KuCoin Rolls Out New KYC Policy, Customer Reactions Are Mixed

Seychelles-headquartered crypto exchange KuCoin has announced that it has ramped up its know-your-customer (KYC) policies. The move comes amid increasing regulatory pressure on crypto exchanges across the globe this year.

On June 28, KuCoin announced the enhancement of its Customer Identification and Verification Program.

Crypto Exchange KYC Increasing

There appears to be no escaping KYC as crypto exchanges scramble to satisfy increasing demands from financial regulators. The firm noted:

“We continually protect our customer’s assets and combat money laundering, terrorist financing and related financial crimes around the world, based on this, KuCoin will enhance the Customer Identification and Verification Program.”

Starting from July 15, new KuCoin customers will need to complete KYC in order to use the exchange’s products and services.

For those registered before the date, services will be limited to spot trading and derivatives for those that have not completed the KYC requirements. Deposits will also be prevented until KYC is completed, it noted.

Some of the crypto community were not pleased with the announcement. KuCoin days are over, said ‘DonCrypto’ who added, “That’s a shame, was a good anonymising service, I’ll stop using it, no KYC for me.”

Meanwhile, ‘@TheFlowHorse’ commented:

“Keep in mind this is going to be the case for all current larger exchanges, so if you want to trade where the liquidity is, get ready to comply.”

‘Wendy O’ told her 346,000 followers,

“Crypto tiktok is absolutely devastated at the Kucoin KYC news … Defi season is upon us. Get familiar with DEXs and self-custody.”

KuCoin was one of the last major exchanges to operate without KYC. Binance, which is also offshore, has been enforcing KYC upon its users for some years now.

Furthermore, KuCoin is among the many crypto firms that have been sued in the United States for alleged securities law violations.

According to CoinGecko data, KuCoin has a daily volume of $536 million. However, judging by responses, that is likely to fall as crypto traders seek alternative exchanges that are not as intrusive.

KCS Token Outlook

KuCoin’s native token, KCS, has fallen 2.4% on the day. As a result, the token was trading at $6.40 at the time of writing.

KCS has taken a 6% hit over the past week and is down 15% on the month. Moreover, the exchange token is down 78% from its December 2021 all-time high of $28.83.