Centralized exchange · since 2017 Global centralized exchange launched in 2017, offering spot, margin, futures, trading bots and earn products.
New users: New-user welcome rewards (USDT and coupons) worth up to 3,200 USDT
Claim on KuCoin ↗
Order-book perpetual and spot exchange built as an app-specific ZK rollup on Ethereum, with verifiable matching and liquidations and zero fees on standard accounts.
New users: Weekly points drops and a free Premium trial week via referral
Claim on Lighter ↗
KuCoinLighter
Trading fees (base tier)
Spot maker0.1%0%
Spot taker0.1%0%
Futures maker0.02%0%
Futures taker0.06%0%
Markets (live)
Coins listed1,065212
Coins with perpetuals682212
Coins with spot pairs8440
24h volume$3.51B$2.36B
Coins only here179 coins trade on both88633
New listings (detected live)
Last 30 days51
Last 90 days51
Safety and access
Proof of reservesYes · monthly · HackenYes · real-time
Licenses3EU: MiCA authorisation via KuCoin EU (Austria), Australia: AUSTRAC digital currency exchange registration, Thailand: licensed exchange under the Thai SECNone listed
Restricted regions11 regionsUnited States, Mainland China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia…15 regionsUnited States, Canada, United Kingdom, China, North Korea…
HeadquartersNo single official HQ; global operator historically Seychelles-registered (Peken Global Limited); current global Terms of Use are governed by Turks and Caicos Islands lawLighter, Inc. (Delaware corporation, United States)
Exchange tokenKCSLIT
Incidents on record41
KuCoin or Lighter?
KuCoin and Lighter are compared here on what matters when you choose where to trade: base trading fees, how many coins each lists, how quickly they add new ones, perpetual prices and funding on the coins both list, and safety signals such as proof of reserves and restricted regions. Live numbers update from the exchanges' public market data; fees and policies were checked against each exchange's own pages.
KuCoin lists 1,065 coins and Lighter 212. 179 coins trade on both, 886 only on KuCoin and 33 only on Lighter. In the last 30 days KuCoin added 5 new coins and Lighter 1.
Fees above are base-tier rates before VIP levels and token discounts; KuCoin offers 3 discount options and Lighter offers 4 discount options. Availability depends on where you live, so check the restricted regions before signing up.