New Website Compiles Records of KYC-Free Exchanges, Issues Warnings

A new website is drawing up a list of crypto exchanges that do not need identity verification from users before preserving the independence of their crypto coins.

The new website known as Kynot.me is seriously compiling the list of all crypto exchanges that allow trades in some capacities without strictly requiring them to disclose their personal information through KYC verification.

Kycnot.me is only listing exchanges that support Monero (XMR) or Bitcoin (BTC). According to the site, the reason for choosing only the two coins is the fact that XMR provides the strongest privacy protections while BTC is the most adopted crypto coin. As a result, the demand for both cryptocurrencies is usually high.

Website tracking only KYC-free exchanges

At press time, the website lists 14 KYC-free trading platforms, and many of them provide a peer-to-peer marketplace for crypto assets.

But the site has issued a warning regarding over 50% of the listed exchanges. Some of the cautions include the listed exchanges requesting certain identity details despite operating KYC-free exchange. Other issues Kycnot.me raised is concerning withdrawal quirks and strict restrictions on verification-free use.

Surprisingly, the list did not include popular exchanges such as BitMinex, KuCoin, or Binance.

KYC is not in line with the crypto ethos

The owner of Github posted a manifesto about the Kycnot.me recently. The manifesto indicated that Kycnot.me details its mission to “preserve the decentralized and self-governed essence of cryptocurrencies”.

It said the site makes it less stressful for traders and investors to discover dependable ways of buying, trading and using cryptocurrencies without the need to identify themselves.

According to the post, the crypto coins were designed to remove the dependency the users have on the centralized entities in charge of the economy. He added that most AML and KYC exchanges are now acting like banks, which is a good thing for crypto traders and users.

Why exchanges require KYC from users

The decentralized nature of cryptocurrency transactions has made the market highly risky for both investors and exchanges. Many fraudsters prefer transacting with cryptocurrencies because it’s safer and can hide their identities. Since the inception of cryptocurrency, fraud and financial crimes have plagued it, so it’s for these cryptocurrency exchanges to protect their users or face losing their credentials.

In any fraud within the crypto industry, both the defrauded user and the exchange will have to pay a price. While the user loses his investments, the exchange can face huge fines as a result. That’s why the proponents of KYC are frowning against the project Kynot.me has embarked to compile a list of exchanges that do not require this personal identification procedure