Mycelium Exchange No-KYC - quick review and a word of caution

[pawel7777]

If you're using Mycelium android wallet you probably see ads in the media flow tab of Mycelium Exchange (cryptoexchange.mycelium.com), advertised with big bold letters as a No KYC exchange.
A few weeks ago, I decided to give it a try and deposited around $100 worth of crypto. I performed a trade, but when attempted to withdraw, I got a message on the screen saying my withdrawals had been frozen and telling me to contact customer support, which I did.

Customer support demanded me to provide "Source of Funds (SOF)" and complete the KYC process.
I provided them the source of funds as I didn't mind sharing such info, but declined to go through the KYC process, saying that the only reason I used their exchange was that it was advertised as "No KYC" and I'm not comfortable with sharing my sensitive info with 3rd parties I do not know or trust.

Long story short, they unblocked my withdrawal and I was able to transfer my funds out.

The stated reason for freezing my withdrawals was:

They were “frozen” because the AML compliance department had concerns about the quality of the BTC that was deposited on the exchange.

So that's something to consider if you're thinking about signing up for that exchange.

Before I signed up, I couldn't find any reviews or feedback on their service, so I thought sharing my experience here could be helpful to others.

[BitMaxz]

It appears to be a trap for users looking for a non-KYC exchange; if you do not have enough documents to submit, I am sure it will remain stuck, as other exchanges do. I couldn't even find a clear explanation from their TOS about the KYC and why they froze your withdrawal.

It looks like new sub-domain of mycelium and not listed yet on Google.
What you did was quite risky, but I am glad they unfroze your withdrawal.

I use Mycelium, but I disable all external services, including MediaFlow, to avoid ads and third-party services.
If you don't want see ads better disable them on the settings under external services.

[Mia Chloe]

~snip

To start with I don't fancy exchanges on wallets and I stopped using them a long time ago. Back in the day I made use of mycelium as my bitcoin wallet but I had to switch to Electrum because I constantly always had syncing issues. Nevertheless the no- KYC stuff like BitMaxz mentioned is like a trap.

In my opinion an exchange should be an exchange and a wallet a wallet so an application having both is something I wouldn't wan to venture. Besides when making use of DEX it's important to understand them well else you could get scammed.

[Ambatman]

I'm still surprised that people still using mycelium wallet
They are one of the worse with their bugs and shii.
I used it before but their performance nearly cost me my holdings.

Now many platform are using NO KYC as bait. With secret clause like making it mandatory when you are moving a certain amount.

[NeuroticFish]

To start with I don't fancy exchanges on wallets

Very good call.
I also advise the use of exchanges tested and advertised on this forum or by websites of this forum's members, not from "random ads" no matter they contain "names that sound good".
Even more, Mycelium is not a really "good name", given that their wallet is still closed source.

I'm still surprised that people still using mycelium wallet

Actually I am one of those using it, although 99% of the cases only for checking my funds. It's one of the few wallets on Android that work with (my) HW.

[Mia Chloe]

Very good call.
I also advise the use of exchanges tested and advertised on this forum or by websites of this forum's members, not from "random ads" no matter they contain "names that sound good".
Even more, Mycelium is not a really "good name", given that their wallet is still closed source.

Aside from the fact that you can not actually trust them that much you find out that wallet that have inbuilt exchanges and swap options are usually close sourced wallets so you can't actually tell what is even going on back end.

Actually I am one of those using it, although 99% of the cases only for checking my funds. It's one of the few wallets on Android that work with (my) HW.

It seems like they actually may have fixed bugs that they used to have when trying to sync especially imported seeds. Nevertheless I chose Electrum 9 out of 10 times even as my hot wallet on android.

[logfiles]

It's 2025, you should be using Mycelium along with the service exchange anymore. Notice how their board has even been so silence for a while. The wallet has no proper maintenance, they sometimes do have syncing problems, and they decided to advertise scam on their app. If they can advertise scam and even refuse to remove the ads on request, then it's no surprise that they put false ads of a Non KYC exchange there as well.

To them, it seems money is a blinding factor and the devs don't care about correcting the wrong information.

[pawel7777]

It appears to be a trap for users looking for a non-KYC exchange; if you do not have enough documents to submit, I am sure it will remain stuck, as other exchanges do. (...)

That was my first thought too. I assumed their "business model" might be to lure in customers with a No-KYC promise, and then force them to do KYC. Some of them would refuse and abandon their funds with the exchange. Or maybe it's just an attempt of data harvesting (I've no idea if the 3rd party they use for verification is legit).
To be fair, part of my deposit might have been tied to funds from a mixer signature campaign, which potentially could raise a red flag, but they never bothered to provide me any details.
All in all, I got my funds back, so I guess I have to give them some credit for that.

What you did was quite risky, but I am glad they unfroze your withdrawal.

It was more of a test transaction, normally I would deposit a smaller amount, but given Mycelium has been around for a long time, I didn't expect them to pull something like that on me. Live and learn.

[BitMaxz]

That was my first thought too. I assumed their "business model" might be to lure in customers with a No-KYC promise, and then force them to do KYC. Some of them would refuse and abandon their funds with the exchange. Or maybe it's just an attempt of data harvesting (I've no idea if the 3rd party they use for verification is legit).
To be fair, part of my deposit might have been tied to funds from a mixer signature campaign, which potentially could raise a red flag, but they never bothered to provide me any details.
All in all, I got my funds back, so I guess I have to give them some credit for that.

Well, I think that's the reason why they force you to verify KYC since some part of it came from mixers because it is one of their terms they don't allow money-laundering, so may be that is the cause why they force you to submit documents.

What exactly details do you submit about the source of funds? Did you mention it was from a signature campaign?
I ask this because I had a similar issue before, but in local exchanges in my country, I just provided the exact details that it came from signature campaign and the majority of the BTC I held before came from mixers.
After a few days, they unfroze my account and were able to exchange the BTC for local currency.

It was more of a test transaction, normally I would deposit a smaller amount, but given Mycelium has been around for a long time, I didn't expect them to pull something like that on me. Live and learn.

$100? That's a big amount for testing purposes. I think around $20 or $30 doesn't hurt much, and it might not be attractive, but I guess because you deposit a bit high, it attracts mycelium to ask for KYC.
For me, that's still a big amount, but KYC won't be triggered if you deposit a small amount below $50.

[dkbit98]

If you're using Mycelium android wallet you probably see ads in the media flow tab of Mycelium Exchange (cryptoexchange.mycelium.com), advertised with big bold letters as a No KYC exchange.

I never heard about Mycelium exchnage, and I am sure I would hear about it if it was really without KYC verification.
Maybe they are using some third party centralized exchanges, but this no-kyc advertisement sounds fake, it's interesting they are not showing that on web version.

I found this information in Mycellium exchange privacy policy page:

To manage risk and crime prevention including performing anti-money laundering, counter-terrorism, sanction screening, fraud and other background checks, detect, investigate, report and prevent financial crime in broad sense, obey laws and regulations which apply to us and response to complaints and resolving them:

    Categories of personal data: Identity Data, Social Identity Data, Contact Data, Financial Data, Technical Data, Transactional Data, Investment Data, Sensitive Data (a.k.a. Special Categories Data): data that you give us directly or that we receive from third parties and/or publicly available sources; data which might be revealed by KYC or other background checks (for example, because it has been reported in the press or is available in public registers); data that is incidentally revealed by photographic ID although we do not intentionally process this personal data
    Lawful basis for processing: Compliance with a legal obligation

We may also process such data in connection with these purposes if it is necessary for the performance of our contract with you. In addition to our legal obligations, we may process this personal data based on our legitimate interest in ensuring that we are not involved in dealing with the proceeds of criminal activities and do not assist in any other unlawful or fraudulent activities, as well as to develop and improve our internal systems for dealing with financial crime and to ensure effective dealing with complaints.

https://cryptoexchange.mycelium.com/privacy-policy

[pawel7777]

Well, I think that's the reason why they force you to verify KYC since some part of it came from mixers because it is one of their terms they don't allow money-laundering, so may be that is the cause why they force you to submit documents.

Could be, but it wouldn't hurt them to be transparent on the rules and and what would trigger additional KYC/AML requirements. If they had legit concerns about the "quality of bitcoins" then why would they unfreeze it?
And it's important to note that using mixers (or receiving funds from their campaigns) is not illegal and is not equal to money laundering.

What exactly details do you submit about the source of funds? Did you mention it was from a signature campaign?
I ask this because I had a similar issue before, but in local exchanges in my country, I just provided the exact details that it came from signature campaign and the majority of the BTC I held before came from mixers.
After a few days, they unfroze my account and were able to exchange the BTC for local currency.

I might as well post the email I got from them with all the requirements (below).
I essentially just sent them a link to the signature campaign thread + an explanation of what it is, links to the 2 most recent blockchain transactions with a campaign payment to my address, and a screenshot of the transfer from my wallet.

Hello!

Sorry for the long wait for a response, we are still working on your case. Our AML check has raised some questions regarding your incoming transfer.

As we are required to comply with all regulations and laws applicable to crypto exchanges, we kindly ask you to complete an additional verification process.

Could you please complete the KYC process and let us know the source of the funds?

We need a Source of Funds (SOF) confirmation for the Solana (SOL) funds you deposited into the exchange. Please provide one of the following:

1. Screenshots of Withdrawal History:

• If you transferred funds from any other cryptocurrency exchange to Mycelium Exchange, please provide the transfer history, clearly showing the transaction details from the exchange to Mycelium.

• If you transferred funds from a cryptocurrency wallet to Mycelium Exchange, you must provide evidence of where the cryptocurrency was originally obtained. This includes:

• A screenshot of transactions from the exchange or service where the crypto was acquired to your cryptocurrency wallet.

• A screenshot of transactions from your wallet to Mycelium.


2. Important requirements for screenshots:

Screenshots must clearly show transaction details (amount, date, status, and hash), along with the name of the service/platform. Ensure they are unaltered, high-quality, and fully visible.

3. What if the transfer was made for a payment or exchange?

Please provide a contract, receipt, or invoice as proof.

4. What if the transfer was done through an exchanger, where you handed over cash and provided a deposit address?

Please provide a contract, receipt, or invoice as proof.

Let us know if you have any questions. Thank you for your cooperation.

They incorrectly refer to Solana deposit, where the deposit was made with BTC and exchanged to Solana.

[Forsyth Jones]

I don't use Mycelium and don't have an Android, but I remember that the last time I used Mycelium, they started displaying ads in their app. From what I understand, the exchange advertised in the app is from Mycelium and not a third-party service, right?

This doesn't seem like a swap exchange for quick crypto exchanges, but it's a CEX exchange, and it even has futures options. But I wonder, what would lead them to advertise the service as non-KYC? They're clearly misleading potential customers. Taking this into account, I have no doubt that there are services and exchanges that present themselves as non-KYC, but in the end, they ask for KYC, and depending on the origin of these services, they may even sell our data to third parties.

We need to be very careful with exchanges that claim to be non-KYC and avoid trading high amounts when testing services like this.

Probably, if it really were a non-KYC exchange, it would already be being advertised organically by users of this forum.

To be even more paranoid, chainalysis companies or gov agencies may be disguised as non-KYC exchanges to monitor users, associate user addresses with funds coming from mixers and so on. Associate users' IPs with their bitcoin addresses.