KuCoin History

KuCoin is a cryptocurrency trading exchange that launched in September 2017 with the tag line of "The Peoples' Exchange". Their aim is to provide secure and easy to use trading functionality to a global userbase and at the same time provide some of the lowest trading fees. KuCoin currently has over 5 million users globally that are distributed across over 100 countries. The exchange currently has over 300 tokens listed on the exchange and provides multiple trading pairs for assets.

KuCoin is an ideal platform for newbies in the crypto space to get started. The interface is easy to use and navigate, there is a rich set of features and the fees are small. It suits a new investor who wants to get started on their trading journey withing the world of cryptocurrency.

Key Features

Low transaction fees

Easy to use trading interface

Easy deposits and withdrawals

Various order types e.g. market, limit, stop

Margin trading

Lending platform

Futures contracts

Soft staking

Easy to use and feature-rich mobile app

No KYC requirement for small (under 2 BTC in 24 hours) withdrawals

24/7 support

Advanced API

KuCoin Shares

The KuCoin exchange runs its own cryptocurrency token called KuCoin Shares (KCS). The token gives several benefits KCS holders on the exchange including:

Daily dividends (for those holding over 6 KCS) based on the value of transactions on the exchange. So the more trades, the more the KCS holders benefit

KCS holders can also enjoy lowers trading fees and withdrawal fees depending on their KCS stake

KCS holders can also benefit from promotions on the exchange and other offers

Getting Started

You can create a KuCoin account by following the below link

https://www.kucoin.com/

You will need to put a valid email address (or phone), click the send code button and you will be sent a code to sign-up with. Your code will only be valid for 60 seconds - so make sure you can access your email.

Set a valid password and once you log in you will be faced with the "Overview" accounts page for your new account.

Security Setup

There are various security features that your KuCoin account supports and you will need to set up some basic security before you can use your account. At least set up your phone, a trading password and anti-phishing phrases. You should ideally setup 2FA too but you don't need to do that to start trading.

From the main menu at the top of the page, you can click on your name and select Account Security from the drop-down menu.

When you add your phone number, you will again be sent an authorisation code to your email address as this is a vital security parameter.

The trading password is only used to enable the trading functionality within the web app or mobile app. This is a 6 digit code but is not the same as the 2FA code used to log in. It adds another security layer to protect your assets.

There are two types of anti-phishing phrases. One is used in any email message from KuCoin to help you verify that the email is an authentic email from KuCoin. The second anti-phishing phrase is used during login to KuCoin. By making these phrases something that only you would know and recognise, it provides a quick anti-phishing check when using the KuCoin platform.

Making a Deposit

So now that you have your account setup and the basic security configured, you will want to make a start and deposit some crypto. As a first example, let's see how to deposit some Bitcoin. From the "Overview" page, select "Deposit" from the left-hand menu and in the deposit box in the main page type BTC and select Bitcoin.

It is really important that you select the right token for the cryptocurrency that you want to transfer. Select the wrong currency may result in losing your assets.

Once you have selected Bitcoin, the KuCoin system will generate a unique Bitcoin address for your exchange account which you can either copy and paste to another app or use the QR code and scan it.

You can then send your Bitcoin to this address and after a couple of confirmations on the transaction, your transferred BTC will appear in your account. The transaction will be displayed on the Bitcoin deposit screen below your Bitcoin wallet address or by going to Deposit & Withdrawal History from the Overview page.

Making a Test Deposit

Do you want to do a simple test for the deposits first before trying a larger amount?

You can use the Tezos faucet. Instead of BTC, select XTZ on the deposit screen. It will ask you about accepting the soft staking terms and conditions and will then generate a Tezos address. You can go to the Tezos faucet and send your self 0.01 XTZ which will be deposited to your KuCoin account.

https://faucet.tezos.com/

Account Types

One of the great features of KuCoin is the different account types. It allows you to use different accounts for withdrawing, hodling and trading. This does make things much easier when getting started to consciously move assets into the trading arena.

Main Account - for deposits, withdrawals and hodling

Trading Account - to be used for spot trading

Margin Account - to be used for margin trading

Contract Account - to be used for contracts

Before you trade, you will need to transfer your deposited BTC to your trading account through the transfer screen. You can move as much or as little as you want, of any token, between your accounts without incurring any fees.

Soft Staking

KuCoin offers a soft staking system for some popular coins. The supported coins include Tezos, Tron, Atom, EOS as well as several other coins. All you need to do is hold these coins in your main or trading accounts and you will get the staking rewards paid into your account every day.

Trading

Trading in KuCoin is quite straight forward due to an easy to use interface. However, there is a lot to it so I will cover trading on KuCoin as a topic in another post.

Other KuCoin Topics

If you would like me to explain any other function with the KuCoin platform then please comment below. If you are setting up your KuCoin account, please use my referral code 8xsP2r (It will help me write more)