Choosing the right crypto exchange to be the cornerstone of your trading strategy is not easy. And among the options available in the market today, both BTCC and KuCoin make strong cases for themselves. Although which of the two is best for you depends on what strategy you’re looking to use, what amount of fees you find acceptable, and on whether or not one of the two exchanges is licensed in your local market.

To help you make a choice, let’s go over the history, pros, and cons of these platforms, comparing how they stack against each other each step of the way.

BTCC – History, Pros, and Cons

Founded in 2011, BTCC holds an enviable title in the crypto world — the company has the world’s longest-running cryptocurrency exchange. At the time of writing, the platform allows trading across 40+ different cryptocurrencies. They are licensed to operate in a large number of countries, including the US, Canada, and the EU.

BTCC offers all of the features one would expect from a fully-fledged modern crypto exchange. You can make deposits using credit cards, bank transfers, and a variety of different payment methods and fiat currencies. Withdrawing your money can be done using an equally robust selection of options. And the BTCC platform works seamlessly across desktop and mobile devices — it’s supported by a dedicated mobile app on the latter.

One of BTCC’s biggest selling points is the exchange’s future trading options. Users can trade a variety of futures, benefiting from the lowest fees in the market and a leverage ratio of up to 150x on daily futures before KYC. That’s far above the industry standard — as a comparison, KuCoin only offers 5x leverage before KYC.

Other major selling points of BTCC include:

1 – Liquidity

The BTCC platform is highly liquid across all its available coins. Orders as large as 300 BTC can be executed on the platform instantly and at top price levels. This makes life easier for high net-worth traders, and it helps protect the exchange from some market manipulation tactics.

KuCoin, on the other hand, has average liquidity across its major coins, but some of its more niche offerings are subject to liquidity issues. And it’s often hard to get the best price on large orders, as this image showcases:

2 – Straightforward trading fees

Both KuCoin and BTCC boast similar trading fees, and both are low when compared with other major players in the industry. However, while KuCoin offers lower fees in specific situations, BTCC fees are more straightforward, with no distinction between taker and maker fees.

The result is that fees on BTCC are more predictable and easier to manage. At level 0, the BTCC fee is 0.065%, and it goes down based on a user’s net asset value and 30-day trade volume.

For example, a deposit of 200 USDT will lower the fee to 0.06%. Users can access all products on the platform and enjoy a 10% discount on conversion and withdrawal fees.

3 – Beginner Friendly

Of the two options, BTCC is by far the most beginner-friendly platform. While both exchanges make it easy for users to set up an account and start trading, BTCC goes a step beyond by offering users demo trading accounts. These non-expiring demo accounts come with a virtual fund of 100,000 USDT, which can be used as a training tool for beginners.

This is a great option for anyone looking for a risk-free way to get familiar with the BTCC platform and crypto trading in general.

4 – Security

BTCC isn’t just old, it also has a spotless record. The platform boasts 11 years of safe operation without ever being involved in a hacking incident or data leak. The BTCC team takes a proactive approach to ensuring data security, performing regular internal and external system audits to ensure that their platform is protected from hackers.

KuCoin, on the other hand, was hacked in 2020. Hackers were able to steal over 280 million dollars in assets from user’s hot wallets. All of those losses were either recovered or covered by insurance, but the fact that it happened at all is still cause for concern.

BTCC also offers security in the form of liquidity. Because the platform has plenty of assets on hand, users are able to withdraw large amounts from their accounts at any time, with no questions asked. On top of that BTCC has never issued any tokens or participated in any staking projects. That allows the platform’s financial situation to remain stable, even in extreme market conditions.

Meanwhile KuCoin’s liquidity varies across its 700+ available coins, which can lead to assets being hard to withdraw.

The Cons

There are a few good reasons to avoid BTCC as your exchange of choice. A major one is that while the platform is available in a lot of countries, it isn’t licensed to operate everywhere. And investing in an exchange that isn’t licensed to operate in your region is always a risk.

Another major factor that may drive users away from BTCC is its relatively modest coin selection. BTCC offers at least 40 different coins and over 40 different future trading pairs. KuCoin, on the other hand, offers 700+ coin options and 130+ trading pairs.

KuCoin – History, Pros, and Cons

Founded in 2017, KuCoin is a relatively new player in the crypto exchange market, but it has experienced a meteoric rise over the years. The exchange now has over 10 million registered users and it operates across 200 different countries. Notably, while that list of countries includes Canada and a variety of European nations, KuCoin is not licensed to operate in the US.

Like BTCC, KuCoin allows users to trade across desktop and mobile devices, the latter enabled by a fully-fledged app available on Android and iOS. They also accept 70+ payment methods for P2P and third-party crypto purchases.

One of the main selling points when dealing with KuCoin is the number of coins available — at the time of writing, the platform allows users to trade 700+ coins. Having access to hundreds of altcoins big and small can be very beneficial for savvy investors who can spot profitable opportunities. And who are willing to stomach all of the risks involved, of course.

Here are some of the other selling points of choosing KuCoin as your crypto exchange:

1 – Social Features

KuCoin’s 20+ million users gather around a wide range of official communities operating across 20 different languages on platforms like Reddit, Telegram, and more. These official communities are listed on the KuCoin website, and they make it easier for users of the platform to network and share information.

BTCC has active social media accounts and an information-rich blog. But it lacks officially sanctioned forums for its users at the time of writing.

2 – Lower Fees

Depending on what you’re trading and how, KuCoin offers lower fees than BTCC. The platform’s trading fees range from 0.02% to 0.06% at level 0. BTCC charges a flat 0.06% trading fee.

Both platforms offer different discounts and schemes to help users looking to pay lower fees. But with a brand-new account and no other factors in play, KuCoin has better fee rates.

3 – Trading Options

KuCoin’s platform can be defined by the word “variety”, and that doesn’t just apply to the wide range of altcoins they have available. KuCoin also supports a wide range of order types and options for people looking to buy, sell, lend, or invest. Including P2P trading, margins, futures, and more. You can also use the platform to trade NFTs.

When it comes to options on how to trade, one of KuCoin’s main advantages of BTCC is trading bots. The KuCoin platform gives users access to millions of different community trading bots to choose from, which can be used to make trades and generate profits even when the user is offline.

The Cons

Similar to BTCC, you’ll probably want to avoid KuCoin if the platform is not licensed to operate in your country. And unfortunately, at the time of writing KuCoin is not licensed to operate in the US.

Aside from that, KuCoin’s biggest downside is also one of its selling points: variety. The number of coins and options available make the platform very daunting for a beginner, and KuCoin has not been able to compensate by offering proper learning tools. You can’t create a Demo account for KuCoin on their main website.

The platform’s occasional lack of liquidity can also be blamed on its wide variety of options. It’s exceedingly difficult to ensure high liquidity across 700+ coins, some of which are incredibly volatile.