The last part is certainly true, see Crypto-Bridge's announcement of KYC requirements for USA and Canadian citizens that they put out a month or so ago: https://crypto-bridge.org/2019/02/26/urgent-announcement-terms-of-service-identity-verification-requirements/
They told users on twitter they had to or the entire exchange would be shut down and funds likely would be seized by US officials
RE: Steem-Engine Breakthrough: BTC/LTC/BCH/DOGE trading now live!