How To Set Up A Kucoin Account

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Experienced cryptocurrency traders can get the most out of KuCoin's avant-garde features, low fees, and wide range of coins. However, KuCoin is not licensed to operate in the U.Southward. and that drags on our rating. Read our full KuCoin review to observe out if you should open up an business relationship.

Ratings Methodology

Best OF 2022

KuCoin

Our Rating:

Bottom Line

One of the biggest pitfalls for KuCoin correct at present is that it's not licensed in the U.S. It's a platform with a lot of potential, but is all-time right now for experienced traders living outside the U.Southward.

Full KuCoin review

This cryptocurrency exchange is a skilful fit for: Experienced not-U.S. cryptocurrency traders who want access to more coins and advanced features.

Pros

Low fees
Stiff user base of operations
Wide range of coins
Earn interest on your crypto
Advanced trading features
Good customer service

Cons

Not licensed in the U.S.
Limited payment methods
Not for new traders
Express educational resources

Alternatives to consider

If you desire a secure commutation with no withdrawal fees: Gemini stands out for its strong security features and dedication to regulation. Best of all, you can brand 10 fee-free crypto withdrawals each calendar month, and you won't pay to deposit money via a wire transfer.

If you lot want a wide range of currencies from a licensed exchange: U.Southward. regulations mean that residents don't take access to as many cryptocurrencies. However, Coinbase has a good choice, which makes it ane of the most popular U.S. exchanges.

Related: Thinking nigh Coinbase? Encounter The Ascent's comparison of KuCoin vs. Coinbase.

Meridian perks

KuCoin has a lot to offer investors, including the following.

Low fees

KuCoin'south trading fees are among the lowest we know of. Y'all don't pay whatever monthly business relationship fees, and the withdrawal fees are in line with other exchanges. It is gratuitous to deposit crypto, but you will pay to deposit fiat (traditional) coin like U.Southward. dollars. The fee depends on how y'all transfer cash and what third party app y'all use.

Strong user base

KuCoin claims 1 in 4 crypto holders worldwide use its service. The big advantage to such a strong client base of operations is that information technology adds liquidity to the market -- you're more than likely to be able to brand the trades you lot want considering at that place are more people trading. It also ways you tin can likely bring together an active customs of traders who speak your linguistic communication.

Wide range of coins

KuCoin has a much broader choice of cryptocurrencies than you'll get at many exchanges or brokerages. If you want to branch out into less popular coins, KuCoin is worth a look. It also has a Spotlight section that promotes new currencies so people can get in early. Just exist aware that new or bottom-known coins behave more risk than mainstream ones.

Earn interest on your crypto

The KuCoin Earn service pays interest on your cryptocurrencies in ii ways: You can stake coins through Pool-Ten, a KuCoin-backed visitor, or you can loan out your crypto and get paid the interest.

Staking is a bit like earning stock dividends -- certain cryptocurrencies use staked coins to help validate the network and go on it secure. You earn rewards if you hold to tie up your coins for a set amount of time.

The interest you'll earn by loaning out your crypto is more than yous'd get with a traditional savings business relationship, though it varies by money and demand. KuCoin says you can earn 8% to 12% on average. This coin finances KuCoin's margin trading. The company says lenders will e'er be repaid in full, either from the borrower'due south collateral or from a KuCoin margin insurance fund. That said, you won't have the aforementioned protections you'll become with a normal bank, so brand sure you're comfortable with the additional risk.

Avant-garde features

KuCoin has a lot of actress features, though you'll need to think carefully well-nigh whether y'all want to use them. For instance, margin trading allows you to leverage your position, which is essentially borrowing money to buy more crypto. Only very experienced traders should use leverage because information technology makes cryptocurrency -- an already risky investment -- even riskier.

KuCoin too allows you to utilize trading bots through its mobile app. Trading bots can automatically buy and sell your cryptocurrencies so y'all don't accept to be online all the time to follow the marketplace. However, crypto bots are non as developed as robo-advisors. Some have technical glitches, for example. Plus, it'south not always clear how they're investing your money, and y'all need to understand the cryptocurrency trading strategies they employ. If you're ownership for the long term, bots don't add a lot to the mix.

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What could exist improved

Not licensed in the U.South.

A customer support representative said the exchange just provides services for countries listed on its Know Your Customer (KYC) folio, which does not include the U.South. KYC involves filling out personal information and uploading your photo ID to help authorities combat money laundering.

The Usa has strict regulations for cryptocurrency exchanges, and KuCoin is not licensed to operate in the states. If you live in the U.Due south, you may be tempted to use KuCoin without completing the KYC verification. You'd have restrictions on how much you could withdraw, and how much leverage you could access.

In that location are a couple of risks here. First, if the U.Due south. cracks down on people accessing unlicensed exchanges, your assets might go frozen. 2nd, KuCoin doesn't offering the aforementioned support to unverified accounts in the case of hacking, fraud, or theft. So proceed with circumspection if y'all're a U.S.-based user.

Since there are a number of excellent cryptocurrency exchanges that are licensed in the U.S., it makes sense to check them out before signing upward with KuCoin.

Limited payment methods

KuCoin does let you buy cryptocurrency with fiat money, but you'll need to do it through a third-party app. You can pay by credit or debit bill of fare, Apple Pay, and Google Pay, but you tin can't deposit money by bank transfer. And the fees tin can be steep.

Also, you'll need to immediately buy a set amount of one currency. For example, you could buy $200 worth of Tether (USDT), a stablecoin that's pegged to the dollar. You'd and then exist able to use Tether to buy other currencies. You couldn't simply deposit that $200 and look for the right fourth dimension to invest information technology. Other exchanges let you deposit money and then choose how and when you want to spend information technology.

Not for new traders

If y'all're new to cryptocurrency, KuCoin's site is non easy to use. The Fast Buy role didn't piece of work at all when I tried information technology, and the peer-to-peer trading options were but open to people who'd completed the KYC verification procedure. That said, I did get quick responses from the live back up chat.

KuCoin has some educational resources, only I'd similar to see a lot more, especially given the number of coins yous can purchase. At that place is some data bachelor on new coins, but not a lot, so you'll need to exercise your research elsewhere.

How KuCoin works

KuCoin lets you buy, sell, and store a wide range of cryptocurrencies. It has a web interface as well as a popular mobile cryptocurrency app. You lot can buy KuCoin'southward native token (KCS) to reduce fees and earn rewards.

The account verification process is optional, then people tin merchandise crypto with just an email address. Still, as discussed above, if you want to use its advanced features, yous'll need to verify your account. And Americans tin can't do this due to U.Due south. crypto regulations.

KuCoin offers both custodial and noncustodial services. That ways you can either store your crypto assets directly on the KuCoin exchange, or connect a 3rd-party wallet directly and trade from in that location. This is a swell selection for those who prefer to keep control of their crypto.

KuCoin also offers some less common features, such every bit trading bots, leverage, and margin.

Fees overview

You lot can reduce the fees you pay on KuCoin by trading more or holding at least 1,000 KCS. The maker/taker fee starts at 0.i% and gets lower as you level up. Your fees will be reduced farther if y'all opt to pay in KCS.

Even the highest fee of 0.1% is lower than you'd get at many major exchanges. Nonetheless, you as well need to factor in the eolith and withdrawal fees.

KuCoin says it is free to brand deposits. That'southward true if you're depositing crypto, but you'll need to pay to put fiat (traditional) money into your account. KuCoin has connected with several third-party services, and it calculates the best deal depending on how much you deposit and how you lot desire to pay. For case, to convert U.S. dollars into USDT, the fees can be anything from i% to 3% by bill of fare. The fee with Google Pay was around $15 for deposits of less than $500 at the time of this writing.

Withdrawal fees vary by cryptocurrency. Here's what you'll pay to withdraw some of the popular coins:

Cryptocurrency	KuCoin withdrawal fee	KuCoin minimum withdrawal
Bitcoin (BTC)	0.0005 BTC	0.001 BTC
Ethereum (ETH)	0.004 ETH	0.01 ETH
Tether (USDT)	1 USDT / 10 USDT *	1 USDT / 0 USDT *
Cardano (ADA)	1 ADA	2 ADA
XRP (XRP)	0.1 XRP	twenty.1 XRP

* Dependent on network. Information source: KuCoin.com

Cryptocurrency choice

KuCoin has over 750 currency pairs (ii coins that are measured against one another) and more than than 380 currencies. This wide range of cryptocurrencies includes popular coins similar Bitcoin and Ethereum -- and is one reason for KuCoin'south popularity. In fact, giving people access to less mainstream currencies was one of the reasons for founding the company.

Lesser-known coins are riskier than pop ones, all the same, and so it's more of import than ever to understand what yous are buying. Look at who the management squad is, what problem the coin is trying to solve, and what other coins are already operating in that space.

Here are the peak 20 coins bachelor on KuCoin by market capitalization at the fourth dimension of this writing:

Bitcoin (BTC)
Ethereum (ETH)
Tether (USDT)
Binance Coin (BNB)
Cardano (ADA)
XRP (XRP)
USD Coin (USDC)
Dogecoin (DOGE)
Polkadot (DOT)
Uniswap (UNI)

Bitcoin Cash (BCH)
Litecoin (LTC)
Chainlink (LINK)
Polygon (MATIC)
Theta (THETA)
Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC)
Stellar (XLM)
Internet Estimator (ICP)
Ethereum Classic (ETC)
Filecoin (FIL)

Is your cryptocurrency safe with KuCoin?

KuCoin has partnered with a company called Onchain Custodian to secure the crypto assets stored on its exchange. That includes insurance from Lockton confronting crimes such as hacking. It likewise has a bug bounty program to encourage upstanding hackers to written report any weaknesses in the system.

KuCoin says information technology stores client avails offline in cold storage (which makes it harder to hack). But it doesn't say what percentage is kept offline. It needs to keep some funds online in hot wallets then customers tin can make withdrawals and trades, simply it would be useful to know what percentage is kept where.

Some KuCoin hot wallets were hacked at the finish of last year, and the losses were fully covered by insurance. KuCoin was as well quick to take action and was transparent nearly what happened.

KuCoin also has splendid user-level protection. The site encourages users to set ii-factor authentication and an additional password for trading. Yous can as well set safety phrases that will appear in any emails from KuCoin to help protect y'all from phishing attacks.

2 notes of caution: Starting time, it's non clear whether the insurance policy would cover your assets against company failure. If your bank fails, FDIC insurance volition ordinarily kicking in to cover up to $250,000 of losses. This is not the instance with cryptocurrency exchanges.

Second, if you lot live in the U.Due south. in that location are additional risks in using an unregulated exchange. Regime are clamping down on U.S. citizens using unlicensed services to prevent money laundering and tax evasion. You lot risk having your business relationship frozen and not beingness able to admission your crypto if y'all employ an unregulated exchange.

KuCoin is correct for you if:

You alive outside the U.Southward. and want to buy new or less popular cryptocurrencies.
You lot're an experienced cryptocurrency trader who wants access to advanced features.
You desire to earn interest on your crypto and sympathize the risks involved.