KuCoin has unveiled a new performance report, published with support from crypto data platform CoinGecko, highlighting the exchange’s rapid global expansion, growing regulatory footprint, and resilient performance through the first half of 2026 as it approaches its ninth anniversary.
According to the report, KuCoin has grown from 5 million users in 2017 to more than 45 million users worldwide, with the platform now serving customers across over 200 countries and regions.
The report also details several key regulatory and security milestones achieved over the past year. These include MiCAR licensing in Austria through KuCoin EU, Digital Currency Exchange registration with Australia’s AUSTRAC, and becoming the first global cryptocurrency exchange to register with India’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU). KuCoin also reported completing 44 consecutive months of Proof of Reserves reporting, supported by 14 independent audits conducted by Hacken.
Trading activity remains resilient
Despite a broader crypto market slowdown, KuCoin reported an average daily spot trading volume of $1.99 billion and daily perpetual futures volume of $3.07 billion during the first six months of 2026.
Trading activity peaked during February’s Bitcoin liquidation event, when daily spot volume climbed to $6.91 billion and perpetual futures volume reached $6.73 billion, before normalizing alongside the wider market.
The exchange also said its reserves proved relatively resilient during the downturn, declining 21.8%, outperforming the average decline recorded across several leading global exchanges.
Tokenized stocks drive product expansion
One of the report’s standout findings is KuCoin’s rapid expansion into tokenized stock perpetual futures.
Having launched the category in March, the exchange introduced 121 stock-linked perpetual contracts in just over three months, covering major U.S. technology companies including Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia, Amazon, Meta, Alphabet and Tesla, alongside semiconductor firms, financial institutions, ETFs, and even a pre-IPO contract referencing OpenAI.
Overall, KuCoin added 107 new spot listings and 198 perpetual contracts during the reporting period.
Traders rotate into altcoins
The report also highlights changing market dynamics, with Bitcoin and Ethereum’s combined share of KuCoin’s leading spot trading pairs dropping from 74.3% to 45.2% during H1 2026.
The shift reflects increasing participation in altcoins and emerging narratives, while AI- and DeFi-related tokens dominated the list of the exchange’s top-performing assets.
Payments ecosystem continues to expand
Outside trading, KuCoin reported significant growth across its payments business.
Off-chain payment volume increased 300%, while total payment orders grew approximately 25-fold. KuCoin Pay expanded localized payment infrastructure across Latin America, Asia, and Africa, while KuCard entered the Australian market through Mastercard’s global network.
The report also points to KuCoin’s partnership with Tomorrowland, where the exchange serves as the festival’s Official Exclusive Crypto Exchange and Crypto Payments Partner, as part of its broader strategy to drive real-world digital asset adoption.
As KuCoin prepares to celebrate its ninth anniversary in September, the CoinGecko-supported report argues that the crypto industry’s next phase will be defined less by trading volumes and more by regulatory readiness, transparency, institutional-grade infrastructure, payments, and practical utility.
The findings position KuCoin as one of the sector’s fastest-growing exchanges, underscoring its efforts to expand beyond traditional crypto trading while navigating a more mature and increasingly regulated digital asset market.
Featured image via KuCoin.
