How we compare digital services and no-KYC exchanges

An independent testing lab

triedandtested.org is an independent lab for testing digital services. We are not sponsored and do not participate in any affiliate programs.

No link on this site earns us an affiliate commission. Our comparisons are based on our tests and the sources cited in each report.

How to choose a no-KYC crypto exchange

Identity policy and account

Record the service’s dated identity policy, whether an account is needed and what happens if an exchange cannot complete. Keep published terms, an operator’s declaration and a completed test as separate evidence. A no-account flow does not by itself establish no KYC, anonymity or a particular custody model.

Pair, network and amount

Compare the same input asset and network, output asset and network, and amount at the same reference time. Record quote expiry and minimum/maximum from the actual quote. A BTC → USDT quote is incomplete for comparison until the receiving network is specified.

Rate and usable output

Separate fixed-rate quotes from floating-rate estimates. Record when the rate locks, what invalidates it, the net amount shown, and any cost paid outside that amount. Keep the quoted amount and the amount actually received in different fields.

Completion and support

Measure from deposit detection to payout broadcast and then confirmation. Include unsuccessful attempts and waiting cases in the denominator. Record the available tracking page, support response and resolution, rather than treating a status badge as proof of payment.

Ownership and evidence

Any ownership, operating or commercial relationship must appear beside the relevant comparison. No affiliate commission does not prove editorial independence from a provider. A related service must meet the same measurement criteria before it can be compared.

Definitions: no KYC, rates, networks and refunds

Compare the initial cost and the cost after reimbursement

Compare what leaves the wallet with what becomes usable in the receiving wallet. Value assets and separately paid fees in one currency at a stated reference time, using the same price source across candidates. Keep market movement separate from execution costs.

Initial cost gap = value sent + separately paid costs − value received. Cost after reimbursement = initial cost gap − value of the reimbursement actually received + additional costs needed to use it.

Do not add a service fee or spread a second time if it is already reflected in the net amount received. An advertised refund is a separate conditional scenario until paid. If payout is in USDT, record the token amount, network and valuation rate; do not silently equate USDT with EUR or USD.

Kraken’s fee documentation separates a price spread from trading charges. Ethereum’s documentation explains network execution fees. These are useful distinctions when defining the cost fields, not a shared fee schedule for exchanges.

Primary sources: Kraken — Overview of fees on Kraken · Ethereum.org — Gas and fees

Illustration only — two fictional quotes

All values below are hypothetical EUR equivalents at the same reference time. Both quotes use the same pair, networks and input amount. Output values are net of provider deductions; sender costs are paid separately. The conditional scenario assumes the refund is received and creates no extra usable-balance cost.

A has the higher initial cost. It becomes cheaper only in the scenario where its full reimbursement is received. Until then, the initial gap remains the comparison result. None of these amounts is a measured quote or a currently available promotion.

How we evaluate fee reimbursement

A fee reimbursement returns an eligible part of the exchange cost after the exchange. A deposit refund returns funds from an uncompleted exchange. A promotional allowance calculated from the amount traded is a third category: describe its formula instead of presenting it as documented actual fees.

Before payment: capture the rules

Record the exact campaign version, start/end dates and time zone, whether the window is shared or per user, eligible pairs and amounts, covered fees, caps, exclusions, claim deadline and payout asset/network. An unconfigured six-month offer is not an active campaign.

After the exchange: reconcile the costs

Retain the quote, final output and evidence of separately paid costs. Compare the requested reimbursement with the documented covered fees or disclosed allowance formula. Do not assume network costs or spread are covered unless the rules say so.

After the request: track the outcome

Separate submitted, acknowledged, approved, rejected, pending and paid claims. A Telegram notification or approval is not receipt of funds. For an on-chain payout, verify the asset, network, amount, destination and transaction status against the private claim record.

For publication: report the denominator

Show eligible completed exchanges, submitted claims, paid claims, rejected claims and pending claims at a fixed cut-off. Measure payout time only for paid claims and retain unresolved cases alongside it. Publish aggregates; keep wallet addresses and private tracking links out of the report.

FixedFloat’s expired-order FAQ illustrates a deposit refund with a network-cost deduction. That return of the original funds is distinct from promotional reimbursement of fees after a completed swap.

Primary sources: FixedFloat — FAQ — rates, fees and expired orders · Tether — Supported Protocols and Integration Guidelines

Exchange measurements available in this report

Comparable final output

Not measured

Completion time and failure rate

Not measured

Eligible claims and paid claims

Not measured

Actual fee-reimbursement amount and delay

Not measured

Questions before choosing an exchange

Primary sources: FixedFloat — FAQ — rates, fees and expired orders · Tether — Supported Protocols and Integration Guidelines

Primary sources

Reviewed September 12, 2026. The linked provider documents explain particular mechanisms; they are not recommendations or evidence that these providers qualify for a no-KYC selection.

• FixedFloat — FAQ — rates, fees and expired ordersReviewed September 12, 2026
• Kraken — Overview of fees on KrakenSource updated March 6, 2026
• Ethereum.org — Gas and feesSource updated June 24, 2026
• Tether — Supported Protocols and Integration GuidelinesReviewed September 12, 2026

01 — THE METHOD

What we test, and what we do not

We rent the service as an ordinary customer: at the public price, without telling the provider, with no courtesy access and no press account. A provider who knows it is being watched does not behave as usual.

We test what a customer can establish for themselves: what is delivered, what is billed, and what happens when something goes wrong. That is the boundary of what we can prove.

Out of scope

A provider’s internal security, its financial health and the sincerity of its intentions. None of that can be observed from a customer account, so we do not comment on it.

02 — THE METHOD

The conditions behind each result

Each report gives the period and conditions available in the lab record: plan, configuration, country, price and payment method where recorded. A missing period stays undocumented. Catalogue prices are identified separately from amounts actually paid.

When recorded, the period covered is stated for the service or shared test panel. Different observation periods must be disclosed; an undocumented duration cannot support a claim about long-term performance.

When a plan changes mid-test, the version tested is the one that counts, and the change is dated. We do not apply new conditions retroactively to old facts.

03 — THE METHOD

What we keep

The reports draw on the lab’s test records. Their tables and downloadable datasets collect the recorded outcomes; links to provider documentation supply the published offer details.

The publication distinguishes measured counts, qualitative observations and overall lab ratings. An unavailable value remains unrecorded, and no score is inferred from it.

What is not published

Account credentials and personal data are excluded from the public records. The downloadable datasets contain the test results and the source details recorded for publication.

04 — THE METHOD

Three levels of reading, never mixed

This distinction is the backbone of the site. Every published data point carries its level, and one level is never converted into another for the convenience of a sentence.

Observed during the test

A result or event recorded by the lab during a test. Its scope follows the duration, counts and conditions documented in the report.

Stated by the provider

Taken from its documentation, with the page address and the date it was consulted. A written commitment describes a published intention, not observed behaviour.

Not verified

Not tested, or the record is unavailable. The cell stays empty and no conclusion is drawn. A missing measurement is not a bad result.

05 — THE METHOD

How a ranking is built

Each report states what determines its order: a measured result or an overall lab rating. If a weighted formula is used, its calculation is published.

Missing data stays unrated. It does not become a zero: a service we did not measure is not a bad service, and pushing it down the table would be a methodological error.

An overall rating expresses our editorial assessment of the experience. It is identified as such and accompanies the test results; it does not become a measurement of reliability.

06 — THE METHOD

What invalidates a test

Some events strip a test of its comparative value. We would rather say so and start again than publish a result we know to be fragile.

The provider learns it is being tested

If it changes its handling from that point, the observed period is no longer representative. The test restarts from scratch on a new account.

One server does not represent a plan

Behaviour observed in one country does not carry over to the same provider’s other locations. We name the country tested and confine ourselves to it.

Conditions change during the period

The result is tied to the version of the terms in force when the events occurred, with its date. Both versions are cited when the difference matters.

07 — THE METHOD

Corrections and provider responses

Every correction is dated and flagged on the entry concerned. We do not rewrite silently: what was corrected stays legible afterwards.

A provider that contradicts a record is quoted, with its response and its date. If that response establishes an error on our part, the entry is corrected and the correction is visible.

A takedown request that brings no factual element does not make a record disappear. In that case we publish the request and our answer.

08 — THE METHOD

What a test does not prove

Behaviour observed over six months guarantees nothing about the next six. A host changes policy, ownership, transit provider, jurisdiction.

The absence of an event during a test does not prove it impossible. Having received no request for identity documents does not mean there never will be one.

Our results describe what happened, where and when. They are not legal advice, not a guarantee, and not a recommendation to use a service in any particular way.