Welcome to our comparison of Bitforex and Kucoin. In this breakdown, we will examine both exchanges to help you choose the one that best meets your needs. We will look at factors like KYC requirements, trading fees, product offerings, and more. So, let's get started and find out which exchange deserves your attention!
Bitforex and Kucoin are two popular cryptocurrency exchanges that were founded in the same year. Bitforex was founded in 2017 and is registered in the Republic of Seychelles, while Kucoin was established in 2017 and is a subsidiary to Seychelles registered MEK Global Limited.
Bitforex is a beginner-friendly exchange based out of Hong Kong that offers its users some basic cryptocurrencies such as spot trading for over 600 cryptocurrencies, perps with over 100X leverage, options to earn interest on digital assets and an NFT marketplace.
Bitforex exchange
Bitforex is estimated to have between half a million and one million customers, and it is also available on Android and IOS where it has received over 50,000 downloads.
Bitforex app
Kucoin is a global cryptocurrency exchange that offers a variety of services including spot trading, margin trading, futures, staking, and lending. The platform supports over 700 cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, Cosmos, Polkadot, Doge, Avalanche and many others.
The exchange is popular for its user-friendly interface, competitive trading fees, and wide range of hard-to-find altcoins. Kucoin has grown an impressive user base of over 20 million users, and it is also available on Android and IOS where it has been downloaded over 5 million times. The app has a good rating of 4.3 with over 120,000 reviews.
Kucoin app
While Bitforex is lesser known than Kucoin, it has done a good job of offering a wide range of cryptocurrencies and a solid range of products and services in a user friendly interface.
Bitforex vs Kucoin Signup & KYC
Moving on to KYC requirements, Bitforex and Kucoin have taken a similar approach in this aspect.
At Bitforex, KYC is not obligatory and users can deposit cryptocurrencies and begin trading right away after signup. The signup process on Bitforex is simple and users can choose whether to sign up using their email or phone.
Bitforex KYC
However, for those who wish to access increased limits on Bitforex, they will have to complete KYC. This process involves uploading information such as full name, country of residence, a valid ID card, and a selfie. The Bitforex team then normally requires 1-2 business days to process the information and approve the account.
Similar to Bitforex, KYC verification is also not mandatory on KuCoin. The signup process on KuCoin is also quick as users only need to provide an email and a password. Unverified accounts can then buy and sell the same cryptocurrencies that verified accounts can. For those that wish to increase their trading limits and leverage on Kucoin, they will have to pass KYC.
Kucoin KYC
Basic verification can be approved in hours while a full KYC verification can take up to 2-3 business days. In summary, both exchanges have a swift signup process with KYC obligatory only for additional services beyond basic cryptocurrency deposits and trading.
Bitforex vs Kucoin Products & Services
Bitforex is an exchange that provides a smaller range of products and services compared to Kucoin. To begin, at Bitforex, users can engage in basic spot trading and perps with up to 100X leverage.
Bitforex spot trading
Bitforex has spot trading volumes that frequently exceed $1 billion dollars. This means that liquidity for major cryptocurrencies such as BTC, ETH, LTC, USDC, DOT, AVAX, and others is great. Users can also lend out their digital assets to earn interest or stake them and earn staking rewards.
Bitforex earn products
Finally, Bitforex also offers an NFT marketplace and their own launchpad called Turbo Starter where users can access newly launched tokens.
Bitforex turbo starter
The user experience on Bitforex is great as the exchange has a modern and well-designed interface that is pleasant and easy to navigate. The exchange also offers a decent range of services that will satisfy the needs of both beginners and more sophisticated traders.
Kucoin offers a slightly wider selection of services than Bitforex which includes basic spot and margin trading for hundreds of altcoins.
Kucoin spot and margin trading
Additionally, Kucoin features futures trading, leveraged tokens, and trading bots, which can help users automate their trading strategies. In terms of liquidity, Kucoin frequently is in the top 10 with daily spot trading volumes in the range of $600 to $900 million. The max leverage that users can take on Kucoin is 100X, while margin leverage is capped at 10X.
Kucoin futures
Besides trading products, Kucoin also has financial services like lending and borrowing, enabling users to earn interest on their digital assets and staking opportunities.
Kucoin staking
Kucoin has expanded its offerings by introducing an NFT marketplace called Windvave, catering to the growing demand for digital art and collectibles.
Kucoin NFTs
Finally, the platform also has its own Web 3 wallet for those that want to hold their own private keys. The user experience on Kucoin is pretty good overall with a good variety of products and services and an easy to navigate interface.
The exchange satisfies the needs of both professional traders and more average beginners with a very wide range of cryptos and futures products.
When it comes to choosing an exchange for trading cryptocurrencies, one of the most important factors to consider is the trading fees.
Let's start with Bitforex which charges a spot trading fee of 0.1% for both makers and takers. This is already a competitive fee and puts Bitforex on par with many other popular exchanges. For those looking to trade perpetuals, Bitforex charges makers 0.04% and takers 0.06%, making it a very attractive option for traders looking for low fees.
Bitforex trading fees
Similar to Bitforex, Kucoin also charges a spot trading fee of 0.1% for both makers and takers. For futures trading, the fees are 0.02% for makers and 0.06% for takers, slightly lower than Bitforex. Unlikey Bitforex, Kucoin also offers trading rebates for users whose monthly trading volumes exceed 50 Bitcoins or that hold at least 1000 KCS tokens.
Kucoin spot fees
Overall, both Bitforex and Kucoin offer competitive trading fees with Kucoin having a slight edge on futures fees and with the additional option for high volume traders to earn further discounts.
When it comes to depositing funds into Bitforex and Kucoin, there are some key differences to consider.
Bitforex only allows for cryptocurrency deposits, meaning that users cannot deposit any fiat currencies on the exchange. However, they do offer the option to buy crypto through third-party providers like Coinify and Banxa, although these come with high fees.
Bitforex buy crypto with Banxa & MoonPay
On the other hand, Kucoin supports the deposit of fiat currencies for 28 different currencies, including EUR, AUD, CHF, and GBP. However, almost all of the deposit options for Kucoin are with Visa and Mastercard, and they charge a high 3.8% deposit fee for these transactions.
Kucoin fiat deposits
Kucoin does however also offer lower cost options for those depositing via bank transfer (1 EUR), SEPA (5 EUR) or Advcash (0% fees).
Bitforex is great if you're already holding cryptocurrencies and want to trade them on the exchange, but not so great if you're looking to deposit fiat currencies. Kucoin however offers a wide range of fiat deposit options, but they come with high fees if you're using Visa or Mastercard.
Bitforex and Kucoin also differ in terms of the withdrawal methods and fees. Bitforex does not offer any fiat withdrawals, but users can withdraw all the cryptocurrencies supported on the exchange.
Users can withdraw Bitcoin for a fee of 0.0005 BTC, Ethereum for 0.004 ETH, Solana for a 0.05 SOL withdrawal fee, and ERC-20 Tether for a fee of 15 USDT. These crypto withdrawal fees are on the higher end compared to most exchanges.
On the other hand, Kucoin offers fiat withdrawals for few fiat currencies such as EUR and TRY. For example, EUR withdrawals can be done via SEPA for a fee of 5 EUR or via Bank Transfer for a 1 EUR fee.
Kucoin fiat withdrawal
In terms of cryptocurrency withdrawal fees, Kucoin charges a fee of 0.001 BTC for Bitcoin withdrawals, 0.01 ETH fee for Ethereum and 0.01 SOL for Solana. These fees are on the higher end compared to most well known exchanges.
Bitforex and Kucoin are two popular cryptocurrency exchanges that are quite evenly matches overall. Bitforex supports over 600 cryptocurrencies while Kucoin offers a slightly larger selection of 700 coins and tokens.
Both exchanges don't have obligatory KYC for those that simply wish to deposit cryptocurrencies and trade, while both also charge spot trading fees of 0.1% for makers and takers. They are share similarities in their product offerings that include spot, futures and perps trading with up to 100X in leverage.
The user experience of both Bitforex and Kucoin is good with Bitforex being the slightly more beginner friendly, in our opinion. The interface of Bitforex looks great, is easy to navigate and is overall a bit less busy than Kucoin's.
Kucoin has an advantage over Bitforex when it comes to fiat deposits and withdrawals, which are entirely lacking on Bitforex. This is a big disadvantage as new users must then buy via third-party exchanges that comes with higher fees.
Overall, both Bitforex and Kucoin are altcoin heavens with plenty of fun products that will satisfy the needs of retail, professional traders and more sophisticated investors alike.
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Author
Jack Moreau
Jack is a crypto writer and reviewer who has been active in the space since he caught the crypto bug in 2017. With a passion for trying out new shiny things, Jack is always eager to try the latest cryptocurrency exchanges, wallets or DeFi applications.
