KYC & anti-money laundering
KYC ("know your customer") is the obligation of regulated providers to identify their clients; for crypto-assets the same anti-money-laundering rules apply as for banks.
Explained simply
Anyone opening an account at a licensed crypto exchange or custodian must prove their identity, just as at a bank. The provider must also report suspicious transactions.
Since 2025 the EU additionally applies the "travel rule": for transfers between providers, sender and recipient data must accompany the transaction, as with a bank transfer.
The common notion that crypto is anonymous does not hold for regulated providers. And the blockchain itself is public: every transaction remains permanently traceable.
From the familiar world
Opening a bank account with an ID card and video identification. At crypto providers in the EU it works identically, and on top the blockchain is a public ledger.
An example
Investigators have repeatedly convicted criminals because blockchain transactions were still traceable years later. Cash leaves no such trail.
Why it matters
The objection "crypto is money laundering" comes up in many conversations. The answer: regulated providers face the same obligations as banks, and the blockchain is more transparent than cash. That takes the shadow off the topic.
To pass on
„At a regulated crypto provider, opening an account works like at a bank: ID, identification, reporting duties. And the blockchain forgets nothing.“
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