Despite its past flaws, KuCoin is a solid exchange that offers plenty of options to folks looking to do more with their crypto. Multiple types of trading, lending services, and even games of chance can all be done on the platform.
Pros & Cons
KuCoin offers a wide range of services, offering something for almost any crypto trader.
Pros
Cons
KuCoin is a growing platform, touting growth to roughly 8 million active users over the last four years. This exchange, based in a small island nation, has grown to be one of the most well-known exchanges in the world.
But, what separates KuCoin from the other top exchanges? Is it even worth considering using this exchange? Let’s look at what KuCoin offers its users and how you can leverage its services.
About KuCoin
KuCoin is a cryptocurrency exchange based out of the island nation of Seychelles. The company was founded in 2017 as an exchange that allows its users more advanced features for trading.
Rather than just offering spot trading, KuCoin has services that make investing in cryptocurrency much easier. Recently, KuCoin added gamification features to its suite of trading options.
Prize wheels, betting games, and other similar features are on KuCoin, adding some flair to the trading platform. The platform also has a proprietary blockchain called the KuCoin Community Chain (KCC).
This blockchain uses KCS, the KuCoin token, for its operations. Using KCS can also reduce trading fees in the KuCoin trading services. Overall, the KuCoin exchange is a platform for users that want to do more with their cryptocurrencies.
The service hasn’t had the best security, but has taken steps to overcome those past failings.
KuCoin Services
As a cryptocurrency exchange, KuCoin allows everyday users and crypto brokers alike to buy, sell, and trade coins and tokens. Here’s a list of what the various trading and other features look like on the platform:
- Trading features: Users can engage in spot, margin, and futures trading on over 500 cryptocurrencies.
- Trading bots: With the help of automation, users can set up spot trading, futures trading, and dollar-cost average bots to reduce the workload of investing.
- Crypto borrowing and lending: Users can borrow cryptocurrencies against their Margin accounts or lend their crypto to other users for interest within KuCoin.
- KuCoin Earn: KuCoin partners with various staking platforms to allow users to earn extra crypto with these purchased coins and tokens.
- KuCoin Win: Raffles, slots, and other games of chance in this feature give you the chance to win big.
- KuCoin Bonus: By holding at least six KCS on your KuCoin account, you can earn a daily payout from the trading fees in KCS.
Fee Breakdown
KuCoin has a tiered fee list, depending on how many KCS you hold or your average monthly spot trading volume. The more you trade and the more KCS you keep on the exchange, the lower your trading fees can get.
Most users won’t make it past the first few VIP levels on KuCoin, meaning that an average user will pay 0.09% to 0.1% of their trade volume in fees. If you pay for the trades using KCS, you can bump those numbers down by 20%.
It doesn’t cost any money to deposit crypto into your KuCoin account. However, you do have to pay a fee to withdraw crypto. This fee changes depending on the coin or token you want to withdraw.
The fee is static no matter how much you withdraw from the platform. KuCoin doesn’t have a fiat on-ramp for U.S. citizens like other exchanges.
However, you can buy crypto on the platform using a credit card using a service like Banxa. It is costly to use this option, with fees ranging between five and seven percent.
KuCoin Bonus Offer
As part of its gamification of crypto trading, KuCoin has several ways new users can benefit from signing up. The most common signup bonus is the referral system.
Current users can refer new folks to the exchange using a referral link. Once the new user uses the link to set up an account, both the current and new users can receive $10 worth of crypto when the new user deposits some funds.
The new user also gets a limited period to reduce their trading fees by 30%. KuCoin also runs promotions on its platform. These promotions tend to be discounts or contests for using the different services on KuCoin, as well as promotional rates for purchasing newly-listed coins on the platform.
These promos swap regularly, meaning that it helps to check in from time to time to see if any of these promos apply to you.
Who is KuCoin Best For?
KuCoin is best for crypto traders wanting to do more with their funds. KuCoin offers exciting features that don’t typically exist for a beginner in crypto.
By putting those tools into one platform, KuCoin makes it easier to explore these services without having to dive head-first into the technical setup of things like lending and bot trading.
Compare to Similar Exchanges
- Trading Fees: 1.49% per trade
- Minimum Deposit: $0
- Promotion: Offers $10 free bitcoin to new users
- Trading Fees: 0%-2.99%
- Minimum Deposit: $0
- Promotion: No current promotions
- Trading Fees: 0%-0.4%
- Minimum Deposit: $0
- Promotion: 5% off trading fees
Should I Use KuCoin?
If you want to explore rarer altcoins, get your hands on some bot trading or lending, or otherwise see what other options there are to make money with crypto, KuCoin is a solid choice.
No one would fault you for only using a small number of funds at first, especially given previous security breaches.
Still, KuCoin is a good way for crypto holders to take their knowledge and strategies to the next level without learning how to set up the technical side themselves.
KuCoin FAQ's
Given how many services and stories surround KuCoin, it’s understandable to have some questions. Here are some of the frequent questions folks have out there about the platform:
Since its 2020 exploit, KuCoin has had a poor reputation when it comes to security. Still, plenty of users trade on the platform every month and the KYC and multi-factor authentication have been steps in the right direction for the general perception.
When withdrawing fiat, it usually takes between three and five days for the funds to clear via ACH transfer. Crypto withdrawals tend to be faster, usually at the speed of the blockchain.
For most blockchains, a withdrawal will take an hour or less to process and the funds to show up in the other wallet.
KuCoin makes money off of the trading fees it charges. These fees are a small percentage of the total trade a user makes in their trading services, but add up to be a lot of money with the millions of users exchanging crypto on KuCoin.
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I’m Donny. I’m a world traveler, investor, entrepreneur, and online marketing aficionado who has a big appetite to compete and disrupt big markets. I thrive on being able to create things that impact change, difficult challenges, and being able to add value in negative situations.