In the cryptosphere, if any exchange platforms have actively contributed to the growth and development of the crypto ecosystem, then the name of Phemex and KuCoin will surely make it to the top.

Both exchanges have many firsts to their credit and are the leading exchanges in the cryptosphere. 

Today, in this blog, we will compare both exchanges and understand how they stand against each other in the crypto trading segment and which platform is a better place to trade crypto futures and derivatives.

So, let’s dive in. 

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Phemex vs KuCoin: Introduction

Phemex

phemex

Phemex is a Singapore-based cryptocurrency exchange founded in 2019 that offers zero fees for crypto trading. The platform currently holds more than 5 million registered users. There are more than 30 liquidity providers incorporated with this exchange.

Phemex has earned much popularity among traders worldwide, which is phenomenal for an exchange so young. It is currently offering a $100 welcome bonus as a free demo amount giving beginners an excellent chance to experiment and learn new trading skills.

KuCoin

kucoin

KuCoin, on the other hand, is a Seychelles-based cryptocurrency exchange founded in 2019 as well. In the beginning, the exchange only offered spot trading, but in 2021 it started offering margin as well as futures trading.

KuCoin holds more than USD 800 Billion in trading volume, with more than 20 communities worldwide.

Phemex vs KuCoin: Supported Cryptocurrencies

Coming to cryptocurrency support, both platforms offer a wide range of them. Let’s discuss them now.

Phemex

phemex Supported Cryptocurrencies

Beginning with Phemex, the exchange supports more than 230 crypto trading pairs which compile all the major ones like:

  • BTC
  • ETH
  • BCH
  • XRP
  • LINK
  • LTC

Additionally, the platform offers derivatives like multiple perpetual contracts with leverage of up to 100x. This allows you to boost your profits 100 times. Moreover, the contracts on the exchange have no end date.

KuCoin

kucoin Supported Cryptocurrencies

KuCoin, on the other hand, offers a vast collection of crypto assets, namely more than 600 of them, including all the industry leaders like:

  • BTC
  • BCH
  • ETH
  • XRP
  • SOL

Verdict: Clearly, KuCoin has many more cryptocurrencies supported on the platform, making it the winner in this segment.

Phemex vs KuCoin: Product Offerings

Regarding product offerings, both exchanges stand pretty head to head. Let’s discuss them now.

Phemex

  • Over-the-counter trading (OTC)
  • Spot Trading
  • Derivatives Trading
  • Leverage Trading

KuCoin

  • Spot Trading
  • Margin Trading
  • Derivatives Trading
  • Perpetual Contracts
  • Delivery Contracts
  • Inverse Contracts
  • Linear Contracts
  • Leveraged Tokens
  • KuCoin P2P

Verdict: Clearly, KuCoin has many more product offerings on the platform, making it the winner in this segment as well.

Phemex vs KuCoin: Order Types

Phemex and KuCoin are similar in providing order types; let’s discuss them one by one.

Phemex

  • Market Order
  • Limit Order
  • Stop Order
  • Buy-Stop Order
  • Sell-Stop Order
  • Stop Market Order
  • Stop Limit Order
  • Trailing Order

KuCoin

  • Limit Order
  • Market Order
  • Stop-Limit/Stop-Market

There are also different advanced order types like

  • Iceberg Order
  • Post-Only Order
  • Time in Force

Verdict: Both the exchanges are pretty similar in this criterion, but KuCoin provides some advanced order types, making it a winner.

Phemex vs KuCoin: Fees Comparison

Both Phemex and KuCoin offer a pretty competitive fee structure. Let’s quickly discuss them now.

Phemex

Phemex follows a maker/taker fee structure for futures and leverage trading. They charge 0.075% for each order from market takers and a rebate of 0.025% for orders from market makers.

Funding fees are charged between long and short positions every 8 hours. Moreover, there are no overnight charges on Phemex.

For spot trading, Phemex charges you a 0.1% fee per order with no fee charged for Premium and Premium Trial users.

KuCoin- Spot Trading Fees

Tier Past 30-Day Trading Volume XBTC KCS Balance Y (KCS) Maker Taker
1 Y < 1000 0.10% 0.10%
2 1000 ≤ Y < 10000 0.07% 0.10%
3 300 ≤ X < 500 10000 ≤ Y < 20000 0.065% 0.10%
4 500 ≤ X < 1000 20000 ≤ Y < 30000 0.0575% 0.07%
5 1000 ≤ X < 2000 30000 ≤ Y < 45000 0.05% 0.07%
6 2000 ≤ X < 3000 45000 ≤ Y < 65000 0.0425% 0.06%
7 3000 ≤ X < 5000 65000 ≤ Y < 85000 0.035% 0.06%
8 5000 ≤ X < 10000 85000 ≤ Y < 110000 0.0275% 0.05%
9 10000 ≤ X < 20000 110000 ≤ Y < 150000 0.02% 0.04%
10 20000 ≤ X 150000 ≤ Y 0.0125% 0.03%

KuCoin– Futures Trading Fees

TIER MIN. KCS HOLDING (30 DAYS) MAKER/TAKER FEE
LV0 0 0.02%/0.06%
LV1 1,000 0.02%/0.06%
LV2 10,000 0.015%/0.06%
LV3 20,000 0.01%/0.05%
LV4 30,000 0.01%/0.04%
LV5 40,000 0.01%/0.04%
LV6 50,000 0%/0.038%
LV7 60,000 0%/0.035%
LV8 70,000 -0.003%/0.032%
LV9 80,000 -0.006%/0.03%
LV10 90,000 -0.009%/0.03%
LV11 100,000 -0.012%/0.03%
LV12 150,000 -0.015%/0.03%

The trading fees depend on the trading volume, which will decrease as your volume increases. There are no deposit fees charged on KuCoin, and any fee that you pay depends on the method of payment you choose to deposit through.

The exchange also charges a fixed fee when withdrawing funds from your KuCoin wallet. The actual cost depends on the crypto asset you are withdrawing without any hidden charges.

Verdict: Phemex is the winner in this criterion with relatively lesser fees and a well-organized, transparent and easy-to-understand fee structure

Phemex vs KuCoin: Account Funding Methods

Both exchanges offer all the basic account funding methods, which are used extensively with ease by their users worldwide. Let me tell you what these are.

Phemex

Phemex facilitates transactions on the platform via one of the safest and most secure payment gateways, Banxa. You can fund your wallet using the following:

  • Method 1: The platform accepts debit/credit cards offered by well-reputed banks.
  • Method 2: Phemex also supports direct crypto transfer from other wallets as well.

However, when it comes to withdrawal, it only supports crypto assets, and you can’t withdraw funds via fiat currencies.

KuCoin

Coming to KuCoin, you can deposit funds using fiat as well as cryptocurrencies on the platform. 

It currently supports twenty fiat currencies altogether, fourteen of which were recently added this year in February; the fiat currencies on KuCoin are AED, ARS, BRL, PHP, QAR, SAR, THB, CHF, KRW, MXN, ZAR, USD, CAD, VND, IDR, INR, AUD, EUR, NGN as well as CNY.

If your preferred currency isn’t supported on KuCoin, you can go to any Bitcoin exchange platform, convert your cash into BTC and then transfer it into your KuCoin wallet.

Verdict: Both Phemex and KuCoin offer varied yet subtle payment methods with safe and secure payment gateway. Therefore, it’s a tie between them.

Phemex vs KuCoin: Trading Platform Comparison

Let’s now quickly discuss what UI and UX you should expect from these crypto trading exchanges.

Phemex

phemex trading ui

Phemex has a convenient and one of the most straightforward trading platforms for beginners. It includes all the necessary analytical tools and functionalities experienced traders would need to complete profitable trades in an informed and controlled manner. 

Let’s look at each aspect of the trading platform in detail.

Desktop Platform

As I already mentioned, Phemex is an easy-to-use platform with all the inbuilt analytical tools and indicators. The platform supports the import of custom-built indicators. Phemex also has an Order Book to place orders and monitor and manage your running positions. 

Additionally, you get access to real-time price alerts and various order types, as I told you earlier. You can also export your previous trades as well to other trading platforms and analyze your past performance to improve your trading strategies.

Phemex desktop platform has all the functionalities and features ideal for everyone from beginner retail traders to veteran institutional traders.

  • Charts and Trading View
  • Order book
  • TradingView powered chart
  • Order menu
  • Live positions
  • Recent trades
  • Order book depth chart
  • Crypto perpetual contracts details
  • Trading account display
  • Mobile Platform

KuCoin

kucoin trading ui

KuCoin also has a simple user interface with all the platform’s functionalities and features readily available. The platform also uses TradingView charting system. 

It has an order form on the right which can be used for placing both long and short orders. The order book on the left of the order form provides real-time trade information and helps you analyze the market sentiment. Then there is the position manager, the charting system on the front page of the trading panel.

KuCoin also has technical analysis tools available at your fingertips; they are:

  • Chart Types
  • Time Frames
  • Indicators
  • Drawing Tools
  • OTC Trading Desk 
  • Mobile Trading Platform

Verdict: Though both these platforms offer similar features and trading experience via their interface, Phemex has a slight advantage in this segment with a powerful and faster trading interface making it the winner. 

Phemex vs KuCoin: Account Types

Now, I will tell you what account types and accessibility levels these platforms have to offer.

Phemex

Phemex has two types of perpetual futures trading accounts:

  • BTC trading account
  • USD trading account

It also has a minimum and maximum withdrawal limits and minimum deposit requirements based on the cryptocurrency you use to deposit and withdraw funds. For standard users, the maximum withdrawal limit is 2 BTC.

Phemex lets you trade anonymously without any KYC requirements. You just need to register using your email address and are ready to trade.

If you prefer KYC-certified trading, Phemex also supports KYC services, and you can get that to revoke the 2 BTC daily withdrawal limit. In addition to these, Phemex also offers a premium membership, giving you extra benefits like:

  • Zero trading fees on spot trading
  • Support for conditional orders
  • Hourly withdrawals
  • No withdrawal limits

Phemex also allows its users to create sub-accounts from a single trading dashboard. They are ideal for professional and institutional traders who need multiple trading accounts to test different strategies. 

KuCoin

There are 4 levels of traders on KuCoin regarding KYC verification: unverified, KYC 1, KYC 2 and institutional KYC. You can refer to the accessibility limits of the KuCoin accounts in the following table:

kucoin kyc

Phemex vs KuCoin: How to get started?

Let’s now discuss how you can begin your trading journey on these platforms.

Phemex 

  1. Visit the homepage and click on the register button in the top right corner. Enter your email address and password. 
  2. Enter the verification code to get your account verified.

KuCoin

  1. Visit the KuCoin homepage and click the sign-up button in the top right corner.
  2. Sign up with your phone or email and fill in the required details. Finish by clicking on the ‘Sign up’ button at the bottom.
  3. Verify your account using the code received on your phone or email and activate the two-factor authentication for extra security. 

Phemex vs KuCoin: Customer Support

Phemex

Phemex offers 24×7 direct-line customer support to its users. You can also raise a ticket if you have any issues. You can even contact them via their social media platforms, including Twitter, Facebook, Telegram and Reddit. 

Phemex also has a help centre with a comprehensive FAQ section answering all the commonly asked questions about opening an account, adding funds, withdrawing funds, etc.

KuCoin

KuCoin also has a reliable customer support team and offers support via its comprehensive help centre with a live onsite chat option. They also have a FAQ section with most solutions to your queries. 

KuCoin also has a reputable presence on various social media channels like Facebook, Telegram, Twitter, and Reddit.

Phemex vs KuCoin: Security Features

Phemex

Phemex implements all the security features for a secure and seamless trading experience for its users.

The exchange uses a hierarchical deterministic cold wallet system. They gather and store the majority of your funds in their multi-signature cold wallet through offline signature.

There is also Amazon Web Services (AWB) is the leader in the cloud security services industry. Phemex uses AWS cloud to secure its servers. They also use firewalls based on different trading zones. 

Phemex also comprises TradingEngine and CrossEngine to ensure minimal time lag and price delays. 

KuCoin

KuCoin also has top-notch security features. It keeps a majority of its user’s funds in cold storage with industry-level multilayer encryption. KuCoin also encourages its users to enable multi-factor authentication on their accounts.

You can also set security questions that will be asked when you take significant actions such as password changes, withdrawals, etc. The KuCoin manually authenticates all withdrawal requests and sends email and push notifications for important account actions.

  • Is Phemex safe?

Yes, Phemex is a safe and secure platform. It has been a highly reputed and trustworthy platform for years. Phemex is regulated by trustworthy authorities and has a payment gateway known for its impenetrable security. 

  • Is KuCoin safe?

KuCoin is also a safe and legit platform that implements robust and industrial-grade security features with detailed identity verification. Keeping their user’s information, funds and accounts safe and sound.

Conclusion

This was everything you need to know about these fantastic platforms. In a gist, if you are a beginner and want a platform that is convenient and affordable, you can go with Phemex. 

On the other hand, if you want a hard-line and sophisticated platform that offers varied order types, products as well as crypto assets, you should choose KuCoin. Both platforms are quite competitive in all aspects, and choosing either of them won’t leave you in distress.

See how Phemex & KuCoin compares to other exchanges:

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  • 30+ Integrated liquidity providers

  • 2 million+ Users

  • Claim welcome Bonus, upto $2200!

Nayan Roy
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