KuCoin is a Hong Kong-based cryptocurrency exchange that’s been gaining popularity since its launch in 2017. The platform offers access to hundreds of tokens and the ability to trade futures products and use margins. The exchange also boasts relatively low fees, making it an attractive choice for cryptocurrency traders.
The exchange has been steadily adding new tokens since its inception, with a current total of more than 400 listed coins and tokens available for trading purposes. It also offers access to futures products, which can appeal to experienced traders looking to make more involved crypto trades. And although it doesn’t have its margin trading platform, it does offer margin trading when using a forex broker that supports such services through the KuCoin platform.
KuCoin was designed for crypto investors, though U.S. investors will have a more challenging time using it than those in other countries might have. These issues may go a long way toward explaining why KuCoin has just 1 million daily traders, compared with some of its competitors with 10x more volume.
Some things make KuCoin appealing from a U.S.-based crypto investor perspective. The company has among the lowest fees in the industry, a 0.1% fee for buying and selling and a 0.01% fee for withdrawals (plus a 10-cent processing fee). There’s no minimum trade amount, while most exchanges require at least $10 per trade or have higher fees for small-scale investors.
Kucoin Overview
- KuCoin is a cryptocurrency exchange that allows you to trade more than 500 currencies.
- It’s based in Hong Kong and was founded in 2017; it has quickly grown to become one of the largest exchanges for trading altcoins.
- KuCoin has many of the same features as other cryptocurrency exchanges, including a maker-taker model and high liquidity.
- Traders can now easily convert their KCS USTD (KuCoin Shares to Tether) efficiently without the need to go through multiple steps or worry about the security of their funds.
- What sets it apart from other exchanges is the Trading Bot that can run trades automatically, the staking feature that offers you additional coins for holding KuCoin Shares (KCS), and the ability to trade crypto futures.
- There are also no deposit or withdrawal fees; however, costs are associated with trading coins on KuCoin.
- You can earn additional benefits by holding KCS coin in your account. It includes discounts on trading fees and bonuses for selected projects on KuCoin’s platform.
The most popular cryptocurrencies on KuCoin include Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash, Solana, Polkadot, Polygon, Cosmos, Chainlink, and Decentraland. As of January 2018, these coins have an average market cap of USD 3.1 billion (according to CoinMarketCap).
Kucoin Trading Costs
KuCoin uses a tiered system for trading fees. The exchange has a maker-taker fee model: if you’re a “maker” (someone who adds liquidity to the exchange by placing orders that will execute immediately), your fees are lower. You pay more if you place a “taker” order (a charge immediately implemented in the exchange without adding liquidity).
The taker fee is 0.20% of the total trade amount, and the maker fee is 0.10%. There’s also an additional discount on trading fees if the volume of your last 30 days is over 500 BTC.
Unlike many exchanges, KuCoin doesn’t have a flat fee for each transaction; instead, they charge a variable fee depending on how much you trade. It seems a better system as it encourages users to change more significant amounts in one go instead of making multiple transactions. This method can be costly on other exchanges with fixed transaction fees. However, KuCoin does not offer discounts to frequent traders, so if you make small trades frequently, it can become expensive to use this exchange.
Automated Support
KuCoin also offers a trading bot that you can set to execute your trades. The trading bot is part of the KuCoin ecosystem, which includes the KCS token (KuCoin Shares), a token that pays users a share of the fees earned on the exchange, and a referral program where users get 20% of expenses made by those they’ve referred.
The trading bot is easy to gain passive income with cryptocurrency as it executes trades according to your specifications. It does this by investing in specific coins and then rebalancing your holdings when necessary. It also allows for automatic coin purchases once a day at market value, enabling you to “dollar-cost average” into positions so that you don’t lose out if a coin’s price drops suddenly.
How To Register in KuCoin
Opening an exchange account can be a confusing process, but it’s made much easier because you don’t need to go through a lengthy verification process to use the platform. You can set up most accounts in as little as five minutes without faxing documents or jumping through hoops. Additionally, you will get a free Tether USDT token when you register for KuCoin.
To get started, you must create a username and password, verify your email address, and then set up two-factor authentication. Plenty of tutorials on the Bitpanda website walk you through every step of the process.