TL;DR- Use the ‘Jump to Section’ button above to go to ‘Steps to fund your KuCoin account’ and follow one of the two methods: send crypto you already own that you bought on Coinbase or Binance (easier/faster strategy) or set up KuCoin with your bank account (slower).
If you’re looking for a fast and easy way to trade crypto without Know Your Customer (KYC), look no further than KuCoin. KuCoin is a quality exchange with a proven track record and is one of the largest exchanges in the world by volume. Today we’ll look at getting set up and funding your KuCoin account to get trading within minutes.
Coinbase is great and can get funds to your bank account quick, but their fees suck. With Coinbase you can’t get access to a lot of the exotic smaller altcoin projects that really have the potential to 5x, 10x, or 100x before they hit Coinbase and go mainstream. Binance.US can’t deliver the goods either because their coin offering is too small.
A little about KuCoin
KuCoin was founded in 2017 and is incorporated in Seychelles and operates in Singapore. If you’re a bit rusty on your geography, Seychelles is a tropical paradise off the eastern coast of Africa in the Indian Ocean. The good thing about this is that it’s NOT in Hong Kong or China. There will be no China FUD or a government crack down or any kind of government intervention in Singapore or the Seychelles, places where democracy is still alive. KuCoin also has decent customer service and is very trader friendly. One and four crypto traders worldwide trades with KuCoin- an impressive figure.
KuCoin has a plethora of exotic ways to either blow yourself up or go to the moon including using leverage with KuCoin or shorting cryptos on KuCoin. Most of my Wall Street friends think I’m clinically insane for using leverage in crypto, an asset class that’s already 12-15x as volatile as stocks.
Why KuCoin is better than Binance
If you live in the US or the UK, you know how frustrating it is to not have access to the full version of Binance. This means you’re unable to buy tokens of some solid altcoin projects, like Theta or Ergo or Avalanche. Kucoin brings to the US what Binance.US cannot- over 400 alt coins and 87 trading pairs. This brings you the entire crypto world- it’s like having the TV package with over 800 channels. KuCoin also has smaller fees than Binance, Coinbase and even Coinbase Pro. For funding your account, KuCoin transacts in over 20 fiat currencies- from the Danish krone to the Vietnamese Dong. The list will only grow from here.
Steps to fund your KuCoin account
There are two main ways to fund your KuCoin account. The first is sending crypto you already own from another exchange to your KuCoin account. The second is directly funding your account by linking your bank account to KuCoin or using a credit or debit card. Note that if you do choose to fund your account with a credit card, the fees can be steep- up to 5%. It’s almost as if KuCoin knows that not having KYC is advantageous for people who live in China or New York and they’re charging a fee for it………
First method (send crypto):
Sending crypto from another exchange or your hardware wallet to KuCoin (Coinbase and Bitcoin in this case)
1. Log in to your KuCoin account. On the top left menu select Main Account.
2. On the right side of the screen, enter the coin you’d like to transfer to KuCoin from your other exchange account (Coinbase in this case) into the search bar. In this example, we’re sending Bitcoin. When you see the coin appear, click Deposit.
3. You’ll be taken to the home screen of your account for Bitcoin or whatever coin you’re sending. Underneath Wallet Address select the Copy Symbol of two pages. Now you have your coin address stored to your clipboard.
4a. (from exchange) Go to Coinbase or whatever exchange you’re looking to send coins from. Select Trade on the left side and scroll down to Bitcoin. Click on the Bitcoin symbol. When you’re brought to the Bitcoin account page, select Wallet. On the right side make sure Send is selected and enter the amount of Bitcoin you’d like to send over to your KuCoin account. I like to enter a memo saying where I’m sending the crypto to so I put “Bitcoin to KuCoin account.” Select Continue. You’ll be prompted to enter your 2FA code if you have that set up.
4b. (from hardware wallet, Ledger in this case) Open the Ledger Live application on your computer and plug in your Nano device. Enter the PIN to unlock the device. Click on Accounts. Select your Bitcoin account. On your Bitcoin account home screen, go to the top right and select Manage. Click Send. A pop up will appear. At the bottom of the pop up, paste your KuCoin Bitcoin address in the box that says Recipient. Proceed with the process of verifying the transaction and address on your Ledger Nano device.
Second method (buy on KuCoin):
Using a credit or debit card to fund your KuCoin account.
1. Underneath the Buy Crypto button in the top right, select Credit or Debit Card from the drop-down menu.
2. On the right side of the buy with Credit or Debit card page, select the cryptocurrency you’d like to buy from the drop-down menu underneath I want to buy. The cryptos available will vary based on your locale. Keep in mind this is only to fund your account- if you’re looking to but smaller altcoins then fund your account with Bitcoin or USDT (Tether). Enter the amount you’d like to buy in your local fiat currency.
3. Choose your Payment Method and make sure either banxa or simplex is selected underneath Choose Your Payment Channel. Scroll down and hit Confirm. Enter your contact details after you’re sent to the Simplex or Banxa portals and follow the instructions to finish your buy.
Security, two factor authentication and passwords
With KuCoin, I recommend enabling two-factor authentication with your phone and choosing a super-secure password. Since KuCoin is a foreign exchange (unless you live in Seychelles), you won’t have legal protections if you get hacked. As bullish as I am about the crypto space, I still think it’s dangerous. I have the DUO app on my phone and use it to receive my 2FA codes from Coinbase, Binance, Metamask, Axie Infinity and more. KuCoin is no exception- I use 2FA for it also. If you’re looking to get set up, Google Authenticator is the easiest and most available 2FA. Once you’re done trading, If you’re planning on HODLing your coins, you should take them off KuCoin and send them to your hardware wallet. You don’t actually hold your own private keys when you hold crypto on an exchange. And the ugly truth is that exchanges can get hacked. This is one of the many reasons why I recommend moving your coins to a hardware wallet once you buy on an exchange. Using 2FA is an extra step that makes a hack or identity theft far less likely.
If you’re here in crypto for the long haul like any smart investor should be, get serious about getting a hardware wallet. The two big players in the space are Trezor and Ledger, who are both great (I own both Trezor and Ledger wallets and am not affiliated with them) and will store most cryptocurrencies.
Margin trading on KuCoin
KuCoin does offer leveraged trading for users. For me, this has always been a hard “no.” When you’re levered, it only takes a small movement to the upside (if you’re short a crypto) or the downside (if you’re long a crypto) to make the amount you invested go to zero. If a coin falls 40% during a correction, you can always come back if you’re only holding that coin. But with margin trading, you can get wrecked quick. The cryptocurrency market is volatile enough as it is- there’s no reason to make that worse.
The KuCoin token (KCS)
KuCoin has lower transaction fees than Binance and Coinbase and Coinbase Pro. You can gain a further reduction (20%) in transaction fees if you pay your fees in the exchange’s native token, the KuCoin Token. Buying an exchange token is much like buying stock in a company. So if you believe in KuCoin and think it has some great potential, holding a bit of KCS might be something to think about. When the exchange does well and grows, which I strongly believe it will, the value of KCS will rise. If you do the little things right day in and day out with crypto investing, you can move mountains in the long run. Saving on fees adds up.
Conclusion
I’m not a financial adviser- but I will say that I never put any more into crypto than I’m ever willing to lose. The asset class is so incredibly young and the future so uncertain and wrought with FUD. Past market corrections have lost me loads. Even now, I keep most of my holdings in Bitcoin and Ethereum. This is because when the market dips, these usually dip the least amount. Then when there’s blood in the streets I go hunting for altcoins on KuCoin. I recommend trying KuCoin if you’re in the crypto space, so long as you do your own research and stay on the righteous path.
