Ad · Digital asset prices are subject to high market risk and price volatility. Don't invest unless you're prepared to lose all the money you invest. Terms
Market Cap
24h Trading Volume
OHLC Chart
Civic Sentiment — Bullish or Bearish?
Civic — 7-Day Sentiment
What is Civic?
Civic (CVC) is a blockchain-based identity verification platform designed to give individuals control over their personal data while providing businesses with a trusted mechanism to verify user credentials. Founded in 2015 by Vinny Lingham and Jonathan Smith, Civic launched with the mission of combating identity theft and simplifying know-your-customer (KYC) processes. The company conducted one of the earliest major token sales in the crypto industry, raising $33 million in a June 2017 initial coin offering that distributed the CVC utility token to participants worldwide. Vinny Lingham, previously the founder of Gyft (acquired by First Data), became a recognizable figure in the broader Bitcoin ecosystem through his appearances on Shark Tank South Africa and public commentary on cryptocurrency markets.
Civic initially built its reputation around a consumer-facing mobile app that allowed users to store verified identity attributes and share them selectively with third parties. The platform introduced innovations like Civic Secure Identity Platform (SIP) and partnered with enterprises exploring reusable KYC. In 2018, Civic gained mainstream attention by deploying a beer-vending machine at CES that used its identity technology to verify age, a demonstration that highlighted real-world applications of blockchain identity beyond crypto use cases. The project also launched identity.com, an open-source identity verification ecosystem intended to decentralize the broader identity stack.
The Civic ecosystem pivoted meaningfully with the introduction of Civic Pass, an on-chain identity credential that integrates directly with smart contracts. Civic Pass deployed prominently on Solana, where its low fees and high throughput made per-transaction identity checks economically feasible. Solana-based projects including Solrise, Apricot Finance, and various NFT mints adopted Civic Pass to gate participation, filter out bots, and enforce jurisdictional compliance. Civic has also expanded support to Ethereum, Polygon, and other EVM chains, positioning itself as a multi-chain identity layer.
Beyond Web3 gating, Civic has developed Civic Me, a personal identity dashboard that aggregates NFTs, domain names, and verified credentials into a shareable profile. This product reflects the company's broader thesis that digital identity should extend beyond KYC forms to encompass the full spectrum of a user's online presence. The CVC token itself has transitioned in utility over time — originally envisioned as a payment rail between identity requestors and validators, it now serves primarily as an exchange-traded asset while Civic's verification services have evolved to accept stablecoin and fiat payments from enterprise clients.
The project has faced typical challenges of first-generation ICO tokens, including questions about long-term token utility, market volatility, and competition from newer decentralized identity protocols like Polygon ID, Worldcoin, and Ethereum Attestation Service. Nevertheless, Civic maintains one of the longest continuous track records in the blockchain identity sector, with active engineering development, continued integrations across Solana and EVM ecosystems, and leadership from founders who remain publicly engaged with the industry. CVC trades on major exchanges including Binance, Coinbase, Upbit, and Kraken, retaining meaningful liquidity nearly a decade after its launch. The current state of Civic reflects a mature but competitive niche: a pioneer of on-chain identity now operating in a crowded field where interoperability, privacy technology, and regulatory alignment increasingly determine long-term relevance.
Key Features of Civic
- Reusable KYC Credentials: Civic allows users to complete identity verification once and reuse the resulting credential across any participating platform. This eliminates the friction of resubmitting passports, selfies, and proof-of-address documents for every new service, while cryptographic proofs ensure the credential remains tamper-resistant.
- Civic Pass Integration: Civic Pass issues non-transferable on-chain tokens that smart contracts can check before granting access to functions like token sales, NFT mints, or DeFi pools. Developers integrate Civic Pass with a few lines of code, gaining Sybil resistance and compliance tooling without building identity infrastructure from scratch.
- Zero-Knowledge Verification: Civic leverages zero-knowledge-style attestations so users can prove facts about themselves — such as being over 18 or residing outside sanctioned jurisdictions — without revealing the underlying documents. This privacy-preserving approach keeps sensitive data off-chain while the verification result lives on-chain.
- Multi-Chain Deployment: Civic Pass operates across Solana, Ethereum, Polygon, and other EVM-compatible networks, giving developers flexibility to deploy identity gates wherever their users transact. Cross-chain support ensures a single Civic-verified user can access applications spanning multiple ecosystems.
- Civic Me Identity Profile: Civic Me provides a self-sovereign identity dashboard where users aggregate NFTs, wallet addresses, ENS/SNS domains, and verified credentials into a shareable profile. It serves as a Web3 business card that links on-chain activity to a verified real-world or pseudonymous identity under user control.
Civic Use Cases
- Compliant Token Sales: Projects launching tokens on Solana and EVM chains use Civic Pass to restrict sale participation to KYC-verified, non-sanctioned users. This helps issuers meet regulatory expectations while still conducting permissionless on-chain distributions.
- Bot-Free NFT Mints: NFT creators gate mint transactions behind Civic Pass to ensure each participant is a unique human rather than a scripted bot army. This produces fairer drops, reduces gas wars driven by automated sniping, and rewards genuine community members.
- DeFi Compliance Gating: Regulated DeFi protocols integrate Civic Pass to restrict lending pools, perpetual trading, or RWA products to users who have completed identity verification. This enables institutional participation and jurisdictional compliance while preserving the non-custodial nature of the underlying protocol.
- Age-Restricted Access: Online services, gaming platforms, and even physical vending machines have used Civic to verify that users meet minimum age requirements without collecting and storing full identity documents. The approach reduces liability for operators and exposure for users.
- Reusable Business Onboarding: Enterprises integrate Civic to onboard customers faster by accepting pre-verified Civic credentials instead of running full KYC from scratch. This shortens conversion funnels for fintech, exchanges, and marketplaces while lowering compliance costs.
Civic Tokenomics
- Total Supply
- CVC has a maximum supply of 1,000,000,000 tokens, established at the conclusion of the 2017 token sale. No additional CVC can be minted, making the supply fixed and predictable.
- Circulating
- Circulating supply sits close to the total supply following years of distribution and unlocking. Dynamic — see CoinGecko for live figures.
- Utility
- CVC was originally designed as the settlement token between identity requesters, validators, and users within the Civic marketplace. Today it primarily functions as an exchange-traded utility token associated with the Civic ecosystem, with verification services increasingly priced in stablecoins for enterprise clients.
- Emission
- Civic does not have an ongoing emission or inflation schedule. All CVC was generated at genesis during the 2017 ICO, and any remaining team or reserve allocations followed predetermined vesting that has since largely completed.
How to Buy Civic
- 1
1. Create a Binance account
Sign up at binance.com using your email or phone number, set a strong password, and enable two-factor authentication via Google Authenticator. Binance requires 2FA for most withdrawal and trading activity, so configuring it during signup saves time later.
- 2
2. Complete identity verification
Navigate to the Identification page under your account profile and submit your government-issued ID plus a live selfie for Binance's KYC process. Verified Plus status is typically required to access full spot trading limits and fiat on-ramps for purchasing CVC.
- 3
3. Deposit funds
Click Wallet, then Fiat and Spot, and choose Deposit to fund your account. You can wire fiat via bank transfer, use a debit card under Buy Crypto, or transfer USDT/USDC from an external wallet to your Binance spot wallet for the cheapest execution.
- 4
4. Buy CVC on the spot market
Go to Trade, select Spot, and search for the CVC/USDT pair in the markets sidebar. Enter your desired amount, choose between a market order for instant fills or a limit order to set your own price, and click Buy CVC to execute the trade.
- 5
5. Secure your CVC
After purchase, your CVC sits in your Binance Spot Wallet where you can hold it or withdraw it. For long-term storage, click Withdraw, select the correct network (ERC-20 on Ethereum), and send the tokens to a self-custody wallet like MetaMask or a hardware wallet such as Ledger.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Civic (CVC) and who created it?
Civic is a blockchain-based identity verification platform that lets users create reusable digital credentials verified on-chain. It was co-founded in 2015 by Vinny Lingham and Jonathan Smith, and raised $33 million in a 2017 token sale to build out its identity infrastructure. The project now operates Civic Pass across Solana and multiple EVM chains.
Can I stake CVC?
Civic does not currently offer a native staking program for CVC that pays protocol-level yield. Some centralized exchanges and DeFi platforms occasionally list CVC in lending or earn products, but these are third-party offerings rather than on-chain staking. Always review the terms and counterparty risks before depositing CVC into any yield product.
Is Civic a good investment?
Whether CVC fits your portfolio depends on your view of the decentralized identity sector, your risk tolerance, and your investment horizon. CVC is a small-cap token with meaningful price volatility and faces competition from newer identity protocols like Worldcoin and Polygon ID. This page does not provide financial advice — research the project and consult a qualified advisor before buying.
What's the minimum amount of CVC I can buy on Binance?
Binance enforces a minimum notional order size of roughly 5 USDT on most spot pairs, including CVC/USDT. That means you can start with as little as a few dollars' worth of CVC, though fees and spreads make larger orders more efficient. Check the trading rules on the CVC spot page for the exact current minimum.
How does Civic Pass work for Web3 identity?
Civic Pass is an on-chain, non-transferable credential issued after a user completes identity verification through Civic. Smart contracts check for a valid pass before allowing the user to mint an NFT, buy tokens, or interact with a gated DeFi function. The pass can attest to attributes like uniqueness, age, or jurisdiction without revealing the underlying personal documents.
Which blockchains does Civic support?
Civic Pass is deployed on Solana, Ethereum, Polygon, and several other EVM-compatible networks, with Solana historically being the most active deployment due to its low transaction costs. The CVC token itself is an ERC-20 asset on Ethereum and is bridged or wrapped to other chains depending on the exchange or platform.
How can I store CVC safely after buying?
For small amounts, leaving CVC on a reputable exchange like Binance is acceptable, but for larger holdings self-custody is recommended. You can withdraw CVC as an ERC-20 token to a software wallet like MetaMask or, for maximum security, to a hardware wallet such as Ledger or Trezor. Always double-check the withdrawal network and address before confirming the transaction.
Risk Warning
Cryptocurrency prices are highly volatile and can change rapidly. The information on this site is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, investment, or trading advice.