Uphold vs Kucoin | Which Exchange Is Best For Beginners?
Jack Moreau
Feb 2024
10 min read
Fact checked
Uphold vs Kucoin: We have done the research and compared Uphold and Kucoin across various metrics such as KYC requirements, country availability, product offering, trading fees, deposit/withdrawal methods and much more. Keep reading to find out if Uphold or Kucoin is the best fit for your needs!
eToro is a multi-asset investment platform. The value of your investments may go up or down. Your capital is at risk.
eToro USA LLC: Investments are subject to market risk. Including the possible loss of principal. Don’t invest unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest.
eToro is a multi-asset investment platform. The value of your investments may go up or down. Your capital is at risk.
eToro USA LLC: Investments are subject to market risk. Including the possible loss of principal. Don’t invest unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest.
Cryptocurrency trading has become increasingly popular as investors seek alternative investment options. Uphold and Kucoin are two exchanges that offer users access to multiple cryptocurrencies and trading options.
Founded in 2013 by Halsey Minor, Uphold is a London-based digital money platform that enables users to trade various financial instruments, including cryptocurrencies, precious metals, and fiat currencies.
Uphold exchange
Uphold has over 10 million users spread across 184 countries and the platform is available on Android and IOS where it has over 5 million downloads and a fantastic 4.7 rating based on 40,000 reviews.
Uphold app
Uphold supports an impressive range of over 300 cryptocurrencies and altcoins, making it possible for traders to buy, sell, or convert assets in a single transaction using its unique "Anything-to-Anything" trading feature.
Uphold's commitment to security and regulatory compliance means that it adheres to strict Anti-Money Laundering (AML) while it also offers proof of reserves to show that user assets are backed 1-1.
Uphold proof of reserves
Kucoin is a subsidiary of Seychelles-registered MEK Global Limited. Led by Michael Gan, the platform was founded in 2017 and is currently serving more than 20 million users across 200 countries.
Kucoin offers spot trading, margin trading, futures, staking, lending and a range of other cryptocurrency products.
Kucoin exchange
The platform supports over 700 cryptocurrencies such as BTC, ETH, ATOM, AVAX, DOGe and it's own native token, KuCoin Shares (KCS). The exchange is popular for its user-friendly interface, low trading fees, and wide range of altcoins.
Kucoin is also available on Android and IOS, with over 5 million downloads and a solid rating of 4.3 based on over 120,000 reviews.
Kucoin app
Uphold vs Kucoin Signup & KYC
When it comes to KYC requirements, Uphold and Kucoin differ in their approach.
Uphold requires KYC verification for all of its users. This means that users must provide personal information and government ID to unlock full trading capabilities.
The signup process is quick and easy and users will have to provide an email, password and country of residence.
Uphold signup process
Once the account is opened, completing the KYC process will take a few minutes as it requires adding personal information and uploading a government ID. Once completed, it can take Uphold a few hours to process and verify the account.
Kucoin has taken a different approach to Uphold and does not require KYC verification for depositing crypto and trading.
This means that users can start trading right away with an unverified account after signup. However, for those that wish to deposit or withdraw fiat currencies, increase leverage and trading limits, they will need to complete the KYC process.
Kucoin KYC
For that want access to these additional benefits, they need to provide information about country of residence in addition to uploading a valid ID. Similar to Uphold, verification may than take a few hours up to 2-3 business days in the slowest of cases.
Overall, both exchanges offer different options that cater to different types of users. For those that value privacy and don't want to submit personal information, we recommend alternative exchanges like MEXC and OKX.
For beginners that just want a simple way to buy crypto and don't mind these things, Uphold is like going to be the best fit.
Uphold vs Kucoin Products & Services
Moving on to product offering, Uphold focuses on providing users with a wide range of over 300 cryptocurrencies as well as metals trading and national currencies such as USD and GBP.
Uphold cryptocurrencies
For those that wish to dollar cost average their way into positions, Uphold also offers repeat purchases which allows for automatic buying and selling.
Uphold Interface
Uphold also offers staking support for over 30 different cryptocurrencies including the likes of ATOM, ETH, MINA, DOT, and many others.
With support for 15 stablecoins including popular options like BUSD, DAI, FRAX, GUSD, USDC, and USDT, Uphold is also place to park some digital assets.
Staking on Uphold
Kucoin has established itself as a comprehensive crypto service provider with a diversified offering that cater to a wide array of user needs in the cryptocurrency space.
Central to Kucoin's services is its spot trading feature where users have the opportunity to buy and sell over 700 cryptocurrencies and altcoins.
Kucoin Spot Trading
This makes Kucoin an attractive platform for those looking to explore a wide range of digital currencies, as the platform keeps adding new coins and tokens on a weekly basis.
Kucoin Crypto Markets
For those interested in leveraging their trades, Kucoin offers margin trading with up to 10X leverage.
Kucoin Margin Trading
Traders have the flexibility to go long (betting on price increases) or short (betting on price decreases) using either cross or isolated margin options on over 100 different cryptocurrencies.
In addition to spot and margin trading, Kucoin has expanded into futures trading providing users with access to over 250 tradable futures contracts.
Kucoin Futures
This includes a variety of futures products such as USDT and USDC margin contracts, along with Coin-margin contracts and grid bots. The platform caters to traders looking for high-risk, high-reward opportunities by offering the option to use up to 125X leverage.
Kucoin Perpetual Trading
Kucoin also addresses the needs of traders interested in less aggressive leveraged positions through its leveraged tokens. These tokens allow users to take long or short positions with smaller leverages (2-4X) without the complexities of loans or the risk of liquidations.
Kucoin Leveraged Tokens
For users who prefer automated trading strategies, Kucoin provides several options including spot grid, futures grid, martingale, smart rebalance, infinity grid, and Dollar-Cost Averaging (DCA) bots.
Kucoin Trading Bots
These tools allow users to execute trades based on preset parameters and strategies, catering to both beginners and experienced traders.
In terms of trading volumes, Kucoin ranks in the top 20 for spot trading volumes with $1 billion in 24-hour trading volume, and over $2 billion in futures trading.
Kucoin Trading Volumes
Kucoin also offers opportunities for users to earn yield on their digital assets via the exchanges earn section that includes savings, staking, and dual investments.
Kucoin Earn
On the staking front, Kucoin provides access to staking rewards for various popular blockchains such as Ethereum, Solana, Cosmos, Polkadot, Injective, and more.
Kucoin Staking
Joining the trend of exchanges offering launchpads for new token launches, Kucoin's 'Spotlight' feature allows users to participate in new and exciting investment opportunities like SUI.
Kucoin Launchpad
Expanding into the NFT marketplace, Kucoin has introduced Wonderland, a dedicated platform where users can buy and sell NFTs on the KCC blockchain and Polygon, with plans to support additional blockchains like Ethereum, BSC, and SLP.
Kucoin NFTs
Finally, for those who prefer non-custodial trading, Kucoin has launched the Halo Web 3 wallet available for mobile or as a Chrome extension, for those that prefer a self-custodied trading experience.
Overall, Kucoin has grown into a versatile and user-friendly platform that offers a much wider range of products and services compared to Uphold. For total beginners however, they will find Uphold easier to navigate and use than Kucoin.
When it comes to trading fees, Uphold and Kucoin offer different rates for their users. Let's start with Uphold. The platform charges a $0.99 USD fee for cryptocurrency transactions under $100.
For trades above $100, Uphold charges a spread of 0.9-1.8% depending on the currency. If you're in the US, EU or UK, you'll be looking at spreads closer to 0.9%-1.2%.
Unfortunately, Uphold does not offer any rebates for higher trading volumes, so you'll be stuck with these rates no matter how much you trade.
On the other hand, Kucoin's trading fees are more favorable. The platform charges a spot maker fee of 0.10% and a spot taker fee of 0.10%, which is one the lower end in this market. For futures trading, Kucoin charges a maker fee of 0.02% and a taker fee of 0.06%.
Kucoin spot fees
Trading fees on Kucoin can be further lowered for both spot and futures trading for those whose monthly trade volumes exceed 50 Bitcoins, or if they are holding at least 1000 KCS tokens.
Uphold and Kucoin have varying deposit methods for fiat currencies. Let's take a closer look at the deposit options available for each exchange.
Uphold offers support for three fiat currencies including USD, EUR and GBP. Deposits can be made via Debit/Credit Card, Bank Transfer for USD (ACH/Wire), SEPA for EUR and Faster Payments (FSP) for GBP.
All fiat bank transfers are free of charge. However, Uphold charges a 3.99% deposit fee with credit cards and a 2.49 deposit fee with debit cards.
Kucoin supports the deposit of fiat currencies for 28 fiat currencies such as EUR, AUD, CHF, GBP, RUB and SEK.
Many of fiat deposit options on Kucoin are with Visa and Mastercard and those come with a high 3.8% deposit fee.
Kucoin fiat deposit
Kucoin did however recently introduced EUR deposits via bank transfer for a low 1 euro fee. Users on Kucoin can also buy crypto via third party providers but that also comes with high fees.
Buy crypto on Kucoin
So while Uphold only supports three fiat currencies, it does also offer free deposit methods which are not available on Kucoin.
When it comes to fiat withdrawals, Uphold and Kucoin have very different options available.
Uphold offers fiat withdrawals through bank transfers (ACH/Wire), SEPA, and Faster Payments (FSP). A fee of $2.99 is charged for withdrawing cryptocurrencies (excluding blockchain fees) from Uphold, while withdrawing funds through banks incurs a $3.99 fee.
On the other hand, Kucoin only supports fiat withdrawals for EUR through SEPA. However, you will have to pay a fee of 5 EUR to use this method. While that is not as high as some other exchanges, it is still worth noting when considering your options.
When it comes to withdrawing cryptocurrencies on Kucoin, there's a withdrawal fee of 0.001 BTC for Bitcoin withdrawals, 0.01 ETH to withdraw Ethereum and 5 USDT to withdraw ERC-20 Tether USD. These fees are on the higher end compared to the rest of the market.
In terms of unique selling points, it's clear that Uphold and Kucoin have very different target groups in mind.
Uphold has over 10 million users spread across 184 countries that have access to buy and sell over 300 cryptocurrencies and altcoins.
Uphold is a great trading destination for beginners precisely because it's entirely uncomplicated to use. The same can not be said about Kucoin.
In contrast, Kucoin is currently serving more than 20 million users across 200 countries and supports an even wider range of 700 cryptocurrencies.
Besides offering more cryptos to buy and sell, Kucoin also has a wider portfolio of services which includes spot, futures, margin trading, grid bots, lend and borrow, staking and an NFT marketplace.
When it comes to trading fees, Kucoin's trading fees are more favorable with low maker and takers fees of 0.1% compared to Uphold's $0.99 USD fee for cryptocurrency transactions under $100, and a spread of 0.9-1.8% depending on the currency for trades above $100.
However, when it comes to fiat deposits and withdrawals, Uphold has the upper hand with support for USD, EUR and GBP with deposit options that are free of charge.
This Kucoin unfortunately does not offer but instead provides access to deposit via credit/debit card but at expensive 3.8% deposit fees.
So if you have made it this far, it should be clear by now whether Uphold or Kucoin is the best fit for your specifics needs. So what are you waiting for, go signup!
eToro is a multi-asset investment platform. The value of your investments may go up or down. Your capital is at risk.
eToro USA LLC: Investments are subject to market risk. Including the possible loss of principal. Don’t invest unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest.
eToro is a multi-asset investment platform. The value of your investments may go up or down. Your capital is at risk.
eToro USA LLC: Investments are subject to market risk. Including the possible loss of principal. Don’t invest unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest.
Author
Jack Moreau
Jack is a crypto writer and reviewer who has been active in the space since he caught the crypto bug in 2017. With a passion for trying out new shiny things, Jack is always eager to try the latest cryptocurrency exchanges, wallets or DeFi applications.
