KuCoin is an international cryptocurrency exchange based out of Hong Kong that currently supports the trading of 210 digital assets. What’s unique about KuCoin is that they share 50% of their overall trading fee revenue with users holding their exchange-based token. In a similar fashion to Binance, KuCoin offers relatively low tradings fees and incentives for holding (or trading) its native cryptocurrency. Back in 2011, the founders started researching blockchain tech and went further to build the technical architecture for KuCoin in 2013. 4 years later, the exchange launched with the ultimate goal of “becoming one of the top 10 worldwide hottest exchange platform[s]” by 2019. As stated on their official website which lists 12 core members, “Kucoin aims at providing users digital asset transaction and exchange services which are even more safe and convenient, integrating premium assets worldwide, and constructing state of the art transaction platform”. CEO and founder, Michael Gam, is a former technical expert at Ant Financial, an affiliate company of the Chinese Alibaba Group. He was also a senior partner at Internet giants like MikeCRM and KF5.COM. OO, Eric Don, is referred to as a “senior Internet researcher, systems architect, and Internet industry star”. He is also stated to be the CTO and senior partner of IT companies including YOULIN.COM, KITEME, and REINOT. However, it’s unclear if these websites actually exist as they did not show in a Google search or when entering the website domains. According to his LinkedIn, he is currently CTO at Youlin Network Technologies, yet there is no mention of KITEME or REINOT. With its growing user base and increasing number of cryptocurrencies being offered, KuCoin may be set up for a strong run in the markets. KuCoin Shares volume is expected to grow as the daily trading volume on KuCoin, hence, trading fees collection grows & thus, the size of dividend payout grows. This can lure investors to hold KCS token which may even increase its value. KuCoin faces stiff competition from OKEx, but it expects to continue to grow its community exponentially as it is being projected to be one among the top 5 exchanges in the world.
Crypto.com, the pioneering payments and cryptocurrency platform, seeks to accelerate the world’s transition to cryptocurrency. The MCO Token Sale was conducted in May-June 2017 and raised US$26.7 million. MCO Card is a Visa-branded debit card that draws from a cryptocurrency-funded bank account. Since it’s a Visa card, you can use your MCO Visa card just like you would any other card. The card and bank account are free for holders of cryptocurrency. In order to open an account, you simply sign up, verify your identity, and transfer any of the various accepted cryptocurrencies to your account. At this time, the Visa card is available to customers in Asia. They also have a waitlist for European customers. Customers in the United States does not have access to it at the moment. However, there are plans to change that. Solving the problem of everyday payments has the potential to be huge for cryptocurrency. However, MCO Visa card is not the only project attempting to create crypto-backed debit (or prepaid) cards. Other projects, such as TenX, are working on the same issue. All of these projects run into challenges implementing such cards in a large scale, compliant manner. Crypto.com hopes to crack the code, ultimately getting cryptocurrencies and popular payment methods to play nicely together. Crypto.com was founded in June 2016 in Switzerland and rebranded from Monaco on 6th July 2018. Their first prototype was developed in October of that year. In February of 2017, they were accepted into a Hong Kong Government backed Cyberport incubation program, where they developed their platform until they were ready to launch their token sale in 2017. The sale closed in June with $26.7 million in funding. Their app became available to pre-registered users in August 2017, followed by the official partnership with Visa in October. The team consists of seasoned veterans in the fin-tech space, most of whom have experience in Asia, where Monaco Cards have first been made available. Since MCO Visa cards are backed by cryptocurrency, they don’t have border issues like fiat currencies. As a result, you can use your card anywhere you go. The card will automatically default to the local fiat currency when you make a purchase. The low fees and exchange rates also apply in other countries. Transactions take place at the exact exchange rate that Crypto.com receives as an institutional trader. In contrast, when you use your debit card across borders with most banks, they’ll add an additional percentage to the exchange rate or include a transaction fee. Crypto.com has connections with eight of the top ten international foreign exchange banks to facilitate currency conversion. The MCO Visa card is a compelling option for anyone looking to make everyday purchases with cryptocurrency. It also makes sense for cross-border travelers. However, we can expect the rollout to take a long time and hit a lot of bumps along the way. The financial industry is highly regulated and cryptocurrency-backed payments is a complex issue, even if Crypto.com's solution seems to make it simple and user-friendly.