# dYdX review: KYC policy, privacy and safety grades

> dYdX is an exchange. Its terms put it at KYC level 1 of 4: no ID mentioned. NoKYC Score grades it 7.7/10 for privacy (strong) and 7.0/10 for safety (strong). In its favour: no account needed, no email needed and no phone number. No incidents are on record.

Source: NoKYC Score, "dYdX review", reviewed 23 Oct 2026, https://nokycscore.com/service/dydx

## Key facts
- **Category:** No-KYC Exchanges
- **KYC level:** 1 of 4: No ID mentioned
- **Grades:** Privacy 7.7/10, Safety 7.0/10
- **Sign-up:** No account needed
- **Custody:** non-custodial
- **Jurisdiction:** Cayman Islands (governing law)
- **Incidents on record:** 0
- **Last reviewed:** 23 Oct 2026
- **Official website:** https://dydx.trade

## What it is
dYdX is a decentralised exchange for perpetual futures (and spot) that runs its order book on the dYdX Chain; dydx.trade is the main web front end. Its terms of use (last updated 12 March 2026) are with dYdX Operations Services Limited, are governed by Cayman Islands law, and say the services are not offered in restricted jurisdictions, with perpetuals unavailable to persons in the United States and Canada. The protocol software terms from dYdX Trading Inc. add the United Kingdom for perpetuals and forbid using a VPN to get around the restrictions. No identity-verification clause appears in the front-end terms. The chain and web code are public on GitHub under a custom licence.

## What the terms say about ID
The dydx.trade terms contain no identity-verification requirement; they reserve the right to restrict access to some or all of the services.

## Features and warnings
- **Identity:** ID never required: not stated; No account needed: yes; No email needed: yes; No phone number: yes
- **Payment:** Accepts Monero: not stated; Accepts Lightning: not stated; Accepts cash: not stated
- **Access:** Tor onion address: not stated; Works without JavaScript: not stated
- **Trust:** Never holds your funds: yes; Own liquidity: not stated; Refund without ID: not stated; Independent audit: not stated; Company named: not stated; 5+ years operating: not stated
- **Warnings:** May ask for ID: not in terms; Screens deposits: not in terms; Passes orders to partners: not in terms; Holds your funds: not in terms; Email required: not in terms; Phone number required: not in terms; Nobody accountable: not in terms

## Questions
### Does dYdX require KYC?
dYdX is rated KYC level 1 of 4 on this site: no ID mentioned. The dydx.trade terms contain no identity-verification requirement; they reserve the right to restrict access to some or all of the services.

### Is dYdX safe to use?
dYdX has a Safety grade of 7.0 out of 10 and a Privacy grade of 7.7 out of 10. No incidents are on record. Evidence level: documentation reviewed.

### Is dYdX legit?
dYdX is a working exchange. Being real is not the same as being safe: its Safety grade here is 7.0 out of 10, built from custody, liquidity, track record and incidents.

### Is dYdX a scam?
NoKYC Score does not label services as scams; it records documented incidents with their sources and outcomes. No incidents are on record for dYdX.

### Do I need an account or email to use dYdX?
No account needed.

### Does dYdX have a Tor onion address?
No official onion address was found on dYdX's own pages.

### Which cryptocurrencies does dYdX support?
dYdX supports USDC, BTC, ETH, SOL, DYDX.

### Is dYdX custodial?
No. dYdX is non-custodial: the operator does not control user funds.

### Can I use dYdX over Tor?
dYdX does not publish an official onion address.

## Sources
- https://dydx.trade/terms
- https://dydx.exchange/v4-terms
- https://github.com/dydxprotocol/v4-chain
- https://github.com/dydxprotocol/v4-web

How grades are calculated: https://nokycscore.com/methodology