Bybit vs KuCoin: Overview

Founded in 2018, Bybit began with perpetual futures, leveraged contracts that never expire. Co-founder Ben Zhou leads the company as CEO from Dubai. The exchange counts more than 80 million registered users across 181 countries and regions. Since January 2026, it has used the name "The New Financial Platform" to reflect its expansion into stock, gold, and currency contracts.

KuCoin was founded in 2017 and is operated by Peken Global Limited. Under CEO BC Wong, its registered user count passed 45 million in July 2026. KuCoin is known for listing new tokens before larger competitors and its deep Earn features that offer everything from simple earn to staking. Holders of its KCS token also pay lower spot fees and get access to more services.

The difference in scale is clear in TokenInsight's Q2 2026 exchange report. Bybit accounted for 9.81% of tracked exchange volume, compared with KuCoin's 2.96%, and ranked second worldwide in spot trading and third in derivatives. KuCoin recorded the fastest growth in open interest, the total value of open futures positions.

What Changed for Bybit and KuCoin in 2026

Four developments made older Bybit and KuCoin comparisons inaccurate in 2026.

• Europe's licensing deadline: MiCA, the European regulation that licenses crypto companies, reached the end of its transition period on July 1, 2026. Bybit closed its global platform to European Economic Area (EEA) users that day and moved them to bybit.eu. KuCoin holds the same license but is not accessible to European users yet.
• Regulatory action against KuCoin: Regulators in Thailand, Austria, and Dubai restricted KuCoin companies between January and March 2026. A US court also made its exit from America permanent.
• Stock and commodity contracts: Monthly industry volume in perpetual contracts on traditional assets rose from $52 billion in January 2026 to $268 billion in June. Bybit added options on its stock contracts in response. KuCoin added more than 120 stock and index contracts.
• Fee tokens: Many guides still say Bybit has no fee token. Paying fees in MNT, the Mantle network's token, now gives users 25% off spot fees and 10% off futures fees.

Bybit vs KuCoin: Products

Both exchanges offer spot markets, margin loans, and perpetual futures, plus automated bots and copy trading. Each also offers interest products and a spending card. Bybit puts almost all of these inside one margin account. KuCoin adds new markets faster.

Bybit Products

A shared collateral balance supports Bybit's products, helping traders who hold multiple position types.

1. Unified Trading Account: Spot, margin, perpetual, and options positions use one balance as collateral. Bitcoin held in the account can therefore support a stock contract.
2. Spot trading: More than 600 spot assets are listed on Bybit, with newer on-chain tokens sold separately through Bybit Alpha.
3. Perpetual and expiry futures: Margin can be posted in USDT, USDC, or the underlying coin. Our Bybit futures review examines order execution and liquidation rules.
4. Options: Bybit's crypto options are European-style and settle in cash. On September 17, 2026, the exchange introduced Perp Options, options based on its SpaceX and Nvidia stock perpetuals.
5. Bybit TradFi: More than 235 instruments track stocks, indices, gold, oil, and currencies. Each product type is described in our Bybit TradFi guide.
6. Copy trading and bots: Followers can copy lead traders' positions. Grid and dollar-cost averaging bots place repeated orders according to user-set rules.
7. Bybit AI: Connected to more than 600 platform services, this assistant answers account and support questions in plain language.
8. Earn, P2P, and payments: Bybit offers savings and staking products, as well as Bybit Pay and the Bybit Card. About 48,000 active merchants use its peer-to-peer market.

KuCoin Products

KuCoin's range suits traders looking for assets before other large exchanges list them.

1. Spot market: KuCoin reports more than 1,000 digital assets, although CoinGecko tracks about 830 coins on its spot market. Pairs fall into fee Class A, B, or C.
2. Perpetual futures: Traders can use USDT, USDC, or the underlying coin as collateral. New contracts usually launch with leverage capped at 20x or lower.
3. Stock index perpetuals: This category opened on March 13, 2026. KuCoin added 198 perpetual contracts in the seven months to July. CoinGecko's KuCoin exchange report classified 121 of them as stock or index products.
4. Tokenized stocks: Spot xStocks tokens trade against USDT, with four more listed on September 23, 2026. Through the KuCoin Web3 Wallet, users can also access more than 260 tokenized US stocks and ETFs issued by Ondo.
5. KuCoin Earn and KCUSD: KuCoin offers savings, staking, and structured products. Introduced on September 7, 2026, KCUSD pays a daily yield supported by real-world assets. Its base rate is up to 4% a year.
6. Trading bots and copy trading: The app runs grid and dollar-cost averaging bots. Copy trading is also available.
7. KuCoin Pay and KuCard: Merchants accept crypto payments through QR codes, while cardholders can spend their balances in stores.
8. KIA and KuMining: KIA, KuCoin's AI assistant, handles market and account questions. KuMining sells cloud mining contracts for Bitcoin, Dogecoin, and Litecoin.

Bybit vs KuCoin: Fees

Standard rates look similar, but KuCoin charges more for smaller tokens, and Bybit charges less for futures market orders. Token discounts also differ. As our maker and taker fee guide explains, a maker order waits in the order book for another trader to accept it. A taker order executes immediately.

Spot Trading Fees

• Bybit: At VIP 0, the starting level, the official fee table sets maker and taker fees at 0.10% on crypto pairs. Pairs priced in national currencies cost makers 0.15% and takers 0.20%. Adventure Zone tokens and xStocks carry a 0.20% fee per order.
• KuCoin: Pairs are split into three classes in the VIP fee schedule. Class A includes BTC, ETH, and other major coins at 0.10%. Class B costs 0.20%, rising to 0.30% for Class C. Check the class before ordering, since many small tokens fall in Class B or C.

Token Discounts

• Bybit with MNT: Paying fees in MNT lowers spot fees by 25% and futures fees by 10%, bringing the starting spot rate to 0.075%. Trading bots, copy trading followers, and API orders are excluded.
• KuCoin with KCS: A 20% discount applies to every spot fee paid in KCS, reducing the Class A rate to 0.08%. Staking KCS gives users a further 0.5% to 2% through the KCS Loyalty program. No KCS discount applies to futures fees.
• Price risk: To receive either discount, users must hold a token that could lose more in value than they save in fees.

Fee example: Buying $1,000 in BTC with a market order costs $1.00 on either exchange at standard rates. Paying in tokens reduces that fee to $0.75 on Bybit or $0.80 on KuCoin. A purchase of the same value in a KuCoin Class C token costs $3.00, reduced to $2.40 with KCS.

Futures and Other Costs

• Bybit: Makers pay 0.02% and takers 0.055% on perpetual and expiry futures. MNT payment lowers those rates to 0.018% and 0.0495%. Pre-market perpetuals and Innovation Zone contracts cost more, with maker fees of 0.04% and taker fees of 0.10% to 0.11%.
• KuCoin: The maker fee is 0.02%, while takers pay 0.06%. Most retail traders cannot reduce that taker rate, which stays at 0.06% until VIP 4.
• Cost of a market order: A $10,000 futures market order costs $5.50 on Bybit, or $4.95 with MNT, compared with $6.00 on KuCoin. Bybit's savings across 100 orders of that value are between $50 and $105.
• Funding payments: Perpetual contract holders pay or receive funding several times a day to keep the contract price near the spot price. Funding can exceed trading fees in a one-sided market.
• Withdrawals: Both exchanges set a fixed fee for each coin and network. Stablecoin transfers on low-cost networks such as TRON cost much less than transfers on Ethereum.

Bybit vs KuCoin: Futures and Liquidity

In Q2 2026, derivatives accounted for 75% of Bybit's volume. KuCoin depended more on spot activity. The larger exchange normally has deeper order books, which limit the price impact of a large order.

Markets Available

• Bybit: Traders can access USDT and USDC perpetuals, expiry futures, coin-margined inverse contracts, and options. Pre-market perpetuals cover tokens before their spot listing. For the smallest BTCUSDT positions, leverage reaches 100x and decreases as a position grows.
• KuCoin: Perpetuals accept stablecoin or coin margin. The BTC/USDT contract allows up to 125x leverage. KuCoin also lists stock index contracts on private companies ahead of their public listing. Prices rely on limited data and can change sharply after news, as with other pre-IPO futures.

Depth and Volume

• Bybit: With a 10.05% share of derivatives volume in Q2 2026, Bybit ranked third worldwide in TokenInsight's report.
• KuCoin: CoinGecko measured average daily perpetual volume of $3.07 billion from January to June 2026. In Q2, KuCoin's share of industry open interest increased from 2.23% to 6.20%, the largest gain among the 20 exchanges TokenInsight tracks.

Risk Controls

• Bybit: Isolated, cross, and portfolio margin are available. By setting one requirement for the whole account, portfolio margin reduces the collateral needed for offsetting positions.
• KuCoin: Traders choose isolated or cross margin. Low leverage limits on new contracts reduce the risk of rapid liquidation.

Both exchanges maintain insurance funds to cover losses that liquidated accounts cannot pay. When a fund is too small, auto-deleveraging reduces other traders' winning positions. This happened during the crash of October 10, 2025. For rankings of other platforms, see our best crypto futures exchanges page.

Bybit vs KuCoin: Stocks and Traditional Assets

Contracts linked to stocks, indices, and commodities were the fastest-growing exchange product in 2026. They follow a market price and settle in USDT, with no ownership, dividend, or voting rights.

Bybit offers four forms of exposure. Its TradFi perpetuals track stocks, ETFs, indices, metals, and oil, while contracts for difference (CFDs) cover currencies, indices, and commodities. Real shares support xStocks tokens one-to-one. Perp Options provide options on the stock perpetuals.

KuCoin focused on quantity, listing 121 stock and index perpetuals in under five months. It sells tokenized shares as xStocks on the exchange and as Ondo tokens in the Web3 Wallet and KuCoin Alpha.

Both exchanges remain small in this market. TradFi perpetuals accounted for 1.23% of Bybit's derivatives volume and 1.13% of KuCoin's in Q2 2026, against 8.65% at Binance. Our tokenized stock exchange comparison covers more platforms.

Bybit vs KuCoin: Security and Proof of Reserves

Both exchanges repaid customers after suffering one very large theft each. They now publish monthly proof-of-reserves reports comparing the assets they hold with the balances owed to users.

Bybit Security Measures and History

• 2025 theft: Attackers stole about $1.5 billion in ETH from a Bybit cold wallet on February 21, 2025. The FBI named North Korea as responsible. Bybit kept withdrawals open and covered the loss within three days.
• Proof of reserves: Hacken, a security firm, verified Bybit's 40th report using balances from September 23, 2026. Reserves met or exceeded 100% for all 50 tokens, with BTC at 104% and USDT at 110%. Users can check their own balance on the Bybit reserves page.
• Account protection: Accounts are protected by an authenticator app, an anti-phishing code, and an approved list of withdrawal addresses.

KuCoin Security Measures and History

• 2020 theft: Several hot wallets were emptied in September 2020, costing KuCoin about $281 million. Working with partners and law enforcement, the exchange recovered 84% of the funds. Its insurance fund paid the remainder.
• Proof of reserves: By mid-2026, KuCoin had published 44 consecutive monthly reserve reports. Hacken audited 14 of them.
• Certifications: KuCoin holds SOC 2 Type II certification from external auditors, as well as ISO/IEC 27001:2022 for information security and ISO/IEC 27701:2019 for privacy. These standards assess internal controls but do not guarantee customer funds.
• Delisting risk: KuCoin regularly removes small tokens, including a group delisted on September 7, 2026. Sell or withdraw affected holdings before the deadline in each notice.

Reserve reports capture balances at a single moment and cover only wallets disclosed by the exchange. They are not full financial audits. Keep only the funds needed for trading on an exchange and store long-term holdings in a self-custody wallet.

Bybit vs KuCoin: Regulation and Country Access

Legal access separates the exchanges most clearly in 2026. A licensed company must meet capital rules and keep customer assets separate from its own funds. It must also accept conduct supervision. Registration is weaker and usually covers only anti-money-laundering reporting.

Bybit Licenses

• European Union: In May 2025, Bybit EU GmbH received its MiCA authorization from Austria's Financial Market Authority (FMA). Valid in 29 EEA countries, the license supports an EU platform offering spot trading. Futures are unavailable because MiCA does not include derivatives.
• EU payments and derivatives: Ben Zhou stated in September 2026 that the FMA had issued an electronic money institution (EMI) license, allowing payment accounts. Bybit applied in September 2025 for a license under MiFID II, the directive governing EU investment products. Zhou expected a decision roughly two months later.
• United Arab Emirates: Since October 2025, Bybit has held a crypto asset platform operator license from the Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA). It permits trading, brokerage, and custody services across the UAE.
• Other markets: The Astana Financial Services Authority licenses Bybit in Kazakhstan. Bybit also holds a registration with India's Financial Intelligence Unit. It returned to the UK in December 2025 with spot trading under promotions approved by Archax, a Financial Conduct Authority-authorized firm.
• Restrictions: Accounts are unavailable to residents of Canada, Singapore, Hong Kong, mainland China, and the United States. The remaining exclusions appear on our Bybit restricted countries page.

KuCoin Licenses

• European Union: KuCoin EU Exchange GmbH received a MiCA license from the FMA in late November 2025. After the company lost its anti-money-laundering and sanctions officers, the regulator prohibited new business on February 19, 2026. It lifted that prohibition on May 18 but still does not permit the company to begin operations.
• United States: Peken Global Limited entered a guilty plea in January 2025 to one count of unlicensed money transmission, accepting about $297 million in penalties. Under a court order of March 30, 2026, KuCoin must refuse US participants until it registers with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
• Dubai: Dubai's regulator, VARA, ordered KuCoin to stop all unlicensed activity on March 5, 2026, and advised residents to avoid the exchange. KuCoin replied that its EU company does not serve users outside the EU.
• Thailand: In January 2026, the Thai Securities and Exchange Commission suspended KuCoin Thailand because its capital had fallen below the legal minimum. SEC approval is required before it can restart.
• Registrations: KuCoin's Australian subsidiary registered with AUSTRAC in November 2025. The exchange is also registered with India's Financial Intelligence Unit.
• Restrictions: Excluded markets include France, the Netherlands, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, mainland China, the United States, and the Canadian province of Ontario. See our KuCoin restricted countries guide.

Bybit wins on legal access because its EU platform is open, though futures are unavailable there. Neither exchange accepts US residents. EU readers can compare MiCA-licensed exchanges, while US readers can consult our best US crypto exchanges list.

Is Bybit Better Than KuCoin?

For most traders, Bybit is better than KuCoin. It handles more than three times the trading volume, charges a lower futures taker fee, and offers a larger token discount. Its EU operating license adds to those advantages. Reserve reports cover 50 tokens, and the exchange demonstrated in 2025 that it could repay a very large loss.

Traders seeking newly issued tokens or a long list of stock index contracts are better served by KuCoin, where it can legally operate. Those advantages come with higher fees for small tokens and a greater risk of delisting.

Final Thoughts

Bybit completed its move to a licensed EU platform during 2026. It also introduced a fee token discount and extended its account to stocks and options. KuCoin saw rapid growth in open interest and stock contracts, but authorities in four jurisdictions took action against its companies within three months.

We recommend Bybit as the primary exchange for active traders wherever its global or EU platform operates. A second account at KuCoin can help traders find new tokens. Keep balances there small and monitor fee classes and delisting notices.

Confirm that the exchange accepts residents of your country and complete identity verification before depositing. Turn on two-factor authentication and restrict withdrawals to approved addresses. Send a small test withdrawal first. This article provides general information and is not financial advice.