30s Summary

In August, approximately a million active US users accessed crypto exchanges Bybit, Bitget, and OKX, despite these platforms lacking trading licensed for US citizens. This doesn’t necessarily indicate unauthorized trading; rather, they may have been simply viewing crypto prices. Users can bypass geographical restrictions using VPNs and false credentials. Following a $4 billion settlement paid by Binance a year ago for unauthorized trading by US citizens, the crypto sector has been cautious in dealing with US customers. Users are advised to stay informed about crypto-trading rules and only use legitimate exchanges.

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In August, nearly a million active users from the U.S. were on cryptocurrency exchanges Bybit, Bitget and OKX, data from Sensor Tower shows. Now, this doesn’t automatically mean that these users were involved in any rule-breaking activities like unauthorised trading. They could’ve been simply checking out crypto prices.

It’s known that using VPNs, users in the U.S. can work around geographical restrictions. This is a lesson that was learned too late by Binance, a renowned exchange platform.

Here’s a bit of context: In most parts of the world where there are crypto exchanges, U.S. residents are a bit like visitors to an art museum. They’re permitted to look, but touching is a no-no.

Well, the data shows that a lot of Americans are certainly curious about crypto. The question remains whether they are ‘touching’ anything, though.

For instance, leading crypto exchanges such as Bybit, Bitget and OKX, where traders from the U.S. are not allowed due to a lack of licenses, combined had almost a million active users in the U.S in August. Now, ‘active’ here doesn’t necessarily mean they’re trading. It could just be that these people from the U.S downloaded the exchanges’ mobile apps from Apple or Google, and then did anything on it during the month.

But it’s also possible that despite the geographical restrictions, users could bypass them using VPNs and through fake, stolen, or rented credentials. This would still allow them to trade from the U.S.

A little over a year ago, Binance, the world’s top exchange, had to pay more than $4 billion to the U.S. government to settle allegations that it allowed Americans to trade on its platform without proper authorization. Since this incident, the crypto sector has been careful about dealing with U.S customers.

It’s still a bit of a grey area, but the pertinent point remains that as users, we need to stay informed about the rules and regulations surrounding crypto trading and only engage with legitimate exchanges.