KuCoin scores 3.8 out of 5 on our six-dimension scorecard as of September 2026, competitive on asset coverage, derivatives and security with a 2020 theft that every user was made whole from, andKuCoin scores 3.8 out of 5 on our six-dimension scorecard as of September 2026, competitive on asset coverage, derivatives and security with a 2020 theft that every user was made whole from, and
KuCoin Review 2026: 3.8 Out of 5, Three Dates the Web Gets Wrong, and a MiCA Licence It Cannot Use Yet
KuCoin scores 3.8 out of 5 on our six-dimension scorecard as of September 2026, competitive on asset coverage, derivatives and security with a 2020 theft that every user was made whole from, and behind on entry-tier fees, fiat routes and support; it suits altcoin traders and bot-driven strategies outside the United States and the EEA, and it is the wrong pick for US residents, who are barred by court order, for EEA residents, whose licensed KuCoin entity is not yet permitted to open, and for makers who want 0% from the first trade.
Key Takeaways
- KuCoin scores 3.8 out of 5 overall, with 4.0 on asset coverage, derivatives and security and custody, and 3.5 on fees, deposits and withdrawals and customer support.
- Spot fees are 0.10% maker and 0.10% taker at VIP 0, or 0.08% paid in KCS, and perpetuals are 0.02% maker and 0.06% taker, so $50,000 of monthly spot taker volume costs $600 a year against $300 at MEXC's 0.05% standard rate.
- KuCoin's operator pleaded guilty in the United States on 27 January 2025 with penalties above $297 million and a two-year exit, and a CFTC consent order on 30 March 2026 bars US users unless it registers as a foreign board of trade.
- KuCoin EU received a MiCA authorisation from Austria's FMA on 27 November 2025, and as of the FMA's notice of 18 May 2026 it is still not permitted to commence business.
- More than $280 million was stolen from KuCoin hot wallets in September 2020, 84% was recovered by November 2020 and the rest was covered by its insurance fund, so no user lost money.
- CoinGecko tracked 840 coins on KuCoin and counted 107 new spot listings and 198 new perpetuals between January and July 2026, 121 of them tokenized stock or index contracts rather than crypto tokens.
Which Three KuCoin Dates Does the Web Get Wrong?
Most KuCoin reviews on the web carry at least one wrong date, and the three that matter are these: identity verification became mandatory in August 2023 according to the US Department of Justice, not in 2026; the US guilty plea was on 27 January 2025, not in 2023; and the Austrian MiCA licence dated 27 November 2025 does not yet allow KuCoin EU to open for business, as of the regulator's notice of 18 May 2026.
The dates matter because they change who can use the platform.
A US resident cannot use KuCoin by court order, an EEA resident has a licensed KuCoin entity that is not allowed to trade yet, and everyone else is reading a review of a large altcoin venue with a fee schedule at the market norm and a bot suite that is the best reason to open an account.
The rest of this review scores the platform dimension by dimension and dates every number, including the three above.
How We Scored KuCoin
This review scores KuCoin from 0 to 5 on six equally weighted dimensions: fees and costs, asset coverage, derivatives, security and custody, deposits and withdrawals, and customer support.
Every figure comes from KuCoin's own fee announcements, help centre, reserve reporting or terms, from a regulator, from CoinGecko exchange data or research, or from an established news organisation, and each carries a retrieval date.
KuCoin's public VIP fee page is rendered in the browser and returns nothing to a fetch, so its fee figures come from its own announcements of 19 March and 30 April 2026 and from independent trackers that converge on the same VIP 0 rates.
Regional availability and regulatory standing are disclosed but never scored, because a platform is either usable where you live or it is not.
MEXC operates a competing exchange, and the full scoring rules, source hierarchy and conflict-of-interest policy are published in our exchange review methodology.
The support score is based on published channels only; our timed-ticket test for this platform is scheduled for the next review cycle.
KuCoin Scorecard 2026: Six Scores and One Overall Figure
KuCoin earns 3.8 out of 5 overall, with 4.0 on asset coverage, derivatives and security and custody, and 3.5 on fees and costs, deposits and withdrawals and customer support, a profile built for altcoin and bot traders rather than for makers or for anyone in a market it has left.
Dimension | Score (out of 5) | What we measured | Verified against |
Fees and costs | 3.5 | 0.10% maker and 0.10% taker on spot at VIP 0, 0.08% paid in KCS, 0.02% maker and 0.06% taker on perpetuals, spot maker at 0% only from VIP 8 and futures maker at 0% only from VIP 9 after the 2026 schedule changes | Fee announcements of 19 March and 30 April 2026 and independent trackers |
Asset coverage | 4 | 840 coins tracked on CoinGecko, 107 new spot listings and 198 new perpetuals between January and July 2026, 121 of the perpetuals tokenized stock or index contracts, a 28-to-32-day withdrawal window after delisting in our listing disclosure index | CoinGecko exchange page and KuCoin Exchange Report, our listing disclosure index |
Derivatives | 4 | Perpetuals at 0.02% maker and 0.06% taker, the deepest bot suite in this series with spot grid, infinity grid, DCA and futures grid, tokenized stock and index perpetuals since 13 March 2026, average daily perpetual volume of $3.07 billion against $1.99 billion on spot in the first half of 2026 | Fee announcements, product pages, CoinGecko KuCoin Exchange Report |
Security and custody | 4 | September 2020 theft above $280 million with 84% recovered by November 2020 and the rest covered by the insurance fund, self-reported 44 months of proof of reserves with 14 Hacken audits, SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001 certifications | Mainstream reporting, KuCoin figures relayed in CoinGecko's report |
Deposits and withdrawals | 3.5 | Card purchases, P2P and third-party channels, mandatory identity verification since August 2023, limits set per verification level and shown inside the account | Help centre, US Department of Justice findings |
Customer support | 3.5 | Help centre and ticket channels; timed ticket test not yet run | Platform support pages |
Overall | 3.8 | Average of the six dimensions | Methodology page |
What Does KuCoin Charge in Fees?
Fees and costs: 3.5 out of 5.
KuCoin's VIP 0 schedule is 0.10% maker and 0.10% taker on spot, falling to 0.08% when fees are paid in KCS, and 0.02% maker and 0.06% taker on perpetuals, and its 2026 announcements removed negative maker fees and set spot maker fees to 0% only from VIP 8 and futures maker fees to 0% only from VIP 9, so the ladder now rewards very high volume rather than rebating it.
The KCS discount closes a fifth of the gap on the maker side and two-fifths on the taker side against a zero-maker venue.
Our methodology prices the same monthly volume on every platform, so the table below runs three volumes as spot taker orders for a full year and adds the perpetual line.
Scenario | KuCoin at VIP 0 | KuCoin paying fees in KCS | MEXC at the standard tier |
$1,000 of monthly spot taker volume | $12 a year at 0.10% | $9.60 a year at 0.08% | $6 a year at 0.05%; $4.80 with the MX deduction |
$50,000 of monthly spot taker volume | $600 a year | $480 a year | $300 a year; $240 with the MX deduction |
$500,000 of monthly spot taker volume | $6,000 a year | $4,800 a year | $3,000 a year; $2,400 with the MX deduction |
$300,000 of monthly perpetual notional as taker | $2,160 a year at 0.06% | $2,160 a year | $1,440 a year at 0.040%; $720 on BTCUSDT at the 0.020% Special Rate |
Annual cost at each platform's published entry or standard tier, verified as of 3 September 2026; KuCoin's VIP tiers can lower its rates; MEXC's Special Rate applies to selected contracts and its API futures schedule overrides its discounts; spreads, funding and network fees are excluded.
The score is 3.5 rather than 3.0 because 0.10% on both sides is the market norm for a full-service offshore venue and the KCS discount is real, and rather than 4.0 because the public fee page cannot be read without a browser session and the maker rebates that once distinguished the schedule are gone.
How Broad Is KuCoin's Asset Coverage?
Asset coverage: 4.0 out of 5.
CoinGecko tracked 840 coins on KuCoin in early September 2026, its KuCoin Exchange Report counted 107 new spot listings and 198 new perpetuals between January and July 2026 with 121 of those perpetuals being tokenized stock or index contracts, and KuCoin's own figure of 1,600 or more listed assets uses a different counting method and is not comparable to a tracked count.
We do not score platforms on self-reported coin totals, and the tracked CoinGecko number is the one we cite.
The same report shows where KuCoin's book has moved: BTC and ETH fell from 74.3% to 45.2% of volume among its top 18 spot pairs, so the exchange is broadening within a shorter list rather than lengthening the list.
Roughly 77 new crypto perpetuals in seven months is about 11 a month, which is a curated pace rather than a daily one.
On the way out, our listing disclosure index records a 28-to-32-day withdrawal window after a KuCoin delisting, one of the shortest in the index, which is the number an altcoin holder who leaves small positions for months should write down.
CoinGecko's KuCoin Exchange Report, updated 5 August 2026, is the source for the listing counts above.
How Strong Is KuCoin for Derivatives and Bots?
Derivatives: 4.0 out of 5.
KuCoin prices perpetuals at 0.02% maker and 0.06% taker at VIP 0, runs the deepest trading bot suite in this series across spot grid, infinity grid, DCA and futures grid, added tokenized stock and index perpetuals on 13 March 2026, and carried average daily perpetual volume of $3.07 billion against $1.99 billion on spot in the first half of 2026, so derivatives carry the platform and bots are the product it is known for.
The bots are the strongest reason to open a KuCoin account, and a trader whose whole strategy runs on automation should weigh that before any fee table.
The half point KuCoin does not earn is on price and disclosure: 0.06% taker sits above the 0.040% to 0.055% band its offshore peers publish, the maker rebate is gone, and KuCoin does not publish a comparable perpetual contract count.
A leverage number without its position band is marketing rather than a specification, and we do not quote a single maximum figure for KuCoin.
The tokenized stock and index perpetuals are price contracts without share ownership, which is a different product from a real-share stock account.
Is KuCoin Safe? Security, Custody and the 2020 Theft
Security and custody: 4.0 out of 5.
KuCoin survived a theft of more than $280 million from its hot wallets in September 2020, recovered 84% of the funds by November 2020 through on-chain tracing, contract upgrades and legal action, covered the remainder from its insurance fund so that no user lost money, and reports 44 consecutive months of proof of reserves with 14 Hacken audits, SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001 certifications, figures that CoinGecko's report notes were provided by KuCoin.
CoinDesk reported the September 2020 theft, and Cointelegraph reported the 84% recovery by 11 November 2020.
Our rule for this dimension is consistent across the series: an incident more than two years ago that ended with every user made whole, on a platform that reports reserves monthly, scores 4.0.
The half point above that would need the reserve reports and audit count confirmed on an open page rather than relayed as self-reported figures, which is a disclosure gap rather than a custody one.
The US Department of Justice found that KuCoin did not require identifying information from customers until at least July 2023 and imposed mandatory verification in August 2023, which is the date to use for the KYC question.
Two-factor authentication, withdrawal whitelists and anti-phishing codes are all available and should all be switched on before an account holds a balance.
For the full incident record across the industry, our crypto exchange hacks database lists 81 breaches with their reimbursement outcomes.
How Easy Are Deposits and Withdrawals on KuCoin?
Deposits and withdrawals: 3.5 out of 5.
KuCoin offers card purchases, P2P and third-party payment channels rather than first-party bank rails, has required identity verification since August 2023, and sets withdrawal limits per verification level inside the account, which is a workable USDT-first setup rather than a fiat on-ramp.
Neither KuCoin nor most of its offshore peers is a bank, and a reader whose money starts in a bank account will find a licensed local venue the easier first step.
Third-party review sites carry a large volume of complaints about frozen accounts and withdrawal reviews, and our methodology does not count aggregate star ratings, so those complaints are noted here rather than scored, with the usual rule that a small test withdrawal comes before moving size.
What Is KuCoin Customer Support Like?
Customer support: 3.5 out of 5.
KuCoin publishes a help centre and ticket channels, and we have capped the score below 4.0 until our own timed ticket test runs, because a published channel is a promise and a timed reply is a measurement.
Our rule is one non-urgent ticket per platform per review cycle, timed from submission to a reply that answers the question, and KuCoin's test is scheduled for the next cycle.
Third-party reviews describe slow responses during withdrawal disputes, and our methodology does not count aggregate star ratings, so those reports are noted here rather than scored.
Where Is KuCoin Available, and What Do the US and EU Orders Say?
KuCoin is barred from serving US users by a CFTC consent order unless it registers as a foreign board of trade, its Austrian entity holds a MiCA authorisation it is not yet permitted to trade on, its global platform excludes France and the Netherlands, and MEXC does not onboard residents of the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, the EEA, Singapore or Hong Kong, so US and EEA readers should use a locally registered platform instead of either.
KuCoin
On 27 January 2025 Peken Global Limited, KuCoin's operator, pleaded guilty to operating an unlicensed money transmitting business, agreed to penalties above $297 million, agreed that KuCoin would exit the US market for at least two years, and removed two founders from management, with prosecutors citing about 1.5 million US users.
On 30 March 2026 the CFTC announced a consent order that permanently enjoins Peken Global from the charged conduct, bars US participants from the KuCoin platform unless it registers as a foreign board of trade, and imposes a $500,000 civil penalty.
In the EEA the position is unusual: the Austrian Financial Market Authority granted KuCoin EU Exchange GmbH a MiCA authorisation on 27 November 2025, barred it from new business on 19 February 2026 after key anti-money-laundering and sanctions roles fell vacant, lifted that ban on 18 May 2026, and states that commencement of business remains inadmissible under a separate decision until governance conditions are met.
The FMA's notice of 18 May 2026 is the source for every date in that sentence.
KuCoin also reports registrations with Australia's AUSTRAC and India's Financial Intelligence Unit, figures relayed as self-reported in CoinGecko's report.
MEXC
MEXC does not serve residents of the United States or the United Kingdom, where MEXC Global Ltd has been on the FCA Warning List since 22 March 2024, and readers there should use a platform licensed by their local regulator.
As of 17 September 2026, MEXC is not authorised under the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation and appears on ESMA's register of non-compliant entities following a September 2025 decision by the Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets; readers in the EU and EEA should treat a MiCA-authorised platform as the appropriate option.
MEXC's user agreement also prohibits Canada, Singapore, Hong Kong and mainland China, and the full list is in our restricted countries guide.
KuCoin Benefits and Limitations
Benefits
- The deepest trading bot suite in this series, with spot grid, infinity grid, DCA and futures grid strategies and a long track record.
- A tested incident record: the 2020 theft was recovered and covered without user losses.
- 840 tracked coins with a pipeline that added 107 spot listings in seven months, plus tokenized stock and index perpetuals since March 2026.
- A MiCA authorisation on paper for its Austrian entity, which becomes a licensed EEA option if the FMA clears it to open.
Limitations
- A VIP 0 schedule of 0.10% on both sides of spot and 0.06% taker on perpetuals, with maker rebates removed in 2026.
- A court-ordered US exit and an EU licence that is not yet permitted to operate.
- Reserve reports and audit counts relayed as self-reported figures rather than confirmed on an open page.
- A 28-to-32-day withdrawal window after a delisting, one of the shortest in our index, and third-party routes rather than first-party bank rails.
Who KuCoin Is For, and Who Should Look Elsewhere
KuCoin is the right pick for traders outside the United States and the EEA whose strategy runs on bots or who want a broad altcoin shelf with a tested incident record, and it is the wrong pick for US and EEA residents, for makers who want 0% from the first trade, and for holders who leave small positions untouched for months.
KuCoin is the right pick if:
- Your strategy runs on grid, DCA or futures bots and you want the deepest toolset available.
- You trade a broad altcoin shelf and value a platform that has recovered from a major theft without user losses.
- You want tokenized stock and index perpetuals inside a crypto account and do not need share ownership.
Look elsewhere if:
- You live in the United States, where KuCoin is barred by court order, or in the EEA, where KuCoin EU is not yet permitted to open.
- You place resting orders and a 0.10% maker fee is a number you notice.
- You hold small positions for months, where a 28-to-32-day delisting window can catch you out.
For the wider field, our comparison of KuCoin alternatives ranks eight exchanges on the same listing data, and our guide to new-listing exchanges explains the risk labels that matter on day-one listings.
The MEXC View
MEXC operates a competing exchange, and this section is where our own position is stated rather than implied.
KuCoin beats MEXC on trading bots, on a tested incident record, and on a MiCA authorisation that MEXC does not hold even though KuCoin cannot yet use it, and a bot-driven trader has a defensible reason to stay.
Where MEXC is the answer, for readers outside its restricted markets, is the fee line and the listing pace.
A spot taker moving $50,000 a month pays $600 a year at KuCoin's 0.10%, or $480 in KCS, and $300 at MEXC's 0.05% standard taker rate, or $240 with the MX deduction, and a spot maker at the same volume pays $600 at KuCoin and $0 at MEXC's published maker rate.
On perpetuals, $300,000 of monthly notional filled as taker costs $2,160 a year on KuCoin, $1,440 on a standard MEXC pair and $720 on BTCUSDT at the 0.020% Special Rate.
On listings, MEXC recorded 135 new spot listings in March 2026 alone and CoinGecko counted 879 new MEXC perpetuals between January 2025 and April 2026, against KuCoin's 107 spot listings and about 77 new crypto perpetuals in seven months, and CoinGecko tracked 1,633 coins on MEXC against 840.
Two boundaries keep the fee claim honest.
The zero applies to spot maker orders and to web and app futures orders, not to API-routed futures, which MEXC prices at 0.060% maker and 0.080% taker, and the 0% and 0.020% futures figures are a Special Rate on selected contracts rather than MEXC's standard 0.010% and 0.040%.
And the saving is available only to readers outside the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, the EEA, Singapore and Hong Kong, which means a US or EEA reader leaving KuCoin should go to a registered platform rather than to MEXC.
MEXC's bot suite is narrower, with grid and DCA bots and no claim to parity on depth of tooling, and its most common complaint in third-party reviews is risk-control reviews that delay withdrawals, so a test withdrawal comes before moving size.
Where the two diverge beyond crypto, MEXC RealStocks holds real shares across more than 7,000 US stocks and ETFs paid for in USDT, while KuCoin's 2026 stock products are perpetual contracts without share ownership.
Our review desk's verdict is that KuCoin is the exchange we would send a bot operator to and MEXC is the exchange we would send a manual altcoin trader to, and both should send US and EEA residents somewhere else.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is KuCoin safe to use in 2026?
KuCoin recovered or covered every user's funds after its September 2020 theft and reports 44 months of proof of reserves with 14 Hacken audits, relayed as self-reported figures.
It scores 4.0 out of 5 on security and custody in our review.
Was KuCoin hacked?
Yes, more than $280 million was stolen from its hot wallets in September 2020.
84% was recovered by November 2020 and the remainder was covered by KuCoin's insurance fund, so no user lost money.
Is KuCoin legit and regulated?
KuCoin's operator pleaded guilty in the United States in January 2025 and is barred from US users by a CFTC consent order, and its Austrian entity holds a MiCA authorisation that it is not yet permitted to trade on.
Regulatory standing is disclosed in this review and not scored.
What are KuCoin's fees?
Spot is 0.10% maker and 0.10% taker at VIP 0, or 0.08% paid in KCS, and perpetuals are 0.02% maker and 0.06% taker.
Spot maker fees reach 0% from VIP 8 and futures maker fees from VIP 9 after the 2026 changes.
Does KuCoin require KYC?
Yes, KuCoin has required identity verification since August 2023 according to the US Department of Justice.
Withdrawal limits are set per verification level and shown inside the account.
Can I use KuCoin in the US or the EU?
No in the United States, by court order, and not yet in the EEA, where KuCoin EU holds a MiCA authorisation dated 27 November 2025 but is not permitted to commence business as of the FMA's notice of 18 May 2026.
MEXC does not serve either market, and residents should use a locally registered platform.
How does KuCoin compare with MEXC?
KuCoin leads on bots and on a tested incident record, while MEXC publishes 0% maker and 0.05% taker on spot and listed 135 new spot pairs in March 2026 alone.
Readers outside the US, UK, Canada, EEA, Singapore and Hong Kong can compare the full fee stack across platforms in our exchange fee comparison.
Risk and Compliance Notice
Trading cryptocurrencies involves substantial risk, and derivatives, bots and leveraged products can produce losses greater than the amount deposited.
New listings carry a high failure rate, and tokenized stock products and stock futures do not confer direct shareholder rights.
Nothing on this page is financial, investment, legal or tax advice.
MEXC operates a competing exchange; no platform can buy a score or a ranking position on MEXC Learn.
MEXC is not available in every jurisdiction and is not authorised under the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation; readers in the European Union, the European Economic Area, the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Singapore and Hong Kong should use a platform authorised by their local regulator.
Always confirm current terms on a platform's own official pages before opening an account or placing a trade.
Market Opportunity
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This article is provided by MEXC for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or investment advice. Cryptocurrency markets involve significant risk. Please conduct independent research or consult a qualified professional before making any investment decisions. The views expressed do not necessarily represent those of MEXC or its affiliates.
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