When you try to sign up for dYdX, a decentralized exchange built for advanced crypto trading with leverage, perpetual swaps, and low fees. Also known as dYdX Protocol, it was once one of the most popular DeFi platforms for traders who wanted to go beyond simple buys and sells. But if you're in the U.S., you’ll hit a wall—no sign-up, no deposit, no trading. That’s not a glitch. It’s a legal decision. dYdX pulled out of the U.S. market in 2022 after pressure from regulators who said its platform operated like an unlicensed futures exchange. The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the federal agency that oversees derivatives and futures markets made it clear: if you offer leveraged crypto trading to Americans without a license, you’re breaking the law. dYdX chose to leave rather than fight a costly legal battle.
That move didn’t happen in a vacuum. It’s part of a bigger pattern. Exchanges like Poloniex, a once-major crypto platform that also stopped serving U.S. customers, and TradeOgre, a privacy-focused exchange shut down by Canadian authorities for lacking KYC, all got caught in the same regulatory net. The U.S. doesn’t just want exchanges to verify users—it wants them to act like banks, with licenses, audits, and compliance teams. DeFi platforms like dYdX, which were built to be permissionless and global, simply can’t meet those demands without losing their core identity. So they walk away. And users? They’re left with fewer options, higher fees on compliant platforms, or risky workarounds that could get them flagged.
It’s not just about dYdX. This is about what happens when innovation runs into old-school rules. The same regulators that fined Upbit $34 billion for KYC failures and seized $40 million from TradeOgre are now watching every DeFi protocol. If you’re a U.S. trader, you’re seeing the real cost of compliance: fewer tools, less freedom, and more gatekeepers. But you’re also seeing why so many crypto projects now avoid the U.S. entirely. The posts below break down exactly what happened to dYdX, how other exchanges reacted, and what you can still do legally—without risking your funds on shady alternatives.
dYdX claims to be a decentralized crypto exchange but blocks users in the U.S., UK, Canada, and other countries. Learn why this contradiction exists, how the restrictions work, and what it means for the future of DeFi.