Poloniex exchange drops KYC for withdrawals of up to $10,000 per day

Exchanges • December 23, 2019, 7:20AM EST
The Block

Poloniex, the cryptocurrency exchange that recently spun off from its parent firm Circle, has introduced a new "level 1" account tier that has no KYC (know-your-customer) requirements.

The level 1 account tier allows new users to withdraw up to $10,000 per day, using only a verified email address and password. The account also allows “unlimited” deposits and spot trading.

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Poloniex said the move has been taken based on customer feedback. Binance also allows withdrawals of up to 2 bitcoins (currently worth ~$15,000) with no KYC. OKEx also had a similar feature, but it recently banned unverified users from withdrawing funds due to China’s crackdown on the crypto sector.

Poloniex further said that users of level 1 account can also participate in other services, such as staking. The exchange will also begin unfreezing and upgrading existing unverified accounts to level 1.

Poloniex currently doesn’t serve U.S. customers - a move it took when it spun out of Circle in October. Poloniex has also seen a rebound in its market share since the spin-out, hitting above 2% market share on certain days for the first time in several months. It remains to be seen whether the exchange can sustain the rebound.

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Yogita Khatri is a senior reporter at The Block, covering all things crypto. As one of the earliest team members, Yogita has played a pivotal role in breaking numerous stories, exclusives and scoops. With nearly 3,000 articles under her belt, Yogita holds the records as The Block's most-published and most-read author of all time. Prior to joining The Block, Yogita worked at crypto publication CoinDesk and The Economic Times, where she wrote on personal finance. To contact her, email: [email protected]. For her latest work, follow her on X @Yogita_Khatri5.