KuCoin

KuCoin is a global cryptocurrency exchange launched in September 2017 by Chun "Michael" Gan, Ke "Eric" Tang, and Johnny Lyu, initially operating out of China before relocating in stages to Hong Kong, Singapore, and ultimately the Seychelles, where its operator Peken Global Limited is based today.

The exchange offers spot trading, margin trading, futures trading, P2P fiat trading, staking, lending, a Web3 wallet, and access to over 700 digital assets, and has marketed itself as the "People's Exchange" aimed at broad global accessibility.

KuCoin has weathered major events in its history, including a September 2020 security breach in which hackers linked to North Korea's Lazarus Group stole roughly $281 million in crypto assets (later substantially recovered), a December 2023 settlement with the New York Attorney General over unregistered securities and commodities brokering, and a January 2025 guilty plea by its operating entity to operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business in the United States, which came with more than $297 million in penalties and forfeitures and the departure of founders Michael Gan and Eric Tang from company management.

Since that settlement, KuCoin has been led by CEO BC Wong, formerly the company's Chief Legal Officer, and in March 2026 a federal court approved a CFTC consent order permanently barring the exchange from serving U.S. users without registering as a foreign board of trade.