 BTC within a day.
Despite being in its early stages, Nominex recorded a $3.2 million exchanging volume in the last 24 hours. The exchange’s trading services are quite cost-friendly, with rates going as low as 0.01% for market makers. Apart from basic trading, Nominex has also integrated advanced crypto trading features like stop orders and scaled orders to match opportunities in the fast-moving crypto market. It is quite noteworthy that the platform’s growth is partly attributed to its referral program, which allows users to earn unlimited bonuses for invitations to the exchange.
4. Yobit
Yobit, also domiciled in Russia, was incorporated back in 2014 and has continued to thrive in the murky crypto industry. Part of this is because it maintained the anonymity aspect of cryptocurrencies given it requires no KYC. The platform’s sign-up portal is basic with the only required fields being an email address and password. However, users are required to further secure their digital currencies with a Two-factor authentication upon registration.
This exchange also stands out in terms of deposits as it accommodates around 9 digital assets and 2 fiat currencies, the USD, and RUB. The platform allows its users to leverage card providers like Visa and Mastercard to top up and withdraw from their accounts. Other Yobit features built to enhance the user experience include a digital wallet, coinsinfo, and investbox. As of press date, the exchange’s volume over the last 24 hours stood at $57.25 million according to Nomics. This market is mainly dominated by DASH/BTC, ETH/BTC, and ZEC/BTC trading pairs.
5. Changelly
Finally, is the Changelly exchange, this platform was launched back in 2015 with an aim to support digital currency trading globally. Crypto traders can sign-up via their email addresses and create a password to experience Changelly’s crypto services. However, the exchange reserves the right to ask for KYC verification in cases where it suspects illicit activity by a user.
The platform’s cutting edge is in its API interface which allows developers to integrate their own DEX for payment processing amongst other utilities. So far, several entities have integrated this feature and are able to swap over 150 cryptocurrencies at a rate of 0.25%. Changelly has since partnered with some notable crypto stakeholders such as Exodus, Huobi Wallet, Trezor, and MyEtherWallet.
