Skip to content
BTC BTC $78,759.00 -0.33% ETH ETH $2,489.06 +1.06% USDT USDT $0.999867 +0.00% BNB BNB $704.19 +1.17% XRP XRP $1.40 -2.93% USDC USDC $0.999913 +0.00% SOL SOL $101.43 +4.48% TRX TRX $0.334755 -1.12% FIGR_HELOC FIGR_HELOC $1.00 -0.67% HYPE HYPE $81.32 -1.17% DOGE DOGE $0.086599 -0.20% ZEC ZEC $778.08 -1.57% RAIN RAIN $0.017466 -1.40% USDS USDS $0.999745 -0.01% LINK LINK $11.57 +1.69% WBT WBT $72.89 -0.09% LEO LEO $9.27 -0.29% XMR XMR $447.82 +0.59% ADA ADA $0.208959 -1.00% XLM XLM $0.181946 -1.12% BCH BCH $266.34 0.00% CC CC $0.116593 -1.80% LAB LAB $16.18 -14.97% DAI DAI $0.99994 -0.01%
Analyzing Market
Glossary

KYC

KYC, short for “Know Your Customer,” is the process by which a regulated financial service verifies the identity of its users before letting them transact.

How it works

To pass KYC, a user typically submits identification such as a government ID and proof of address, which the provider checks against official and sanctions databases. It is part of broader anti-money-laundering (AML) rules. Centralized exchanges generally require KYC, whereas self-custodial wallets and decentralized protocols usually do not.

Why it matters

KYC is where crypto meets traditional regulation: it helps prevent fraud and illicit finance and is mandatory for most regulated platforms, but it also reduces the anonymity some users value. The tension between compliance and privacy is a recurring theme in the industry.

Example

Signing up to a regulated exchange usually means uploading an ID photo to complete KYC before you can trade.

KYC: Frequently Asked Questions

What is KYC and why do exchanges require it?
KYC, short for "Know Your Customer," is the process by which a regulated financial service verifies the identity of its users before letting them transact. It helps prevent fraud and illicit finance and is part of broader anti-money-laundering rules. Centralized exchanges generally require KYC, whereas self-custodial wallets and decentralized protocols usually do not.
What information do I need to provide for KYC?
To pass KYC, a user typically submits identification such as a government ID and proof of address. The provider checks these against official and sanctions databases. In practice, signing up to a regulated exchange usually means uploading an ID photo to complete KYC before you can trade, as part of meeting anti-money-laundering requirements.
Does KYC affect my privacy?
Yes. KYC is where crypto meets traditional regulation: it helps prevent fraud and illicit finance and is mandatory for most regulated platforms, but it also reduces the anonymity some users value. The tension between compliance and privacy is a recurring theme in the industry, since verifying identity necessarily ties your activity to who you are.
← All terms

Latest news

1790173265872 701371820
RWA & Tokenization

How Traders Use an Economic Calendar to Prepare for Market Volatility

How Traders Use an Economic Calendar to Prepare for Market Volatility

Corinne Heller 4 min read
Abstract visualization of the Bitcoin Lightning Network as a glowing mesh of interconnected payment-channel nodes over a dark financial dashboard
Bitcoin

Lightning Network Capacity Hits New ATH: Is Bitcoin Finally Ready for Everyday Payments?

Bitcoin's Lightning Network has reached 6,800 BTC in channel capacity — a new all-time high. We look at the growth drivers, merchant…

Ruholamin Haqshanas 3 min read
Bitcoin as a Macro Hedge: How BTC Tracks Global M2, Liquidity Cycles, and Central Bank Policy
Bitcoin

Bitcoin as a Macro Hedge: How BTC Tracks Global M2, Liquidity Cycles, and Central Bank Policy

Research shows Bitcoin's price has a statistically significant correlation with global M2 money supply growth with a 12-week lag. We examine the…

Corinne Heller 2 min read