Ref: Polo KYC, I just looked at verification and for up to $2000 equivalent/ day, for 'level 1' - all they want is a name and a country.
This won't last long. It makes no sense to have this kind of limits.
I believe Poloniex knows they have to start KYC in order to be compliant and they are well aware what is/was their competitive advantage. We are watching "soft" transition and they hope they don't lose too much customers in the process.