KuCoin vs Bithumb: An In-Depth Breakdown of Two Asian Giants
*Please note that Bithumb no longer accepts customers outside of South Korea.
Hey there! Join us as we compare Bithumb, South Korea’s favorite cryptocurrency exchange, with KuCoin, a trading-centric exchange from Hong Kong. We compare two Asian giants on various factors, including fees, instant buy options, security, and trading experience, to find you an overall winner.
Fees
KuCoin’s Fees & Discount Opportunities
- Maker fee: 0.1%
- Taker fee: 0.1%
- Both maker and taker fees will reduce as trading volume increases
- Buying KuCoin’s native token KCS can unlock a 20% discount on trading fees
- Refunds instead of fees for high volume traders
- Crypto deposits are free; withdrawals have a small charge
- See more
Bithumb
- Bithumb has three different platforms: one for South Korea, one for Singapore, and one for all other international customers called Bithumb Global. We will be talking about the international platform from here on out.
- Maker fee: 0.1%
- Taker fee: 0.1%
- Unlike KuCoin, maker and taker fees are fixed forever
- Crypto deposits are free; withdrawals have a small charge
Bithumb vs KuCoin: KuCoin offers discount opportunities.
Sign up & KYC Experience
Becoming a KuCoin Trader
- Head to Kucoin.com and click ‘Sign Up.’
- Provide an email address and password.
- Go to your email inbox and find the activation link from KuCoin.
- Set up 2-Factor Authentication using Google Authenticator on your mobile phone.
- Deposit and trade up to 5 BTC per day without KYC checks, or pursue verification by clicking ‘individual verification’ in your dashboard
- Provide your name and residential information.
- Submit a copy of your chosen ID document (passport preferred).
- Wait for confirmation.
Joining Bithumb Global
- Go to Bithumb.pro and click ‘Register.’
- Provide an email address and password, then hit ‘Send Code.’
- Find an email with a sign-up code in your inbox.
- Type this code where indicated and accept Bithumb’s agreement terms.
- Click ‘create account’ and set up 2-Factor Authentication via mobile app or SMS.
- You can pursue KYC verification to unlock fiat currency activities, or you can skip that and deposit and trade up to 5 BTC per day (the same as KuCoin).
- Do your KYC checks, find ‘Profile’ in your dashboard, click ‘Lv.2’, and then ‘Submit Information.’
- Type your name, date of birth, gender, ID type, and certificate number, and upload photos or scans of the front and back of your ID.
- On a blank piece of paper, write ‘Bithumb Global’ and today’s date and take a selfie with it.
- Now you need to wait…
KuCoin vs Bithumb: Tie.
Ease of Use and Feel of Website/App
Friendly KuCoin
- Very user-friendly and intuitive
- Great choice of colors and interface designs
- Easy navigation on web and app (iOS and Android)
- Soft staking, crypto-mining, and referral bonus schemes all active
- Easy to get to grips with trading and moving funds between wallets
- US-Friendly though must declare gains over $10,000 to FATCA
Enjoyable Bithumb
- iOS and Android apps that are seamless, simple, and easy to get started on
- The web service and apps feature a live customer support chat in English
- BTC dominance is around 12%, indicating high altcoin liquidity
- Great markets, with a wide variety of digital assets and crypto derivatives (such as BTC Gold)
- Free educational platform to earn crypto and support upcoming projects
- US traders can access Bithumb
Bithumb vs KuCoin: KuCoin has better UX/UI reviews by comparison.
Deposit Methods
KuCoin
- Cryptocurrency deposits only – 260 wallets available
Bithumb
- Recently, the Turkish Lira and Russian Ruble were the first fiat wallets introduced
- Cryptocurrency deposits – 224 wallets available
KuCoin vs Bithumb: Both cryptocurrency exchanges need to develop their deposit systems.
Instant Buy Options (Buying with a credit or debit card)
KuCoin
KuCoin Fast Buy allows instant purchases of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Tether in these currencies:
- Australian Dollar
- Bangladeshi Taka
- Indonesian Rupiah
- Canadian Dollar
- US Dollar
- Philippine Peso
- Indian Rupee
- Vietnamese Dong
33 fiat currencies accepted via:
- Bank transfer
- Sepa
- Paypal
- Interac
- POLi
- iDEAL
- Credit card transactions through Simplex (3.5% fee)
- Banxa
- WeChat Pay
- Alipay
- PayMIR
- OTC service & P2P fiat gateway
Bithumb
- Accepts 35 different fiat currencies
- Each currency has different payment methods and variable charges
- 15 different coins can be purchased with USD
- Credit and debit card accepted
Bithumb vs KuCoin: It’s a tie.
Trading Experience
KuCoin
- 570 trading pairs and 266 cryptocurrencies
- 100x leveraged trading
- Simple and enjoyable trading activities
- Low trading fees and plenty of major market cap coins
- Great liquidity
- KYC-free trading
Bithumb
- Features all major market cap cryptocurrencies
- 224 coins and 296 trading pairs
- KYC-free trading
- Lower liquidity than KuCoin
- Some language display issues on the website
- Fewer traders than KuCoin
- Margin trading up to 10x
- Great trading experiences on web and mobile
KuCoin vs Bithumb: KuCoin is clearly bigger and stronger in this field.
Reputation & Security
KuCoin
- Hacked in 2020 for $30m Bitcoin, $86m Stellar, and $150m in other coins
- Recovered 84% of the hacked funds
- Damaged reputation
Bithumb
- Hacked in July 2017 for $7m in Bitcoin and Ethereum, plus 30,000 customer data sets. Made to pay $28m in fines to the people of South Korea
- June 2018, hacked again for $30m Ripple
- Hacked a third time in March 2020 for $6m Ripple and $13.4m EOS
KuCoin vs Bithumb: Right now, neither deserves to win this category.
Bithumb vs KuCoin, who wins?
If we compare Bithumb and KuCoin, there’s an obvious winner. KuCoin is the dominant cryptocurrency exchange, with more coins, a larger platform, and better products. Few competitors can challenge KuCoin in truth, especially for KYC-free trading.
