End Of An Era: MEXC Goes KYC
So this hurts a bit
I have used MEXC for years, probably 6-7 years in which I have grown accustomed to being able to trade without KYC. In recent years it has of course become obvious that CEXs in general would get consumed by the regulators, but somehow I had hoped that MEXC would go a different path. As of some weeks (?) users now have to KYC to withdraw their funds. It seems that there isn't any sort of "grace period" which allows users to withdraw their duns. Unfortunately I still had a couple of hundred bucks on the site, so it's a bit painful. But of course it's only a little more than a nuisance. I have always played by the rule to never leave a lot of money on CEXs...
I first noticed the little KYC pop up upon login. But since they also had this last year before going away again, I didn't think of it much. However, I noticed that the HIVE I sent to the exchange was "stuck". Well, it turns out that it was restricted.
Yeah, from that point I was already quite sure that this would spell trouble for the funds I had in my account. And sure enough, ALL of the funds are frozen! The ironic part of this is the withdrawal appeal form. Can't or don't want to KYC - no problem! Just appeal which.... includes KYC :D
So just upload your documents and hold a little note that reads:
"Due to personal reasons I am unable to complete the KYC verification requirements set by MEXC."
and you can have your funds back. And yeah, we totally don't KYC you in the process. They really think we are this stupid, heh? I guess losing my funds is the price I have paid for the privacy I have had in the last years. Then it almost becomes a fair deal, I suppose.
So DEXs are it I guess. I have somewhat avoided them mainly because MEXC was so easy to use. Especially when trading ALTs. I also have to look at how I will be able to sell/trade HIVE in the future, but I think I still have some bookmarks. Do you have any ideas?
Conclusion
This was always going to happen. And surprisingly it took this long for the gates to close. DeFi is the future and I don't have any excuse to be complacent anymore.
As a general reminder: Please keep in mind that none of this is official investment advice! Crypto trading entails a great deal of risk; never spend money that you can't afford to lose!
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