I hate Bittrex for doing this. I'll be closing my account and never trading with them again once I complete withdrawals.

Capturing facial photographs, passports and detailed address information just for trading crypto-to-crypto is beyond the pale IMO. You even need to do it now just to withdraw the slightest holding of sh*tcoin. The other thing I think is disingenuous if not outright deceitful is capturing thousands of people's passport details in the name of "protecting their identity".

There's no greater way to compromise your identity than uploading it to some website where you've got no clue whatsoever of what staff members are handling it or even what they're doing with it. Then the company gets sold because it has a nice, fat demographic database with mappings from individuals into blockchain addresses, the founders exit and before you know it your personal information is a capital asset on the open market with everyone lining their pockets from it except you.

I've often verified fully for banking services such as debit cards etc, but that's no different from what you'd have to do for a regular bank and is has always been highly regulated anyway. I don't believe that brokering blockchain to blockchain transfers warrant some random 3rd party turning themselves into a worldwide financial stazi.

It's a mass, coercive data capture exercise disguised as "protecting our customers".