About

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What is this page?

KYCnot.me is a directory of trustworthy alternatives for buying, exchanging, trading, and using cryptocurrencies without having to disclose your identity, thus preserving your right to privacy.

What is KYC?

KYC stands for Know Your Customer, a process designed to protect financial institutions against fraud, corruption, money laundering and terrorist financing.

The truth is that KYC is a direct attack on our privacy and puts us in disadvantage against the governments. True criminals don’t care about KYC policies. True criminals know perfectly how to avoid such policies. In fact, they normally use the FIAT system and don’t even need to use cryptocurrencies. Banks are the biggest money launders, the HSBC scandal, Nordea or Swedbank are just some examples.

Chainalysis found that only 0.34% of the transaction volume with cryptocurrencies in 2023 was attributable to criminal activity. Bitcoin’s share of this is significantly lower. Illicit transactions with Euros accounted for 1% of the EU’s GDP or €110 billion in 2010. [1] [2]

KYC only affects small individuals like you and me. It is an annoying procedure that forces us to trust our personal information to a third party in order to buy, use or unlock our funds. We should start using cryptocurrencies as they were intended to be used: without barriers.

Why does this site exist?

Crypto was born to free us from banks and governments controlling our money. Simple as that.

When exchanges require your ID and personal information through KYC, they undermine the core principle of cryptocurrency: privacy. Not everyone possesses an ID, and not everyone resides in a “supported” country. Small businesses often struggle with the burden of compliance and the fear of hefty fines. Moreover, exchanges are targets for hackers, putting your sensitive data at risk of theft.

KYC turns crypto back into the system we’re trying to escape. That’s why I built this site - to help you use crypto the way it was meant to be used: privately.

Why only Bitcoin and Monero?

Bitcoin: It’s the initial spark of the decentralized money. A solid project with a strong community. It is the most well-known and widespread cryptocurrency.

Monero: If you’re looking for digital cash that’s truly private, Monero is it. It’s designed for privacy, works like real cash (fungible), has low fees, and is supported by a dedicated, long-standing community.

While the main focus is on Bitcoin and Monero, you’ll find that many of the listed services also accept other cryptocurrencies, such as Ethereum or Litecoin.

User Accounts

You can create an account to suggest new services or share your feedback on service pages.

User accounts do not require any personal information. Your username will be randomly generated to prevent impersonation and protect your privacy.

When you create an account, you are given a login key. Login keys are displayed only once. Be sure to store it securely, as it cannot be recovered if lost. It is recommended to use a password manager like Bitwarden or KeePassXC.

User Karma

Users earn karma by participating in the community. When your comments get approved, or when making contributions. As your karma grows, you’ll unlock special features, which are detailed on your user profile page.

Verified and Affiliated Users

Verified users have proven their identity by linking their account to a specific website. This verification confirms they are legitimate representatives of that site, whether it’s a personal website, blog, social media profile, or service page. You can request verification in your profile.

Affiliated users are users who represent a service listed in the directory, such as owners, support staff, or team members. If you represent a service and want to become affiliated, you can request it in your profile.

Listings

Suggesting a new listing

Suggest a new listing by visiting the service suggestion form. Provide the most accurate information for higher chances of getting approved.

Once submitted, you will get a unique tracking page where you can monitor the suggestion status and communicate directly with moderators.

Listing Requirements

To list a new service, it must fulfill these requirements:

KYCnot.me focuses on end-user services and tools, not meta-services. A plain directory, review site, or ranking page about other services is not eligible. We avoid recursive directory-of-directories listings because they can be confusing for users who come to KYCnot.me to search for a service.

Examples of non-valid services:

Suggestion Review Process

When you submit a new service, it gets the COMMUNITY_CONTRIBUTED status and the unlisted visibility level. The service will not appear in search results, but it can be viewed with a direct link.

First Review (Unlisted -> Public)

Allow up to a week for the initial review. As a small team of two volunteers, we have to handle a large number of suggestions alongside our other life commitments.

Second Review (Community Contributed -> Approved)

APPROVED means we did a limited, recent review and found enough public history to treat the service as more than just an unknown listing. It does not mean the service is fully trusted, future-proof, or safe from later exit scams.

We are intentionally strict here. APPROVED services are shown more prominently, and many users naturally trust them more. Because of that, a clean-looking website is not enough, and a few recent successful tests are not enough either. If a service has little or no public history, it will usually stay COMMUNITY_CONTRIBUTED until more evidence exists.

In simple terms: APPROVED is for services that look real both on their own site and outside of it.

To be upgraded to APPROVED, the service should generally meet these conditions:

What we require is enough credible, organic evidence that the service is real, active, and not just a fresh listing with no public history. This does not need to come from one specific website or platform.

If a service works in a few tests but has almost no public history, no real user feedback, or unresolved serious red flags, it will usually stay COMMUNITY_CONTRIBUTED until more evidence exists.

For swap or exchange services, these tests will often be swaps. For VPNs, VPS providers, AI providers, and other categories, the tests should match the core user workflow of that service.

Public wording for APPROVED:

Passed limited checks on specific dates and showed enough public history for approval. This does not guarantee future safety.

Final Review (Approved -> Verified)

VERIFIED means the service showed consistent behavior over time and kept passing repeated checks. It does not mean the service is fully trusted, future-proof, or incapable of exit scamming later.

This status is stricter than APPROVED. APPROVED means we saw enough evidence to move the service out of the “unknown” category. VERIFIED means the service kept behaving consistently over a longer period of time, both in our own checks and in what we can observe publicly.

To be upgraded from APPROVED to VERIFIED, the service should generally meet these conditions:

For swap or exchange services, these tests will often be swaps. For VPNs, VPS providers, AI providers, and other categories, the tests should match the core user workflow of that service.

VERIFIED is not permanent. If serious new evidence appears later, the status can be removed or downgraded.

Public wording for VERIFIED:

Passed repeated checks over time and kept showing consistent behavior. This is still not a guarantee.

Failed Verifications (Scams)

If the data is not accurate, the service is a scam, or any other checks fail, the service will be rejected and will appear with a disclaimer.

Verification Steps

Services will usually show the verification steps that the admins took to reach the verified (or not) status. Each step will have a description and some evidence attached.

Service Attributes

An attribute is a feature of a service, categorized as:

You can view all available attributes on the Attributes page.

Attributes are classified into two main types:

  1. Privacy Attributes – Related to data protection and anonymity.
  2. Trust Attributes – Related to reliability and security.

These categories directly influence a service’s Privacy and Trust scores, which contribute to its overall rating.

Service Scores

Scores are calculated automatically using clear, fixed rules based on the attributes of the service (See all attributes). We do not change or adjust scores by hand. The scoring system is open-source and anyone can review or suggest improvements.

Privacy Score

The privacy score measures how well a service protects user privacy, using a transparent, rules-based approach:

  1. Base Score: Every service starts with a neutral score of 50 points.
  2. Privacy Attributes: The sum of all privacy points from attributes categorized as ‘PRIVACY’ is added to the score. See all attributes.
  3. Final Score Range: The final score is always kept between 0 and 100.
Trust Score

The trust score represents how reliable and trustworthy a service is, based on objective, transparent criteria.

  1. Base Score: Every service begins with a neutral score of 50 points.
  2. Trust Attributes: The total trust points from all attributes categorized as ‘TRUST’ are added to the score. See all attributes.
  3. Final Score Range: The final score is always kept between 0 and 100.
Overall Score

The overall score is calculated as (privacy * 0.6) + (trust * 0.4) truncated. This provides a combined measure of privacy and trust.

Terms of Service Reviews

KYCnot.me automatically reviews and summarizes the Terms of Service (ToS) for every service monthly using AI. You get simple, clear summaries that highlight the most important points, so you can quickly see what matters.

We hash each ToS document and only review it again if it changes. Some services may go a long time without a new review, but we still check and scrape their ToS every month.

We aim for accuracy, but the AI may sometimes miss details or highlight less relevant information. If you see any error, contact us.

Events

There are two types of events:

You can also take a look at the global timeline where you will find all the service’s events sorted by date.

Listing Statuses

Note on legacy listings: Some services were listed and granted Approved or Verified under the site’s earlier review standards, before the current check-publishing requirements existed. They remain listed because they have operated for years without scam reports, blocked-funds patterns, or other unresolved red flags, and have a recognized presence in the privacy community (sponsorships, mentions, long-term user base). Published check history will be backfilled for these services over time. Until then, treat the absence of evidence as missing information, not endorsement, and do your own research.

Unlisted

Initial state after the service is submitted. The service will not appear in the list or search results. Only accessible with a direct link. An initial review is done by the team to ensure the service is not spam or inappropriate.

Community Contributed

The service is listed in the directory, but it has not been reviewed by our team. The information may be inaccurate, incomplete, or fraudulent. Users should use these services with caution.

Approved

The service passed a limited, recent review. Upgrade requirements:

For swap or exchange services, these tests will often be swaps. For VPNs, VPS providers, AI providers, and other categories, they should match the core user workflow.

This status reflects specific checks on specific dates, not a long-term safety guarantee.

Verified

The service showed consistent behavior over time after already being approved. Upgrade requirements:

For swap or exchange services, these tests will often be swaps. For VPNs, VPS providers, AI providers, and other categories, they should match the core user workflow.

This is stronger than Approved, but it is still not a guarantee against future problems or exit scams.

Scam

The service is a scam. User reports, negative reviews, or failed internal testing and other red flags were found. Evidence is provided in the verification section of the service page.

Archived

The service is no longer available. It may have been shut down, acquired, or otherwise discontinued. Still visible in the directory for reference.

Reviews and Comments

Reviews are comments with a one to five star rating for the service. You can post more than one review for the same service, but only one rating per user counts. Usually, the latest approved review is the one that affects the score.

You can also post regular comments to share your experience, ask questions, or discuss the service.

If you’ve used the service, you can add an order ID or proof. This is only visible to admins for verification. You can also flag comments for issues like blocked funds or KYC requirements.

Some reviews may be unreliable. Read comments carefully and always do your own research before making decisions.

Trust weighted ratings

User ratings are trust weighted. A five star review from a long-time active user should not count the same as a five star review from an account created five minutes ago.

Reviews from established users, verified reviews, and comments with approved private proof carry more weight. New accounts, low activity accounts, suspicious comments, and service-affiliated accounts have less influence. Some ratings do not count at all.

Creating an account is very easy and costs almost no effort. We have seen people create accounts only to push a service, attack a competitor, or win an argument. Because of that, some limits are automatic. New accounts can reply, but they must wait before posting a new review. For urgent reports, contact us directly.

When possible, the comment stays visible even if the rating is disabled. You can still read it, check the context, and make up your own mind. Each review shows its rating weight next to the stars.

Comments can be sorted by Newest, Upvoted, Lowest, Highest, or Trusted. Upvoted appears only when comments have upvotes. Trusted sorts by review trust weight.

User badges add context. New account means the account was created recently. Single review means the user has only made that comment. Active user and Trusted user are based on account activity.

If a service does not have enough trusted feedback yet, KYCnot.me says so instead of showing a weak score.

Moderation

All comments are moderated. First, an AI checks each comment. If nothing is flagged, the comment is published right away. If something seems off, the comment is held for a human review. We only remove comments that do not follow the guidelines. KYCnot.me is not a forum; comments exist to help users understand services.

Comments from users affiliated with a service are automatically approved on their own service page.

To see comments waiting for moderation, toggle the switch in the comments section. These comments show up with a yellow background and a “pending” label.

Comment Guidelines

Moderation uses a simple rule: comments should help other users understand the service. First-hand experiences are best. Questions, corrections, and useful replies are also welcome.

We reject comments that contain:

For reviews with a star rating, we apply an extra rule: the rating should reflect your own experience with the service.

A fake or unreliable review is not always easy to prove. We usually treat a rating as unreliable when it looks like the user did not use the service, when the same story appears from several new accounts, when it reads like advertising, when it attacks a competitor without details, or when the account is affiliated with the service and does not say so.

A rating may be disabled if:

Disabling a rating does not always mean the comment is bad. It means we do not want that star rating changing the public score.

API

You can access service data through our API. An API key is required for all requests. You can create one from your account settings once an admin has granted you access.

Support

You can support our work through these methods:

Monero

83g1QHgQkbJeHr7m1wpDnNFsJcFMaFx6W7DsH4HuSR5ZHPRkeGErJAjYkHrJgBhq4TUrNrCimXNqwYTV1ywB6Rv86Z8iCAu

If your wallet supports OpenAlias (i.e. CakeWallet) you can input kycnot.me in the address field.

Contact

The only official communication channel is via Matrix at:

@kycnot:4d2.org
Other communication channels (XMPP, Mail, SimpleX) have been removed due to spam and abuse.

About Matrix

Matrix is an open, decentralized protocol for secure, real-time communication. Much like email, it supports federation, allowing users on different servers to communicate seamlessly using end-to-end encryption.

Account verification

To verify that your account is linked to one of the listed services, please contact us and provide supporting evidence that you are part of the team, or the admin of the service. Make sure you also share your username.

Social Networks

Downloads and Assets

For logos and brand assets, visit our assets page.

Disclaimer

This website is strictly for informational purposes regarding privacy technology in the cryptocurrency space. We unequivocally condemn and do not endorse, support, or facilitate money laundering, terrorist financing, or any other illegal financial activities. The use of any information or service mentioned herein for such purposes is strictly prohibited and contrary to the core principles of this project.

By using this website, you acknowledge and agree that you are solely responsible for your actions, due diligence, and compliance with all applicable laws. You use the information and any linked services entirely at your own risk. The operators of this website will not be held liable for any losses, damages, or legal consequences arising from your use of this site or any services listed herein.