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Kucoin
TypePrivate
Founded2017; 9 years ago (2017)
FoundersChun Gan
Ke Tang
Johnny Lyu
HeadquartersSeychelles
Area served
Worldwide
Key peopleBC Wong (CEO)
ServicesCryptocurrency exchange, margin trading, margin lending, OTC
Websitekucoin.com

KuCoin is a Seychelles-based cryptocurrency exchange. It was founded in China in 2017, but was later moved to Singapore following the Chinese government's restrictions on cryptocurrency companies, and subsequently to the Seychelles.

History

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KuCoin was founded in 2017 by Chun Gan, Ke Tang and Johnny Lyu in China.[1] It raised initial funding through an initial coin offering, raising 5,500 Bitcoin, then valued at $27.5 million.[2]

In 2018, KuCoin moved its headquarters from Hong Kong to Singapore.[2] In November 2018, KuCoin raised $20 million in a Series A funding round led by IDG Capital, Matrix Partners and Neo Global Capital.[3]

In September 2020, KuCoin announced it had suffered a major security breach that saw $281 million of crypto assets stolen.[4][5] KuCoin CEO, Johnny Lyu disclosed in a statement that the hack occurred after private keys linked to crypto wallets got exposed. He added that the findings of the internal security audit report, revealed that part of Bitcoin, ERC-20, and other tokens in KuCoin's hot wallets were transferred out of the crypto exchange.[6] KuCoin offered rewards of up to $100,000 to anyone who could provide valid information regarding the hack.[7] North Korean hacker crew Lazarus Group was accused of carrying out the hack, which was dubbed the biggest cryptocurrency hack of 2020.[8] In February 2021, Johnny Lyu wrote in a blog post that it had "cooperated with exchange and project partners to recover $222 million (78%), cooperated with law enforcement and security institutions to recover $17.45 million (6%) and insurance fund covered the remaining part, about $45.55 million (16%).[5][7]

In May 2022, KuCoin raised $150 million in a Series B funding round led by Jump Crypto, giving it a valuation of $10 billion.[9][10][11] In July 2022, KuCoin received a $10 million investment from trading firm Susquehanna International Group (SIG).[12]

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Australia

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In November 2025, KuCoin registered with AUSTRAC as a digital currency exchange and began offering derivatives through an arrangement with AFSL holder Echuca Trading.[13] KuCoin had previously operated in Australia through Bitcoin Australia, in which it invested $3 million in 2018.[14]

Europe

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In November 2025, KuCoin was authorised by Austria's Financial Market Authority (FMA) as a crypto asset service provider under the European Union's Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation.[15][16] In December 2025, Frances Financial Markets Authority (AMF) listed KuCoin EU as authorised to provide crypto-asset services in France under the EU passporting regime.[17]

As of 2026, KuCoin has suspended its trading operations in Austria.[15]

Nigeria

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In July 2026, KuCoin was admitted to the Accelerated Regulatory Incubation Programme (ARIP) of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Nigeria (SEC).[18]

Thailand

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In April 2025, ERX Company Ltd., the first digital exchange supervised by the Thai Securities and Exchange Commission, partnered globally with KuCoin and launched KuCoin Thailand, effective from April 22.[19]

United States

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As of 2026, KuCoin has no operations in the United States. After the collapse of FTX in November 2022, US senator Ron Wyden sent a letter to KuCoin and other major exchanges requesting information about balance sheets. In response, KuCoin published a Merkle tree-based proof of reserves and engaged the accounting firm Mazars to produce a third-party report.[20]

In December 2023, KuCoin reached a settlement with the New York State Attorney General, agreed to pay $22 million in fines and refunds, and discontinued its trading operations in New York.[21] In March 2024, co-founders, Chun Gan and Ke Tang were indicted on charges of operating an unlicensed money transmitting business and violating anti–money laundering protocols.[21]

In January 2025, KuCoin admitted to charges of operating an unlicensed money transmitting business and agreed to pay nearly $300 million in fines and forfeitures.[21]

In March 2026, KuCoin reached a settlement with the CFTC in a case initiated during the Biden administration. Before the settlement, KuCoin had partnered with World Liberty Financial.[22] KuCoin said its listing of World Liberty-related tokens was part of its ordinary business operations, followed standard listing procedures, and was unrelated to its regulatory matters.[22]

References

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  1. ↑ Sun, Mengqi (2024-04-10). "KuCoin and Its Founders Face Criminal Charges Over Money-Laundering Violations - WSJ". WSJ. Archived from the original on 2024-04-10. Retrieved 2024-04-11.
  2. 1 2 Russell, Jon (November 14, 2018). "Another crypto exchange goes old school as KuCoin raises $20M from VCs".
  3. ↑ "Crypto platform KuCoin raises US$20m in Series A funding". The Business Times. November 15, 2018.
  4. ↑ "These are the largest cyber thefts of the past decade—and 80% of them involve Bitcoin". Fortune. Retrieved 2024-04-11.
  5. 1 2 "The real victims of mass crypto-hacks that keep happening". 2021-08-25. Retrieved 2024-04-11.
  6. ↑ Adesina, Olumide (2020-09-27). "Hackers, expose crypto wallets worth $150 million at Kucoin". Nairametrics. Retrieved 2024-04-11.
  7. 1 2 Brewster, Thomas. "North Korean Hackers Accused Of 'Biggest Cryptocurrency Theft Of 2020'—Their Heists Are Now Worth $1.75 Billion". Forbes. Retrieved 2024-04-11.
  8. ↑ Nichols, Michelle; Satter, Raphael (February 10, 2021). "U.N. experts point finger at North Korea for $281 million cyber theft, KuCoin likely victim". Reuters. Retrieved April 11, 2024.
  9. ↑ Singh, Manish (March 29, 2024). "Crypto exchange KuCoin raises funds at $10 billion valuation".
  10. ↑ "Crypto Exchange KuCoin Scores Funding at $10 Billion Valuation". Bloomberg.com. 2022-05-10. Retrieved 2024-04-10.
  11. ↑ "Crypto exchange KuCoin valued at $10 billion in latest funding round". Reuters. 2022-05-10. Archived from the original on 2022-05-10. Retrieved 2024-04-10.
  12. ↑ "Cryptocurrency based KuCoin secures $10 million investment from trading firm SIG". Financialexpress. 2022-07-21. Retrieved 2024-04-10.
  13. ↑ "Remittance Sector Register - Echuca Trading".
  14. ↑ Redrup, Yolanda (September 9, 2018). "Singapore crypto exchange KuCoin set to expand after $3m Bitcoin Australia deal". Australian Financial Review.
  15. 1 2 Nachrichten, Salzburger (February 25, 2026). "Krypto-Hub Wien - Schon 8 Anbieter in Österreich lizensiert". Salzburger Nachrichten.
  16. ↑ Meisinger, Dominik (November 28, 2025). "KuCoin EU: Kryptobörse erhält MiCAR-Lizenz in Österreich".
  17. ↑ "KuCoin EU Exchange GmbH". AMF.
  18. ↑ Balogun, Folake (July 6, 2026). "SEC clears more virtual asset service providers under ARIP".
  19. ↑ "KuCoin joins crypto fray". Bangkok Post. April 24, 2025. Retrieved May 15, 2025.
  20. ↑ Schwartz, Leo. "KuCoin CEO defends exchange amid high-yield product backlash". Fortune.
  21. 1 2 3 Voris, Bob Van; Dolmetsch, Chris (January 28, 2025). "KuCoin Pleads Guilty in Crypto Case, Agrees to Pay $300 Million". Bloomberg.
  22. 1 2 "How Prediction Markets and Crypto Firms Steamrolled a Watchdog Agency". The New York Times. 2026-05-24. ISSN 0362-4331.
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