Summary
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
1 entities- + 3 more
Community submissions
- Under reviewincriminatingWayback pending6/2/2026, 2:30:42 AM
“ZachXBT May 2026 report: KuCoin ignored hack victims and law enforcement while stolen funds moved through 150+ deposit addresses, ongoing despite 2025 AML settlement”
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“CoinDesk: $9.5M drained via fake Ledger app on Apple App Store — proceeds routed through KuCoin”
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“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”
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“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”
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Timeline(13 events)
2017-09-01
KuCoin exchange launched by founders Chun Gan, Ke Tang, and Johnny Lyu following a 5,500 BTC ICO raise.
2018-01-01
KuCoin relocates headquarters from China to Singapore amid Chinese government cryptocurrency restrictions.
2018-11-01
KuCoin raises $20 million in Series A funding led by IDG Capital, Matrix Partners, and Neo Global Capital.
2020-09-26
KuCoin hot wallets compromised; private keys stolen. Approximately $281-$285 million in cryptocurrency drained across 150+ tokens.
2021-02-01
KuCoin CEO Johnny Lyu reports recovery of approximately 84% of stolen hack funds through exchange partners, law enforcement, and insurance.
2021-06-01
Chainalysis publicly attributes the September 2020 KuCoin hack to North Korea's Lazarus Group based on on-chain patterns and shared deposit addresses.
2023-07-01
KuCoin implements KYC program for the first time, approximately six years after launch. Program not applied to existing customers.
2024-03-26
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.
2024-03-26
CFTC files parallel civil enforcement action against KuCoin operating entities for Commodity Exchange Act violations spanning July 2019 to June 2023.
2025-01-27
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.
2025-09-25
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.
2026-04-14
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.
2026-05-22
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
- hash: C3LxqasoP8ZRgTQUwvikvESMRVfA9dFqRtt42VLA9oJc
- hash: HUvGpgYXfKFPeSTaxWrboUBUfRZuKgqZ6uFTisGF6Jom
- hash: 8eqyQmchsZFhQVwTbGdGUM2MSzW7aQA93P8Ta255uWvh
- hash: 6tfkgb9aAnwP288KRjvq3D2BCNoxUYToXsFntzMVN4Aa
- hash: 5GYqNaxTaYEV7z9Qaj15Cs1PF6XaBiaC3XNR2DBrXFib
This investigation is cryptographically anchored to the Solana blockchain and source URLs are archived via the Internet Archive.
model: claude-sonnet-4-6
generated: 5/4/2026, 2:55:00 AM
last updated: 6/14/2026, 11:16:13 PM
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