KuCoin — overseas unregistered crypto-asset exchange (Japan FSA warning)
ConfidenceLikelyUpdated2026-07-29Review by2027-01-29Sources3Machine-translatedOriginal (JA)
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This entry sits under exchanges index. Read it with FSA crypto-asset exchange registration system — number system / Local Finance Bureau jurisdiction / registration requirements for adjacent context and Japan Financial Regulation — Legal Framework for Tokens, Crypto Assets, and Payments for the broader system boundary.
No crypto-asset exchange business registration in Japan · FSA warning letter issued: 11 28, Reiwa 6 (2024-11-28) · JVCEA non-member
1. Corporate entity / shareholders
- Brand name: KuCoin
- Operating entity: Mek Global Limited (the principal operating entity, registered in Seychelles), as part of a complex structure spanning multiple overseas entities. Phoenix Capital Resources Ltd and others have been reported as affiliated entities, but the details of the group’s overall corporate structure cannot be confirmed in public materials.
- Established: 2017年 (China)
- Headquarters location: Republic of Seychelles (after relocating Hong Kong → Singapore in 2018年, then further relocating to Seychelles)
- Shareholders / capital: an unlisted private company. In the May 2022 Series B round, KuCoin raised USD 150 million led by Jump Crypto at a valuation of about USD 10 billion. SIG (Susquehanna International Group) also invested USD 10 million in July 2022.
2. License / registration status
- Japan crypto-asset exchange business registration: none (unregistered)
- Japan FSA warning letter: issued 11 28, Reiwa 6 (2024-11-28). The Financial Services Agency published a warning letter, designating it an “unregistered overseas-located operator.” Warning-letter material:
kucoin_keikokushiryo.pdf(posted on the FSA site) - JVCEA member: non-member
- United States: not brought under NY State Attorney General regulation (ceased crypto-asset business in NY pursuant to a 2023年12月 settlement). Prohibited from servicing US customers under FinCEN rules.
- EU: at 2026年2月, the Austrian FMA issued an order prohibiting new business against KuCoin EU Exchange GmbH (on grounds of breach of AML and financial-sanctions compliance obligations).
3. Supported currencies
- The FSA warning materials do not describe KuCoin’s supported assets or product mix. This entry therefore does not infer an asset count or the later availability of products to Japan residents.
4. Scope of business
- Spot trading / margin trading / derivatives (futures, perpetual swaps) / P2P trading / crypto lending / Staking / NFT marketplace
- Fiat deposit channels: credit card, bank transfer (limited supported regions)
- KuCoin Earn: a yield-earning service for depositing crypto-assets
5. Market share / trading volume
- The FSA warning materials contain no comparable figures for KuCoin’s Japan trading volume, account count, or market share. This entry does not infer a global rank or a Japan-market position.
6. History / major events
The table includes only the Japan-facing warning confirmed in the FSA publication “Issuance of Warning Letters to Crypto-Asset Exchange Operators, etc.” It is not a complete corporate history of KuCoin and does not cover overseas administrative or judicial proceedings. ^[Sources: https://www.fsa.go.jp/policy/virtual_currency02/index.html; https://www.fsa.go.jp/policy/virtual_currency02/kucoin_keikokushiryo.pdf.]
| Period | Content |
|---|---|
| 2024-11-28 | Financial Services Agency (FSA) issues a warning letter: warned as an unregistered overseas operator for providing services to Japanese residents without crypto-asset exchange business registration in Japan (dated 令和6年11月28日) |
7. Strategic developments
- The FSA issued its warning to KuCoin on 2024-11-28. This entry does not infer later Japan-facing service or registration steps from that material alone. For same-date comparisons, see Bybit / Bitget / MEXC; for the system context, see FSA overseas exchange warning system.
8. Related people
- The FSA warning letter names “Johnny LYU” as KuCoin’s representative. This entry does not infer current roles, shareholding, or overseas judicial proceedings not stated in that material.
Related
- japan-financial-regulation — Japanese financial regulation overall
- jp-foreign-exchange-bybit — overseas unregistered operators that received warning letters in the same period (Bybit)
- jp-foreign-exchange-mexc — likewise MEXC Global
- jp-foreign-exchange-bitget — likewise Bitget
- fsa-foreign-exchange-warning-system — FSA overseas-exchange warning regime
- global-vasp-regulatory-comparison-matrix — global VASP regulation comparison matrix
- global-crypto-exchange-bankruptcy-comparison — global crypto-asset exchange collapse comparison
Sources
- FSA crypto-asset / electronic-payment-instruments related page (retrieved 2026-05-19)
- FSA KuCoin warning letter PDF (dated 令和6年11月28日, URL confirmed 2026-05-19)
- KuCoin — Wikipedia (retrieved 2026-05-19 · citing reporting from Bloomberg, WSJ, Reuters, etc. as primary sources for history and legal proceedings)
#fintech#jp-foreign-exchange#fsa-warned#unlicensed#kucoin
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