ChangeNOW Asked for KYC or Put Your Swap on Hold? What to Do (2026 Guide)

Who this is for

You sent coins to a ChangeNOW deposit address. Instead of completing, the exchange page now shows a Verify button, a message about a "risk-management alert", or simply *on hold* — and you did not sign up for an account, because ChangeNOW does not require one for a standard swap. This guide explains what is happening, what the published rules actually say, and the fastest way out.

Why ChangeNOW pauses a swap

ChangeNOW is a no-registration exchange for standard swaps, but every transaction passes through an automated risk-prevention system. Its Terms of Use, §4 let it freeze an exchange "for any period of time necessary to complete the investigation and AML/KYC procedure", and move the funds to third-party escrow while it does. Its KYC/AML FAQ says that when a transaction is flagged, the exchange page gets a *Verify* button leading to Sumsub, its verification provider, which asks for a valid ID and information on the origin of the funds.

Two things make ChangeNOW's rules clearer than most competitors', and worth knowing:

• A published refund rule. If you decline KYC, the check is "considered failed" and the deposit is refunded to the sending address, minus network fees, within 24 hours (third-party reviews mention a 3-day window in recent terms — ask support which applies to you). The sending address is then blocked from future exchanges.
• A published exception. If there is "substantial evidence" the funds were stolen, ChangeNOW freezes them and will only return them on request of a law-enforcement authority, which is expected to file a report within 14 days of your ticket.

What is not published: the thresholds. Reviews and ChangeNOW's own statements point to the usual triggers — large amounts, privacy-coin pairs (XMR in or out), deposits with high-risk on-chain history, and residence in a country where KYC is mandatory for all services (EU, US, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, UAE, Australia, Canada; the UK is not served under standard terms). ChangeNOW states that fewer than 0.5% of users are routed to verification.

What to do right now

1. Read the exact status on your exchange page. *Verify* = risk-system alert, KYC path available. *On hold / under review* without a button = write to support. Do not send anything else to the deposit address.
2. Save everything. Exchange ID, deposit address, your TXID, timestamps, screenshots. Every message you send should start with the exchange ID.
3. Decide quickly between two paths. ChangeNOW's process is binary and time-boxed, which is actually useful. Verify: click the Verify button on your own exchange page (never a link from a DM or an e-mail you did not request), complete Sumsub with the ID it asks for, and answer the source-of-funds question factually and briefly; most verified cases are released within hours to a couple of days. Refuse: write to support@changenow.io with the exchange ID, state that you decline verification, and request the refund to the sending address as described in the FAQ; ask for the refund TXID when it is sent.
4. If neither path moves within 48 hours, reply on the same ticket (one thread, not five), quote the FAQ's 24-hour refund rule, and ask for a case reference and a date. ChangeNOW is active on Trustpilot; a factual review with the exchange ID is a legitimate escalation, not a threat.
5. If you are told the funds are frozen as "potentially stolen", you are in the exception. Only a law-enforcement request unlocks them. If the coins are legitimately yours, file a report with your local police citing the exchange ID and ask them to contact ChangeNOW — that is the documented path, and no amount of support tickets replaces it.
6. Ignore recovery offers. Nobody can "unlock" a compliance hold for a fee. ChangeNOW will never ask you to send crypto to release an order.

What to expect

Verified cases usually clear in hours to a few days. Declined-KYC refunds are supposed to arrive within 24 hours (minus network fees); users report that in practice it can take longer when the refund needs manual handling, so ask for the refund TXID rather than waiting silently. Stolen-funds freezes have no timeline — they depend on an authority, not on you.

Also remember that a refund goes back to the sending address. If you deposited from an exchange account, that address may not be yours to receive on; tell support before the refund is sent and ask for your refund address instead.

How to avoid it next time

• Check eligibility before depositing. If you live in one of the mandatory-KYC countries listed in ChangeNOW's terms, no-KYC is not on the table there regardless of amount.
• Know your inputs. Coins straight from a well-known exchange withdrawal or your own long-held wallet score low. Coins that recently touched a mixer, a sanctioned service or a high-risk venue score high — whatever your intent.
• Send from a wallet you control. A refund to a CEX deposit address is a second problem on top of the first.
• Prefer services that collect a refund address before the deposit. Then "declined KYC" has a clean exit instead of a negotiation.
• Test small on any new service before a large order, and keep the exchange ID and TXID every time.

Where Swap.bz stands

Any instant exchange, Swap.bz included, can see a deposit paused by a liquidity partner's AML screen. We document exactly how that works, without slogans, on flagged deposits and status & refunds.

What is different in how a Swap.bz order is built:

• No account, no country gate for a quote. You quote, deposit, receive. There is no "mandatory KYC for residents of…" clause on the order form.
• Refund address first. Before the deposit address is shown, you enter a receive address and a refund address for the coin you send. If the order cannot complete, value returns there on the same asset and network, minus network fees.
• One order ID, human support. The order page shows the ID and the live status; support follows the order with the partner. The ID is all we need — never a seed phrase, never a selfie to Swap.bz.
• Published fees. 0.5% Standard or 1% Private Swap, shown in the quote before you send, plus live counts on /stats.

For the full side-by-side — where ChangeNOW's 1,500+ assets and fiat on-ramps make it the better fit, and where it does not — see the ChangeNOW vs Swap.bz comparison.

Sources

• ChangeNOW Terms of Use — §4 KYC/AML procedure
• ChangeNOW FAQ — KYC/AML procedure, refund rule, stolen-funds exception
• Swapzone — ChangeNOW review 2026 (verification frequency, restricted countries)
• BeInCrypto — ChangeNOW review 2026 (post-deposit identity checks, refund window)