Bybit vs KuCoin Overview

Bybit is a leading cryptocurrency exchange founded in 2018, offering futures and spot trading. It lists over 1,800 cryptocurrencies, supports nearly 70 million users across 160 countries, and handles more than $30 billion in daily volume. Key products include leveraged perpetual contracts, AI-powered TradeGPT analytics, automated trading bots, and copy trading.

KuCoin, founded in 2017, is a major crypto exchange supporting over 900 coins and serving more than 40 million users across 200 countries. It processes around $2 billion in daily trading volume, offering spot, margin, derivatives, and leveraged token trading. Additional features include trading bots, KuCoin Earn for staking, and GemSPACE for discovering new assets.

For a more detailed look at the specific features of each platform, readers can consult the comparison table below for in-depth insights.

Available Features

Both Bybit and KuCoin extend their offerings beyond the basic trading services, which include:

Bybit Products

Bybit offers a selection of trading and earning products designed for various trader needs. Key features are:

1. Spot Trading: Enables buying and selling of more than 1,800 cryptocurrencies with 65 fiat currencies.
2. Derivatives Trading: Provides 400+ perpetual and futures contracts settled in USDT, USDC and other tokens, with high leverage of up to 200x.
3. Options Trading: Allows advanced traders to manage risk and enhance profits by buying and selling crypto options contracts with flexible strategies.
4. Bybit Earn: Includes interest-bearing products such as staking, savings accounts, liquidity mining and yield farming, helping users generate up to 599% APY in passive income.
5. Trading Bots: Automates trading strategies through tools like Grid Bot, Futures Combo Bot, and DCA Bot, streamlining trades without constant manual oversight.
6. Copy Trading: Lets traders replicate strategies of more than 800,000 top-performing investors, ideal for those seeking guided exposure to crypto markets.
7. Bybit Card: Provides a crypto debit card offering up to 10% cashback, competitive APR rates, and VIP benefits, facilitating easy everyday crypto spending.
8. TradeGPT: An AI-driven tool delivering advanced data analysis and real-time market insights, providing users with a personal investment assistant.
9. Demo Account: Provides a risk-free environment where users can practice trading with virtual funds, simulating real market conditions to test strategies.

KuCoin Products

KuCoin offers a variety of cryptocurrency trading and investment products. Here is a quick summary:

1. Spot Trading: Allows instant buying and selling of over 900 cryptocurrencies with simple payment methods, including Visa, Mastercard, and bank transfers.
2. Derivatives: Offers 390+ futures contracts that are settled in USDT, USDC, ETH and BTC, with up to 125x leverage.
3. Leveraged Tokens: Offers tokens with between 1% - 3% built-in leverage, simplifying leveraged trades with no loans or liquidations.
4. KuCoin Earn: Enables users to earn up to 600% APY by staking, lending and borrowing 500+ cryptocurrencies through savings products, dual investment and Shark Fin.
5. Trading Bot: Automates trading strategies via Spot Grid, Futures Grid, Long Spot Martingale, Infinity Grid and DCA Build , allowing users to earn passively from market movements without continuous monitoring.
6. GemSPACE: Features new and emerging crypto assets, offering users exclusive early-stage investment opportunities in projects with significant growth potential.
7. KuCard: A crypto Visa card enabling users to spend cryptocurrencies easily at merchants globally, bridging crypto and traditional finance.
8. KuCoin Pay: A digital payment service that allows merchants to integrate cryptocurrency payments, simplifying crypto transactions for businesses.
9. Pre-Market Trading: An over-the-counter platform that allows users to trade new tokens before their official listing on the exchange. Traders can set their own prices, and both buyers and sellers are required to provide collateral to ensure the fulfillment of trades.

Derivatives Trading

Bybit and KuCoin are both powerful futures trading platforms, but they differ in product offerings, leverage options, and trading interfaces.​

Bybit Derivatives Trading

• Product Range: Bybit provides a suite of derivatives products, including perpetual contracts, futures, and options, which are settled in USDT, USDC and various other coins.
• Leverage: It offers leverage up to 200x on certain contracts, enabling traders to amplify their positions.
• Trading Interface: The platform integrates with TradingView, providing users with customizable charts, technical indicators, and drawing tools. Traders can execute various order types, including limit, market, conditional, stop-loss, and take-profit orders.
• Risk Management Tools: The interface includes built-in calculators for margin, P&L, and liquidation prices, assisting traders in making informed decisions and managing their risk exposure effectively.
• Additional Features: The copy trading feature enables users to replicate the trades of experienced traders. This tool is beneficial for those new to derivatives trading, providing an opportunity to learn and potentially profit by following professionals.

KuCoin Derivatives Trading

• Product Range: KuCoin offers USDT-margined and coin-margined futures contracts. The exchange also provides options trading, allowing users to buy or sell contracts that grant the right, but not the obligation, to buy or sell an asset at a predetermined price.​
• Leverage: Users can trade with leverage up to 125x on certain futures contracts. This can lead to significant gains or losses, emphasizing the need for effective risk management.​
• Trading Interface: KuCoin's derivatives platform features two distinct interfaces, Futures Lite and Futures Pro. KuCoin Futures supports various order types, including limit, market, and stop orders.
• Risk Management Tools: Features like stop-loss and take-profit orders, along with margin and liquidation calculators, assist traders in managing their positions effectively.
• Additional Features: KuCoin's options trading is European-style, meaning contracts can only be exercised at expiration. This structure can be advantageous for traders looking to hedge positions or speculate with defined risk.

In conclusion, Bybit and KuCoin both offer advanced derivatives trading platforms with unique features. Traders should consider their individual trading strategies, risk tolerance, and desired leverage when choosing between the two.​

Security & Regulation

Bybit implements strong security measures, including cold storage wallets, multi-factor authentication, transparent proof-of-reserves, and regular security audits. Its AI-powered risk management system effectively blocks fraudulent withdrawals, safeguarding user funds. 

However, in February 2025, Bybit experienced a significant breach, losing around $1.5 billion in Ethereum due to an attack by the Lazarus Group, a cybercrime organization linked to North Korea. The platform quickly replenished its reserves within 24 hours of the hack and strengthened security protocols in response.

Regarding regulations, Bybit is registered with the FIU in India, the AFSA in Kazakhstan, VARA in Dubai, CySEC in Cyprus and is currently applying for a MiCA license to operate across the European Union.

KuCoin’s advanced security measures include SOC 2 Type II certification, verifying strong controls over data protection and system availability. The exchange also employs advanced anti-money laundering protocols through partnerships with firms like Chainalysis and Sumsub. It also regularly publishes its reserve holdings to provide transparency.

Regarding regulation, KuCoin holds licenses in Australia, Czechia, India, El Salvador, and Poland. Additionally, after settling with U.S. authorities in 2025, KuCoin agreed to exit the U.S. market temporarily, further strengthening its compliance strategy worldwide.

Fees Schedule

Understanding the costs of cryptocurrency exchanges is key to maximizing your profits. Here's a comparison between Bybit and KuCoin, including their VIP levels and how fees vary:

Bybit Fees

Bybit maintains a transparent fee structure across its trading products, featuring a VIP program.​

• Spot Trading Fees: Bybit charges a flat 0.1% fee for both makers and takers. Traders with higher 30-day trading volumes can access reduced fees through the VIP program. For instance, Pro 6 users may see fees lowered to 0.015% (taker) and 0.005% (maker).
• Futures and Perpetual Contracts: The standard maker fee is 0.01%, while the taker fee is 0.06%. ​High-volume traders can benefit from significant fee reductions. For example, VIP 5 users may enjoy a 0% maker fee and a 0.017% taker fee. ​
• Options Trading: Bybit's USDC options trading features a flat fee of 0.03% for both makers and takers. ​
• Cashback and Promotions: Bybit offers a cashback program, allowing traders to earn rebates up to 45% based on their trading volume and VIP level. Additionally, the exchange occasionally runs zero-fee promotions on selected trading pairs.

KuCoin Fees

KuCoin offers a competitive fee schedule with a VIP program for KCS Token holders.​

• Spot Trading: A flat 0.1% fee applies to both makers and takers. Traders can reduce fees by 20% by paying with KuCoin's native token, KCS. ​
• Futures Trading: The maker fee starts at 0.02%​ and taker fee starts at 0.06%​. There is an additional 0.025% is charged upon contract settlement. ​
• Deposits: KuCoin does not charge fees for crypto deposits.​ Fees between 1% - 3% may apply for fiat currency deposits depending on the payment method and currency.​
• Fiat Withdrawals: Fees depend on the currency and method. Euro withdrawals via SEPA have a flat fee of 1 EUR, while GBP withdrawals can range from 5 GBP to 25 GBP. ​

Supported Countries & Languages

Bybit's services are available in numerous countries across various continents. However, it restricts access in certain jurisdictions due to regulatory considerations. As of 2025, Bybit’s restricted countries include the United States, Hong Kong, Singapore, Canada, France, the United Kingdom, North Korea, Cuba, Iran, Uzbekistan, Ukraine, Sevastopol, Sudan and Syria.

To cater to its international clientele, Bybit offers platform support in 18 languages, including English, Indonesian, Spanish (Mexico, Argentina, and International), Filipino, Kazakh, Portuguese (Brazil and International), Russian, Vietnamese, Thai, Ukrainian, Arabic, Japanese, Malay, and Simplified Chinese.

KuCoin is available to users in 200+ countries and regions. Despite its broad accessibility, it restricts access in specific countries due to compliance requirements. As of 2025, KuCoin’s restricted countries include the United States, Singapore, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Ontario (Canada).

To accommodate its global user base, KuCoin provides support in 18 languages. The platform's website and customer service are available in multiple languages, including English, Russian, Japanese, Spanish, Vietnamese, Turkish, Portuguese, French, Mandarin, Indonesian, Thai, Hindi, Malay, Arabic, Bengali, Filipino, Urdu, and Ukrainian.

Final Thoughts

When choosing between Bybit and KuCoin, traders should assess their individual priorities. Bybit offers advanced derivatives trading tools, high leverage options, and a user-friendly interface, making it suitable for experienced traders seeking sophisticated features. 

Conversely, KuCoin provides a broad selection of cryptocurrencies, diverse trading products, and competitive fees, appealing to those interested in exploring a wide range of assets. Evaluating your trading goals, risk tolerance, and desired features will help determine which platform aligns best with your needs.