KuCoin CEO Emphasizes Bitcoin’s Primary Purpose

While KuCoin prepares to implement mandatory Know Your Customer (KYC) checks, its CEO argues that Bitcoin’s lack of privacy is not its most important characteristic.

In an interview on July 4, KuCoin CEO Johnny Lyu said, “Privacy is just one of Bitcoin’s features when it comes to its purpose.”

Bitcoin’s primary benefit is a unit of exchange, which allows its holders to hedge against recessions, according to Lyu.

The CEO stated that Bitcoin was created after the 2008 financial crisis, precipitated by the subprime mortgage crisis in the United States. “These events led to the birth of Bitcoin,” Lyu explained.

While some may believe that overly strict KYC practices are inadequate for users because they limit privacy, the CEO of KuCoin believes that such policies are more beneficial than harmful because they increase the security of user funds.

“KYC is intended to protect the assets of the public and to ensure that assets are protected on two different levels,” Lyu said, adding:

“The first level is ownership, so you know that the money is yours. And the second level is that you can actually track your assets in the case of theft. So if you lost your assets, we’ll be able to track the source and make sure the source is clean.”

The cryptocurrency industry will interact more with the physical world, making compliance essential.

“Therefore, I would say that KYC is a necessary and healthy stage in the entire development cycle of cryptocurrencies,” Lyu continued.

KuCoin announced officially in late June that, beginning on July 15, 2023, all new users on its platform would be required to undergo KYC checks.

Newly registered users will not have access to KuCoin’s products and services until they have completed KYC.

Existing non-KYC users will continue to be able to trade but will be prohibited from making new deposits.

“We understand that in the short run, as the rules become more stringent and strict for certain customers, some may leave,” Lyu said.

However, KuCoin remains bullish on crypto exchange compliance over the long term, he added, stating:

“But in the long run, more compliant funds and users will enter this industry in the future, which is equivalent to opening the door for everyone better and making users more secure.”

According to KuCoin, the platform currently has 27 million users, a 35% increase from the number of users it had a year ago.

According to CoinGecko data, KuCoin’s trading volumes increased from approximately $540 million to more than $660 million following the announcement of the KYC upgrade.