KuCoin Passes 45 Million Users as It Expands Beyond Crypto Trading

Nine years after launching as a cryptocurrency exchange, KuCoin is positioning itself as something much bigger.

The company has surpassed 45 million registered users worldwide, using its ninth anniversary to showcase how its business has expanded beyond spot trading into artificial intelligence, payments, institutional services and tokenized real-world assets.

The milestone comes as crypto exchanges increasingly compete to become full-service financial platforms rather than simply places to buy and sell digital assets.

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Growth Beyond Trading

According to KuCoin's newly released Beyond the Signal report, the platform now supports more than 1,600 digital assets, with user growth accelerating across emerging markets.

Latin America led the way during the first half of 2026, where KuCoin reported 170% year-over-year user growth, while Africa grew by 30%, reflecting increasing demand for digital asset services outside traditional financial markets.

The exchange also cited third-party research ranking it among the world's top three exchanges for both spot market share and Bitcoin spot liquidity.

"Nine years of market cycles have reinforced a simple belief: time rewards trust," said BC Wong, CEO of KuCoin.

"As crypto moves from the margins into the infrastructure of global finance, the platforms that endure will be defined not by short-term noise, but by the value they create over time. For KuCoin, that means building secure and transparent infrastructure, advancing responsible innovation, strengthening compliance, and connecting digital assets with the real economy."

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Trust Has Become the Product

Rather than focusing solely on trading volumes, much of KuCoin's report centers on trust and transparency.

During the first half of the year, the exchange published its 44th consecutive monthly Proof of Reserves report, supported by 14 independent audits conducted by cybersecurity firm Hacken. KuCoin also continued expanding its security framework through AI-assisted monitoring, vulnerability disclosure programs and internationally recognized certifications, including SOC 2 Type II, ISO/IEC 27001, ISO/IEC 27701 and CCSS.

The emphasis reflects a broader trend across the industry, where exchanges are increasingly competing on security, compliance and transparency as institutional participation grows.

AI Is Becoming Core Infrastructure

Artificial intelligence has also become a larger part of KuCoin's ecosystem. The company said daily active users of its AI platform KIA increased 300% during the first half of 2026 as the service expanded beyond customer support into trading assistance, wealth management, market intelligence and portfolio tools.

KuCoin also introduced Skills Hub, allowing third-party AI agents to connect directly with modular crypto services, highlighting the industry's growing shift toward autonomous financial applications.

Payments Continue to Accelerate

Crypto payments were another standout area of growth. KuCoin reported that KuCoin Pay recorded more than threefold growth in off-chain payment volume and a 25-fold increase in total payment orders during the first half of the year.

Merchant and service-partner adoption grew by 60%, supported by new features including Payment Links, static merchant QR codes, API-based crypto-to-stablecoin conversion and expanded multi-chain support.

The company also expanded KuCard into Australia through Mastercard's global payments network, further extending its real-world payment capabilities.

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Building for Institutions and Web3

Beyond retail users, KuCoin continues to grow its institutional business. The exchange now supports more than 120 Crypto-as-a-Service partners and over 400 broker partners, with institutional brokers accounting for an estimated 4% to 7% of total trading volume.

Its Web3 Wallet also continued expanding during the first half of the year, adding native perpetual trading powered by Hyperliquid alongside access to more than 260 tokenized U.S. stocks and ETFs through Ondo Global Markets, further reflecting the growing convergence between traditional finance and blockchain.