Can You Legally Access KuCoin in the United States?
Mike Harry
Feb 2024
5 min to read
Fact checked
At the time of writing, U.S. citizens are not allowed to use Kucoin's services because the exchange is not regulated by FinCEN in the United States. Instead, we recommend U.S. citizens sign up to FinCEN-regulated exchanges that are safe and legal to use like eToro and Uphold. These beginner-friendly exchanges are regulated and offer 1,000s digital assets including BTC, ETH, SOL, AVAX, ATOM, DOGE and many others!
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.
Kucoin has evolved into a comprehensive cryptocurrency service provider that today rivals the world's largest exchanges. Central to Kucoin’s offerings is spot trading, where users can trade over 700 different cryptocurrencies and altcoins.
Kucoin Crypto Markets
For those interested in leveraged trading, Kucoin provides margin trading with up to 10X leverage, allowing users to go long or short on over 100 cryptocurrencies using either cross or isolated margin.
Additionally, Kucoin features futures trading with more than 250 contracts available, including various products like USDT and USDC margin contracts, coin-margin contracts, and grid bots.
Kucoin Futures
High leverage options of up to 125X are also available, catering to users who prefer high-risk, high-reward trading.
Kucoin offers leveraged tokens as well, suitable for those seeking to take long or short positions with smaller leverage (2-4X) without the complexities of loans or liquidations.
In terms of trading volumes, Kucoin ranks in the top 20 for spot trading with $1 billion over 24 hours, and over $2 billion in futures trading.
Kucoin Trading Volumes
The platform also has a comprehensive earn section for users interested in generating yield from their digital assets, featuring options like earn savings, staking, and dual investments.
With such as wide range of products, it's not surprising that a lot of US citizens are interested in getting in on the action.
The conversations often center around its availability in the U.S., the legal implications of using the platform, and the overall safety for users.
Kucoin has been striving to make its services accessible to a global audience, but the U.S., with its stringent regulatory environment poses significant challenges.
As of the latest information, Kucoin hasn't obtained the necessary licenses to operate legally as a cryptocurrency exchange within the United States.
And seeing how Kucoin introduced mandatory KYC for all users earlier in 2023, this means that U.S. citizens can no longer use VPNs to pass basic IP restrictions.
While a VPN can mask a user's actual location, American users will not be able to actually use any of the services offered by Kucoin as they can't pass their KYC process with an American ID or passport.
So while it's entirely possible that Kucoin will eventually apply for and be granted all the necessary licenses by FinCEN in the United States, at the time of writing, that's not the case.
For Americans who want to access a secure and FinCEN regulated exchange without limitations, we recommend signing up for eToroandUphold.
Kucoin KYC United States
The Know Your Customer (KYC) procedures at Kucoin restrict American citizens from accessing the platforms services.
Kucoin KYC United States
The KYC process is an essential procedure for many financial services companies including cryptocurrency exchanges like Kucoin.
It involves verifying the identity of users through documentation such as a valid government-issued ID, which is necessary for ensuring complying with anti-money laundering regulations.
However, for users from the United States and other restricted countries, the KYC process hits a roadblock If a user attempts to complete the KYC process using an ID from a restricted country.
This is because the KYC process requires users to provide a valid government ID and if it's from the United States or other restricted countries, it will not get approved.
In short, users from restricted countries can't go through the KYC process on Kucoin and as such, won't have access to any of the services.
Can you use Kucoin in the US?
In 2023 Kucoin implemented a significant policy change by introducing mandatory Know Your Customer verification for all its users. This policy change impacted U.S. citizens ability access to the platform.
Previously, American users could circumvent Kucoin's geographical restrictions by using VPNs to mask their IP addresses. VPNs allowed U.S. users to appear as if they were accessing the website from a non-restricted country.
However, with the mandatory KYC in place and because the United States is listed among the restricted countries by Kucoin, any KYC submission that includes an American ID or passport is not accepted.
This policy effectively precludes U.S. citizens from using Kucoin's services, as they cannot complete the necessary verification process to unlock platform functionality.
For U.S. citizens that want to invest in cryptocurrencies by using safe and FinCEN-regulated exchanges, we recommend signing up to eToro or Uphold.
These are beginner-friendly platforms that allow Americans to quickly and safely deposit funds in order to invest in 100s of different cryptocurrencies.
In the United States, the regulatory landscape for cryptocurrency exchanges is complex as it involves several federal agencies, each with its distinct set of guidelines.
Prominent among these are the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
The SEC mainly oversees the trading of securities while the CFTC regulates commodity futures and option markets, and their guidelines are crucial for any financial platform operating in the US.
In addition to federal oversight, each state in the U.S. may have its unique set of regulations and licensing requirements for cryptocurrency exchanges.
This means that a cryptocurrency exchange like Kucoin must navigate a wide range of federal and state regulations to legally operate across the entire United States.
Although KuCoin is recognized as a legitimate cryptocurrency exchange with a significant global presence, it lacks a specific license to operate in the U.S.
This absence of a U.S. license places KuCoin in a regulatory gray area, making its operations and service offerings to U.S. citizens somewhat ambiguous under U.S. law.
For U.S. citizens considering using KuCoin or any other unregulated cryptocurrency exchange, it is essential to understand these regulatory nuances and the potential risks involved.
Engaging with a platform that operates without clear regulatory approval in the U.S. can expose users to unforeseen legal and financial vulnerabilities.
Can US citizens use Kucoin?
It was previously possible for US citizens who only wanted to access a limited range of Kucoin's services to use a VPN to bypass Kucoin's US IP restrictions.
This means that they could sign up using only a basic email and avoid the KYC process which they were unable to pass as US Citizens.
Having said this, this all changed earlier in the year when Kucoin introduced new terms and conditions that meant that all users had to pass KYC in order to access their services.
This means that US citizens can no longer use VPNs to bypass the IP restrictions and signup and they won't have access to any services.
Instead, Americans should instead use safe and regulated exchanges like eToro and Uphold that are regulated in the United States.
Kucoin US customers
At the time of writing, Kucoin does not offer it's services to US customers as it's not licensed to operate in the United States.
It's also not possible for US customers to use a VPN service to access Kucoin as the exchange now requires all of it's users to KYC.
This means that even if US customers could use a VPN to signup to Kucoin, they will be required to complete identify verification in order to use the services.
And when customers from the US reach that point of the verification process, they won't be able to complete it.
When will Kucoin be available in the US?
This is a good question that we don’t have an answer to. It all depends when Kucoin decides to get fully licensed in the US.
In the meantime, we recommend users signup to safe and FinCEN regulated exchanges like eToro and Uphold.
These platform is regulated by FinCEN in the United States which makes them safe to use for Americans who want to invest in cryptocurrencies.
Where is Kucoin Based?
Founded in 2017 by Michael GanKucoin, Kucoin Exchange is a subsidiary to Seychelles registered MEK Global Limited. Kucoin has a global workforce of over 600 employees and has it's biggest headquarter in Singapore.
Is Kucoin Safe?
Kucoin employs industry-leading security features, including encryption protocols, two-factor authentication, and cold storage for funds.
Kucoin is a safe exchange that has been operating for many years across most countries around the world.
However, safety isn't just about platform security but also regulations and the fact of the matter is that Kucoin is not regulated in similar fashion like eToro and Coinbase.
How to use Kucoin in US?
You don’t need a VPN to access Kucoin, but in many cases, people who want to have extra privacy online use VPNs for this purpose.
This option is also useful for regular users who want to access Kucoin while traveling in the US.
Also, Kucoin does not report to the IRS as they are neither licensed in the United States nor enable Americans to go through their KYC process.
Any necessary tax reporting have to be done manually by the users.
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.
