What is KuCoin Shares?
KuCoin Shares (KCS) is an Ethereum token that is used by the KuCoin cryptocurrency exchange. In the same vein as Binance’s Binance Coin, KuCoin Shares can be used to activate special exchanges features when held by its owner on the exchange. The token acts similar to how stock shares work and offers various types of bonuses to its holders, such as lower trading fees, income from fees, and other perks.
History of KuCoin Shares
KuCoin is Hong-Kong based cryptocurrency exchange which was developed by a team of blockchain and cryptocurrency professionals. The team had worked on various aspects of creating an exchange since 2011, building the platform architecture in 2013. KuCoin finally went live in September 2017, and quickly became one of the more popular cryptocurrency exchanges in the world. During the KuCoin ICO process, 200 million tokens were sold, of which the company has plans to eventually buy back and burn a total of 100 million, thus decreasing the supply of KCS and helping to support their value. In January 2018, KCS briefly surpassed a market cap of $1.7 billion, and is currently in the top 50 of all coins by market cap.
How KuCoin Shares Works
The KuCoin exchange has developed a Bonus Program which rewards exchange users for holding their KuCoin Shares on the exchange, with the size of the reward determined by overall exchange activity and proportional to the number of tokens held. The exchange has pledged to use 50% of all trading fees earned to buy KCS from the market and then redistribute it to users based on the terms of its program.
Similar to Binance and Binance Coin, KuCoin Shares can be used to “activate” a trading discount from 1% to 30% on all trades, which is again proportional to the amount of KuCoin shares being held. While this feature of KuCoin Shares is considered to be a permanent part of the KuCoin exchange, the exchange may adjust the rates of KCS per % discount awarded in the future.
Why KuCoin Shares?
As the native token for the KuCoin exchange, KuCoin Shares has some benefits not enjoyed by any other coin or token:
- It can be used to reduce trading fees in the exchange at a rate proportional to the amount of KCS held.
- It can be used to qualify for the KuCoin Bonus Program which allows regular payouts based on the success of the exchange and the number of KCS held (similar to a stock dividend).
- It is used to distribute rewards to those who are participating the KuCoin exchange referral program.