KuCoin Review – A Look At This Cryptocurrency Trading Platform

About KuCoin

When searching for a trading platform that offers ease-of-use, low fees, a secure experience, an aesthetically pleasing website, and a distribution-paying token, the cryptocurrency user will inevitably come across KuCoin. While KuCoin is a newer exchange to come to the space, the company has been consistently making a name for themselves to traders and speculators alike. But what makes this newcomer worth using over the tried-and-true mammoth exchanges? 

A Brief History of KuCoin

KuCoin is fairly new when it comes to the history of cryptocurrency (thus far). The company was officially founded in the middle of 2017, with their research and development team having been formed in May of that year. The actual framework for the exchange had been formed in 2013. Since then, the team has been working to bring KuCoin into what it is today. The team behind KuCoin has extensive history in the finance world, with CEO Michael Gan having previously been a technical expert at Ant Financial (otherwise known as “Alipay,” with regards to its affiliation with Alibaba). 

Opening an Account with KuCoin

To open an account on KuCoin, simply click the “Sign Up” button in the top right corner of the browser window. KuCoin will ask for a valid email address, to which they will send a verification code. Enter the verification code found in your email into the corresponding box. Read and (if the proposed terms are okay) agree to the Terms and Conditions. The user will then be able to set up their password, and have access to their account. Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) is highly recommended to deter security threats. 

KuCoin is currently accepted in 197 countries across the globe. KuCoin offers two wallets within an account; one is called “Main Account,” with “Trading Account” being the name of the other wallet. This allows a user to keep funds as separate as desired, offering innumerable possibilities of asset management. 

KuCoin Product Offerings

KuCoin has been forging a reputation as a location to procure alternative tokens (altcoins). The platform offers over 300+ trading pairs for spot trading, with unique pairings being offered. KuCoin offers pairs against Bitcoin, Ethereum, NEO, Stablecoins, and their own token (KCS). Offered on the platform are cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, TOMO, FTM, and many more, with the list always evolving. To view the available tokens and pairings, as well as current prices, visit the “Markets” section of KuCoin, with a clickable link found either here, or on the header of the website. 

KuCoin Commissions and Fees

KuCoin has always strived to keep their fees low, offering free deposits on their platform. Their fee structure operates on a sliding scale, starting at 0.1% Maker/Taker (with minimal to no cryptocurrencies having been traded over 30 days) all the way to 0.0125%/0.03 Maker/Taker (with 20000 BTC worth of trades having been traded over 30 days). To withdraw funds from KuCoin, a fee is taken from the amount desired; this fee is variable depending on the performance of that particular market. Click here to view the current fee rates for every token offered, as well as the tiered trading fee structure.

KuCoin Platforms and Tools

KuCoin operates as a standard spot-trading platform for cryptocurrencies. To access the spot-trading platform, click the “Exchange” button on the header of the website. This will bring up a new window showing a current chart, with the user’s order status/history below, in the left half of the screen. The right side of the page is divided into two columns: the Buy/Sell area to input desired trades; and the current order book with the order book history below. A sidebar on the left of the screen offers different options including setting price alerts, viewing the page fullscreen, a link to support, and a settings link. 

Next to the sidebar is a small arrow button. This button is incredibly important, as clicking on it will open a collapsible column filled with a searchable trading pair list. Clicking on any trading pair will add its data to the page. 

Collapsing the column will reveal that multiple trading pairs can be opened simultaneously, organized as tabs. Clicking on the square next to the trading pairs will reveal options to have up to 9 different charts shown on screen simultaneously.

 To add pairs to the corresponding screens, click the arrow tab, and select the desired pair for whichever screen is highlighted. To view the current data of the chart, simply click on open-screen logo in the top right of the chart. These features can be a little confusing at first, but become invaluable tools once some time is spent using them.

In 2019, KuCoin launched their own Contracts trading platform, called “Kumex,” offering up to 20x leverage. Currently, Bitcoin is the only asset that is available. 

KuCoin has also launched their own staking platform, called Pool-X, which allows users to stake supported tokens, which then get pooled with other users’ tokens on a mining pool account. The staking funds of the mining pool account are put into a computing pool, and the distributions received through staking are either given back to the original account holder, or exchanged for another currency, which is then given back to the original account holder. This is essentially the mining pool version of staking.

 This operates on what KuCoin calls POL, or “Proof of Liquidity”; the white paper for the technology can be found here.

Another attractive feature of KuCoin is their own token, KCS, or KuCoin Shares. This is a token that will allow users to receive daily distributions based on the amount of KCS held in their account. 50% of the collected fees from the exchange go into the distribution. To calculate the amount of distribution one would receive per day, take: X*50%*(KCS/100000000). Explained: X (the amount of exchange fees taken by the exchange that day) multiplied by 50% (the amount of the fees received in distribution), multiplied by the amount of KCS held in the account divided by 100,000,000 (1 Bitcoin, or 100 million Satoshis, or “Sats” for short). KuCoin only takes 10% of the total amount of trading fees collected, with 50% going to KCS distributions, and 40% going to users that refer new customers to sign up on KuCoin’s platform. Users can earn 20% for every time the new customer completes an order. The KCS token also allows users to receive a trading fee discount, with 1% for 1000 KCS, up to 30% for 30,000 KCS held in the account. 

Spotlight is another feature on KuCoin’s platform. Spotlight essentially shines a spotlight on a cryptocurrency, and offers to pay a distribution in said cryptocurrency if a certain amount of given cryptocurrency is traded in a day, as well as a certain amount of KCS is held in the account. A snapshot of the account and trading history is taken at a certain time to verify that said conditions are met, upon which the user will receive a distribution of said token dependent on their individual variables (amount traded and held in account). 

KuCoin is also available as a mobile application on Android and iOS. 

What Sets This Platform Apart From Others?

There are several different factors that set this exchange apart from others. The first is their diversity of trading pairs. It is rare to find an exchange that offers Crypto/NEO trading, as well as some Crypto/PAX and other stablecoins. Their KCS distribution and Pool-X staking technology platforms could be considered revolutionary, allowing customers to receive daily distributions for simply placing trust and staking their funds in the KCS token. 

Other factors that set this newer exchange apart from others include the tools available to the user in the trading window. Allowing for up to 9 different trading pairs to be viewed at once is incredibly handy for the user with interest in multiple markets at any given time. The use of 2 different accounts within the actual account is wonderful for keeping funds separated, preventing accidental trades with “off-limits” funds, or perhaps for separating trade wins, etc. 

KuCoin Customer Service

KuCoin’s customer service area can be found in the “Support” section of the website. This will bring up a Help Center for different sections including Pool-X, a Beginner’s Guide, FAQ, and more. For detailed and individualized help needs, a customer can submit a request to the KuCoin support team by clicking “Submit a Request” at the top right of the page. Their live chat is also available for anyone needing immediate assistance. 

KuCoin Trustworthiness

While this exchange may be new, and it may look (aesthetically) similar to Binance, this exchange can be considered trustworthy. As of October 2019, the exchange has not experienced any hacks or security breaches of any kind. Some of their technology could use some work, as some tokens have taken a large amount of time to either deposit or withdraw (NANO, a cryptocurrency capable of sending confirmed transactions in less than half of a second has taken hours to days for some users in the past). Nevertheless, KuCoin seems to have always tried to be as respondent and resolvent towards any issue. With regards to user security, KuCoin offers the use of 2 Factor Authentication, as well as the use of Anti-Phishing security phrases shown to validate that the page is authentic. Other methods of security include a 6-digit trading password that is required before the user can enter/make changes to any trades, as well as SMS and E-Mail authentication codes. Being a new exchange, the volume of the exchange overall is quite small compared to some of cryptocurrency’s larger exchanges.

Final Thoughts

KuCoin is an attractive marketplace for the trader in search of exotic tokens and unique trading pairs, as well as the investor looking to receive daily distributions from their investments. Some of supported tokens can take a lengthy amount of time to deposit into, or withdraw from the user account, which can cause a little stress and panic until the transaction posts to the history.