What Documents Exchanges Actually Need (And What to Keep Private) #
You’re setting up a business account on a crypto exchange. They want documentation to verify your LLC is legitimate. You’re looking at your operating agreement wondering which schedules to upload and which to keep to yourself.
Here’s what exchanges actually need. Articles of Organization from Wyoming showing your LLC exists. EIN letter from the IRS proving you have a tax identification number. Your Operating Agreement with Schedule 1 attached showing ownership percentages. Government ID for whoever’s listed as a manager on the LLC. That’s it.
Schedule 1 shows who owns what percentage of the company. Exchanges need this because they’re verifying ownership and control as part of KYC requirements. If you own 100% of the LLC, Schedule 1 says that. If you have partners, it shows the split. This matters for compliance because the exchange needs to know who controls the entity they’re doing business with.
Schedule 3 is different. That’s where you list capital contributions. What you contributed to the LLC when you formed it. For crypto LLCs, people often list specific wallet addresses, asset amounts, or detailed breakdowns of their holdings on Schedule 3.
Do not upload Schedule 3 to exchanges. Ever.
The exchange doesn’t need to know your wallet addresses. They don’t need to know how much crypto you started with. They don’t need to see your onchain footprint. That information has zero relevance to their KYC process. They’re verifying your business is real and you control it. Your internal capital structure isn’t their business.
Uploading Schedule 3 hands exchanges information they’ll store in databases that could get hacked, subpoenaed, or accessed by employees who have no need to see it. You’re creating unnecessary privacy exposure for no benefit.
People make this mistake because exchanges ask for “Operating Agreement” and they assume that means the whole document with every schedule attached. It doesn’t. The operating agreement itself plus Schedule 1 is what they need for verification. The rest of the schedules are internal business documents that should stay internal.
If an exchange specifically asks for Schedule 3, question why they need it. Most don’t. If they insist, find a different exchange. Mercury, Relay, and Axos for banking and major exchanges for trading don’t require detailed capital contribution schedules. They just need to verify ownership and control.
This gets back to broader operational security. Every piece of information you share creates potential exposure. Your Wyoming LLC gives you privacy because ownership isn’t publicly searchable. But if you then upload detailed asset lists to third parties, you’re defeating the purpose of that structure.
Keep your custody separate and private. Your actual crypto should sit in hardware wallets like D’Cent that you control directly. Exchanges see what you trade through them. They don’t see your full holdings. Banks see fiat transactions. They don’t see your complete balance sheet. That compartmentalization is the point.
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