SimpleSwap

SimpleSwap operates as a non-custodial exchange, meaning it never holds user funds at any stage of the swap. Trades are routed directly between your source and destination wallets via partner liquidity providers. Because there are no user accounts or on-platform balances, a breach of SimpleSwap's systems would not result in loss of your funds. The platform has no documented history of being hacked. However, it is unregulated, so users have no financial ombudsman recourse if something goes wrong.

SimpleSwap does not require KYC for standard crypto-to-crypto swaps. No account creation or identity documents are needed. The platform applies a risk-based approach: if a transaction is flagged as suspicious by its real-time blockchain analytics or by partner exchanges, KYC may be triggered for that specific transaction. Fiat-to-crypto swaps may require verification through the payment processor. This no-registration model reduces personal data exposure.

SimpleSwap maintains a formal AML/KYC policy and uses advanced blockchain analytics to monitor transactions in real time. Patterns associated with compliance red flags — such as links to sanctioned addresses or known hacks — trigger immediate alerts. The platform has cooperated with law enforcement: it froze and returned funds stolen in the BitMart 2021 hack and assisted during the 2017 Parity Multisig breach. Transactions involving OFAC-sanctioned wallets are rejected.

SimpleSwap is not licensed or regulated by any major financial authority. It is incorporated in the Marshall Islands but holds no financial services license. The UK Financial Conduct Authority has issued an unauthorised firm warning for SimpleSwap. Users in the US, UK, and EU member states face explicit service restrictions. This means users are not protected by schemes like the UK's Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS).

No. SimpleSwap does not publish proof of reserves, nor does it commission independent reserve audits. This is consistent with its non-custodial model: user funds are never deposited or stored on the platform — swaps route directly from your wallet to the destination — so there are no pooled reserves to audit. The absence of custody risk is SimpleSwap's primary security argument, but standard PoR transparency does not apply here.