KuCoin is a feature-rich cryptocurrency exchange mostly used by traders outside the USA. The exchange functionality in the USA is limited owing to its lack of a proper operating license.
It is based in Seychelles and held its initial coin offering in 2017. KuCoin ranks among the top 10 cryptocurrency exchanges in the world by trading volume.
Accessing KuCoin exchange in the USA
As stated earlier, the KuCoin platform is not licenced and regulated in the USA. Users in the US can sign up for accounts which remain ‘unverified’. Unverified accounts have limited functionality such as limited deposit and withdrawal amounts. The platform is recommended for USA residents who already own cryptocurrencies and only need to trade a few coins.
To access the full features of the platform, residents would have to connect to the website through a Virtual Private Network (VPN).
A VPN is a service that establishes a private secure connection to the internet. It hides your IP address by encrypting your data and communications. VPN services are ideal for traders who travel to the United States and need to access Kucoin as they would from home.
Connecting to a VPN sounds technical but it’s instead a simple process.
KuCoin features and fees
The exchange boasts over 700 listed cryptocurrencies and a $1 trillion accumulated trading volume. Information from their website indicates that it has a user base of over 20M users and is available in over 200 countries.
Fees
The platform offers highly competitive trading fees. It provides users with a tiered fee structure, classified as levels based on Class, KCS holdings, and Spot or future trading volume for 30 days. The levels run from level 1 to level 12, higher account levels have higher discounted maker/ taker fees. The rate is however not applicable to all tokens.
The exchange has a maker/taker fee structure, meaning traders pay different fees depending on whether they are buying or selling a token. Maker fees are lower because they create liquidity on the exchange by providing open orders than can be filled by others.
The maker/taker fee will also vary depending on the ‘class’ of the coin being traded. Popular coins like BTC and ETH are in class A. Less popular coins like XTM and UFO are in class B. Obscure coins with a low market cap are in class C. Class A coins have the least fees, while class C has the highest.
Example 1: ( Class A coin balance based on the last 30 days)
- Level 0 had 0 KCS and < 50 BTC Spot or < 200 BTC future trading volume. The trader will pay 0.1% maker and taker fees. They will have a withdrawal limit of 200.
- Level 1 had 1,000 KCS and >=50 BTC Spot or >= 200 BTC future trading volume. The trader will pay 0.09% maker and 0.1% taker fees. They will have a withdrawal limit of 200.
- Level 12 had 150,000 KCS and >= 80,000 BTC Spot or >= 160,000 BTC future trading volume. The trader will pay -0.005% maker and 0.025% taker fees. They will have a withdrawal limit of 3000.
Example 2: ( Class C coin balance based on the last 30 days)
- Level 0 had 0 KCS and < 50 BTC Spot or < 200 BTC future trading volume. The trader will pay 0.24% maker and taker fees. They will have a withdrawal limit of 200.
- Level 1 had 1,000 KCS and >=50 BTC Spot or >= 200 BTC future trading volume. The trader will pay 0.27% maker and 0.3% taker fees. They will have a withdrawal limit of 200.
- Level 12 had 150,000 KCS and >= 80,000 BTC Spot or >= 160,000 BTC future trading volume. The trader will pay -0.005% maker and 0.075% taker fees. They will have a withdrawal limit of 3000.
Users who pay their fees in the platform’s native token KCS, receive an additional 20% discount on the trading fees.
The fee from a trade is deducted from the token after the slash in a trading pair. For instance, for trading pairs BTC/ USDT, the fee will be deducted from USDT. However, in certain scenarios, the same coin will be charged as the fee.
The exchange charges a small fee for withdrawals that is dependent on the coin and the selected blockchain. TRC-20 tokens are typically charged lower than ERC-20 tokens. Internal transfers have zero charges.
Security
KuCoin partnered with Onchain Custodian, a Singapore-based digital-asset security platform to provide custody of the exchange’s crypto assets. Lackton, a private insurance brokerage, also backs the assets.
The platform offers many security measures, including micro-withdrawal wallets, battle-tested multilayer encryption, dynamic multi-factor authentication, and dedicated risk assessment departments that oversee daily data operations according to strict security standards.
Standard user security measures include KYC, trading passwords and anti-phishing phrases.
Cryptocurrencies available on KuCoin
With over 700 coins listed by the KuCoin exchange, new and experienced investors can find pretty much any crypto or token they are interested in trading. The platform boasts of accommodating 1 out of every 4 crypto traders worldwide.
