What Is KYC and Why Do Exchanges Require It?
Pay 20% less on every trade
Most people just share a referral link. We give you 20% of our commission back — automatically, through the fee discount. Pick your exchange; the code is built into the button.
KYC (Know Your Customer) is the identity verification an exchange asks for before it opens some or all of its services to you — deposits, trading or withdrawals, depending on the exchange. What an account without it can still do differs on each of the five exchanges compared here, so the table below quotes what each one's own pages say instead of a general rule.
What KYC Requires
| What's needed | Why |
|---|---|
| Government-issued photo ID (passport, national ID, or driver's license) | Confirms your legal identity |
| Live selfie or short video | Confirms the ID belongs to the person submitting it, not a stolen document |
| Sometimes: proof of address | Required by some exchanges for higher withdrawal limits |
Why Exchanges Require It
Crypto exchanges handling fiat on/off-ramps and operating in most jurisdictions are legally classified as financial institutions subject to anti-money-laundering (AML) law. KYC is how they comply — it's not optional for the exchange, regardless of what any individual account offers.
How Long Verification Takes
Across the five exchanges compared here, most identity submissions are reviewed within minutes to a few hours for standard documents; edge cases (unusual ID formats, poor photo quality) can take longer. See each exchange's own sign-up guide for specifics.
What Does Each Exchange Require Before You Can Use the Account?
Each row below is what that exchange's own help pages say about accounts that have not completed identity verification, read on 29 September 2026. The pages' own dates are in the Sources list of each sign-up guide.
| Exchange | What its own pages say | Source (read 29 September 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| Bitget | Bitget's FAQ says identity verification has been required since 1 January 2024 for core services such as crypto deposits and trading, and that verifying enables crypto and fiat deposits, P2P trading and on-chain withdrawals. Its fee page gives 20,000 USDT as the 24-hour withdrawal limit for users who have not completed verification. | KYC FAQ, Fee page |
| Gate.io | Gate's KYC FAQ says identity verification must be completed before making deposits or withdrawals. Once verified you can deposit digital assets, withdraw, trade fiat currencies and join projects such as Launchpool. Users under 18 are not eligible. | KYC FAQ |
| MEXC | MEXC's KYC FAQ says that, to comply with regulations in your region, not completing KYC may affect access to services such as deposits, withdrawals and trading, and that the on-screen prompts show which. Once verified, Primary KYC allows crypto withdrawals up to 80 BTC a day and Advanced KYC up to 200 BTC a day. | KYC FAQ |
| Bybit | Bybit says identity verification of at least Standard level is mandatory for all its products and services. Its KYC-levels table marks crypto deposits, fiat deposits, spot, margin and derivatives trading as unavailable without verification, and caps crypto withdrawals at 20K USDT a day and 100K USDT a month. | KYC FAQ, KYC levels |
| OKX | OKX's verification guide says an individual account needs advanced identity verification, and that you can trade, deposit and withdraw after completing it. | Individual verification |
Read from each exchange's official pages linked in the table, 29 September 2026. Pages can change and MEXC ties its requirements to your region, so confirm on the exchange's own screens before you deposit.
All five say verification affects what you can do with the account (MEXC, depending on your region), so if you intend to deposit or trade, verify right after you sign up.
KYC Steps by Exchange
- Bitget verification steps
- Gate.io verification steps
- MEXC verification steps
- Bybit verification steps
- OKX verification steps
Frequently Asked Questions
Is KYC required on all five exchanges compared here?
All five tie something to it, but not the same thing. Gate.io says verification must be completed before deposits or withdrawals. Bybit says at least Standard verification is mandatory for all its products and services. OKX says an individual account needs advanced verification. Bitget says it has been required for crypto deposits and trading since 1 January 2024. MEXC says not completing it may affect deposits, withdrawals and trading depending on your region. Read from each exchange's own help pages on 29 September 2026.
What documents do I need for KYC?
Typically a government-issued photo ID plus a live selfie. Some exchanges request a proof of address for higher withdrawal tiers. See each exchange's guide for exact steps.