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Advertising disclosure: This page contains partner links. Squaby may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Partner links do not change a score.
ChangeNOW is a crypto-to-crypto swap service operated by CHN Group LLC, a company organized under the laws of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines with a postal address in Tallinn, Estonia. You choose two coins, send your coins to a deposit address that ChangeNOW creates for the swap, and ChangeNOW sends the other coin to the payout address you enter. No account is needed for a swap. This review covers the swap service only; ChangeNOW’s other products, such as card purchases, its wallet apps and its business products, are not scored.
Methodology version 1.0 · Checked on
70 / 100
Class B
98%
of the possible points could be assessed (40 of 41 criteria)
A: 80 or more · B: 65 to 79 · C: 50 to 64 · D: below 50
Taken from the total rounded to a whole number.
The facts behind this score were checked on . Squaby re-checks them every 3 months. Rates, fees and rules change, so verify them on ChangeNOW’s official site before acting.
The score combines 41 criteria in seven weighted categories. Each criterion has a published rule (shown below), and its points are calculated from the fact Squaby recorded together with its source and check date; points are never typed in by hand. A criterion that could not be checked is marked "not assessed": it is left out of both the points earned and the points possible, so it never counts as zero, and it lowers the evidence coverage instead.
The score describes ChangeNOW’s global offering. It rests on public documents, public records and dated checks of the swap form, not on a test swap. It rewards documented facts and disclosures. It is not a guarantee of safety and not a recommendation.
Custody during the swap explained0 / 15 points
Finding: No
Note: ChangeNOW describes the swap as non-custodial: "we do not store your Digital Assets on deposits and balances" (Terms 2.6) and "ChangeNOW does not hold or store your funds during these exchanges" (Help Center). The deposit address is "a ChangeNOW address", and the Terms allow frozen funds to be moved "to a cold storage" (3.5) and say ChangeNOW "may store User’s funds" for up to a year (6.12), so during a swap your coins are with ChangeNOW.
Rule: The terms or help pages state that the provider receives and holds the deposited coins until the payout is sent: 15 points. Not stated, or the service is described as never holding the user’s coins: 0.
Basis: Stated by the provider · checked on
Fund-loss incidents (last 5 years)25 / 25 points
Finding: No incident with user losses
Note: No theft from ChangeNOW’s own funds was found in ChangeNOW’s blog and announcements or in a media search. ChangeNOW says that its past "process-related security missteps" did not reach "real risk to the product or its users", without details. ChangeNOW’s social media posts were not searched.
Rule: No incident in which users lost funds because of a flaw or breach at the provider: 25 points. Incident, cause fixed and affected users compensated: 15. Fixed, losses not compensated: 8. Not fixed or not explained: 0. Losses from phishing, fake sites copying the provider or a wrong address or network entered by the user are not counted.
Basis: Public reports and the provider’s announcements · checked on
Customer data breach (last 5 years)5 / 10 points
Finding: Breach disclosed by the provider
Note: On October 15, 2026 ChangeNOW disclosed a fixed vulnerability in the integration between its support system and its website. It states that it has "no evidence that it was exploited", that the data concerned "may include email addresses and transaction details", that funds were not at risk, and that it cannot rule out that others accessed the information. The number of affected users was not published.
Rule: No reported breach of customer personal data: 10 points. A breach that the provider disclosed itself: 5. A breach known only from third parties: 0.
Basis: Stated by the provider · checked on
Years in operation10 / 10 points
Finding: 9 full years
Note: ChangeNOW states "9 Years in business" and "Trusted since 2017".
Rule: Full years since the swap service started (or the company was founded, if the start is not stated), at the check date. 8 or more: 10 points. 5 to under 8: 6. 2 to under 5: 3. Under 2: 0.
Basis: Stated by the provider · checked on
Independent security audit0 / 15 points
Finding: None published
Note: ChangeNOW mentions "periodic security audits", but no audit report or auditor is published on its site, its blog or its help center.
Rule: An independent security audit or penetration test of the provider’s systems, published within the last 3 years: 15 points. Older than 3 years: 7. None published: 0.
Basis: Stated by the provider · checked on
Vulnerability disclosure0 / 10 points
Finding: None found. Not found: Published disclosure policy or security contact; Bug bounty programme with published rules.
Note: No disclosure policy, security contact or bug bounty was found in the site’s pages and sitemap or in the help center; /.well-known/security.txt does not exist.
Rule: 5 points each: a published disclosure policy or security contact; a bug bounty programme with published rules.
Basis: Stated by the provider · checked on
Protections against sending to the wrong place10 / 15 points
Finding: Found: Memo or tag field with a warning for coins that need one; The user can enter a refund address. Not found: Payout address checked for the network’s format before the swap.
Note: Squaby check of the swap form on October 23, 2026, not logged in; no swap was started, no money was sent and no real address was typed. For XRP the form showed "Please don’t forget to specify the destination tag for your XRP payout address if needed" and a "Destination Tag (optional)" field, and under "ADVANCED SETTINGS" a "Refund Wallet" field. No error appeared when the invalid text "test" was typed into the payout address field, and the Help Center lists "The payout address or memo you provided was invalid" among the reasons for a failed exchange, so the address check is not counted.
Rule: 5 points each: the payout address is checked for the selected network’s format before the swap is created; a memo or tag field with a warning is shown for coins that need one; the user can enter a refund address.
Basis: Checked by Squaby on the provider’s site (no swap made) · checked on
Check policy published15 / 15 points
Finding: Yes
Note: A published AML/KYC Policy that is part of the Terms of Service.
Rule: A published AML / KYC policy that applies to the swap service: 15 points. Whether the provider asks for identity checks at all is not scored.
Basis: Stated by the provider · checked on
When a swap can be stopped15 / 15 points
Finding: Yes
Note: Residents of the EU, the United States, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, the UAE, Australia and Canada must pass KYC before using the service (Terms 3.2). For others, the policy names fraud or stolen-fund reports, AML/CFT requirements, fiat partners’ requests and "transactions that look unusual or suspicious".
Rule: The policy or terms state in which cases a swap can be stopped for a check (for example a risk signal from blockchain screening, an amount threshold or a sanctions match): 15 points.
Basis: Stated by the provider · checked on
What a check asks for10 / 10 points
Finding: Yes
Note: "a valid government-issued ID; supporting documents (for example, proof of funds); any additional information needed to resolve the case"; the blog adds proof of address and transaction details.
Rule: The provider states what the user may be asked to provide in a check (identity document, source of funds and so on): 10 points.
Basis: Stated by the provider · checked on
Time limit of a check0 / 15 points
Finding: No
Note: The 3 days are the time the user has to complete the verification ("The verification link remains active for 3 days"). For the review itself ChangeNOW says "There is no fixed timeframe for an AML review".
Rule: The provider states a time limit or a typical time for completing a check once the user has sent what is asked: 15 points.
Basis: Stated by the provider · checked on
Outcome when a check ends without a swap8 / 20 points
Finding: Refund only at the provider’s discretion
Note: The Terms say that a user who refuses the check "will be provided with a refund" (3.9.2), but the Help Center says "In most cases, a refund will be possible but not always", the AML/KYC Policy says "the next steps depend on the circumstances of the transaction", and the blog says that cancelling a swap under review is "Usually, no" and that the transaction "may stay on hold".
Rule: A refund to the user is stated as the outcome when the user declines or does not pass a check, apart from cases where a law or an authority order requires the funds to be held: 20 points. A refund only at the provider’s discretion: 8. Not stated, or the provider may keep the funds beyond what a law or an authority requires: 0.
Basis: Stated by the provider · checked on
Refund rules for failed swaps25 / 25 points
Finding: Found: Amount below the minimum; Amount above the maximum or the limits; Wrong coin or network sent; Rate moved beyond the tolerance, or a fixed rate expired; Payout fails.
Note: The Terms cover deposits below the minimum (2.10, 6.6), amounts different from the one specified (2.3), a wrong network, coin or memo (6.16: a 50 USD refund fee plus network fees), market moves of 3% or more and fixed rates that can no longer be honored (2.3, 6.7) and failed exchanges, which the "Order Status" page shows as refunded (6.2 to 6.3).
Rule: 5 points each for a published rule on what happens when: the amount sent is below the minimum; the amount is above the maximum or the limits; the wrong coin or network was sent; the rate moved beyond the stated tolerance, or a fixed rate expired before the deposit arrived; the payout fails.
Basis: Stated by the provider · checked on
Service fee explained10 / 25 points
Finding: Fee said to be included in the rate, no figure
Note: "The ChangeNOW’s interest ... is included in the final rate" (Terms 5.4); the swap form says "All fees are already included in the rate you see". No fee percentage or range was found.
Rule: The provider states its service fee as a figure (a percentage or a range): 25 points. It states that the fee is included in the rate, without a figure: 10. Not stated: 0. The rate level itself is not scored.
Basis: Stated by the provider · checked on
Network fee explained15 / 15 points
Finding: Yes
Note: The FAQ names three network fees: for the deposit, for the transfer to the liquidity provider and for sending the exchanged funds.
Rule: The network (miner) fee of the payout is shown or explained separately from the service fee: 15 points.
Basis: Stated by the provider · checked on
Amount to receive shown first15 / 15 points
Finding: Yes
Note: Squaby check of the swap form on October 23, 2026, not logged in; no swap was started, no money was sent and no real address was typed. For 0.01 BTC the form showed an estimated 0.336114 ETH (floating rate) before any address was asked.
Rule: The swap form shows the estimated amount the user will receive before the user sends anything: 15 points.
Basis: Checked by Squaby on the provider’s site (no swap made) · checked on
Fixed-rate option20 / 20 points
Finding: Yes
Note: A "Fixed" option with a countdown of about 2 minutes on the swap form ("The rate will update after time expires"). For the deposit the pages name different times: 4 minutes (Terms 2.3, the binding document), 10 minutes and 20 minutes (Help Center).
Rule: A fixed-rate option is offered, with the time the quote stays valid: 20 points.
Basis: Stated by the provider · checked on
Floating-rate rules15 / 15 points
Finding: Yes
Note: "the exchange rate you receive is calculated at the time your payment is accepted", typically "at six blocks confirmation" (Terms 5.3); if the market changes significantly, the user can continue at the market rate or get a refund (2.2).
Rule: For floating rates, the provider states when the final rate is set (for example when the deposit is confirmed) and what happens if it moves: 15 points.
Basis: Stated by the provider · checked on
Limits shown first10 / 10 points
Finding: Yes
Note: Squaby check of the swap form on October 23, 2026, not logged in; no swap was started, no money was sent and no real address was typed. With 0.00001 BTC the form showed "Minimum amount is 0.0000161 BTC". ChangeNOW states no general upper limit for standard swaps and limits for fixed-rate swaps.
Rule: The minimum (and the maximum, if there is one) is shown before the user sends anything: 10 points.
Basis: Checked by Squaby on the provider’s site (no swap made) · checked on
Registrations and licences0 / 30 points
Finding: None found in official registers
Note: No entry for ChangeNOW or CHN Group LLC in ESMA’s MiCA register or in GLEIF. The Terms name no licence for CHN Group LLC; they say that services in the Kyrgyz Republic are provided through the partner CJSC "AimTech", "a licensed Virtual Asset Service Provider", whose site shows "Licensed service" without a number. The Estonian, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Kyrgyz registers could not be checked.
Rule: Only with an official register as the basis. Virtual-asset or money-service registrations or licences of the entity that provides the swap service, found in official registers. Two or more jurisdictions: 30 points. One: 20. None found: 0. A registration is not always supervision.
Basis: Official register or public record · checked on
Operator identified0 / 20 points
Finding: No
Note: The operator is CHN Group LLC, "duly organized under the laws of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines", registered address Euro House, Richmond Hill Road, Kingstown, postal address in Tallinn, Estonia. No company number is published.
Rule: Only with an official register as the basis. The operator’s legal entity name, registered address and company number are published on its site and match an official company register: 20 points.
Basis: Official register or public record · checked on
Enforcement actions (last 5 years)20 / 20 points
Finding: No enforcement action found
Note: IOSCO I-SCAN (warnings of member regulators): "There are no warnings that match your search criteria." for "changenow" and "CHN Group". No match in OFAC’s sanctions list and enforcement page or in FinCEN’s enforcement actions. The authorities of Estonia and of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines were not searched.
Rule: No enforcement action by a regulator or authority against the operator found: 20 points. Only concluded actions: 10. An open action: 0.
Basis: Official register or public record · checked on
Terms and privacy policy10 / 10 points
Finding: Yes
Note: Terms of Service updated September 18, 2026; Privacy Policy updated September 4, 2026.
Rule: Terms of use and a privacy policy are published and dated: 10 points.
Basis: Stated by the provider · checked on
Restricted countries10 / 10 points
Finding: Yes
Note: Not offered to residents of the United Kingdom, the United States (except through a ChangeNOW Pro account), India and Russia, or of countries under UN sanctions or where the law does not allow crypto (Terms 11.1). The Terms (11.4) allow ChangeNOW to seize funds of users in these jurisdictions and donate them to a charity.
Rule: A list of countries or regions where the service is not offered is published: 10 points.
Basis: Stated by the provider · checked on
Complaint procedure0 / 10 points
Finding: No
Note: No complaint procedure was found in the Terms, the FAQ or the help center; the Terms name support contacts and the courts of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
Rule: A complaint procedure is published (how to complain and what happens next): 10 points.
Basis: Stated by the provider · checked on
Supported networks30 / 30 points
Finding: 133 networks
Note: ChangeNOW’s own asset list names 133 different networks for 1,007 entries (read from the page’s data); this is ChangeNOW’s list, not a Squaby count of usable networks.
Rule: Networks (blockchains) on the official asset list, or the provider’s own stated number if the list has no network column. Tokens are not counted separately. 50 or more: 30 points. 25 to 49: 20. 10 to 24: 10. 5 to 9: 5. Under 5: 0.
Basis: Stated by the provider · checked on
Major assets25 / 25 points
Finding: Found: BTC; ETH; XRP; BNB; SOL.
Note: BNB is listed on BNB Smart Chain.
Rule: 5 points each for support of the five assets fixed in version 1.0: BTC, ETH, XRP, BNB, SOL.
Basis: Stated by the provider · checked on
Stablecoins20 / 20 points
Finding: Found: USDT; USDC.
Note: Both on several networks, for example "Tether USD (TRON)" and "USD Coin (Solana)".
Rule: 10 points each: USDT; USDC.
Basis: Stated by the provider · checked on
Asset list published25 / 25 points
Finding: Yes
Note: Tokens are listed with their network, for example "Tether USD (Ethereum)".
Rule: A public list of supported assets that names the network of each asset: 25 points.
Basis: Stated by the provider · checked on
No account needed for a swap20 / 20 points
Finding: Yes
Note: "The Users don’t need to create accounts" (Terms 3.1). Identity checks can still apply (see the checks category).
Rule: A swap can be made without creating an account: 20 points. This is about sign-up, not about checks.
Basis: Stated by the provider · checked on
Swap status page20 / 20 points
Finding: Yes
Note: Each swap has its own page with the stages "Awaiting deposit", "Confirming", "Exchanging" and "Sending to your wallet", and the Status Page finds a swap by its ID. The swap page’s interface text includes "Input Transaction Hash" and "Output Transaction Hash"; Squaby did not see a finished swap page, because it made no swap.
Rule: Each swap has a status page (for example by swap ID) that shows its stages and the transaction hashes: 20 points.
Basis: Stated by the provider · checked on
Interface languages15 / 15 points
Finding: 14 languages
Note: The site’s language list: English, Spanish, French, Indonesian, Vietnamese, Portuguese, Chinese, Arabic, German, Persian, Italian, Japanese, Korean and Turkish.
Rule: Languages of the provider’s swap site. 10 or more: 15 points. 5 to 9: 10. 2 to 4: 5. One: 0.
Basis: Stated by the provider · checked on
How-to guide15 / 15 points
Finding: Yes
Rule: An official step-by-step guide for making a swap: 15 points.
Basis: Stated by the provider · checked on
Own mobile apps10 / 10 points
Finding: Found: iOS app; Android app.
Rule: 5 points each: iOS; Android (apps made by the provider that offer the swap).
Basis: Stated by the provider · checked on
Squaby hands-on testNot assessed
Why not assessed: Squaby makes no swaps, so there is no hands-on test.
Rule: Only as a documented Squaby test with a real swap (a reviewer made a swap and kept notes): 20 points. Not assessed while Squaby makes no swaps.
Support channels30 / 30 points
Finding: Found: Live chat; Ticket or email.
Note: Live chat on the website, a ticket form in the help center and support@changenow.io.
Rule: 15 points each: live chat; ticket or email.
Basis: Stated by the provider · checked on
Support hours15 / 15 points
Finding: Yes
Note: The home page states "human support 24/7".
Rule: Support is stated to be available 24/7: 15 points.
Basis: Stated by the provider · checked on
Help center15 / 15 points
Finding: Yes
Rule: A searchable help center: 15 points.
Basis: Stated by the provider · checked on
Scam warning20 / 20 points
Finding: Yes
Note: The Terms warn of "fake websites pretending to be ChangeNOW’s Website" and of people claiming to be ChangeNOW (6.6); the how-to guide asks users to check that the address is exactly https://changenow.io.
Rule: An official page that lists the provider’s real domains and apps or warns against fake sites and fake support accounts: 20 points.
Basis: Stated by the provider · checked on
Response target10 / 10 points
Finding: Yes
Note: "Usually, our team replies to your first message within 3 minutes."
Rule: A stated support response time: 10 points.
Basis: Stated by the provider · checked on
Status page0 / 10 points
Finding: No
Note: The page called "Status Page" is a lookup by order ID and a list of the coins available for exchange; it shows no service status and no list of paused coins.
Rule: A public status page for the provider’s services, or a public list of coins whose deposits or payouts are paused: 10 points.
Basis: Stated by the provider · checked on
ChangeNOW calls its swap service non-custodial: its Terms say that it does not store your coins “on deposits and balances”. During a swap, however, your coins are sent to a ChangeNOW address and stay with ChangeNOW until the payout is made. The Terms allow ChangeNOW to freeze a swap “for any period of time necessary” for a check and to move frozen funds “to a cold storage”, and its blog post of September 11, 2026 says “There is no fixed timeframe for an AML review” and that a swap under review usually cannot be cancelled. Residents of the EU, the United States, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, the UAE, Australia and Canada must pass identity verification before they use the service; for other users, ChangeNOW names reports of fraud or stolen funds, legal requirements and transactions that “look unusual or suspicious” as reasons for a check. What happens to your coins when you decline a check is not stated consistently: the Terms say that you “will be provided with a refund”, while the Help Center says a refund is possible “In most cases” but “not always”.
ChangeNOW publishes no fee percentage; its fee “is included in the final rate”. The swap form shows the estimated amount and the minimum before you send anything. With a floating rate, the rate is set when your deposit is accepted, typically after six block confirmations. A fixed rate is offered, but the pages name different times: the form shows a countdown of about 2 minutes for the quote, and for the deposit the Terms name 4 minutes while Help Center articles name 10 and 20 minutes. The Terms are the binding document, so check the time on your own swap page. Under the Terms, completed transactions are final, the “extraction” of deposited assets can take up to 20 business days, and a deposit on the wrong network, in the wrong coin or without a required memo costs a 50 USD refund fee plus network fees. ChangeNOW’s liability under the Terms is limited to 500 EUR.
The operator, CHN Group LLC, publishes no company number. Squaby found no entry for ChangeNOW or CHN Group LLC in ESMA’s register of crypto-asset service providers under MiCA or in the global LEI register (GLEIF); the registers of Estonia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and the Kyrgyz Republic could not be checked. The Terms say that services in the Kyrgyz Republic are provided through a partner, CJSC “AimTech”, described as a licensed virtual asset service provider; Squaby could not confirm that licence. No warning or enforcement action against ChangeNOW was found in I-SCAN, the warnings database of IOSCO, the international organization of securities regulators, or on the pages of the US Treasury’s OFAC and FinCEN. The service is not offered to residents of the United Kingdom, the United States (except through a ChangeNOW Pro account), India, Russia and countries under UN sanctions, among others; the Terms ask users not to hide their IP address with a VPN, and they allow ChangeNOW to seize the funds of users in these jurisdictions.
On October 15, 2026, ChangeNOW disclosed a vulnerability in the integration between its support system and its website, found together with security researchers and since fixed. ChangeNOW says that it has “no evidence that it was exploited”, that funds were not at risk, and that the data concerned “may include email addresses and transaction details”. It cannot rule out that others accessed the information and has not said how many users were affected; the statement was also distributed as a sponsored press release. Be careful with messages that refer to your swaps: ChangeNOW says it never asks for passwords, 2FA codes, private keys or seed phrases. In ChangeNOW’s own announcements and in media reports, Squaby found no theft from ChangeNOW’s own funds in the last five years; ChangeNOW’s social media posts were not searched. ChangeNOW publishes no independent security audit, no bug bounty, no disclosure policy and no complaint procedure, and its “Status Page” is an order lookup, not a service status page.
Open the service only at https://changenow.io. ChangeNOW’s Terms warn of fake sites with similar addresses and of people who pretend to be ChangeNOW.
Pick each coin on the network your wallet uses, and enter the memo or destination tag when the receiving coin needs one. A deposit on the wrong network or without a required memo can be lost or cost a 50 USD refund fee.
Fill in the refund address field under the advanced settings, so that ChangeNOW can send your coins back if the swap fails.
With a fixed rate, send the exact amount within the time shown on your own swap page. With a floating rate, the amount you receive can differ from the estimate.
Read the AML/KYC Policy before you send anything: a swap can be stopped for a check, and you may be asked for an ID document and proof of where your funds come from.
Save the link to your swap page. You need the swap ID to look up the swap on the Status Page and to contact support.