Would you like to buy or sell cryptos but aren’t sure of the exchange platform’s safety and reliability? Well, if you have looked at different lists of most popular crypto exchanges today, chances are KuCoin has been a prominent feature. And we believe that this huge popularity can, to a large extent, be attributed to its wide global reach, massive client base, super-low trading fees, and commissions as well as its support for a considerably high number of coins.
If you still aren’t sure about registering with KuCoin or transacting cryptocurrencies on the exchange, we advise that you read on. This comprehensive KuCoin review will help you understand such aspects of KuCoin as supported currencies, and trading pairs, trading costs, level of customer support, security, and everything else we feel is important in helping inform your decisions.
We start by gaining a deeper understanding of the exchange platform.
What is Kucoin?
First off, it is important to appreciate that KuCoin is a pure crypto-to-crypto exchange. You, therefore, can only engage in cryptocurrency transactions only – from deposit to withdrawal. It started in late 2017 as an online marketplace for leading cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum but currently supports virtually every other popular crypto, including the ERC 20 tokens.
How does KuCoin work?
Like we mentioned earlier, KuCoin is a pure crypto-to-crypto exchange and will, therefore, not process fiat payments. The upside of this is that KuCoin lives true to the blockchain and crypto industry’s mission of anonymity through anonymous transactions. On the flip side, however, it makes entry into the crypto space relatively harder for newbies. Since KuCoin won’t process fiat deposits, you will need to first engage a fiat-to-crypto exchange like Coinbase or Kraken, exchange it for your preferred crypto and withdraw them into your crypto wallet before redepositing the newly acquired cryptos in the KuCoin platform.
You will agree that this entire process is rather tedious. The fact most of this fiat to crypto exchanges where you will need first to convert the cash into crypto requires that you verify your trader account defeats KuCoin’s push for customer data protection.
Who can trade on KuCoin?
What we liked most about KuCoin is its diversity. It accepts memberships from residents of 200+ countries and territories across the world. KuCoin, however, doesn’t process membership requests from U.S residents.
Registering an account with KuCoin is relatively easy and starts with accepting the exchange’s terms and conditions. You are then directed to the signup page that only requires you to fill in a valid email address and password. Unlike most other exchanges that ask for such personal details as your phone number, you only need to verify your email when registering for a trade account with KuCoin.
Cryptocurrencies supported on KuCoin
Just like in the number of countries supported by KuCoin, we were equally impressed by the sheer number of cryptocurrencies and crypto trading pairs that you can transact with here. Their list of supported cryptos extends well beyond popular cryptos like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and LiteCoin to cover the obscure ERC 20 tokens as well as a host of other little known cryptos.
What we particularly like about such a vast number of cryptocurrencies and trading pairs is the fact that you never run out of trading or investment choice. The huge number of cryptos and crypto pairs also presents long-term investors with a real chance of stretching their portfolio. On the flip side, however, we are concerned that it might be impossible to adequately vet the legitimacy and sustainability of most of the listed digital coins. This exposes KuCpoin investors to massive losses should a listed coin turn out to be a scam.
How to trade on KuCoin
KuCoin also has one of the most straightforward and easy “buying and selling processes.” And it all starts with registering for a crypto trader account on the platform. Upon confirming the validity of the email address, you are free to access the KuCoin markets and start buying or selling.
A few points, however, stand out about KuCoin’s crypto market. First, it gives you the option of choosing between 4 to 8 decimal prices on the order book. It also is quite simplistic and easy to interact with as it only features the order book on the left, the price of your preferred trading pair on the right, and the buy and sell buttons at the bottom. You also don’t have to worry about the order book as the buy and sell options always present you with the best price option for your preferred trades, which is more often than not the price of the last order.
KuCoin trading fees and commissions
We also have already mentioned that the KuCoin trading fees are one of the factors that drew us to the exchange. It, for instance, is free to deposit cryptos into the KuCoin exchange. Transactions charges are set at a flat rate of 0.10% – where KuCoin Share (the native token on the KuCoin exchange holders get to enjoy up to 30% in discounts. Withdrawal fees, on the other hand, vary from one coin to another where NEO Coin withdrawals are free while BTC and ETH carry a fixed rate charge of 0.0005% and 0.01%, respectively.
Note: How much discount you receive depends on how many KuCoin Share coins you have by the end of the day. For every 1,000 KCS you hold, you will receive a 1% transaction fee discount with maximum discount currently set at 30% for individuals with 30,000 KCS coins and above.
Deposit and withdrawal
By virtue of being pure crypto to crypto exchange, KuCoin will only process crypto to crypto transactions. If you are new to the crypto scene, you will need to first convert the cash at hand to your preferred crypto on such exchanges as Coinbase – it supports fiat to crypto exchanges.
Security and digital assets protection
We start by noting that KuCoin has never been hacked, and this in itself is enough proof that they have put in place adequate security measures around their client funds and their exchange systems.
KuCoin attributes its success in keeping their client’s crypto assets safe to two key factors. First, KuCoin claims that it collects minimal personal information regarding their clients. Just enough to keep their clients safe and little enough to not aid hackers in compromising their security. Secondly, even though the exchange doesn’t give out free crypto wallets, KuCoins has still invested heavily in cold storages where most of the client crypto deposits are held, safely away from hackers.
Regulation and reputation
KuCoin prides itself on being one of the most popular unregulated exchanges. It is a champion of self-regulation within the crypto world and will therefore not submit to the conventional finance regulatory agencies like U.K’s FCA or Australia’s ASIC.
KuCoin customer support
KuCoin’s exemplary customer support starts with the comprehensive FAQs page on their website. You can also easily access the support team via the live chat on the KuCoin website.
Additionally, there exist several other ways in which you can access this support team, including opening a ticket on the website, via email, or by following the different KuCoin social media pages.
We, however, weren’t impressed with the fact that this customer support team takes forever to answer live chat and email queries. We feel that this goes against their claim of running the “exchange of choice” for the global crypto community.
Everything else you need to know about KuCoin
☑️ Share in the company profits:
We like the fact that KuCoin presents you with more than one income generating streams. Here, you don’t stand to make profits from just trades, but the company will also share with you 50% of their profits when you invest in the KuCoin Share coins. Moreover, you also get to earn more rewards if you stake your KCS coins with the exchange.
☑️ Margin trades:
KuCoin has also, though conservatively, embraced margin trading where crypto traders are treated to leverages of up to 10X their stated amounts. Additionally, KuCoin supports contract trading where contracts attract leverages of up to 20X.
☑️ KuCoin mobile app:
In appreciating KuCoin’s uptake of advanced technologies, we point to their feature-rich KuCoin app that is available in both android and iOS versions. These apps are easy to use and give KuCoin clients access to all the features contained on the KuCoin desktop dashboard.
Verdict: Is KuCoin a safe and reliable crypto exchange?
The fact that it was launched in late 2017 hasn’t stopped KuCoin from going on to become one of the most popular crypto exchanges around today. And having gone through the company website and tested out some of its key features like the buy/sell process and customer support, we are satisfied with such aspects of their operations as the competitive fees.
We especially are appreciative of the fact that KuCoin has never been hacked and its commitment to securing its client’s personal information both by not collecting sensitive information and keeping whatever little they have safe. And it is on the basis of this that we consider KuCoin safe and reliable crypto to crypto exchange. You might, however, want to be a little patient with their customer support team.
