/exchanges · verified 2026-10-22

ChangeNow

Name: ChangeNow
Brand: ChangeNow

WARNING — historical KYC-creep. Listed for comparison; not recommended. Historically no-KYC but routinely requests verification on flagged tx.

light kyc KYC-RISK FALLBACK ONLY api available

Visit ChangeNow → ⚠ Report Markdown twin Share ↗ Request a check

At a glance

Grade: C
KYC posture: light kyc
Fees: Floating ~0.5% · fixed-rate 2% spread
Last verified: 2026-10-22
Operating since: 2017 · 9y — WHOIS redacted (likely .io or hidden TLD); operating_since estimated from archive.org first snapshot 2017

C Why grade C?

Acceptable with reservations. Posture intact but evidence is older, lighter, or the provider sits on a known weakness (custody risk, history of customer-fund freezes resolved, etc.).

Full rubric + 7-step verification walkthrough at /methodology.

curator verdict · bottom line

Curator Verdict & OpSec Breakdown

THE BOTTOM LINE

ChangeNow remains listed for comparative coverage, but carries notable custodial, verification, or track-record caveats that warrant extra user caution.

✓

Proven Strengths

▸ Established operational track record: serving users continuously since 2017 (9 years).

⚠

OpSec Trade-offs & Caveats

▸ Heuristic KYC triggers: transactions or accounts may be frozen for ID review if flagged by automated risk rules.
▸ Clearnet-only footprint: lacks an official .onion hidden service mirror; exposes visitor network IP unless routed through VPN/Tor.

Review

Listed for completeness. ChangeNow markets itself as no-KYC but in practice requests KYC on a meaningful percentage of trades, especially on the receiving leg. Use only when other paths are unavailable.

Data exposure (2026-10-15): ChangeNOW disclosed a since-fixed vulnerability in one of its website integrations that may have exposed customer email addresses and transaction details. It says it has no evidence of exploitation and that funds were never at risk. Expect convincing phishing that quotes real orders; ChangeNOW says it only writes from support@changenow.io and never asks for keys, seeds or passwords.

Fees

Floating ~0.5% · fixed-rate 2% spread

Live ops data

Typical XMR settlement: 18.5m (median)
90th percentile: 30.8m
Slow tail (>30m): 20%
XMR confs required: 10 (~20m wait)
Routing volume: audit-only

Computed from kyc.rip routing observations · 90d window · last updated 2026-08-14

Audit trail — receipts for the editorial claim

✕ UPSTREAM Down · HTTP 200 · checked 14h ago
○ ONION No .onion mirror listed
✎ MANUAL Last manual verification 2026-10-22 (<30d)
⌕ LOG See curator log for ChangeNow

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