KuCoin, a major cryptocurrency exchange, is taking steps to enhance its know-your-customer (KYC) system by implementing new mandatory identity checks. On June 28. the exchange officially announced its plans to upgrade the KYC system in order to improve compliance with global anti-money laundering regulations.
Starting from July 15. 2023. KuCoin will require all new users to undergo mandatory KYC checks. Without completing the KYC process, newly registered users will not have access to KuCoin's products and services, according to the company. Additionally, existing user s who registered before July 15. 2023. will need to complete the KYC process to access certain features. While withdrawals will not be affected, these users will be unable to deposit new funds.
Existing KuCoin users, whether they have completed KYC or not, will still be able to utilize services such as spot trading sell orders, futures trading deleveraging, and leveraged trading deleveraging. Other services available to existing non-KYC users include redefinemption from KuCoin Earn, the KuCoin staking and lending hub, and redemption from exchange-traded funds. The CEO of KuCoin, Johnny Lyu, explained that the full KYC process requires users to provide their name, ID number, ID photo, and undergo facial recognition. The collection of customer identification information is in line with applicable laws and regulations.
Lyu emphasized that KYC is a principle that KuCoin has always adhered to and that the company's KYC policy is designed to comply with the regulations of the relevant jurisdictions. However, KuCoin clarified that it does not support US KYC under its current or updated KYC rules.
This new KYC update will impact a significant number of cryptocurrency users worldwide. As of July 2022. there were more than 20 million registered accounts on the KuCoin platform. With a daily transaction volume of approximately $540 million and over 8 million visits per month, KuCoin ranks among the largest cryptocurrency exchanges globally. Other exchanges have also recently implemented KYC policies, such as Bybit Exchange, which restricted non-KYC users from withdrawing more than 20.000 Tether per month. Additionally, there have be en reports of cybercriminals exploiting KYC requirements to sell hacked and verified crypto accounts on the dark web for $30.
