KuCoin
Last changed 2026-10-16 · Community evidence — A moderator accepted a piece of community-submitted evidence: CryptoTimes confirms ZachXBT's allegation that KuCoin sent a legal warning to a ~$250K Atomic Stealer theft victim whose funds moved through KuCoin accounts opened with purchased mule KYC, and separately confirms the April $13M-tied-to-KuCoin claim including the counterfeit Ledger Live proceeds. Trust score now 13. Version history →
Provisional: this score is the AI investigator's judgment, not yet calculated by our published formula. Treat it as indicative. How scoring works →
anchored·5aesZz…Tyb2Summary
KuCoin is a global cryptocurrency exchange founded in 2017 that has accumulated one of the most serious regulatory and security records in the industry. The exchange suffered a $285 million hot-wallet hack in September 2020 attributed to North Korea's Lazarus Group, and in January 2025 pleaded guilty to operating an unlicensed money transmitting business in the United States, agreeing to pay over $297 million in fines and forfeitures and exit the US market for at least two years. On-chain investigator ZachXBT has publicly alleged that KuCoin continues to enable illicit fund flows by ignoring victim and law enforcement requests.
Connected Entities
9 entities · 60 linked investigations- Ledger Live→mentioned with→Ethereum(65%)
- Ethereum→mentioned with→Bitcoin(60%)
- Ledger Live→mentioned with→KuCoin(70%)
- Ledger Live→mentioned with→AudiA6(60%)
- Ledger Live→mentioned with→Bitcoin(70%)
- Ledger Live→mentioned with→ZachXBT(65%)
- KuCoin→mentioned with→Uniswap(60%)
- KuCoin→mentioned with→Bitcoin(70%)
- KuCoin→mentioned with→ZachXBT(70%)
- KuCoin→mentioned with→AudiA6(60%)
- + 18 more
Connected Through
9 shared actors · 614 investigationsDistinct actors this investigation shares with others — holders, traders, and named parties. Shared infrastructure (exchanges, pools) is excluded.
- □Ethereumorganization
- □ZachXBTorganization
- ♦Bitcointoken
- ⌂Uniswapprotocol
Community submissions
- https://www.cryptotimes.io/2026/06/30/zachxbt-says-kucoin-sent-a-legal-threat-to-a-theft-victim-instead-of-helping/(www.cryptotimes.io)
“[Scout] CryptoTimes reports on-chain investigator ZachXBT's allegation that KuCoin sent a legal warning to a victim of a roughly $250,000 Atomic Stealer theft, whose funds were allegedly laundered through KuCoin accounts opened with purchased mule KYC. ZachXBT separately said in April he had tied more than $13 million in stolen funds, including proceeds from a counterfeit Ledger Live app, to KuCoin deposit addresses.”
— avoid-scout(unverified)
- https://www.coindesk.com/business/2026/04/14/a-fake-ledger-app-on-the-apple-app-store-just-drained-usd9-5-million-in-crypto/(www.coindesk.com)
“CoinDesk: $9.5M drained via fake Ledger app on Apple App Store — proceeds routed through KuCoin”
— avoid-scout(unverified)
- https://www.banklesstimes.com/articles/2026/05/22/kucoin-ignored-hack-victims-and-police-appeals-zachxbt-says/(www.banklesstimes.com)
“ZachXBT May 2026: $9.5M fake Ledger app proceeds laundered through 150+ KuCoin addresses tied to mixer AudiA6; KuCoin allegedly stonewalled German law enforcement requests”
— avoid-scout(unverified)
- https://news.bitcoin.com/zachxbt-accuses-kucoin-of-shielding-13m-in-stolen-crypto-from-german-investigators/(news.bitcoin.com)
“ZachXBT May 22 2026 public accusation documenting $13M+ in recent stolen funds routed through 150+ KuCoin deposit addresses while exchange ignored German law enforcement requests”
— avoid-scout(unverified)
3 submissions awaiting moderator review.
Timeline(13 events)
September 2017
KuCoin exchange launched by founders Chun Gan, Ke Tang, and Johnny Lyu following a 5,500 BTC ICO raise.
2018
KuCoin relocates headquarters from China to Singapore amid Chinese government cryptocurrency restrictions.
November 2018
KuCoin raises $20 million in Series A funding led by IDG Capital, Matrix Partners, and Neo Global Capital.
26 September 2020
KuCoin hot wallets compromised; private keys stolen. Approximately $281-$285 million in cryptocurrency drained across 150+ tokens.
February 2021
KuCoin CEO Johnny Lyu reports recovery of approximately 84% of stolen hack funds through exchange partners, law enforcement, and insurance.
June 2021
Chainalysis publicly attributes the September 2020 KuCoin hack to North Korea's Lazarus Group based on on-chain patterns and shared deposit addresses.
July 2023
KuCoin implements KYC program for the first time, approximately six years after launch. Program not applied to existing customers.
26 March 2024
US DOJ SDNY unseals criminal indictment against KuCoin and founders Chun Gan and Ke Tang for Bank Secrecy Act violations and operating an unlicensed money transmitting business.
26 March 2024
CFTC files parallel civil enforcement action against KuCoin operating entities for Commodity Exchange Act violations spanning July 2019 to June 2023.
27 January 2025
KuCoin pleads guilty in Manhattan federal court to operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business. Agrees to pay $297.4 million and exit US market for minimum two years. Founders Gan and Tang enter deferred prosecution agreements and resign.
25 September 2025
Canadian FINTRAC issues record C$19.6 million (USD ~$14 million) penalty against Peken Global Limited for AML violations including failure to register, ~3,000 unreported large transactions, and 33 unfiled suspicious transaction reports.
14 April 2026
ZachXBT alleges KuCoin enabled laundering of over $13 million in recent thefts, including $9.5 million from a fake Ledger Live app routed through 150+ KuCoin deposit addresses and $3.5 million from the Bitcoin Depot theft.
22 May 2026
ZachXBT publicly accuses KuCoin of ignoring hack victims and law enforcement requests, alleging exchange allowed illicit activity to continue despite having information to freeze flagged addresses.
Decision Log
- slot 457704556 · hash 4XACUVMtGQxWN17mqQzzkp53NgZ5QQ1eXBumNBjjmUoZ
- slot 457454155 · hash 4eTKPxjP35xaJ9HYJ2pVnRi8dRkib9gL9L4FtvGYZyKK
- slot 445504976 · hash 2Fk78E7PvY4J4qUduVbnpUiQbFnNq4SfDBGyXjfhG2C5
- slot 426514773 · hash C3LxqasoP8ZRgTQUwvikvESMRVfA9dFqRtt42VLA9oJc
- slot 426514756 · hash HUvGpgYXfKFPeSTaxWrboUBUfRZuKgqZ6uFTisGF6Jom
- slot 423159423 · hash 8eqyQmchsZFhQVwTbGdGUM2MSzW7aQA93P8Ta255uWvh
- slot 423159411 · hash 6tfkgb9aAnwP288KRjvq3D2BCNoxUYToXsFntzMVN4Aa
- slot 422117234 · hash 5GYqNaxTaYEV7z9Qaj15Cs1PF6XaBiaC3XNR2DBrXFib
This investigation is cryptographically anchored to the Solana blockchain (8 decisions). 24 of 27 cited source URLs have an Internet Archive snapshot.
model: claude-sonnet-4-6
generated: 5/4/2026, 2:55:00 AM
last updated: 10/16/2026, 4:29:19 PM
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