Topic: Exchanges KYC/AML policy for early adopters. (Read 351 times)

Op already answered this question, op wants to partake in altcoin season if it does come, so they are going to buy and trade altcoins of their choise in their chosen centralized exchange, that is why op wants to use a centralized exchange.
Same here, but it is not even about that, both Coinbase and Binance are 'big' exchanges, but like what every user in this thread has said, including you, it does not stop them from confiscating their customers funds and request source of funds.

OP, do you think that a centralized crypto exchange cares about the time you've been holding your crypto? Some exchanges might ask for proof of origin of the crypto funds or other proofs, but this is BS, if you ask me. Why would you want to use a centralized crypto exchange? Staying with decentralized exchanges is your best move. Every centralized crypto exchange is more or less risky, when it comes to withdrawals. If you really want to use a CEX, then maybe you should stick to the big ones: Coinbase and Binance. Coinbase has more positive reviews on Trustpilot, but I wouldn't trust such reviews.

I guess it's not really paranoia. I don't even think OP is worried. It seems he/she's simply doing basic due diligence or research. He/she doesn't have proof of acquisition anymore since he/she's an early adopter. He/she could indeed encounter related problems along the way. You know exchanges these days.

Considering that many exchanges ask for proof of funds or proof of your source of fund or proof of wealth out of the blue, it's just indeed right to make some inquiries and solicit suggestions and recommendations from those who have the experience.

Sometimes it is good to be paranoid when dealing with crypto, especially when you are dealing with your life savings and you are about to deposit it into a custodial or centralized service that 'owns' the coins once they process and confirm the deposit.
This is one recommendation i also give to people, you will have to pay more in fees due to multiple tx's, but it is better than depositing everything at once and running into some kind of trouble.

Why are you worried? Binance is just a regular exchange, they’re not overly strict with withdrawals, especially since they handle billions in volume. They likely won’t even notice you. All you need to do is complete the KYC process. It’s pretty straightforward and usually gets approved in less than an hour.

Instead of stressing over things that haven’t happened and probably won’t, just give it a try. If you’re still doubtful, you can divide your transaction into smaller amounts to avoid triggering any system flags.

Check if the coins are available on TradeOgre - it's one of the most complete no-KYC exchanges around and has a lot of niche coins listed. Granted, it is a centralized exchange, so do what that information what you will.

With more strict regulations on centralized exchanges and investigations on their compliances with KYC and AML from governments, there are less Centralized Exchanges are available for all users, from all countries without KYC.

You can have some no KYC centralized exchanges to use, but you must know about risk that governments can force those exchanges switching from No-KYC policy to Mandatory KYC in future.

15 top no KYC cryptocurrency exchanges in 2024 (Koinly.io)
7 best no KYC cryptocurrency exchanges (Coinbureau.com)

If you want more pro no KYC
https://kycnot.me/

Thanks for the clarification, if that is the case, it will depend on the altcoins you are looking out for in the next 'altcoin season', if we get one. You will have to find where those coins are listed and register in those exchanges and just like another user has said, you may have to register in more than one exchange, which is not really recommended in my opinion.
Fair enough then.

Of course man it’s not completely safe, but I'm fine with it as I’m fully aware of the risks, and I’m prepared to accept the possibility of my account being closed at any time. That said, I haven’t found any better alternative, I just prefer Binance, so I continue using it.

So far, I haven’t heard any stories about Binance accounts being closed, even with the SEC’s ban in our country. The SEC has also coordinated with the NTC, which regulates telecom companies, to block Binance. But we found the bypass, it is incredibly simple, just use Google DNS, and until now I’ve had no issues accessing Binance, even without a VPN.

Some sites offer AML check but asking the support team would be appropriate or splitting your money into $500/$1000 and depositing it, it is true that the transaction fees will be a little higher but then if there is a problem it will be in the range of $1000 which is something you can afford.

What is your country and how do you want to transfer Bitcoin, do you want to exchange it to cash, bank transfer or stablecoins.
You can try P2P deals here.

I've also taken part in the altcoin season back in 2017. I've made a decent profit from it notwithstanding my countless mistakes. I don't know if such season would repeat. It seems the kind of altcoin season nowadays is niche-based. Meme coins have their own bull runs. NFTs have theirs as well. AI coins have also become more popular. They don't seem to move as one. Back in 2017, I cannot remember such compartmentalized altcoin bull runs.

Anyway, if this is your plan, you might end up having accounts on different CEXes.


I remember I was asked for proof of funds once or twice, but it was enough to provide bank statements each time. I'm sure you have bank statements as well.

I cannot remember it completely but I guess I have read of a particular case in which the user was asked of something like proof of acquisition. This is kind of hard to prove especially if you've been a hodler for many years, but I think this seldom happens.

"Transferring BTC to other networks"? I'm afraid there's no such thing technically. BTC stays only on the Bitcoin network. But there are cross-chain bridges. You could, for example, make use of your BTC in the Ethereum ecosystem by using a Bitcoin-Ethereum bridge, but what you will have in the process isn't actually BTC but an Ethereum token. You're provided with Wrapped BTC (WBTC). There's also BTC Token if you want to use your BTC on the Tron network. You can also use cross-chain bridges to take advantage of these BTC-pegged tokens in other ecosystems.

As to their safety, that's not guaranteed. Many successful hacks are recorded in cross-chain bridges, and for several reasons including smart contract vulnerabilities. As to their cost-effectiveness, I doubt it. It might be costly, although there are so many options available, but you might need to jump from one bridge to another.

Thank you so much for all answers, I do really appreciate it. To make some things clearer:

1) Why do I want to use some CEXes?

I took part in some altcoin season 2017 and 2021. First I lost most of BTC I bought in 2016, then I made some progress, having profit in 2021 (still made a lot of mistakes). I wanted to try to repeat it in 2025 and unfortunately some coins are only available on CEX.

2) Regarding proof of funds, my basic investment was in 2016, when Bitcoin was extremely cheap, so I did not have to invest big money to buy first bitcoins. However on my addresses last transactions from exchanges are from 2021-22 and if someone asks about sources of fund that time I will probably not able to prove it.
Since that time I am active in ETH and L2 and here my whole history is quite transparent on blockchain, but finally I want to move some BTC to altcoins soon. Maybe it is not worth to lose privacy, I don' t know. I heard there are some decentralized method for transferring BTC to other networks, but can you recommend something really safe and cost-effective?

Thank you once more for discussion.

I don't know about the op, but not everybody is willing to lose their privacy by providing information about their funds that they would not like to share with any service. It does not matter how they made the money, for them it is about privacy, which is very important.
I am not from the Philippines, but is it safe trading in a banned exchange, i don't know the exchanges available to you guys over there, but if there are other options, it may be better to use them.

Even if you prove that you have owned crypto for a long time, it does not change the fact that Binance would ask for KYC/AML procedures. So I dont get why you are trying to bring in that point. DEX would never ask for KYC but using a CEX you are bound to KYC sometime in future.

Withdrawal problems might exist with any exchange, but the top CEXs out there have a god reputation and as long as you are not doing anything illegal you should be good.

You should look into your local country's crypto community and see what CEX they are commonly using.

You are worrying about something that you can address if you are just being honest about your finances. If your funds come from legal sources and you have a business or a job to back up your transactions, then there's nothing to worry about even if you're dealing with huge transactions.
Binance and Kucoin are still the best place to trade based on my experience, Bitget is getting to be very popular among traders; just be ready with all your credentials.

Binance is a user-friendly exchange. In the Philippines, it’s technically banned as the SEC has issued an order against it. However, I’m still able to access and trade on Binance without any issues, so I’d say the same likely applies to you. They seem to remain "chill" despite regulatory restrictions. That said, always be mindful of the risks involved. Managing those risks is an essential part of due diligence when investing or trading.

It usually happens when people deposit coins from privacy solutions like mixers or coinjoin transactions, i don't think a centralized exchange will request source of funds if the funds are simply coming from your wallets. However, it is always good to have it in your mind that a centralized exchange can confiscate your funds at anytime and for any reason.
That's crazy, people who have been holding BTC for a very long time wouldn't be able to remember half of that information, except with the help of on-chain data.

I don't think they will ask about where you obtain the coins, I have never experienced that.

I think, it's more likely the banks or tax authority will ask that when you made a big deposit by selling your coins in bulk. You can imagine what if they ask you when you bought your coins, at what price and what time, or they will ask you who own the previous address before you get the coins...

Unless DEX is prohibited in your country, you can tell your tax authorities/law enforcement that your coins came from these services. As for sending them to CEX, most services do not classify DEXes as high risk and will accept your coins without any problems.

So from what I understand, you're worried about documenting your proof of source of funds? in case they request it from you?

Supposing I'm correct, you can try to ask your picked CEX about what documents are accepted or search in their help center. For instance, a signed message from your address/es is accepted as well in kraken, see: https://support.kraken.com/hc/en-us/articles/360000383383-What-is-proof-of-sources-of-funds-POSOF-

or hop the funds on a no-kyc exchange first and you can use it for documentation? 🤔

The question we have to ask you is why do you want to use centralized exchanges now and give them your personal information, when you have not done that since you've been in the industry for a long time. Take note that centralized exchanges can always confiscate your funds at anytime, so even if we recommend one to you now, it is no guarantee that your experience will be forever smooth.

Binance plus many other exchanges have that option to export your user data including all the orders you made in the earlier years. They can either send your account statement via email or probably download it after a few minutes. I have done it before, but I need to be certain it was Binance.


You need to first outline what you would like from an exchange. We do have quite a number of them with no many issues when it comes to withdrawals, especially when you have KYC already done. Just avoid the likes of HitBTC.

I wonder why you want to use them again after "several years only using DEXes". Are you discouraged by certain shortcomings of DEXes?

Anyway, there's no centralized exchange that could guarantee you of smooth withdrawals all the time. You must understand that. And if you're totally against KYC, a centralized exchange isn't for you.

But you are safer with the top exchanges provided (1) you aren't from one of their restricted countries, (2) you aren't depositing funds obtained illegally, (3) you have complete legitimate proof of identification, address, funds, and so on, (4) you won't violate their terms. So, you must read their terms and conditions before signing up. And, again, prepare for KYC. Binance, OKX, Bybit, are some of the most popular centralized exchanges.

Why do you need to prove that you have been in crypto for a long time.
Also, crypto transactions are transparent, you can simpfjy enter a wallet and check the trail of transactions of all the inputs in it.

Are you looking for a top CEX that doesn't enforce KYC or just an exchange (could be decentralized) that doesn't require it for withdrawals?

I haven't been using any CEX since Binance introduced KYC policy. For several years only using DEXes. I am considering to use them again, but wondering what way I can prove I have crypto for long time (don't have any buying proofs as I did it longtime ago when it was available with full privacy and lost access to these transfers history). So what exchanges I can use to avoid problems with withdrawals? Any experience in this matter amongst biggest exchanges on the market? Would be very thankfull if you can share it.