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Glossary

KYC (Know Your Customer)

The identity verification an exchange must complete before letting you trade or withdraw — a legal requirement wherever the exchange has a fiat licence.

By Vetted Exchanges Editorial Team

KYC is the process of proving who you are to the exchange: a government ID, usually a selfie, sometimes a proof of address. It exists because regulators require licensed venues to know who they serve, and every exchange with a real bank connection enforces it before you can move fiat. The practical cost is time — minutes to a few days — and the privacy cost is that a third party now holds a copy of your ID, which is exactly what leaked in the 2025 Coinbase contractor incident.

Exchanges differ in when they demand it. Kraken, Coinbase, Binance and KuCoin require full verification before trading. Bybit, OKX and Bitget run tiered systems where limited deposit and withdrawal is possible before full verification. MEXC allows limited functionality without KYC at all. We record each posture on the exchange data sheet, because for some readers it decides the choice.

A no-KYC tier is not a loophole. Withdrawal limits are small, fiat rails are absent, and the exchange can — and does — freeze funds and demand verification later. Anyone who chooses a venue for its no-KYC tier should keep the balance there small and know that no regulated alternative will replicate it.

Where this shows up

Frequently asked questions

Can I buy crypto without KYC?

On a few offshore venues, in limited amounts and without fiat rails. Any exchange connected to a bank will require verification before you deposit or withdraw fiat.

How long does verification take?

Usually minutes with an automated check; up to a few days if a document is rejected or a manual review is triggered. Do it before you need to trade, not during.

Related terms and pages

Related terms

  • Two-factor authentication (2FA)

    A second proof of identity at login and withdrawal beyond the password — an authenticator app, a hardware key, a passkey or an SMS code.

  • Withdrawal fee

    What an exchange charges to send crypto or fiat off the platform — often a flat amount per asset that can exceed the trading fee on a small balance.