KuCoin vs Revolut Comparison

In short: KuCoin is popular with altcoin traders: more than 800 coins worldwide, spot trading from 0.1%, plus futures, trading bots and earn products. For investors in the EU, KuCoin EU is responsible, the European company with a MiCA licence from Austria. Trading and deposits there have been paused since 4 February 2026. If you are looking for an account to trade today, choose an exchange that is fully operating.

Is KuCoin safe and licensed in the EU?

The licence is in place, trading at KuCoin EU is paused. KuCoin EU Exchange GmbH, based in Vienna, has been authorised as a crypto-asset service provider under Article 63 of MiCA since 27 November 2025, granted by Austria's Financial Market Authority (FMA). Through the EU passport the licence covers 29 EEA countries, including Germany, France and Spain (ESMA register, file of 30 October 2026). It covers custody, exchanging crypto-assets for funds and for other crypto-assets, placing and transfers.

Why trading is paused: On its website, KuCoin EU states that trading and deposits have been suspended since 4 February 2026 (as of 1 November 2026). The FMA ordered a ban on new business on 19 February 2026 because the money laundering and sanctions officer posts were no longer filled, and lifted it on 18 May 2026. Under a decision of 18 February 2026, however, KuCoin EU may only start operating once all supervisory requirements are met, in particular on governance and on filling further key positions in management (FMA notice). The FMA had not published any newer decision by 1 November 2026.

Track record: In January 2025, KuCoin's parent company Peken Global pleaded guilty in the US to operating an unlicensed money transmitting business, paid $297 million and withdrew from the US for at least two years (our report). In October 2026 South Korea blocked access to KuCoin because the exchange is not registered there (South Korea blocks 27 exchanges).

What you can do yourself: if you still hold funds at KuCoin, read the notices in your account, turn on two-factor authentication and a withdrawal address whitelist, and keep larger amounts in your own wallet, for example a hardware wallet.

Who is KuCoin for?

KuCoin suits experienced altcoin traders who want a very large choice of small coins and who live in a country where KuCoin accepts customers. For trading from the EU, exchanges with a MiCA licence and full operations are the better fit, such as Bybit EU, OKX, Kraken or Bitvavo. All licensed providers are listed in our comparison of regulated crypto exchanges.

Revolut is considered one of the most versatile financial apps in the DACH region and is popular with users who want to manage crypto, banking, card payments, and currency exchange in a single application. With more than 300 tradeable cryptocurrencies, Revolut offers by far the broadest coin selection among the brokers compared here. The crypto business sits with the Cypriot entity Revolut Digital Assets (Europe) Ltd., which has held licence CASP001/25 in the CySEC MiCAR register since 20 October 2025. The entity previously named here, RT Digital Securities Cyprus Ltd., is no longer listed there.

Unlike many German neobrokers, Revolut enables transfers to your own wallets, according to Revolut for BTC, ETH and more than 30 other tokens, as well as staking and recurring investments. Biometric verification for withdrawals is viewed positively as an additional security feature. Deposits are possible via SEPA, SEPA Instant Transfer, and credit card, which increases flexibility.

Costs deserve a close look: Revolut advertises exchange fees “from 0%”, but that rate only applies on the Ultra plan above €250,000 of trading volume in 30 days. According to the fee schedule of Revolut Digital Assets Europe, a crypto purchase in the app costs 1.49% on the Standard and Plus plans, 0.99% on Premium and Metal and 0.49% on Ultra, with lower rates at higher volumes. Small orders are subject to a minimum fee, so a €100 purchase costs €2.49 on the Standard plan, and a one-sided spread of typically 0 to 3% comes on top. Trading is considerably cheaper on Revolut's own exchange Revolut X, at 0% maker and 0.09% taker fees. Revolut is therefore especially suitable for investors looking for a wide selection of coins with wallet functionality in an all-in-one financial app.

In September 2026, Revolut confirmed that it had handed over customer data, including identity documents, account statements and transaction histories, in response to forged information requests sent from the email account of a genuine public authority. According to Revolut, around 680 customers in Europe were affected, while its systems and customer funds were not. On 20 October 2026, the app was disrupted for part of the day following an outage at Google Cloud; Revolut said customers' money and data were safe.