About KuCoin
KuCoin was founded in Hong Kong in 2017 and has grown into one of the largest crypto exchanges by asset selection. The platform lists more than 400 digital assets across 600+ trading pairs, and supports over 50 fiat currencies for funding accounts. Daily trading volume on KuCoin runs around $890M.
Buying Crypto
KuCoin offers 3 ways to buy crypto: an instant purchase via credit or debit card, peer-to-peer (P2P) trading, and third-party payment providers. Built-in calculators let users compare which payment method offers the best rate before committing. P2P trades usually offer a better price, but settlement is slower since payment moves via bank transfer. For an instant purchase, a card or a third-party payment provider is the faster option.
Fees
KuCoin uses a 10-tier fee schedule based on 30-day trading volume, with maker fees able to drop as low as 0.0125% and taker fees to 0.03% at the highest tiers. Separately, users can get up to 20% off trading fees depending on how much KuCoin Token (KCS) they hold in their account.
Trading
The exchange supports 3 main trading modes: spot trading, margin trading, and an automated trading bot. Margin trading allows leverage up to 10x. The trading bot lets users hand off funds to one of several automated investment strategies, typically chosen based on the trader's experience level and investment horizon.
Bonuses and Promotions
KuCoin regularly runs bonus campaigns tied to completing account or trading tasks, as well as rewards for staking supported coins, giving active users extra ways to earn beyond standard trading.
KuCoin Token (KCS)
KCS is KuCoin's native token, issued as an ERC-20 token on Ethereum and supported by most Ethereum-compatible wallets. Holding KCS unlocks benefits on the exchange, most notably the trading fee discounts described above.
Security Incident: September 2020 Hot Wallet Hack
In September 2020, KuCoin suffered a major security breach in which attackers compromised private keys and stole approximately $281M in crypto assets from the exchange's hot wallets, including Bitcoin, a range of ERC-20 tokens, and other cryptocurrencies. The attack was later attributed to the Lazarus Group. What sets this incident apart from most exchange hacks is the outcome: by February 2021, KuCoin reported it had recovered the full amount stolen. Roughly 78% was recovered through cooperation with other exchanges and token projects that froze or blacklisted the stolen funds, about 6% was recovered via law enforcement action, and the remaining 16% was covered by KuCoin's own insurance fund. No user funds were ultimately lost as a result of the breach.
KuCoin Details
- Maker/taker fees: 0.072% / 0.08% (base rate)
- Coins supported: 400+ (600+ trading pairs)
- Fiat currencies supported: 50+
- Founded: 2017, Hong Kong
- Daily trading volume: ~$890M
- Security incident history: Yes — 2020 hack, fully recovered by 2021