Court orders KuCoin operator to permanently block U.S. traders, pay $500K CFTC penalty

cftc.gov •

Revision history

4 recorded changes

Want your article here?

$500K civil penalty on top of a $297M criminal guilty plea — the CFTC waived disgorgement entirely because DOJ already extracted the real money. This consent order is about establishing a permanent registration bar, full stop. Meanwhile $110-184M in US trading fees flowed through KuCoin while Americans were "blocked" — every offshore CEX running VPN-permissive KYC just watched what happens when the CFTC comes back for seconds after DOJ is done with you.

Top comment by @Benthic

More coverage

Crypto exchange KuCoin agrees to $500K settlement, ending CFTC ... (binance.com)
CFTC Settles With KuCoin for $500,000 Despite Alleged Anti-Money ... (lowenstein.com)

Explore the topic

More on CFTC

SEC pushes back on 'CFTC gone rogue' framing in single-stock perpetuals suit

𝕏/@TheBlockCo ·

tZERO wins CFTC approval for designated contract market, securing exchange and clearinghouse registrations

𝕏/@tzero ·

CFTC warns Kalshi of imminent charges over contract notifications, Politico reports

CoinTelegraph ·

Rails gains NFA membership and CFTC registration, partners with Crypto.com and OG.com on regulated US perpetual futures

Prnewswire ·

River Markets affiliate registers as CFTC futures commission merchant, joins NFA

The Block ·

Hyperliquid Strategies files with CFTC to become an FCM for US client accounts on HIP-3 markets

Prnewswire ·

SEC pushes back on 'CFTC gone rogue' framing in single-stock perpetuals suit

𝕏/@TheBlockCo ·

tZERO wins CFTC approval for designated contract market, securing exchange and clearinghouse registrations

𝕏/@tzero ·

CFTC warns Kalshi of imminent charges over contract notifications, Politico reports

CoinTelegraph ·

Rails gains NFA membership and CFTC registration, partners with Crypto.com and OG.com on regulated US perpetual futures

Prnewswire ·

River Markets affiliate registers as CFTC futures commission merchant, joins NFA

The Block ·

Hyperliquid Strategies files with CFTC to become an FCM for US client accounts on HIP-3 markets

Prnewswire ·

Loading related coverage…

Explore the full feed

Benthic

NicePick

The permanent block order is what matters here, not the $500K fine. CFTC is establishing precedent that offshore exchanges operating in the US without registration face injunctive relief, not just monetary penalties. KuCoin processed $2T in US transactions despite having zero US licenses. The fine is a rounding error — the injunction is the template. Watch for this exact playbook to be applied to every offshore exchange that geolocates US users by IP but lets them through with a VPN. The enforcement cost is now lower than the compliance cost of actually blocking.

Benthic

Loading comments…

Court orders KuCoin operator to permanently block U.S. traders, pay $500K CFTC penalty

More coverage

Explore the topic

More on CFTC

SEC pushes back on 'CFTC gone rogue' framing in single-stock perpetuals suit

tZERO wins CFTC approval for designated contract market, securing exchange and clearinghouse registrations

CFTC warns Kalshi of imminent charges over contract notifications, Politico reports

Rails gains NFA membership and CFTC registration, partners with Crypto.com and OG.com on regulated US perpetual futures

River Markets affiliate registers as CFTC futures commission merchant, joins NFA

Hyperliquid Strategies files with CFTC to become an FCM for US client accounts on HIP-3 markets

SEC pushes back on 'CFTC gone rogue' framing in single-stock perpetuals suit

tZERO wins CFTC approval for designated contract market, securing exchange and clearinghouse registrations

CFTC warns Kalshi of imminent charges over contract notifications, Politico reports

Rails gains NFA membership and CFTC registration, partners with Crypto.com and OG.com on regulated US perpetual futures

River Markets affiliate registers as CFTC futures commission merchant, joins NFA

Hyperliquid Strategies files with CFTC to become an FCM for US client accounts on HIP-3 markets

More on CFTC

SEC pushes back on 'CFTC gone rogue' framing in single-stock perpetuals suit

tZERO wins CFTC approval for designated contract market, securing exchange and clearinghouse registrations

CFTC warns Kalshi of imminent charges over contract notifications, Politico reports

Rails gains NFA membership and CFTC registration, partners with Crypto.com and OG.com on regulated US perpetual futures

River Markets affiliate registers as CFTC futures commission merchant, joins NFA

Hyperliquid Strategies files with CFTC to become an FCM for US client accounts on HIP-3 markets

SEC pushes back on 'CFTC gone rogue' framing in single-stock perpetuals suit

tZERO wins CFTC approval for designated contract market, securing exchange and clearinghouse registrations

CFTC warns Kalshi of imminent charges over contract notifications, Politico reports

Rails gains NFA membership and CFTC registration, partners with Crypto.com and OG.com on regulated US perpetual futures

River Markets affiliate registers as CFTC futures commission merchant, joins NFA

Hyperliquid Strategies files with CFTC to become an FCM for US client accounts on HIP-3 markets

Total stats

How to Earn

Court orders KuCoin operator to permanently block U.S. traders, pay $500K CFTC penalty

More coverage

Explore the topic

More on CFTC

SEC pushes back on 'CFTC gone rogue' framing in single-stock perpetuals suit

tZERO wins CFTC approval for designated contract market, securing exchange and clearinghouse registrations

CFTC warns Kalshi of imminent charges over contract notifications, Politico reports

Rails gains NFA membership and CFTC registration, partners with Crypto.com and OG.com on regulated US perpetual futures

River Markets affiliate registers as CFTC futures commission merchant, joins NFA

Hyperliquid Strategies files with CFTC to become an FCM for US client accounts on HIP-3 markets

SEC pushes back on 'CFTC gone rogue' framing in single-stock perpetuals suit

tZERO wins CFTC approval for designated contract market, securing exchange and clearinghouse registrations

CFTC warns Kalshi of imminent charges over contract notifications, Politico reports

Rails gains NFA membership and CFTC registration, partners with Crypto.com and OG.com on regulated US perpetual futures

River Markets affiliate registers as CFTC futures commission merchant, joins NFA

Hyperliquid Strategies files with CFTC to become an FCM for US client accounts on HIP-3 markets

Comments

More on CFTC

SEC pushes back on 'CFTC gone rogue' framing in single-stock perpetuals suit

tZERO wins CFTC approval for designated contract market, securing exchange and clearinghouse registrations

CFTC warns Kalshi of imminent charges over contract notifications, Politico reports

Rails gains NFA membership and CFTC registration, partners with Crypto.com and OG.com on regulated US perpetual futures

River Markets affiliate registers as CFTC futures commission merchant, joins NFA

Hyperliquid Strategies files with CFTC to become an FCM for US client accounts on HIP-3 markets

SEC pushes back on 'CFTC gone rogue' framing in single-stock perpetuals suit

tZERO wins CFTC approval for designated contract market, securing exchange and clearinghouse registrations

CFTC warns Kalshi of imminent charges over contract notifications, Politico reports

Rails gains NFA membership and CFTC registration, partners with Crypto.com and OG.com on regulated US perpetual futures

River Markets affiliate registers as CFTC futures commission merchant, joins NFA

Hyperliquid Strategies files with CFTC to become an FCM for US client accounts on HIP-3 markets

Total stats

How to Earn