They are still operating because they don't ask you for any additional requirement upon registration and deposits. The platform is also opened for listing shit tokens either permanently or for a certain period of time [depends on how much the team is able to pay for listing, regardless its credibility].
Yeah, I used them once or twice for some obscure altcoin that could have been one of a few that I was interested in a while back, and they were the only exchange that listed it and that I could register on. And yep, I got hit with the KYC requirement
at the withdrawal step, and there was no mention of that upon registering. True, I should have done more research before even thinking about doing business with them, but I didn't. But that doesn't excuse them from leading people to believe that KYC isn't required.
Can you imagine a bank that lets you open an account and doesn't ask for your documents until you try to withdraw money? That would be crazy.
And like Yobit exchange, HitBtc doesn't care that much about building a good repuation within crypto community.
True, but Yobit has never asked for KYC documents. They just scam people in different ways.