Is ChangeNOW available in the US?
Yes, with conditions. US residents can use ChangeNOW only with a ChangeNOW account and identity verification (KYC). The standard swap without an account is not open to them. ChangeNOW's Terms of Use exclude US residents from the standard service and point them to account creation under the ChangeNOW Pro terms, and those Pro terms name 40 states plus DC for registered and verified users. Source: ChangeNOW Terms of Use and ChangeNOW Pro terms, on changenow.io.
Which US states the Pro terms name
For registered and verified users, the Pro terms list Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
They do not name Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont or Washington, and ChangeNOW says nothing more about those ten states, so we cannot confirm that residents there can use it.
How ChangeNOW works
ChangeNOW is an instant swap service: you send one coin and receive another. ChangeNOW states it does not hold user balances for these swaps, and its fee is built into the exchange rate rather than charged separately. The KYC step is not unique to US residents, as ChangeNOW also requires it from residents of the European Union, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, the United Arab Emirates, Australia and Canada.
Our ChangeNOW review covers its fees, supported coins and KYC rules in detail, and our instant swap overview sets it next to other swap services.
What US residents can use instead
If you live in one of the ten states the Pro terms do not name, or you would rather not open a swap account, a US exchange account is the simpler route. We checked the terms or help pages of each provider below, and each one says it serves customers in the US. For first-time buyers, we think Coinbase is the easier start, with our top rating for beginner friendliness; for lower trading fees, we would look at Kraken.
- Coinbase: open to residents of every US state. Source: Coinbase US User Agreement. More in our Coinbase review.
- Kraken: open to residents of every US state except New York and Maine, with some products, such as staking, that vary by state. Source: Kraken help center. More in our Kraken review.
- eToro, a broker: crypto trading through eToro USA LLC, or eToro NY LLC for New York residents; not offered in Hawaii and Nevada. Source: eToro US disclosures page. More in our eToro review.
Our list of exchanges for US customers shows which provider serves which state, and our Coinbase vs Kraken comparison sets the two side by side.
Questions US readers ask about ChangeNOW
Can you use ChangeNOW without an account in the US?
No. ChangeNOW's Terms of Use allow US residents to use the service only after creating an account under the Pro terms, and residents of the United States must complete KYC before using the services. The terms also say ChangeNOW may seize funds of users from the jurisdictions it excludes and donate them to charity. In our view, that is a strong reason to use only the account route.
Is ChangeNOW available in New York?
New York is not among the states the Pro terms name, so we cannot confirm that New York residents can use ChangeNOW. Coinbase holds a New York virtual currency license from the NYDFS and serves residents of every state, and eToro offers crypto trading in New York through eToro NY LLC. Kraken and the Crypto.com App do not serve New York.
Our take
In our view, ChangeNOW is a practical swap service in the countries where its standard swap is open. For US residents, it works only through an account with KYC in the states its Pro terms name. In the other states, Coinbase, which serves every state, is the better route.