What is KYC?

KYC is Know Your Customer: the checks you run to identify a person and decide if you will hold a balance for them. It is not the wallet. It is the gate in front of the wallet. A ledger can store the identity and the decision. It does not replace a KYC vendor or a CIP policy.

How does KYC work in a product?

You collect name, date of birth, address, and an identifier. A vendor or your team verifies them. You assign a risk rating and a status: pass, fail, review. Only then do you open a wallet that can receive funds, or you open it frozen. Ongoing monitoring is part of KYC, not a one-time form.

KYC vs identity in the ledger

Identity is the record you attach to balances. KYC is the work that fills and reviews that record. You can have an identity with no KYC yet. You should not have an unrestricted wallet with no KYC if you hold customer funds.

What does the ledger store?

The identity, the status, and references to vendor checks. Not passport images. Put documents in a vault. Put the decision where you can block a payout when status flips to failed.

How it works with Blnk

Blnk identities are not a KYC provider. Create an identity, link wallets to it, and keep the vendor result in metadata. See identities.

Your app should refuse a payout when the identity is not passed. The ledger will still post if you call it. The gate is yours.