We have talked about a lot of cryptocurrency exchanges in our website. And you must have noticed how almost every single one of the exchanges we’ve talked about is different in its own way.
The cryptocurrency exchange we’re going to talk about here is a secure and easy-to-use crypto exchange you can use for buying and selling BTC and other cryptocurrencies.
What makes it special is the fact that it has been around since 2017. And all these years, it has only been growing. With something new coming every few months and a fully-functioning 24/7 customer support, this exchange scores all the brownie points for all the right reasons.
The cryptocurrency exchange we’re talking about is none other than KuCoin. With support for 22 different fiat currencies, this exchange is one of the most professional ones out there.
But before we talk about it further, let’s take a look at everything that you would find in the blog. Feel free to skip to any section of your choosing.
- What is KuCoin?
- How to Download and Install the KuCoin App?
- How to Set up an Account on KuCoin?
- What are the Core Features of KuCoin?
- How to do Margin Trading on KuCoin?
- How to do Futures Trading on KuCoin?
- What is the OTC Trading Desk on KuCoin?
- What is the KuCoin Lending Platform?
- What are the Fees Charged on KuCoin?
And with that out of the way, let’s jump right into it!
What is KuCoin?
Based out of Seychelles, KuCoin is one of the most exceptional Digital Exchanges (DEXes) in the crypto industry. It was founded by Michael Gan and Eric Don.
The founding members have previously run projects the likes of iBox PAY and Ant Financial. So it is safe to say that they came in with a considerable amount of experience in running businesses.
Back when it was launched in 2017, the world of cryptos was quite different from the way it is right now. Back then, the Decentralized Finance (DeFi) space was still picking up and people were still learning and experimenting. Even now people are learning and experimenting but it’s a lot safer to do now than it used to be back then.
So the main objective behind the creation of KuCoin was to provide an easy-to-use and safe platform for traders all around the world to trade their digital coins. In fact, this goal of theirs led the platform to gain the nickname “The People Exchange”.
The platform offers great services related to cryptocurrencies and amazing trading pair selections. As of now, the platform has upwards of 200 cryptocurrencies and somewhere around 400 markets to boast of.
As is the case with most DeFi platforms, KuCoin has its own cryptocurrency called KuCoin Shares. The governance token for this cryptocurrency is KCS. Holding KCS coins gives you an amazing discount on the trading fees and even helps you earn more on the platform.
Its popularity can be summed up in the fact that back in January 2018, KCS was valued at more than $1.8 billion. As of now, the platform takes pride in having a huge community of over 6 million users and the high liquidity on the platform. It also boasts of a diverse collection of fiats, services, and assets supported by the platform.
Even as an absolute beginner to the world of cryptocurrencies and crypto trading markets, you’ll find it surprisingly easy to use the platform.
The platform has a simple and transparent UI that is efficient and easy to maneuver. And that is perhaps one of the reasons why the platform made it into the list of the top 10 busiest exchanges in the world. After all, the platform did pull the most crypto trading volume at one point in time.
How to Download and Install the KuCoin App?
Downloading and installing the KuCoin app is really easy.
If you have an iOS device, all you need to do is to go to the Apple App Store and search for KuCoin.
Once you find the KuCoin app, all you now need to do is click on “GET” and the app will be downloaded and installed on your device.
On the other hand, if you have an Android device, you need to go to the Google Play Store, search for KuCoin, and when you find it, install it.
How to Set up an Account on KuCoin?
The process of setting up an account on KuCoin is more or less the same for mobile and PC. Nevertheless, let’s go through each of them.
The first step is to click on the “Sign Up” button that appears on the top right corner of your screen. This remains the same in both PC as well as mobile.
Now, if you’re trying to sign up on KuCoin with your mobile, you’ll see something like the following on your screen:
On this screen, you need to select the country code of the country you belong to and then fill in your mobile number. Once done, you need to click on the button that says “Send Code”. This would send an SMS verification code to your mobile phone.
Upon receiving the SMS verification code, all you need to do is enter the verification code in the section that says “Phone Verification Code”.
You now need to set your login password and agree to the “Terms of Use”. While you might be tempted to skip through them, I would recommend you to go through the Terms of Use.
Finally, tap on the “Sign Up” button to be done with your registration. And that’s it. That’s all there is to signing up on KuCoin with your mobile.
Let us now move on to the process of signing up on KuCoin with a PC.
To start with, you would be seeing something similar to the following on your screen:
To begin with, you need to enter your email address in the section that says “Email”. Once done, you need to verify that it really is your email address that you’ve entered here. And for that, you need to click on the button that says “Send Code”. This sends an email verification code to the email address you’ve set.
Once you’ve done that, you need to check the inbox of your email address to find the email verification code that has been sent to you.
If you can’t find it in your inbox, try searching the SPAM folder. But chances that you’ll find it in the SPAM folder are slim, so try refreshing your email inbox if the email verification code hasn’t arrived yet.
Once you find the email verification code, all you need to do is enter it on the KuCoin website and set a login password for your account. Finally, read through the “Terms of Use” and if you agree to them, click on the button that calls for your agreement.
Now when you click on the “Sign Up” button, you’re done with your registration. In other words, you’ve finally set up your account on KuCoin using your PC.
What are the Core Features of KuCoin?
KuCoin has a host of features for crypto enthusiasts and regular traders alike. From being interactive to being efficient, the platform takes care of a lot of things. Owing to this, some of the features of the platform are actually on the complex side. But then there are plenty of features we can all relate to. Let’s take a look at some of the important features the platform has to offer to its users.
Perhaps the most interesting feature of the platform is the fact that it has the capability of handling millions of transactions per second (TPS).
Moving on, there’s the fact that the platform is highly interactive and user-friendly. It allows the traders to enjoy the robust trading experience that they would find on most exchanges while providing them with a contemporary design. The way the platform has been designed adds to the experience the traders have on the platform.
Used to different order types? KuCoin supports limit, stop, market, iceberg, and post-only orders. This way, you can feel free to trade the way you want to trade.
If you’re the technical type, the platform is certain to appeal to your tastes as well. With advanced charts, KuCoin gives you an exciting experience on top of in-depth understanding so that your trading strategy ends up getting better every single day. To add to the usefulness of the charts, the platform makes use of TradingView Charts that help you make better decisions without having to think too much.
To make things fairer on the platform, KuCoin has tied up with Arwen to bring non-custodial trading to the platform. The trader can opt to go for it and directly trade from their own wallet. This way, the traders have more control over the security of their tokens.
So when you opt for non-custodial trading on KuCoin, you have complete ownership of your money. That said, the responsibility of keeping it safe too is largely yours.
You can download the mnemonic phrase or private key file from the platform and save it wherever you want. To protect your coins, the blockchain itself is used as an escrow agent by Arwen so that there is no need for a third-party authority.
How to do Margin Trading on KuCoin?
Margin trading works pretty much the same way as it works in traditional markets. While this feature wasn’t available on the platform until November 2019, it has grown quite popular over the last year.
For margin trading on KuCoin, you first need to transfer the principal amount to the margin account. You would then need to borrow some funds from the Funding Market. And once you have these funds, you can start margin trading.
Now, it’s up to you to decide whether you want to buy long or sell short. But whatever you do, please remember that you need to repay your loans in the end. So try to make a profit out of it.
Traders and investors can use this feature to utilize other users’ funds to gain more capital on the platform by leveraging positions. As of now, the platform supports 15 cryptocurrencies including the likes of KCS, ETH, and BTC.
As mentioned earlier, you can use the platform’s margin trading service for short positions as well as long positions. However, you need to remember that while you can make quite a profit out of the borrowed funds, you can also suffer a huge loss.
How to do Futures Trading on KuCoin?
As of now, KuCoin Futures supports two types of futures trading with BTC: Perpetual Futures and Quarterly Delivery Futures.
Let’s talk about Perpetual Futures first. The Bitcoin mini perpetual future was made to replicate the bitcoin spot market with the addition of flexible leverage. This way, there’s no expiration date to the futures and there is close tracking of the underlying reference (which is the Price Index) using the Funding Rate Mechanism.
The XBTUSDM Futures is denominated in BTC but it is quoted in USD with the Bitcoin Spot Index being the underlying price. For those of you who don’t know what the Bitcoin Spot Index is, it is the volume-weighted average price of BTC in USD that you’ll find across six exchanges. Coinbase Pro, Kraken, Gemini, Bittrex, Liquid, and Bitstamp are the six exchanges that help determine the Bitcoin Spot Index.
Now, a thing to notice here is the fact that the calculation of profit and loss (PNL) and the margin too are denominated in BTC. The weight is rebalanced on a quarterly basis in the case of Perpetual Futures.
When the price of the BTC/USD pair rises, the traders who have bought the Futures make a profit. Likewise, the sellers make a profit if the price of the BTC/USD pair decreases.
Let us now move on to Delivery Futures. This is more of an agreement to buy or sell a certain asset or commodity at a price and time (called the delivery date) determined in advance.
If you’re into delivery Futures and if you try it on KuCoin, you would come across a swap Futures called the XBT delivery Futures. It is to be settled in a time set in advance and at a predefined price.
Similar to XBTUSDM, XBT is denominated in BTC and quoted in USD. The underlying price, even in this case, is the Bitcoin Spot Index.
So, what’s the main difference between the two?
Well, the primary difference between the two is the fact that there is no expiry date associated with perpetual Futures, while the delivery Futures comes with an expiry date.
So the delivery Futures has to be settled according to a prespecified rule to a price that has been derived from the asset involved. On the other hand, the Futures are up for trading permanently in the case of perpetual Futures.
Another difference between the two is that the delivery Futures doesn’t really have a funding mechanism. The price is ensured to be in sync with the price of the underlying asset. And that is done with the help of the delivery mechanism.
In general, when you go for Futures trading, you can go ahead and trade coins margined contracts that can provide you with up to 100X leverage.
That said, it all depends on how good you are at trading. But to make things easier, the platform has two different versions for users based on how skilled they are at Futures trading.
For those just starting out, the platform has a Lite mode. On the other hand, for those with a considerable amount of experience in Futures trading, the platform has a Pro mode.
What’s the difference between the two modes? Well, the Lite mode enables users to trade USDT-margined Ethereum and Bitcoin contracts. The Pro mode, on the other hand, allows the users to switch between ETC and BTC perpetual while going USDT-margined and BTC perpetual, BTC Quarterly 0925 and 1225 while going BTC-margined.
What is the OTC Trading Desk on KuCoin?
The OTC Trading Desk is a service KuCoin launched in July 2019. This Over-The-Counter Trading Desk allows traders to execute larger trades with highly specific prices—all without causing any fluctuation in the market price of that crypto. A thing to remember is the fact that it is compulsory for you to have your KYC done before you can start OTC trading on the platform.
That said, getting the KYC done is something not many people on the blockchain are comfortable with. There is no doubt that the KYC would strip you of the anonymity that the blockchain provides you with.
But on the other hand, it would make the platform safer for everyone. So the decision is yours to make. Will it be KYC and all the features? Or no KYC and limited features—but a certain degree of anonymity?
What is the KuCoin Lending Platform?
The KuCoin Lending Platform is a service available on the platform that allows the users to lend their cryptos to other users at certain interest rates.
As a lender, you are expected to fill in the details about the amount of cryptos you are lending as well as the daily interest rate you intend to charge. Now, you can choose any interest rate that you find interesting between 0% to 0.2%.
As far as the lending term is concerned, you can lend your cryptos to other users for 7 days, 14 days, and 28 days. However, by default, you would be lending your cryptos for 28 days.
What are the Fees Charged on KuCoin?
KuCoin charges the lowest fees in all of the prominent altcoin exchanges in the market. The structure is simple and straightforward for better understanding by the users.
To start with, let’s talk about the Spot Trading Fees. Every deal has a fixed fee of 0.1%—which is way below the global industry average. Your 30-day trading volume and KCS holdings determines if there’s going to be a drop in the spot trading fees you pay.
For Futures Trading, the fee structure is a bit different. Since the relative funding rates can be positive or negative, the USD/USDT lending rates are adjustable. Head over to your Futures Trading account to find out the rates applicable for you.
Finally, let’s talk about the Withdrawal and Deposit fees on the platform. KuCoin has the lowest withdrawal fees in the entire crypto industry. It only charges 0.0004 BTC when a user withdraws their BTC. And even this fee changes from one cryptocurrency to the other.
The deposit fee, on the other hand, is an absolute zero. Yes, you read that right. The platform doesn’t charge a single penny for depositing related transactions.
Before You Go…
KuCoin has been around for a long while as one of the best cryptocurrency exchanges in the entire crypto industry. And there are many reasons why there’s a high probability that the platform is bound to do good even in the future.
One of the reasons why KuCoin is bound to do great is the fact that it has prompt customer support. The team knows about the issues you would face while trading and focuses on that. If needed, the team doesn’t shy away from taking immediate action. And since it’s available 24/7, you best believe the team is proactive in resolving your queries.
And if you’re the kind that avoids live chats, you can always hop on to the FAQ section and find the answers to your queries yourself.
Another reason why it is bound to do great is the fact that it has about 456 trading pairs to choose from. So unless you’re trying to trade some rare cryptocurrencies, the platform is going to be suitable for you.
The features offered by KuCoin have been nothing short of exceptional and there is no doubt that the platform is one-of-a-kind. The chances of this platform taking a lead in the crypto industry aren’t slim.
That said, only time can tell what happens to the platform in the future.