KuCoin vs Bybit 2022: Which is the TOP Crypto Exchange for KYC-Free Trading?

Welcome cryptonaut, to another article in our versus series where we compare some of the top exchanges to help our community find which exchange is right for them.

Here at the Coin Bureau, we know what a pain it can be to spend hours scouring through the hundreds of exchanges, looking for the perfect one to meet your needs as a crypto trader. One of the ways that we aim to help our community is by doing the research and leg work to streamline the process for you, helping folks find which exchange is best to suit their individual needs.

Today’s article is an interesting one as we have KuCoin, the #6 largest exchange in the world in trading volume, and the largest one for KYC-free trading, versus Bybit, one of the fastest-growing and most exciting crypto trading exchanges that is rapidly gaining ground on KuCoin.

So, the question is: Should you stick with the tried, tested and true KuCoin, which has been the dominant exchange for KYC-free trading for over 5 years, or see what all the hype is about and sign up with Bybit? Well, that is exactly what we are going to determine in this KuCoin vs Bybit review.

As you are on a journey to find the perfect crypto exchange, you may find this article useful:

Best Cryptocurrency Exchanges 2022

We also have in-depth dedicated reviews for both of the exchanges in this article if you want to learn more about them:

Bybit Review

KuCoin Review

But for now, let’s crack into our KuCoin vs Bybit review and determine which one is best for crypto trading.

KuCoin vs Bybit Summary:

	KuCoin	Bybit
Headquarters:	Seychelles	Dubai
Year Established:	2017	2018
Regulation:	Not regulated by any national licensing bodies. Legally operates as a Digital Assets Exchange under Seychelles law	None
Spot Cryptocurrencies Listed:	700+	300+
Native Token:	KCS	BIT
Maker/Taker Fees:	Lowest: -0.005%/0.025% Highest: 0.1% / 0.1%	Lowest: 0%/0.02% Highest: 0.1%/0.1%
Security:	High	High
Beginner-Friendly:	Advanced trading concepts can be confusing for beginners. KuCoin offers a lot of features and products that can overwhelm new users.	Advanced trading concepts can be confusing for beginners. Good platform to learn how to trade.
KYC/AML Verification:	None for limited trading. Users will need to KYC to reach higher volume trading limits.	None for crypto trading and withdrawals. KYC needed for crypto purchases, Launchpad and Earn access
Fiat Currency Support:	Yes, crypto can be purchased with 50+ fiat currencies supported through various integrated partners.	Yes, crypto can be purchased with 50+ fiat currencies through various integrated partners.
Deposit/Withdraw Method	Deposit– SEPA Bank Transfer, Debit/Credit card, P2P, Apple Pay, Simplex, Banxa.  Fast Buy supports 70+ payment methods through various third-party integrations. Withdraw– Crypto only	Deposit- Purchase crypto via bank card or transfer via third-party companies. P2P. Withdrawal- Crypto only

KuCoin vs Bybit

Further in this article, we will take a closer look at each exchange individually, but first, we want to give you an overview of our findings by comparing KuCoin versus Bybit.

KuCoin vs Bybit: Products Offered

One of the first things I will mention right off the bat is that KuCoin sets the bar incredibly high in terms of products and assets offered. In fact, Gate.io and KuCoin absolutely dominate the “who has the most supported assets” game, with a whopping 700+ tradeable digital assets compared to Bybit’s 300.

KuCoin also has an impressive selection of products such as a robust Earn section, a launchpad, some of the best trading competitions around, lending, and has become the #1 trading platform for skilled traders who enjoy trading competitions and “Vegas-style” trading games and lottery style giveaways.

KuCoin also has trading bots, leveraged tokens, and allows margin on Spot and Derivatives trading. Competition among the top 10 exchanges is fierce, and KuCoin hasn’t been able to remain in the top by resting on its laurels and failing to innovate. KuCoin is a very strong exchange with a trading engine and platform that is second to none.

The Kucoin crypto exchange is a fantastic multi-use platform as they have a lot to offer crypto traders from all walks of life regardless of what they are hoping to achieve with their crypto assets. The plethora of products available is the primary reason that they have been able to grow their user base to tens of millions of users worldwide and attract traders from all skill levels.

So, if KuCoin is such a dominant player, why has Bybit been taking market share and moving up the ranks? What is it about Bybit that has resulted in it being one of the fastest-growing exchanges and one of the very few that has managed to increase its user base despite the bear market we find ourselves in that has left other exchanges laying off employees and tightening their belts?

Those are the answers we will be exploring throughout this article. Bybit has just recently celebrated hitting the 10 million user mark and has decided to drop fees on spot trading pairs to mark the occasion. Bybit is no slouch in strong features offering, with a pretty darn good Earn section, one of the top platforms for Copy Trading, an NFT marketplace, and one of the highest-grade, professional quality trading interfaces with flawless order execution and advanced order types.

Bybit’s primary attractions, aside from the incredibly powerful trading engine and seamless trading interface, is the fantastic selection of products they have on offer, KYC-free trading, and the trading contests along with sign-up bonuses.

After using both exchanges, I have to say that trading on both platforms is an enjoyable experience as everything works seamlessly as it should, with the trading interface and trading execution being top-tier without a doubt. Both KuCoin and Bybit have become hubs for professional and amateur traders.

Bybit offers some of the best sign-up bonuses that I have come across in crypto that are worth checking out. There is also nothing saying you can’t use more than one crypto exchange, it isn’t uncommon for traders to have accounts at both KuCoin and Bybit and double dip on the bonuses and participate in the various contests and giveaways.

Coin Bureau readers can take advantage of KuCoin’s selection of features, insane catalogue of hard-to-find altcoins, and low fees while enjoying an exclusive up to 60% fee discount and free trading bot by using our KuCoin Sign-up Link.

If you want to find out why there is so much hype surrounding Bybit and take advantage of this oasis for crypto traders, you can win up to $4030 in USDT rewards and take advantage of their $0 Spot trading fee promotion using our Bybit Sign-Up Link

Alright, let’s take a quick look at what KuCoin has to offer

• Buy crypto with over 50 fiat currencies
• Swap crypto easily with the “convert” feature
• Access an advanced trading interface for Spot, Margin and Derivatives trading
• Trade leveraged tokens
• 10x leverage for Spot trading up to 100x leverage for Futures
• KuCard crypto debit card
• Rewards hub
• Trading Bots
• Crypto Lending, Earn, and Launchpad
• Full-service NFT marketplace for buying, selling, minting, and investing in fractionalized NFTs

Here is what Bybit offers:

• Up to 100x leverage
• VIP, broker, and Affiliate programs
• Ability to buy crypto via card or bank transfer
• DAO participation
• Leveraged tokens
• Trading bots
• Launchpad
• Spot + Derivatives trading
• Advanced analytics and educational section
• Copy trading
• Earn
• Rewards hub and trading contests
• NFT marketplace

That covers the products and key features at a glance, now let’s jump into how else these two stack up.

KuCoin vs Bybit: User Friendliness

I like to preface this section by making the important distinction between being beginner-friendly and user-friendly. Brand new crypto users are unlikely to find either KuCoin or Bybit very user-friendly as these exchanges feature advanced crypto trading interfaces and order types. KuCoin especially can be incredibly overwhelming to new crypto users due to the sheer number of features and products as I’ve highlighted below:

Though even as someone new to crypto, learning how to navigate these platforms and use the trading interface will be a huge benefit to you over time as you will be able to save a substantial amount on fees and get in and out of crypto at better prices. I’m not even talking about actually learning how to trade, just how to hit the “buy and sell” button on the trading screen and avoid the simple “convert” or “swap” features, which often gouge users who pay a price for that convenience.

Fortunately, Guy has this great video where he shows you how to get started and use KuCoin like a pro:

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That statement that neither KuCoin nor Bybit are beginner friendly is not a criticism against these platforms as they are not aiming to provide a beginner-friendly experience. These are platforms that support advanced crypto trading for experienced traders, and in the case of KuCoin, offer a massive number of products for all skill levels. You simply cannot support a vast amount products and advanced trading features like KuCoin and still be considered “beginner-friendly.”

If you are looking for user-friendly platforms that are the most beginner friendly, I would recommend taking a gander at our Kraken and SwissBorg reviews.

For anyone with experience using cryptocurrency exchanges, or after getting used to them, both KuCoin and Bybit are great platforms. The user-friendliness comes with time once you get familiar with the navigation and what each product does.

Bybit is definitely the easier platform to use and navigate through, simply due to the fewer features and menus. That isn’t a knock on Bybit for offering less than KuCoin, as let’s face it, the vast majority of KuCoin users likely do not even access over half the products offered anyway. I know after years of being a Binance user myself, I never use probably around 75% of the products offered on the platform, so there is nothing wrong with Bybit specializing in fewer features and mastering them instead of trying to be a Jack of all trades like KuCoin and Binance.

From a UX/UI perspective, I do find KuCoin to be a bit cluttered with so many features that it can be overwhelming to new users. I found the navigation on the site not as straightforward and obvious as other exchanges like Bybit, but there are no real major issues to highlight and both platforms have great mobile apps that are highly rated and enjoyed by thousands of users.

The trading interfaces themselves are quite similar between these two as both charting screens are powered by Tradingview, which has become the gold standard for the top crypto exchanges.

 Here is a look at the Bybit trading interface:

Thanks to the Tradingview integration on both platforms, Bybit and KuCoin are suitable for any level of technical analysis trader, and both offer advanced order types to appease traders from any background. Both of these platforms are designed to support retail and professional traders of all skill levels and experience, the trading interfaces on these platforms are as good as you’ll find on any of the top exchanges.

Everything on the Bybit site is well laid out and easy to find. The drop-down menus make platform navigation a breeze, there really is no fault to be found for design or useability.

Now let’s swing over to the KuCoin trading interface.

While laid out slightly differently than Bybit, the functions and order executions are the same.

Like Bybit, trade execution on KuCoin is flawless and trades occur nearly instantaneously which is important to avoid issues like slippage.

Aside from some menus feeling cluttered, the UI/UX on KuCoin also serves its function well enough, there aren’t any glaring flaws to point out.

As far as the trading interface and trading functionality go, there isn’t much difference between these two platforms. Neither platform significantly outperforms the other from a strictly trading function, though KuCoin does take the win for users looking for more tradeable markets. Where Bybit takes a win is when we get into the trading contests, sign-up bonuses, and copy trading.

This is also likely more of a personal bias and the 20+ million traders on KuCoin would probably disagree, but for me, trading on Bybit just felt more aesthetically pleasing. I feel like Bybit has put a lot of effort into keeping their platform modern and the interface looks and feels a little sleeker than KuCoin, though this is a very minor observation that may not even be worth mentioning.

KuCoin vs Bybit: Fees

Fees have become very competitive in the crypto exchange industry with exchanges like Binance, FTX, and KuCoin being the leaders in the space for rock-bottom fees.

Though Bybit fees are not high in the traditional sense and are still incredibly easy on the bank account, they are not fractions of a percentage low or even negative for high-volume traders as we see on KuCoin. Though the most expensive tier fee is similar between these two, it is the traders in the highest tier and average folks in the mid-fee tier levels that will be able to save more by using KuCoin, especially if they take advantage of paying fees in the KCS token to further reduce fees another 20%.

Unfortunately, neither KuCoin nor Bybit are fee-friendly when it comes to purchasing crypto as they both facilitate purchases through third-party payment providers that can charge between 2-8%. The lack of full fiat support is the largest criticism against, and the largest weakness of both these platforms.

Neither KuCoin nor Bybit natively facilitates fiat deposits and purchases, nor is there fiat withdrawal support. These platforms rely on companies like Simplex, Banxa, and others to facilitate crypto purchases and these third-party crypto purchase providers have some of the highest fees in the industry.

To save yourself the most on fees, especially over the long run, you would be best to use an exchange with a proper fiat on and offramp like Binance, FTX, Coinbase, or Kraken to make your crypto purchases via bank deposits/ bank transfers, then send crypto to a platform like Bybit or KuCoin for trading or using the other platform features. This will allow you to keep more of your precious crypto and not blow all your fiat on fees that could be better used for stacking more sats.

As for trading fees, Bybit utilizes a similar maker/taker fee model as most other crypto exchanges. Following a VIP tier level, here is what traders on Bybit can expect to pay for trading fees:

KuCoin utilizes a similar maker/taker fee model and is one of the lowest fee names in the game. Following a tiered structure based on a rolling 30-day trading volume, and/or KCS tokens held, here is what traders can expect to pay for KuCoin fees:

KuCoin Fees can be further reduced by an additional 20% for users who choose to pay fees in the platform’s native KCS token.

KuCoin edges out a win in the fees category when it comes to trading fees as they are slightly lower than those offered on Bybit.

KuCoin vs Bybit: Security

Now onto the ever-important topic of security. Unfortunately, neither of these platforms is taking home a gold medal in security I am afraid.

Crypto exchange security is something I place a strong emphasis on when conducting these reviews, and neither Bybit nor KuCoin seem to place a very strong focus on this priority, unlike more security-focused exchanges like Crypto.com, Kraken, FTX, and Binance.

Neither KuCoin nor Bybit go above and beyond the minimum standards in security, and to support this point, Certified, an objective independent security rating team of security specialists ranked KuCoin #40 and Bybit #54 in terms of security, which is pretty brutal.

If security is important to you, check out our Crypto.com, Kraken, and Binance reviews to find out why these three exchanges take the top spots when it comes to robust security measures.

Though these exchanges don’t get the “gold star” for security, that isn’t to say their security is so bad that they should be avoided at all costs. Both platforms do take the #1 most important step in crypto security, and that is that they keep the majority of customer funds in offline, cold storage wallets, and out of the reach of hackers.

KuCoin takes things a step further as they also partnered with Onchain Custodian to help ensure the crypto held on their exchange is secure and even have insurance in place to cover customers in the event of a hack.

It is important to note that in 2020, KuCoin did experience one of the largest hacks in crypto history, where hackers were able to make off with $275 million worth of customer funds. KuCoin has since beefed up its security protocols and to my knowledge, there have been no successful hacks since then.

From a user perspective, KuCoin traders can enhance the security of their accounts by implementing the following security features:

• Two-factor authentication
• Security questions
• Anti-phishing safety phrase
• Login safety phrase
• Trading password
• Phone verification
• Email notifications
• Restrict login IP address

Both platforms utilize multi-signature authorization for withdrawals and the movement of platform funds so one bad actor cannot make off with customer funds if they are compromised.

Turning our attention to Bybit, they handle their cold storage procedure quite a bit different to any other exchange I’ve encountered. Bybit claims that 100% of customer funds are kept in a cold-storage air-gapped environment, and the only funds exposed to hot wallets for customer withdrawals are the company’s own funds.

Bybit also uses SSL encryption, supports 2FA, and has insurance in place to protect traders in the event of liquidation posed by shortfalls in futures contract settlement, but no insurance is in place to reimburse customers in the event of a hack.

From a customer point of view, Bybit offers its users the following security features:

• 2FA
• Biometric login for mobile app

In the security category, KuCoin is the clear winner as they take considerably more robust security measures and have insurance in place to reimburse customers in the unlikely event of a hack. KuCoin also has far more security options that users can benefit from to lock down their trading accounts.

I am unsure when Certified last did their audit on the KuCoin platform, but I personally feel the #40 ranking is pretty harsh. After reviewing dozens of exchanges, the fact that KuCoin follows industry best practices, has partnered with a blockchain security firm to monitor the platform, and has insurance in place, in my opinion, makes KuCoin far more secure than the majority of crypto exchanges out there. KuCoin offers the robust security that you would expect from a top-10 exchange whereas Bybit has some room for improvement.

Great, now that we have covered a bit of head-to-head, let’s dive into each one a little more in detail.

KuCoin Overview

What is KuCoin

KuCoin was one of the first crypto exchanges with a sole focus on catering to serious traders in the crypto space back in 2017. The history of KuCoin actually dates all the way back to 2011, when the founding team members first began working in the infant years of blockchain technology.

The design for KuCoin was started in 2013, but the platform wasn’t launched for years until the team felt it was suitable for release to the public. Talk about being perfectionists!

Since 2017, the crypto exchange rose quickly in adoption and has since become a favourite place for serious traders thanks to the high-performance trading interface and trading/matching engine, the impressive list of products on offer, and is best known and beloved for its huge altcoin selection and Vegas-style trading contests, promos, and giveaways.

Another one of KuCoin’s greatest strengths is the ability to trade without KYC with the following limits:

KuCoin’s final major strength comes in the form of the rock bottom fees as they are a leader in low-fee trading. The biggest weakness of the platform is not having a native fiat on and offramp, meaning buying crypto on KuCoin can come with some high fees and there is no way to cash out profits to a bank account, so you will still need an exchange that can withdraw to a bank account if you ever intend to cash in on profits.

Cryptocurrencies Offered

Many traders I know, myself included, use KuCoin as a “backup” exchange thanks to their unparalleled ability to list some of the newest and hardest-to-find Altcoins. When my primary exchange doesn’t list an asset I am interested in picking up, I normally try and find it on a DEX or KuCoin.

As KuCoin supports a whopping 750+ crypto assets, including the majors like Bitcoin and Ethereum, along with many smaller cap coins, traders are unlikely to find something here that they wouldn’t be interested in trading or hodling.

You can find a full list of supported assets on KuCoin’s supported crypto assets and Futures markets page.

KuCoin Products

Here we will cover a high-level overview of the products on KuCoin. We do cover these more in-depth in our dedicated KuCoin review if you want a more thorough look.

Trading Platform

The trading interface on KuCoin is very intuitive and well-designed, attracting traders from all skill levels and supports advanced trading features and order types. It is clear why KuCoin has attracted retail and professional traders from around the globe.

Traders can access both Spot markets and Derivatives markets with leverage as high as 10x for spot and 100x for Futures.

KuCoin offers multiple different ways for users to trade, from a simple “convert” option that looks like this:

Which allows users to simply swap assets, to advanced charting screens like the one shown below for more advanced trading:

The trading interface provides access to all of the cryptocurrencies, markets, and trading pairs available on KuCoin. New traders may be overwhelmed when they first access this platform, but once they use it a few times it becomes easy, and it isn’t as complicated as it looks.

Also, learning to use the trading interface as opposed to a simple “buy crypto” feature can help save a significant amount on fees over time when swapping fiat to crypto as the more convenient options often come with hefty fees. Learning to use the trading interface, even at the most basic levels, will also allow traders to place advanced order types that can help them enter and exit trades at more opportune price levels.

The trading chart on KuCoin is powered by the industry gold standard Tradingview platform, meaning that KuCoin is suitable to meet the needs of simple or advanced technical analysis traders.

I’ve found trading on KuCoin to always work exactly as you would expect from an industry-leading exchange. The trade executions are always completed flawlessly and I have never encountered any issues with the trading functionality. The overwhelmingly positive reviews online echo that sentiment.

KuCoin Earn

KuCoin has one of the best ‘Earn’ sections out of all the exchanges, providing users with ample opportunities to earn passive income on their crypto stash. KuCoin falls only behind Binance in this category as Binance has an incredible selection of Earn products and features.

I won’t go into all the different Earn features here as we cover that in our KuCoin review, but users on KuCoin can earn from lending, staking, the Spotlight launch platform, KuCoin Pool, KuCoin Win, and holders of the KCS token can simply hodl for daily rewards.

KuCoin also supports Polkadot parachain slot auctions which is really cool, allowing users on the platform to get involved with the Polkadot auction process without the complexities of having to understand the nuts and bolts of it all.

There are Earn products on KuCoin suitable for all risk levels from guaranteed principal low-yield products with flexible terms, to high-risk products that can be locked in for higher returns.

KuCoin Spotlight

The KuCoin Spotlight allows users to acquire token rewards from new projects by committing KuCoin’s KCS tokens for each launch event they are interested in. This is very similar to the Launchpad featured on other platforms like Binance and Bybit.

Thanks to KuCoin’s reputation and mass user base and liquidity, the KuCoin Spotlight attracts some fantastic projects that users can get involved in early, before the tokens are available to the public.

Launchpads like KuCoin’s Spotlight can be very lucrative as they provide average users with the chance to pick up tokens at deeply discounted prices before they hit mainstream availability. Here is a look at some of the insane returns enjoyed by users who have participated in the KuCoin Spotlight:

A Few picks like these and most traders would have hit their ROI goals for the decade!

KuCoin NFTs

While many crypto exchanges like FTX and Binance have launched their own NFT marketplaces, KuCoin decided to do things a bit differently with this asset class and offers something quite unique.

Through KuCoin’s decentralized NFT marketplace Windvane, users can buy, sell, and swap NFTs, as well as gain access to exclusive airdrops, earn dividends of commission income, and enjoy whitelist access to NFT projects.

It is great to see KuCoin launch their NFT marketplace as a decentralized platform, unlike the other exchanges, and where things get even more interesting is through KuCoin’s NFT launchpad Wonderland.

This is the first platform I have seen that acts like a launchpad, but instead of project tokens being available for early access, it is NFTs from some interesting-looking projects in the GameFi space such as Pikaster, CEBG, and X-Rush. Here NFT projects provide KuCoin users with first dibs on NFTs before wider access is available outside of the KuCoin ecosystem.

The third way that KuCoin is fostering utility and advancement in the NFT space is with its NFT fractionalization platform:

This is fantastic for users who want to gain exposure to some blue-chip NFTs but either do not want to commit the full amount or don’t have the funds to purchase some of those NFTs that come with a premium price tag.

The way it works is that users can purchase something with a ticker symbol, hiMAYC as an example, which represents 1/1,000,000 ownership of one Mutant Ape Yacht Club (MAYC) NFT.

Projects can also contact the KuCoin team to offer up their NFTs to have them fractionalized and promoted on the platform.

KuCoin Leveraged Tokens

KuCoin Leveraged Tokens are tokens with the features of leverage automatically attributed to them. These nifty products provide traders with responsible access to leverage, without the liquidation risks of trading with margin.

There are a number of popular assets available in leveraged forms such as BTC, ETH, ADA, VeChain and more. Leveraged tokens have become such a popular trading instrument that they are now supported on many of the major exchanges.

KuCoin Card

Crypto cards have become incredibly popular, with exchanges like Crypto.com and Binance dominating the crypto debit card space.

I am a huge fan of crypto cards, many of them provide fantastic perks like cashback and free Netflix/Spotify subscriptions, no fees, and the ability to spend crypto, which is perfect for anyone who gets paid in crypto.

While the KuCoin card is not released yet, this was their response to popular exchanges like Binance, FTX, and Crypto.com all launching their own card products. It will be interesting to see what KuCoin comes up with to launch a competitive product.

KuCoin Win

KuCoin Win is a great feature for those who enjoy contests, draws, and giveaways. Win is a KCS ecosystem platform that combines fun and gamified entertainment with token listings, providing another way for KuCoin users to gain access to initial token distributions.

Here participants can gain access to initial token distributions of promising blockchain projects at early stages and low costs.

LuckyRaffling is also part of the KuCoin Win platform where users can swap crypto for lucky codes in a lottery-style event where they can win things like Apple Airpods, KCS or USDT prizes.

KuCoin Futures Brawl

Futures Brawl on KuCoin became hugely popular as it provides traders with a fun and engaging way to participate in a game of educated chance with the opportunity to win some great prizes.

Futures Brawl was introduced as a temporary promotion back in 2020 but was so popular that it still remains on the platform today.

The concept is quite simple:

1. Decide how much in USDT you’re going to wager in the brawl.
2. Choose to go long or short on the price of Bitcoin, whichever direction you think Bitcoin is going to go over the next 24 hours.
3. The system will match you with an opponent who has a different bias.
4. Win tokens if you choose right, lose the brawl if you choose wrong.

The number of points you can win increases for larger wagers and increases more when you are on a win streak. Here is the reward system:

Brawl can be participated in once per day and winnings can be increased by joining 3v3 matches and extending your win streak. The prizes here are fantastic, with things like iPhones and full Bitcoins being given away in the past.

KuCoin Trading Bots

KuCoin is one of the dominant platforms in the industry offering a fantastic trading bot platform to set your trades on autopilot.

While trading bots are unlikely to make you a millionaire overnight as you kick back and sip margaritas on a beach, they can be very helpful assistants for experienced traders who know how to trade, know how to set the bot up, and know when and when not to deploy it.

You can find out what I mean and why trading bots aren’t money printers in our article on  Crypto Trading Bots.

Traders can check out the popularity and performance of certain trading bots that they can choose from, or they can set up their own and determine the trading parameters. Check out KuCoin’s article on trading bots to learn more about how they work and the bots available.

If you are interested in exploring trading bots and automated trading further, I recommend checking out 3Commas, you can learn about them in our Top Trading Bots article. Feel free to take advantage of our 3Commas sign-up link, which gets you a 3-day free trial and a 50% discount if you choose to sign up.

Types of Accounts and KuCoin Fees

KuCoin only offers one main type of account for traders that can fall into 13 different tier levels depending on 30-day trading volume and/or KCS token holdings. Here is a look at the Spot trading fees:

Here is what traders can expect for Futures trading fees:

As mentioned, KuCoin is one of the most fee-friendly places for traders, especially among whales as levels 8 and above start to see negative fees, meaning they can earn a profit from Maker trade orders. This is a clever move to attract deep-pocketed traders and institutions to the platform.

As for deposits and withdrawals, crypto deposits are free, purchasing crypto using card can see some hefty fees of 2-8% and crypto withdrawals vary significantly depending on the token and network. Up-to-date fees can be found on the KuCoin Fees Page

KuCoin Security

After the large hack in 2020 that went down as one of the largest exchange hacks in history, KuCoin has significantly upped its security game and does a pretty decent job here.

They follow the #1 golden rule in exchange security, and that is that they keep the majority of funds in offline cold storage wallets and out of the reach of hackers. They have also partnered with Onchain Custodian to help ensure the crypto held on their exchange is secure while holding insurance to cover customers in the event of a hack.

Insurance policies to reimburse customers is not something offered by every exchange, so this provides KuCoin users with some peace of mind and is a big green checkmark for me. The KuCoin platform features encryption technology and there are a number of control departments in place that provide round-the-clock activity monitoring, diligently on the lookout for suspicious behaviour.

From a user perspective, KuCoin traders can rest easy with the following security measures:

• Two-factor authentication
• Security questions
• Anti-phishing safety phrase
• Login safety phrase
• Trading password
• Phone verification
• Email notifications
• Restrict login IP address

That summarizes a high-level overview of KuCoin. It really is a fantastic place to trade if you don’t mind the lack of regulation and fiat offramp.

Bybit Review

What is Bybit

Bybit is a cryptocurrency and derivatives trading exchange with multiple products and features such as Earn, Launchpad, Copy Trading, and more, which has turned this platform into a popular crypto hub. This highly-rated crypto exchange recently celebrated hitting the 10 million trader mark and has been one of the fastest-growing crypto exchanges since its launch in 2018.

This crypto exchange has had one of the most impressive growth trajectories among unregulated exchanges thanks to its incredibly powerful and seamless trading platform and effective marketing campaigns. Bybit also offers some of the best trading competitions and sign-up bonuses, which have been successful in attracting traders.

Bybit has become a trading oasis for skilled and amateur traders and has even managed to continue its growth despite the bear market we find ourselves in that sees most exchanges dropping in users and trading volume. This is a testament to what a fantastic trading platform Bybit is.

Currently sitting as the #11 largest exchange in the world in terms of trading volume, Bybit is quickly moving up in the ranks, gaining on the likes of KuCoin and other larger players in the space.

I have always held a lot of respect for Bybit thanks to their continuous efforts to advance and benefit the entire industry with their Bybit educational academy Bybit Learn, which is a fantastic resource for anyone looking to up their crypto knowledge.

Bybit also goes to great lengths to benefit and progress the entire crypto community by releasing fantastic reports regularly on the state of crypto and highlighting important developments in the industry. There are many comprehensive analytic reports and tools accessible to anyone on the Bybit platform.

Cryptocurrencies Offered

Bybit has a respectable selection of over 300 crypto assets to trade on the spot market and nearly 300 derivatives products.

Bybit users also get to benefit from the platform’s dedication to listing new tokens earlier than many of their competitors, providing Bybit traders with first dibs.  The platform features support for the major pairs like Bitcoin and Ethereum, along with many of the smaller tokens like Tezos, Cardano, Polkadot and more.

Bybit Products

We cover Bybit’s products in more detail in our Bybit review, but here is a high-level overview of the most prominent features.

Trading Platform

The trading interface, matching and trading engine on Bybit are of the same high quality you’ll find on the major player exchanges like Binance, KuCoin, and FTX. Bybit claims that it can handle 100,000 transactions per second and takes lengthy measures to ensure there is no server downtime.

The trading interface is of such high quality that Bybit has been attracting professional and even institutional traders to the site for those looking for a high-performance trading platform.

Bybit has proven to provide a seamless trading experience with both simple and advanced functionality, suitable for both traders with easy or complex needs and order functionality.

Thanks to the integration with Tradingview, the charting functionality on Bybit is incredibly robust and can meet the needs of any style of trader. The trading interface also provides users with the ability to swap to a standard depth chart as well.

Bybit is praised for providing a flawless trading experience, there isn’t anything negative to be pointed out here as the platform delivers exactly on what it promises. It is also useful to know that Bybit offers demo and practice accounts for risk-free trading where traders can learn the ropes and test out new strategies and products before jumping in with live funds.

Bybit Leveraged Tokens

Similar to the leveraged products found on Binance and KuCoin, Bybit also offers leveraged tokens for trading.

Leveraged tokens provide traders with reasonable amounts of leverage, up to 5x, without liquidation or margin risks. Leveraged tokens are a fantastic product that have become widely popular among traders as they can be traded while avoiding the complexities of margin trading. We explain how leveraged tokens work in more detail in our FTX review.

Bybit Launch

With many of the major exchanges starting their own launchpads, Bybit was not about to miss out and also released Bybit Launch.

With so many exchanges featuring launchpads now, the launchpad space has become quite over-saturated with most platforms not being able to support or feature high-quality projects. Especially as we are in the depths of a bear market, there are just not enough promising high-quality projects looking to launch, and the few that are can take their pick of being featured on the best launchpads like the ones on Binance and KuCoin where they can gain the most exposure and raise the capital needed.  

The result has been many exchange launchpads rarely listing new projects, and as the exchanges themselves are desperate to find new projects, they are featuring projects that don’t seem very promising or of high quality.

Binance, OKX, and KuCoin are the obvious exceptions here as the leaders in the launchpad space, theirs are still pumping along. I was surprised to find that the Bybit launchpad is also remaining very active and popular, attracting deep-pocketed investors and high-quality projects. The future for Bybit looks bright, and as they are rapidly growing, their launchpad is remaining active and popular for users and new projects alike.

Note that users will need to pass KYC on Bybit to access the launchpad.

Bybit Earn

Bybit has one of the better Earn platforms outside of the top 5 exchanges, providing traders with multiple opportunities for passive income on their crypto holdings.

There are earn features available for flexible and fixed terms, along with high and low-risk Earn products suitable for crypto holders with different goals and risk appetites.

Bybit NFT Marketplace

After NFTs absolutely exploded in popularity during the 2021 bull market, exchanges rushed to launch their own marketplaces as we saw them spring up on exchanges like Binance, FTX, and KuCoin.

Following the success of other exchanges that launched their NFT marketplaces, Bybit also followed suit and launched theirs.

The NFT marketplace on Bybit is pretty good, one of the best I’ve seen outside of the top handful of exchanges. Users on Bybit can buy and sell NFTs with zero fees in the digital art, collectible, GameFi and Metaverse niches.

Bybit Copy Trading

Copy trading is the one category where Bybit has become a dominant player in the crypto space. Copy trading has become insanely popular from day one of launch on Bybit and has already attracted nearly 300k users to the platform.

Thanks to the fact that Bybit attracts many professional and skilled traders and has a very good reputation among those in trading circles, the choice of high-quality and skilled traders to copy on the platform is bountiful.

The users of Bybit copy trading are made up of skilled traders who enjoy 10% of the profit earned by each of their followers, and users who want to copy the trades of skilled traders. If you are interested in crypto copy trading, Bybit is one platform that is worth checking out.

Here is a look at how simple it is to be a trader or follower on Bybit’s copy trading platform:

There are also promotion periods and additional rewards for some of the top traders.

Types of Accounts and Bybit Fees

Bybit offers only one main account type with a tiered structure similar to KuCoin.

With the main account, traders can open subaccounts where they can manage other pools of funds. There are also custodial trading subaccounts for users who want to entrust their funds to a team of professional traders.

As far as fees go, Bybit fees follow the standard Maker/Taker model, meaning that they charge traders different fees for either adding liquidity to the books or taking it off the books.

Bybit’s tiered structure has the following fees:

The fees on Bybit are quite reasonable in terms of being easy on the bank account, but exchanges like KuCoin, Binance, and FTX still edge them out with slightly lower fees.

Bybit Security

Bybit utilizes cold storage solutions to protect customer funds via offline cold wallets that are secured in an air-gapped environment to reduce the likelihood of successful hack attempts. Funds also require multiple signatures from key staff members before they can be moved so one bad actor cannot run off with customers’ crypto.

The website is also SSL encrypted and users can take advantage of 2FA and biometric login for the mobile app for added layers of security.

KuCoin or Bybit: Conclusion

KuCoin has been a top ten exchange for over 5 years, you don’t hold an ironclad grasp in the top ten in this highly competitive industry without operating at an extremely high level, which KuCoin does.

KuCoin started as the first major exchange to emphasize catering to serious crypto traders with a professional trading platform and they still fulfil that mission flawlessly today, better than most. KuCoin takes a win over Bybit in the following areas:

• Lower fees
• More Earn products
• Better selection of tradeable assets and cryptocurrencies
• Better NFT Marketplace
• Higher quality of projects in the Launchpad
• More gamified “Vegas-style” trading contests and giveaways
• Higher levels of liquidity for whales and institutional traders

Where Bybit takes a win over KuCoin in my opinion, is when it comes to the copy trading platform, Bybit is doing very well in this niche. I can also attest from personal experience and testing that Bybit also has far better customer support than KuCoin. Seriously, check out the support section in our KuCoin review for a humourous and shockingly terrible story about our customer support experience over there.

As far as pure trading performance, there are no noticeable differences between these two, both exchanges are operating at the highest level in terms of their trading and matching engines.

Though pound for pound, KuCoin is the better exchange from many metrics, Bybit is a very exciting up-and-coming exchange as they are really pumping money into marketing and expanding their products and services. They have some of the best sign-up bonuses and trading contests around. Just because KuCoin takes the overall win now, I feel Bybit has more upside and we will be seeing a lot more from them as they continue to grow and possibly break into the top ten.

FAQs

Is Bybit better than KuCoin?

As KuCoin is significantly larger than Bybit in terms of user base and trading volume and has more tradeable assets and markets along with more features and products, the common consensus is that Bybit is not better than KuCoin.

Though Bybit is growing faster than KuCoin and is taking market share away from many of the other exchanges while attracting new users at an impressive rate. Bybit is an exchange to keep an eye on for exciting developments and expansion.

Are KuCoin fees high?

KuCoin is among the lowest fee exchanges in the industry, with fees often so low they are mere fractions of a percent. KuCoin is a fantastic exchange for low-fee trading.

Is KuCoin a good crypto exchange?

As KuCoin is one of the longest-standing and largest crypto exchanges, beloved by millions of users worldwide, KuCoin is a great exchange.

They are highly respected and trusted within the crypto community and are constantly innovating and launching new products. KuCoin is one of the leaders among crypto exchanges and is a great platform for traders regardless of their skill level or background.

Is Bybit better than FTX?

As Bybit is the #11 rated exchange and FTX hovers between the #2 and #3 position, enjoying a higher trading volume and more users, it is commonly believed among crypto traders that Bybit is not better than FTX

FTX is a regulated and licensed exchange and one of the most secure exchanges in the world with a sterling reputation among crypto users. FTX also features full fiat on and offramp services while offering more products than Bybit.

The primary reason why a trader would opt for Bybit over FTX is if they are looking to trade without KYC, access the copy trading platform, or take advantage of some of Bybit’s Sign Up Bonuses.