Poloniex just reported that it’s going to require verification for legacy accounts. Here’s what’s what you need to know:
On December 27, 2017, cryptocurrency exchange Poloniex released this press release. The release outlines that fact that the company will soon start requiring that every account held on its platform is verified and that, to this aim, will start removing accounts (so-called legacy accounts) on an as-yet-undecided date.
Here’s Poloniex’s official statement on the development:
We have recently completed a major upgrade to our customer identification and verification systems. As a result, we will soon require legacy accounts to become verified through the latest version of our verification portal.
What Does This Mean for Account Holders?
Anyone that set up an account with Poloniex this year should have no issues. Recently created accounts had to undergo the verification process as part of the initial setup process and – as such – already comply with the company’s verification policy.
If you set up an account prior to the verification system being put in place, however (and, as a result, are an as-yet unverified account holder), you’re going to need to get the account verified if you don’t want to lose access to it and whatever coins you hold on the platform in that account.
The verification process is relatively simple and falls in line with the same sorts of processes being used by the bigger name exchanges in this space (Bittrex, Binance, etc.) and also with the vast majority of the exchanges and financial institutions in the more traditional financial world – forex exchanges, stock brokerages, that sort of thing.
What’s This All About?
It’s part of what’s called Know Your Customer (or KYC) legislation, which is a set of rules and processes that dictate how a business needs to identify and verify the identity of its clients. The rules vary from country to country (readers that want some country-specific clarification should check out the Wiki here) but across pretty much every country that employs KYC it basically involves making the customer prove who they say they are by way of a photo identification and address check, that sort of thing.
When Will it Go into Effect?
As yet, Poloniex hasn’t confirmed the data on which it’s going to shut down the non-verified account. However, as per the PR outlining the news:
The exact date for this deadline will be announced in Q1 2018. While you will be given advance notice before this requirement goes into effect, we encourage you to verify your legacy account now to avoid any potential interruptions in your ability to trade on the platform.
In other words, if you’ve got an unverified account with Poloniex and you don’t want to risk losing it, it’s best to act as soon as possible.
What do you think of this development? Is it an inevitable consequence of scale? Let us know below!
Images courtesy of Poloniex