Decentralized Exchanges Are ‘Not Just There yet’ Says Changelly CEO Ilya Bere

• Changelly’s CEO said that decentralized exchange technology hasn’t been perfect.
• The CEO also revealed that Changelly is set to move to Malta as KYC regulations become increasingly important.

Ilya Bere, the CEO of instant crypto exchange service Changelly has stated that while decentralized exchanges have a good use case, the technology has not been perfected yet and it remains a while off. He made the comments during a wide-ranging interview with Bitcoinist.

During the interview, he touched on several points of interest including changing regulatory landscapes for know-your-customer (KYC) procedures, user anonymity and privacy, and the future of cryptocurrency trading as a whole and its regulations.

No Big DEX Players

Responding to a question about his opinion on the promise held by decentralized exchanges, Bere stated that while the concept gets a lot of positive airtime, it has not yet been demonstrated to work convincingly because DEX platforms generally suffer from low liquidity.

In his words:

Some users prefer decentralized exchanges but they have to face a lack of liquidity and you still can’t buy crypto for fiat money anonymously there. [...] At the same time, everybody’s been talking about DEXs during last 5 years, at least, but still, there are no really big players, compared to the traditional ones, on that market. I guess we’re not just there yet but I believe that Changelly will play its role in that evolution one day.

Going further, he mentioned that decentralized exchanges provide a useful option for users with a special interest in privacy, at a time when KYC regulations are increasingly becoming a sticking point for many.

He also mentioned that Changelly is in the process of changing its jurisdiction to Malta, becoming the latest in a beeline of crypto companies moving to the Mediterranean island, attracted by its crypto-friendly regulatory position.

Changelly on KYC Rules

In response to a question about Changelly’s transaction cutoff mark that triggers KYC alerts, Bere stated that such information cannot be released, to prevent it from being used by money launderers.

He also revealed the cut off points are dynamic and constantly changing based on a range of variables including current events, alerts from other exchanges, hacks and so on. Explaining the absence of fixed, arbitrary cutoffs he said:

What’s important is that we always warn our users about possible KYC checks before a transaction is initiated, so they are free to use Changelly or any other instant exchange service.

In his view, Changelly’s mission is to find a compromise between authorities who are increasingly insistent on KYC and users who desire privacy. KYC regulations in his view, will not have any substantial effect on crypto adoption because crypto users are already divided into two distinct groups. Namely, those who want to have guarantees and are willing to follow rules, and those who will simply migrate away from centralized platforms.

He also clarified a recent spot of controversy where it was claimed Changelly has the power to seize users’ Monero (XMR). Explaining this, he stated that the company is required to delay certain transactions under EU law, if they are considered suspicious or fraudulent.