KuCoin is a cryptocurrency exchange that began operations in Hong Kong in 2017 and bills itself as “The People's Exchange”. It has plenty of features that make it an attractive crypto exchange options, such as the fact that you can do derivatives trading and the fact that they support crypto trading bots that can invest in digital assets for you automatically. However, despite its many positive features, KuCoin doesn't have a beginner-friendly interface for traders new to crypto in Canada, and considering how likely the platform is to be banned in Canada due to lack of regulatory compliance, I can't recommend it as a viable crypto exchange option.
As a result, I instead recommend that you use other exchanges like CoinSmart, Bitbuy or Newton, as these exchanges all have more features and better fees compared to what KuCoin has to offer. You simply can't go wrong when buying, selling and trading crypto if you use any of these platforms.
What Is KuCoin?
KuCoin is a cryptocurrency exchange that began operations in Hong Kong in 2017 and bills itself as “The People's Exchange”. Its objective is to offer a simple and secure platform on which to buy, sell and trade a variety of digital currencies to individuals all around the world.
The site has made a huge impression on the worldwide cryptocurrency community, attracting over 8 million users in four years and serving 1 out of every 4 crypto coin owners around the globe. To kickstart this Kucoin Canada review, let's take a look at what the platform has to offer.
KuCoin Features
1. KuCoin Desktop Platform
KuCoin's desktop platform will be especially useful for advanced traders, considering that it has a plethora of sophisticated charting options and advanced tools that will help them conduct in-depth analysis and versatile crypto trading. It does have a Fast Trade platform that is much easier to use, but it's very limited compared to what the spot, margin and futures trading platforms have to offer.
Through the margin trading platform, you'll be able to leverage your position by borrowing money to buy additional crypto tokens. Lending is only appropriate for highly seasoned traders, though, owing to the fact that it makes cryptocurrencies an even riskier investment. On the other hand, through the futures trading platform, you'll be able to conduct advanced trading with an in-depth order book, and you'll even be able to set up a trading password to add a layer of security to your daily operations.
Additionally, you can stake your cryptocurrencies through Pool-X, a KuCoin-backed business. By doing this, the KuCoin Earn service will pay you interest on your crypto coins. Certain cryptocurrencies use staking to verify transactions in the blockchain and to help maintain network security. By locking up your funds for a certain period of time, you may get great rewards, such as an interest rate of up to 10% or more on your staked assets.
Curiously enough, however, the KuCoin platform is somewhat limited in terms of the order types you can place. You have the classic market orders and limit orders, but your only other option would be stop-limit/stop-market orders, which is surprising considering just how complex the platform's charting is. It's almost as if the platform's advanced features are too complex for beginners to use, but somewhat incomplete for the experienced crypto investor at the same time.
KuCoin also allows crypto-to-crypto trading, but only if you use the crypto trading pairs that the exchange supports. This is somewhat limiting, but considering just how many crypto exchanges fully neglect crypto-to-crypto trading, I have to give credit where credit is due.
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2. KuCoin Mobile App
KuCoin also has a versatile and well-designed mobile app that will allow you to conduct every operation that you can perform on the web browser, including having access to the spot, margin, and futures trading platforms as well as being able to use their trading bots, which I'll cover in more detail below. However, some key features are still lacking here, such as access to more complex order types and the lack of more flexible crypto-to-crypto trading options.
The KuCoin app has impressive ratings, however: it has a 4.4 out of 5 stars based on 100,000 reviews on the Google Play Store, and it has 4.6 out of 5 stars based on 15,000 reviews on the Apple Store respectively, which means that plenty of people love using the app. This is one of the few items in which KuCoin beats CoinSmart and VirgoCX.
3. KuCoin Security Features
Although KuCoin does have some solid security measures, it's worth pointing out that it struggles with regulation in Canada. For starters, unlike Bitbuy and Shakepay, it's not a registered Money Services Business (MSB) with the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC), nor is it a registered member of the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC), falling way behind compared to VirgoCX and CoinSmart which are registered with both.
When you lack so much regulation, you're bound to be banned from operating in part of the country's territory (or you could even be banned from operating in the country in general), so I wouldn't be surprised if KuCoin were to cease operations in places like Ontario in the near future.
As for its security features, you can expect to see some industry-standard security features such as 2-factor authentication and SSL encryption, as well as a unique trading password that users can set up whenever they're making trades to add an additional layer of safety. KuCoin is also compliant with Know-Your-Customer (KYC) laws, which is a good thing even if it makes the account verification process a little slower than usual.
However, KuCoin doesn't have a perfect track record in terms of security either: the platform underwent a major hack in 2020, where hackers stole well over $280 million in digital assets from KuCoin's hot wallets. These lost funds were covered by an insurance fund, but whenever a platform goes through a breach of this magnitude, it makes you start having doubts regarding the effectiveness of their measures.
4. KuCoin Customer Support
KuCoin has an in-depth FAQ section and Support Center that will help you solve most issues you could have when using the platform. In case any of the two can't help you solve your inquiry, however, you'll also be able to reach them through live chat and ticket submission. However, it doesn't have any phone support or email support, which is a bit concerning.
- Ticket Submission: Available
- Phone: Not Available
- Email: Not Available
- Live chat: Available
KuCoin also has a tremendous social media presence, and you'll be able to reach them through channels like Facebook, Twitter, Telegram, YouTube, Medium, Reddit, GitHub, LinkedIn, Instagram, Coinmarketcap, CoinGecko, and VK. Though its customer support isn't perfect, it's better than other platforms' like Wealthsimple Crypto, for example.
5. KuCoin Trading Bot
KuCoin also allows you to use automated trading bots through its desktop platform and mobile app, which work pretty similarly to Coinberry Autopilot. Trading bots may automatically buy and sell your cryptocurrencies, so you don't have to be online all the time to track the market, and they do so utilizing a time-tested strategy in an investment known as dollar-cost averaging.
As if that weren't enough, however, these trading bots have a customizable element to them, and a myriad of users have created their own custom bots which you can then use yourself. With over 8,000,000 bots to choose from, not finding one that will help you maximize your crypto earnings is simply impossible, whether you're a beginner or an advanced trader.
Cryptocurrencies on KuCoin
KuCoin has one of the widest arrays of supported cryptocurrencies, at over 380 supported tokens. Here are some of the most popular that you can currently buy, sell, and trade on the platform:
| Bitcoin (BTC) | Bitcoin Cash (BCH) |
| Ethereum (ETH) | Litecoin (LTC) |
| Tether (USDT) | Chainlink (LINK) |
| Binance Coin (BNB) | Polygon (MATIC) |
| Cardano (ADA) | Theta (THETA) |
| XRP (XRP) | Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) |
| USD Coin (USDC) | Stellar (XLM) |
| Dogecoin (DOGE) | Internet Computer (ICP) |
| Polkadot (DOT) | Ethereum Classic (ETC) |
| Uniswap (UNI) | Filecoin (FIL) |
KuCoin Trading Fees
Crypto withdrawal fees for some of the most popular coins on KuCoin are as follows:
| Cryptocurrency | Withdrawal Fee |
| Bitcoin (BTC) | 0.0005 BTC |
| Ethereum (ETH) | 0.004 ETH |
| Tether (USDT) | 1 USDT/10 USDT |
| Cardano (ADA) | 1 ADA |
| XRP (XRP) | 0.1 XRP |
KuCoin also offers free crypto deposits, but you'll incur fees when depositing fiat money into your account. If you trade frequently or have at least 1,000 KuCoin Tokens (KCS), the fees you pay on KuCoin will be smaller. The maker/taker trading fees begin at 0.1% and decrease as your account levels up, and your fees will be reduced even more if you choose to pay in KCS. With this in mind, these are very low trading fees to have, and they're some of the lowest across crypto exchanges in Canada.
3 Crypto Exchanges I Recommend Over KuCoin
Even though KuCoin has a few interesting features, there are a few cons that don't allow me to recommend this exchange for Canadians. For starters, it's not a beginner-friendly crypto exchange, and it also has limited educational resources for new traders, which means that, for the most part, only experienced traders will benefit from its use.
Also, despite how low KuCoin's fees are, it also has limited deposit options. Although the exchange allows you to trade cryptocurrencies for fiat currency, you must use a third-party application to complete the transaction. You can pay with a credit or debit card, Apple Pay, and Google Pay, but you can't transfer money by bank transfer.
It's for these reasons that I instead recommend you try out these 3 crypto exchanges over KuCoin:
- Kraken: With the lowest fees in Canada, an excellent app and desktop platform and best-in-class 24/7 customer support, Kraken is the best crypto exchange in Canada. Open your account with Kraken here.
- CoinSmart: With quick deposits and withdrawals and average customer support, CoinSmart is a decent exchange with a great signup bonus. Get your $50 signup bonus with CoinSmart here.
- Bitbuy: With trading fees at 2%, tight spreads, and a well-rated mobile app, Bitbuy is more expensive than Kraken and CoinSmart, but it's still a popular, trustworthy exchange. Get your $50 signup bonus with Bitbuy here.
Here's a quick summary of these three exchanges:
Best In Canada
|
Total Fees: ~0.16% |
★★★★★ Rated 4.9/5 |
Very Secure
|
Total Fees: ~3% |
★★★★ Rated 4.4/5 |
Strong Security
|
Trading fees: 2% (High) |
★★★★ Rated 4.2/5 |
How To Withdraw From KuCoin
To withdraw funds from KuCoin, you only have to follow these steps:
1. Desktop Version
- Log in to your KuCoin account.
- Click on the “Assets” tab.
- Click on the “Main Account (Deposit & Withdraw)” tab.
- Click on “Withdraw” to enter the withdrawal page.
- Type the name of the token you're interested in withdrawing, or scroll down and click on the token you're interested in withdrawing.
- Add a personal crypto wallet address and amount.
- Click “Confirm” to carry out the withdrawal.
2. Mobile App Version
- Log in to your KuCoin account.
- Click on the “Assets” tab.
- Click on the “Main Account (Deposit & Withdraw)” tab.
- Click on “Withdraw” to enter the withdrawal page.
- Type the name of the token you're interested in withdrawing, or scroll down and click on the token you're interested in withdrawing.
- Add a personal crypto wallet address and amount.
- Click “Confirm” to carry out the withdrawal.
In Summary
KuCoin is one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges today, with over 300 supported cryptocurrencies and a customer base of nearly four million users. It has a plethora of features that make it an attractive crypto exchange option, such as the fact that you can do derivatives trading and the fact that they support crypto trading bots that can invest in digital assets for you automatically. Despite its positive features, however, KuCoin doesn't have a beginner-friendly interface for traders new to crypto in Canada, nor is it easy to use or understand without significant research. Also, considering how likely the platform is to be banned in Canada due to lack of regulatory compliance, I can't recommend it as a viable crypto exchange option.
As a result, I instead recommend that you use exchanges like CoinSmart, Bitbuy or Newton, as these exchanges all have more features and better fees compared to what KuCoin has to offer. You simply can't go wrong when buying, selling and trading crypto if you use any of these platforms.
KuCoin Review FAQs
Is KuCoin Safe & Secure?
Yes, KuCoin is a safe crypto exchange to use. It has partnered with Onchain Custodian to safeguard its crypto assets, it has insurance in the event of a platform breach, and a large percentage of its crypto assets are kept in cold storage.
Is KuCoin Legit?
Yes, KuCoin is a legit cryptocurrency exchange: it is used by 1 in 4 people worldwide and it is compliant with KYC laws.
Is KuCoin Legal In Canada?
Yes, KuCoin is legal to use in Canada. Even though it's not based in Canada, it still follows all the necessary legal requirements to offer its services there.
Is KuCoin Legal In Ontario?
As of February 2022, KuCoin still operates in Ontario, though it isn't licensed in the province, so it's uncertain how long it will continue to operate there. Several other crypto exchanges have already stopped operating in Ontario due to regulatory difficulties, so it'll be interesting to see how KuCoin deals with the mounting regulations being placed upon it in Ontario.
We don't recommend working with an exchange that's likely going to be banned in Ontario (and potentially all of Canada) in the near future, which is why we recommend signing up with either CoinSmart, Bitbuy, or Newton instead.
Does KuCoin Require KYC In Canada?
KuCoin requires that all users go through a partial know your customer (KYC) process, which means you'll only be asked for things like photo identification if you exhibit suspicious activity on your account. On top of that, KuCoin users who have not passed KYC can only withdraw up to 1 BTC per day, and that limit increases substantially to 200 BTC per day for users who have passed KYC.
Is KuCoin Trustworthy?
Yes, KuCoin is a trustworthy exchange for several reasons: it is used by 1 in 4 people worldwide and it is compliant with KYC laws.
Does KuCoin Verify Accounts Instantly?
Yes, KuCoin does verify some accounts instantly, though if your account needs to go through the manual verification process for some reason, these are the documents you’ll need to provide:
- Your government-issued ID card.
- A photo of a valid government-issued document (such as a passport).
- A selfie photo.
Is KuCoin Good For Canadians?
KuCoin is a decent exchange for Canadians, though if you’re looking for the best overall trading experience, I recommend using CoinSmart, Bitbuy or Newton instead. Each of them offers quite a bit more than KuCoin, and I’m confident you’ll have a better experience with them.
How Well Is KuCoin Reviewed On Reddit?
Reddit’s review of KuCoin is uncertain: some Redditors have good things to say, while others don’t. Of course, Redditors are known for their brutally honest opinions, so take what they say with a grain of salt.
Can I Buy Dogecoin With KuCoin?
Yes, you can buy Dogecoin with KuCoin. If you want to buy Dogecoin with lower fees, though, I suggest using CoinSmart, Bitbuy or Newton instead.
Is KuCoin Insured?
Yes, KuCoin’s crypto holdings are insured: it has an insurance fund that is used to aggress unfilled liquidation orders before they are taken over by the auto-deleveraging system. The Fund grows from liquidations that are able to get filled in the market at a price better than the bankruptcy price of that particular position.
KuCoin Referral Code
You don’t need a referral code to get your signup bonus with KuCoin. Simply sign up using our signup bonus link and then deposit $100 or more into your account.
Does KuCoin Report To The CRA?
Yes, KuCoin does report to the CRA. Although KuCoin is not a Canadian exchange, it is legally required to report large transactions greater than $10,000 made by Canadian residents/citizens to the Canadian Revenue Agency (CRA).
