KuCoin Review: New Trading Platform With Extremely Competitive Fees
Although the website may still be accessed for a variety of purposes, including buying and selling cryptocurrency, KuCoin is regrettably not authorized to conduct business in the United States. The platform is best suited for traders in the United States who already have a cryptocurrency and want to trade less popular cryptos. Let’s learn details about this project with Coincu through this KuCoin Review article.
KuCoin Overview
With over 11 million customers and one in four cryptocurrency holders globally, KuCoin is a very well-known cryptocurrency exchange. It was introduced in 2017 and branded “The People’s Exchange” with the intention of providing users with access to a secure platform to exchange more than 700 cryptocurrencies.
It presently has over 10 million users and a presence in more than 200 countries. Since its creation, it has developed into one of the largest worldwide exchanges by trading volume.
Although U.S. customers are able to register for a KuCoin account, their access to some functionalities is restricted since KuCoin has an American operating license. Given this, opening an account might come with certain dangers. For instance, you might not be able to withdraw your holdings if U.S. officials decide to tighten down on KuCoin. Now, the KuCoin Review article will explore the information of the exchange.
Information about KuCoin
- Founded: 2013
- Founders: Michael Gan, Eric Don, Top Lan, Kent Li, John Lee, Jack Zhu, and Linda Lin
- Area served: Global except for the US
- Key people: Johnny LYU (CEO)
- Products: Cryptocurrency exchange, digital assets
- Revenue: $ 154.7 million (2022)
- Subsidiaries: KuCoin Labs
This KuCoin review will go through the key aspects of the exchange so you can decide whether the exchange is the best option for you or whether you’re better off using a different reputable cryptocurrency exchange. Here is a brief summary of the exchange’s advantages and disadvantages.
Pros | Cons |
Ability to earn interest on crypto | Not licensed in the U.S |
Broad selection of tradable cryptocurrencies | Limited payment methods |
Competitive trading fees | Not for new traders |
Volume discounts on fees | Limited educational resources |
Offers advanced features like margin trading and futures trading | Funds kept on the platform are not insured |
Suffered a major hacking incident in 2020 |
Features
KuCoin, which was established as “the people’s exchange,” is among the top 10 largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world by volume, according to CoinMarketCap.com.
As previously stated, KuCoin lacks a U.S. license. Users residing in the United States may create accounts, but they will remain “unverified,” which restricts access to several features. Similar restrictions also apply to KuCoin outside of the United States.
One of the largest selections of cryptocurrencies accessible for trading on the market is KuCoin, and they often add new coins to their list. On KuCoin, you’ll probably discover the coin you’re looking to exchange. The following is a list of some of the cryptocurrencies that are presently traded on the exchange:
- Bitcoin (BTC)
- Dogecoin (DOGE)
- Ethereum (ETH)
- Polkadot (DOT)
- Shiba Inu (SHIB)
- XRP (XRP)
Trading
Users of the exchange have access to their accounts via an online site and mobile apps for iOS and Android. There are several features and tools available on both its desktop website and mobile apps.
Once logged in on desktop or mobile, KuCoin users can click to view markets, buy crypto, trade, lend crypto, and more. The four order types supported by the platform are market, limit, stop-limit, and stop-market. Additionally accessible are margin, futures, and P2P trading, which can be advantageous to some customers. KuCoin further allows staking and recently unveiled a Trading Bot feature to aid in the simplification of the trading process; it effectively serves as a robo-advisor for your cryptocurrency portfolio.
This exchange has a lot of possibilities, but neither its desktop nor its mobile interfaces are very user-friendly. Despite this, the website has a respectable assistance section where visitors may obtain solutions to frequently asked concerns.
Fees
KuCoin’s trading fees are very competitive. Investors receive discounts based on their average monthly holdings of the platform’s native token, KCS, or their previous month’s trading volume. They can slash fees even further if they pay with KCS.
You don’t pay any monthly account fees, and the withdrawal fees are in line with other exchanges. It is free to deposit crypto, but you will pay to deposit fiat (traditional) money like U.S. dollars. The fee depends on how you transfer cash and what third party app you use.
Like most crypto exchanges, KuCoin has a maker/taker fee structure, meaning you pay different fees depending on whether your order is considered a maker or a taker.
Makers create liquidity on an exchange by providing new open orders to be filled by others. Takers, meanwhile, reduce liquidity by filling existing maker orders.
The level of maker/taker fees vary based on the trading level and the “class” of the coin being traded on KuCoin. Cryptos on the exchanges are sorted into the following categories: Class A, Class B and Class C.
Most popular cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), are in Class A. For trading, a Class A coin and the basic level of Level 0 (LV0), the maker/taker range is 0.1%/0.1%, respectively.
More obscure coins, like Love Coin (LOVE), fall under Class B, trading with a 0.2%/0.2% maker/taker fee for that low-volume level of LV0.
Very few coins are listed on Class C—and the ones that are listed you’ve probably never heard of. Class C is filled with cryptos like BURP and HIPUNKS, cryptos with less than $1 million in market cap.
Like most crypto exchanges, you pay a fee to withdraw almost all cryptocurrencies from your KuCoin account. For instance, the current fee for withdrawing Bitcoin from the platform is 0.0005 BTC at the time of this writing.
The fee depends on the specific coin, so be sure to check these before you make your purchase if you plan to transfer your coins to another wallet or exchange.
Earn
The KuCoin Earn service offers two options to earn income on your cryptocurrency holdings: either you stake coins through Pool-X, a KuCoin-supported business, or you lend your cryptocurrency out and get the interest.
Some cryptocurrencies employ staked coins to help validate the network and maintain it safe, similar to how stock dividends are earned. If you consent to tie up your coins for a predetermined period of time, you receive prizes.
Even though it varies by coin and demand, the interest you’ll make by lending out your cryptocurrency is more than you’d make with a conventional savings account. You may make, on average, 8% to 12%. Margin trading for the exchange is funded by this cash. Lenders will always get full repayment, according to the business, whether it comes from the borrower’s collateral or a KuCoin margin insurance fund. However, you won’t receive the same safeguards as you would from a typical bank, so be sure you’re okay with the added risk.
Mobile app
With the KuCoin app, you may trade from anywhere using an iOS or Android device. Even the free trading bots that let you automate your trading approach are included in the slick UI. Over 5 million people have downloaded KuCoin’s app from the Google Play store, and as of this writing, 118,000 users have given it a high rating of 4.0 stars.
Trading bots may automatically purchase and sell your cryptocurrencies, allowing you to track the market without always being online. Crypto bots, on the other hand, are not as advanced as robo-advisors. For instance, some have technological problems. Additionally, it’s not always obvious how they are investing your funds, and you need to be aware of their bitcoin trading methods. Bots don’t really contribute anything to the equation if you’re investing for the long run.
Customer Support
To begin with, users based in the U.S. are unable to complete KuCoin’s regular Know Your Customer (KYC) disclosures. The goal of these disclosers is to decrease crime and money laundering.
Overall, the exchange’s customers give it low ratings; among over 600 Trustpilot evaluations, it averages just 1.7 out of 5 stars. Numerous unfavorable reviews detail issues with customer service, the withdrawal procedure, and depositing money. Others blame KuCoin for manipulating the market and claim that their assets mysteriously vanished from their accounts, which is particularly worrisome. Despite the unfavorable reviews, several reviewers did praise the exchnage for its low costs and extensive variety of cryptocurrencies.
The exchange native token
KuCoin Shares (KCS) is another name for the native KuCoin token. With this profit-sharing token, traders may benefit from the exchange’s incentives program. KCS is an Ethereum-based ERC-20 token that is supported by several Ethereum wallets and operates on the Ethereum network. KCS has a set supply of 200 million units overall. The organization intends to purchase back and burn the tokens, nevertheless, until there are only 100 million KCS tokens remaining.
The KCS token will also be used as the governance token for the exchange community as well as being the native asset of the decentralized exchange that KuCoin operates. KuCoin claims that they want to differentiate KCS from other cryptocurrency tokens by making it a high-quality product. The advantages that holders already have access to on the KuCoin exchange will be further enhanced by the native token. The KCS token will eventually act as the entry point to the whole KuCoin ecosystem.
All upcoming KuCoin decentralized products will be powered by the native KuCoin token. The launch of the KCS token has facilitated the KuCoin exchange’s quick scaling and expansion.
Is KuCoin a safe choice?
To safeguard the digital assets kept on its exchange, KuCoin has teamed up with an organization called Onchain Custodian. That also covers Lockton’s coverage against crimes like hacking. Additionally, there is a bug bounty program to incentivize ethical hackers to disclose any systemic flaws.
According to KuCoin, it maintains cold storage for customer funds offline (which makes it harder to hack). However, it is not specified what fraction is kept inactive. In order for users to make withdrawals and trades, it must maintain some money in hot wallets online, but it would be helpful to know what proportion is kept there.
At the end of 2020, several KuCoin hot wallets were compromised, however the damages were all compensated by insurance. KuCoin was also prompt in acting and open about what occurred.
Additionally, KuCoin offers exceptional user-level security. Users are encouraged to set up two-factor authentication and a separate password for trading on the website. To further safeguard you from phishing scams, you may put up safety words that will appear in all emails from KuCoin. We value KuCoin’s proactive attitude in this case, given the growth in phishing assaults, in which thieves pose as reputable businesses to steal your data.
First, it’s unclear if the insurance coverage will protect your assets from corporate failure. FDIC insurance often kicks in to cover up to $250,000 in damages in the event that your bank fails. Exchanges for cryptocurrencies don’t operate like this.
Second, utilizing an unregulated exchange has significant dangers if you reside in the United States. To stop money laundering and tax evasion, authorities are tough on Americans utilizing unregistered services. If you utilize an unregulated exchange, you run the danger of having your account blocked and being unable to access your cryptocurrency.
Competitors
In comparison to other cryptocurrency exchanges, KuCoin has very cheap costs and a large range of coins. For more seasoned users, the addition of staking and margin, futures, and P2P trading may be appealing. There are certain disadvantages, though, that you should be aware of. In the United States, KuCoin lacks a license, and it was just the target of a significant attack. If you’re interested in purchasing or trading cryptocurrencies, take a look at how it stacks up against Coinbase, another renowned exchange.
In addition, exchanges like Gemini, Binance, BitMEX, Bybit are also some alternatives to KuCoin.
Conclusion of KuCoin Review
KuCoin is a significant international exchange that provides a number of features and tools that can interest more experienced traders. However, people give it low ratings, and it lacks an American operating license. You might enjoy what KuCoin has to offer if you’re situated outside of the United States and have previous experience trading cryptocurrencies. To be sure it’s the correct platform for you, conduct your research first before signing up. Hopefully the KuCoin Review article has helped you understand more about the project.
DISCLAIMER: The Information on this website is provided as general market commentary and does not constitute investment advice. We encourage you to do your own research before investing.
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