Due to US trading regulations, BlockTrades has always taken a very conservative approach to the coins we offer for sale on our site, to be sure that none of them might be considered a “security” by the US securities exchange commission (SEC). These regulations only apply to US citizens and residents and only apply to offers “made in the US”, but the SEC has a habit of considering anything on the Internet as being an offer made in the US and BlockTrades hasn’t until now had a way to differentiate US and non-US users, so we had to restrict the types of coins we sell to our entire world-wide customer base.

Upgrading to non-US account status

To solve this problem, we’ve added an optional ability for users with BlockTrades accounts to be able prove they are not US citizens/residents by providing a scanned image of either their driver’s license, national id card, or passport. Once a BlockTrades admin has verified the user is not a US citizen/resident, the account will be upgraded to trade additional types of coins. Note that all information submitted must match the scanned document for the request to be approved.

Non US-based companies can also upgrade their accounts by a similar means (scanned articles of incorporation).

Does this mean I now need to create an account on BlockTrades?

No, you only need to create an account on BlockTrades if you wish to upgrade it to trade in more types of coins, or if you wish us to keep a record of your trades for you.

How do I request my account be upgraded?

In your account profile page, go to the Authorization tab to open the Authorization page. Press the “New Authorization Request” button. Fill out the authorization request form, press “Choose files” to upload one or more of the allowed document types that confirm the information you entered into the form, then press the “Submit” button to request an upgrade. After your request has been reviewed by one of our authorization personnel, it will be approved if the request meets the requirements. If it’s denied, an explanation will be included for the reason for the denial.

How secure is the identity information I provide?

Security of the information processed by our site is one of our highest concerns and identity information is stored on the same servers that manage our crypto holdings. Access to this data is strictly limited to select internal personnel.

What if I don’t want to provide identity information?

It’s no problem, you can continue to trade with our site as normal.

Are the new coins I can trade in “securities”?

No, not necessarily. The coins that require the upgraded account are simply ones that our compliance team could not say with certainty are not securities or that they haven’t had time to evaluate. Because the SEC hasn’t explicitly declared which coins are securities and which are not, it’s up to our legal compliance team to make a determination and the resulting uncertainty means they tend to err on the side of caution.

What new coins will I be able to trade if I upgrade my account?

At the current moment, none. We are in the process of adding new coins that will require upgraded status, but we haven’t added any yet. We’re doing this in part to avoid having too many upgrade requests all at once that might overwhelm our admins who must verify the data.

Are there any other benefits of upgrading an account?

Most upgraded accounts will also be eligible to purchase shares in BlockTrades once we begin our IPO (the only known exception to this rule currently is citizens/residents of Grand Caymans).

If I’m a US citizen/resident, is there any benefit for me to submit my identity information?

At the current time, no, there’s no benefit.