KuCoin is one of the top 10 cryptocurrency exchange platforms on the planet, with support for hundreds of markets and a slew of digital assets. Based in Singapore, the highly liquid trading venue is notable for its modern interface, fiat on-ramps, 24/7 customer support (in 13 languages at last count) and advanced trading tools. Like many of its rivals in the exchange space, KuCoin has expanded its features in recent years and now offers liquidity pools, a lending and IEO platform, and competitions, as well as futures and p2p trading. Customer funds are also fully insured by Lockton, the world’s largest private insurance brokerage.
With over six million registered users in 200+ countries, and a record 24-hour volume of $1.9 billion, KuCoin has become one of the industry’s best-known platforms since launching in 2017. But what should you be aware of before opening an account and trading? In this review, we’ll look at the main features of the KuCoin platform, including fees and fiat currency support. By the time you’re finished reading, you should have a clearer understanding of what KuCoin’s all about, and whether it fulfils your requirements. Let’s do this.
The Main Benefits of Using KuCoin
What is it that makes people choose KuCoin over other platforms? Well, there are a number of advantages: the vast selection of low-cap altcoins on offer, including defi tokens; the ability to swap digital assets with zero fees; generous staking rewards; 20x returns on margin trades and 100x returns on futures trades; and an intuitive interface. What’s more, KuCoin’s index compares prices across multiple exchanges before finalizing liquidations, and in doing so immunizes users against price manipulation.
Alighting on the home page of many cryptocurrency exchanges is quite overwhelming. That’s not the case with KuCoin. Along the top of the page are clear options such as Markets, Buy Crypto, Trade and Earn. Further down the page, there’s an option to ‘Try Demo’ that’s likely to appeal to novice traders; there’s also the option to download the KuCoin app for iOS and Android. The UX is near faultless.
Let’s take a closer look at some of the products in KuCoin’s suite.
Spot Trading
KuCoin’s spot trading platform supports up to a million transactions per second (TPS) without overload, offering limit, stop, market, post-only and iceberg orders on over 400 trading pairs. Users can also buy crypto with fiat thanks to integrations with Simplex and Banxa, with all the major currencies supported (USD, JPY, KRW, EURO, GBP, etc). Fees accord to your ‘Trading Fee Level’ as users graduate from LV 0 to LV 12, the latter of which offers the most generous maker/taker fees. Even on the lowest rung, it’s just 0.1%.
Futures Trading (KuMEX)
As far as derivatives are concerned, there are two options: Lite, for novices, and Pro for more seasoned users. You can access each from the top toolbar on the homepage. Launched in 2019, KuCoin Futures focuses on leveraged trading while charging takers 0.05% and makers 0.02%. Withdrawal fees, meanwhile, are just 0.0005 BTC – which is around 40% below industry average.
Staking (Pool-X)
KuCoin launched Pool-X in 2019. Users participating in staking get to earn both staking rewards and POL (Proof of Liquidity) credits, the latter of which represents the fuel for extracting Pool-X system resources. Unlike with other major staking platforms, Pool-X users can unstake their assets at any time. Although a little more complex than some staking platforms, Pool-X is highly flexible and supports a raft of cryptocurrencies.
Lending
Who doesn’t love the idea of lending out their crypto to earn interest? KuCoin Lend lets users do just that. Offering high annualized yield (8-12%) and with support for 30 digital assets, it’s a simple way of earning a steady passive income.
Incidentally, KuCoin has its very own token – KCS – which confers a number of benefits, including fee maker fees in spot and contract markets for holders of 40,00. KCS holders also get a share of KuCoin’s daily trading fees, paid daily.
How KuCoin Regained Community Trust
Many traders have a fundamental aversion to completing KYC verification, which KuCoin introduced in late 2018, although it isn’t mandatory to use the exchange; unverified users can still deposit and withdraw funds on KuCoin, albeit at a lower threshold. Touted as a means of reducing fraud, money laundering and terrorist financing, KYC is a real bugbear for privacy-conscious crypto traders, who’d rather not run the risk of their personal details falling into the wrong hands. Though unlikely, this can occur if an exchange database happens to get hacked.
Speaking of which, KuCoin suffered a serious hack in September, 2020, with $281 million drained from its hot wallets. Thankfully, the platform managed to reimburse customers’ losses. It also upgraded its security protocols to keep users safe from future breaches. In doing so, KuCoin regained the trust of the crypto community and demonstrated that it is no fly-by-night operation.
All things considered, there’s a lot to like about KuCoin. It’s a sophisticated trading platform with a slick interface, fiat capabilities and low fees. It’s also got its own staking pool and lending program. These features make for an all-in-one platform for participating in the cryptoconomy, and the many possibilities it affords for growing your wealth.
