We talked with Johnny Lyu, CEO of KuCoin, one of the largest Bitcoin (BTC) and altcoin exchanges in the world, about the future of the stock market, its portfolio, BTC forecast, KuCoin growth in 2021, 2022 targets and the Turkish market. Here is the interview…
Interview with KuCoin CEO Johnny Lyu: What is KuCoin and what does it provide?
Cryptocoin: Could you briefly tell us about the KuCoin exchange? Why do we need such an exchange? What makes it different from other exchanges?
KuCoin CEO Johnny Lyu: Launched in September 2017, KuCoin is a global cryptocurrency exchange with its headquarters in Seychelles. As a user-centric platform focused on inclusivity and community access, it offers more than 700 digital assets and currently provides spot trading, margin trading, P2P fiat trading, futures trading, equities and lending to its 18 million users in 207 countries and regions.
In 2022, KuCoin raised over $150 million with a preliminary Series B round, bringing total investments to $170 million with Round A. Its total value has reached 10 billion dollars. KuCoin is currently one of the top 5 crypto exchanges according to CoinMarketCap. Also, Forbes has named KuCoin as one of the Best Crypto Exchanges in 2021. In 2022, The Ascent named KuCoin the Best Crypto App for enthusiasts. The unique aspects of KuCoin are:
● KuCoin offers high security and lowest transaction fees with an easy interface, KYC policy, 24/7 customer support via tickets and online chat.
● KuCoin is built for all classes of investors and trading bot for beginners, crypto loan services; offers margin and futures trading to advanced traders.
● KuCoin evolves into the first and largest social trading platform in the crypto space. To further drive mass adoption of cryptocurrency, the exchange has launched social trading features such as copy trading, news feed, in-app community in the KuCoin App.
Known as the “People’s Exchange”, KuCoin was established for all classes of investors around the world and was created with great passion, lowering the threshold to enter the crypto space so that everyone has a chance to get involved in the crypto world.
KuCoin opens to the Turkish market: What are its targets?
Cryptocoin: KuCoin has recently announced that it has entered the Turkish crypto market. Is there a special reason for this? Why Turkey?
KuCoin CEO Johnny Lyu: Turkey has always been an important market in this industry based on high public awareness and acceptance of the cryptocurrency industry. We see that many global cryptocurrency exchanges are preparing to enter or are entering the Turkish market. As a competitive global exchange, KuCoin will certainly not be late to enter the market.
As we continue to expand the KuCoin ecosystem, we are constantly improving our existing business and developing new business such as spot, margin, futures, trading bot, lending, staking, IGO, NFT marketplace. We are enthusiastic and have the strength to offer a lot of services around the world, with more services from different markets.
Cryptocoin: What is KuCoin targeting with its Turkey move? Will special services be offered to Turkish investors? What is the impact of this development on the global targets of the stock market?
KuCoin CEO Johnny Lyu: KuCoin is on the growth path and aims to lower the threshold for global users to enter this industry. Because we are constantly improving our existing businesses and developing new businesses. We have the enthusiasm and strength to offer more services worldwide, with more services in different markets.
We will continue to improve our versatile product experience and service for users in Turkey, from fiat to crypto. These will include services such as deposit and withdrawal, various trading options, local language, community service, social media link.
What services does KuCoin offer?
Cryptocoin: What services does the KuCoin exchange offer, which attracts a lot of attention in the crypto money market? What are the altcoin listing criteria?
KuCoin CEO Johnny Lyu: Known as the “people’s exchange”, KuCoin offers over 700 digital assets and currently has 18 million users in 207 countries and territories for spot trading provides margin trading, P2P fiat trading, futures trading, staking and lending. In addition, it offers many features that make it easy for users to meet different requirements. The trading bot is like the AI trading strategy option that saves users time and energy. KuCoin Futures Brawl, for example, is the first futures trading product in terms of fun trading…
As one of the global exchanges listing over 700 assets, KuCoin has always been the home of hidden gems (gems). For example, we listed many new projects via regular listing, KuCoin Spotlight or KuCoin BurningDrop, and many projects turned out to be of great quality and potential after the development period. The basis for us to guarantee the enormous potential and quality of these projects; The reason is that we have professional, versatile and strict processes.
Cryptocoin: What does KuCoin do differently from other crypto exchanges in the market? Can you tell us about your plans for this year?
KuCoin CEO Johnny Lyu: Our plans and goals for 2022 will continue to enrich KuCoin to bring greater convenience to global users. We have already managed to build more than 20 global KuCoin communities. The product experience and updates continue to make more progress. We will explore Web 3.0, Metaverse, NFT and decentralization in greater depth. Some of the goals that KuCoin wants to achieve in 2022 are:
- Daily volume to exceed $15 billion
- KCS addresses to exceed 400,000 and KCS to top 30 in terms of market capitalization entry
- KuCoin reaching 25 million users worldwide
BTC and altcoin exchange KuCoin was the subject of significant developments in 2021
Cryptocoin: Can you tell us what you are most proud of about KuCoin? What was the most exciting development for KuCoin in 2021?
KuCoin CEO Johnny Lyu: As the People’s Exchange, KuCoin has always been on the path of pursuing its passion to bring a better trading experience to global users and lower the threshold to enter this industry. There have been a number of important developments in 2021. To name a few:
- Throughput: The data don’t lie. KuCoin’s total trading volume (in spot and futures) has exceeded $1 trillion, and the average daily trading volume has increased 11 times year-on-year to $3 billion. It is worth noting that on December 4, 2021, KuCoin’s 24-hour trading volume set a new record of $13 billion.
- User: One of our most exciting milestones in 2021 was that we surpassed 10 million registered users at the end of November 2021. The number of KuCoin users has increased by 1,100% year-on-year as institutional and individual investors mix in the crypto market. Especially in Asia and Europe, there was an increase of 21.5 percent and 16.8 percent, respectively. KuCoin will continue to promote its globalization strategy and provide simple, easy-to-use and secure crypto services to more global users.
- KCS: The value of KCS as KuCoin’s native token is strongly correlated with KuCoin. Driven by the rapid development of the KuCoin ecosystem, KCS reached an all-time high of $28.77 on December 1, 2021. In addition, KCS has grown more than 31x, making it one of the best performing exchange tokens.
Cryptocoin: Where do you see KuCoin in the next three to five years?
KuCoin CEO Johnny Lyu: As an exchange that has been operating for about 5 years and has witnessed the ups and downs of many industries, our goal is to go beyond borders. To provide more convenience to users and have a higher impact in the world. Making it easy for everyone to enter the world of crypto assets. In the name of centralization and decentralization, we will certainly make more contributions in the next few years.
KuCoin CEO replied: What will happen to Bitcoin (BTC) at the end of 2022?
Cryptocoin: We have a special question. At what levels will Bitcoin (BTC) price be at the end of 2022?
KuCoin CEO Johnny Lyu: This is a very difficult question and Bitcoin (BTC) is the most well-known and important part of the cryptocurrency. It also has unlimited potential. It is inevitable that it will face different opportunities and challenges in 2022 under the influence of various factors. But no doubt, as the world’s awareness of BTC grows, it will certainly contribute more to the global financial ecosystem.
Cryptocoin: What do you think of Dogecoin-like tokens like Shiba Inu, FLOKI and their hype? What does this market trend tell you?
KuCoin CEO Johnny Lyu: Actually, one of the biggest reasons for this is that Shiba Inu, Dogecoin and Floki bring big profits from time to time. Investors in Turkey can show interest in such currencies in order to get a share of these rapid rises.
In fact, it is a very good situation for investors to be so greedy, on the other hand, sometimes these investments, which they make without doing any research and analysis, can be risky. There is only one thing we know that Turkey is one of the most important countries where the adoption of crypto money has increased and will continue to increase.
Cryptocoin: Do you have a crypto portfolio? If yes, what coins are in it? Can you share with us?
KuCoin CEO Johnny Lyu: I generally don’t like to give any investment advice as I’m more of a “holder” than a trader, but overall, I think it’s never too late to invest in crypto. Currently, only 2 percent of the global population is interested in crypto, and mass adoption is still ongoing. Early adopters will reap more benefits on this journey.
Cryptocoin: What are the next steps for the KuCoin exchange, which Turkish investors follow with interest?
KuCoin CEO Johnny Lyu: Soon, you can see that KuCoin has launched the IGO platform and will launch our NFT Marketplace this year. So we will explore more of NFT, Metaverse, Web 3.0 space. Our KuCoin Labs and KuCoin Ventures team are also exploring potential projects and areas that aim to bring more great things for our users. It is clear that KuCoin has a firm grasp of industry trends and will bring more convenience to our users in all aspects.
