A simple guide to external wallets, regulatory requirements, and how crypto transfers work on Nebeus.
The Travel Rule is an international regulatory requirement that applies to Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) such as Nebeus. It was introduced by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and has been adopted across the European Union, under EU crypto-asset transfer regulation, and many other jurisdictions to help prevent money laundering, terrorist financing, and other financial crimes.
In practice, this means that when you send or receive cryptocurrency, whether depositing into or withdrawing from your Nebeus account, regulated platforms like Nebeus are required to collect certain information about the sender and the recipient of the transaction.
These requirements apply across regulated crypto service providers and are designed to make the crypto ecosystem safer and more transparent.
Before sending or receiving cryptocurrency, it's important to understand the two types of external wallets involved in a transfer.
A self-hosted, or unhosted, wallet is a wallet where you control the private keys, giving you full ownership and control over your crypto assets.
Examples include:
Since you control the wallet, only you can authorise transactions.
A hosted wallet is managed by a third-party provider, who securely stores the private keys on your behalf.
Examples include:
In this case, the service provider is responsible for safeguarding your assets.
When you send or receive cryptocurrency through your Nebeus account, whether as a deposit or a withdrawal, regulations require us to determine who controls the wallet on the other end of the transfer.
Under EU crypto-asset transfer regulation, we need to verify ownership of the unhosted wallet used for the transfer before the review can continue.
Depending on whether the wallet involved is self-hosted or hosted, you may be asked to verify ownership of that wallet before your transfer can be completed or your account review can proceed.
This verification helps Nebeus comply with the Travel Rule and anti-money laundering (AML) regulations while protecting both our customers and the wider financial system.
The first time you send or receive crypto using a self-hosted wallet on a particular blockchain network, you'll be asked to verify that you own that wallet.
After the transfer is initiated, you'll receive a separate email containing a secure verification link.
The verification is completed through our trusted verification partner Sumsub and usually only takes a few minutes.
To verify ownership of your self-hosted wallet, one of the following methods will be used:
Message signing (recommended)
You will be asked to sign a unique verification code using your wallet's private key. This is the primary and most straightforward verification method. No cryptocurrency is transferred, and your private keys remain secure at all times.
Micro-deposit (optional fallback)
If your wallet does not support message signing, a small test transaction may be used as an alternative method to verify ownership of the wallet.
Photo with wallet address (optional fallback)
In exceptional cases where the above methods are not possible, a manual review may be required. You may be asked to provide a photo showing your wallet and the wallet address to confirm ownership.
Nebeus allows one verified self-hosted wallet address per blockchain network for each customer.
For example:
The same rule applies to every other blockchain network supported by Nebeus.
This means that once you've registered a Bitcoin wallet, all future Bitcoin transfers, whether deposits or withdrawals, will be verified against that registered address unless it is changed.
You may register a different wallet for each blockchain network you use.
Yes.
If you need to change your verified self-hosted wallet for a particular blockchain, please contact our Support team.
Before the change can be approved, you'll need to complete ownership verification for the new wallet.
Please note:
This policy helps protect your account from unauthorised wallet changes.
Transfers involving hosted (custodial) wallets, whether deposits or withdrawals, may also require additional information depending on the platform on the other end and applicable regulations.
If additional information is required, Nebeus will guide you through the necessary steps.
If you have any questions about wallet verification or crypto transfers, our Support team is happy to help.
You can contact us through the live chat in the Nebeus app or by emailing support@nebeus.com.