Security Compliance
KuCoin offers two-factor authentication and has tightened compliance considerably since its early years. Its history still matters though: $275 million was stolen by North Korean hackers in 2020, with about $200 million recovered, and in 2025 its operator pleaded guilty in the US to anti-money-laundering failures. If you somehow still have funds on the exchange, move them to a private crypto wallet.
Crypto.com is a highly secure exchange by industry standards: cold storage custody, two-factor authentication, encrypted user data, mandatory withdrawal address whitelisting with email confirmation, and substantial insurance coverage on custodied assets. For balance, it did suffer a hack in January 2022, when roughly $34 million was taken from around 483 accounts, but Crypto.com fully reimbursed affected users and overhauled its security in response, and there have been no comparable incidents since. As always, we recommend moving long-term holdings to your own crypto wallet.
KuCoin offers two-factor authentication and has tightened compliance considerably since its early years. Its history still matters: $275 million was stolen by North Korean hackers in 2020, with about $200 million later recovered — one of the largest exchange hacks on record. In 2025 its operator pleaded guilty in the US to anti-money-laundering failures with ~$297 million in penalties. If you still have funds on the exchange, move them to a private crypto wallet — but note that incoming transfers from KuCoin may be blocked by regulated Canadian exchanges, so withdraw to your own wallet first and then transfer from there.
Crypto.com is a highly secure exchange by industry standards: cold storage custody for the majority of assets, two-factor authentication, encrypted user data, mandatory withdrawal address whitelisting with email confirmation, and substantial third-party insurance coverage on custodied assets. For balance, it did suffer a hack in January 2022, when roughly $34 million was taken from around 483 accounts, but Crypto.com fully reimbursed affected users and overhauled its security in response, with no comparable incidents since. As always, we recommend moving long-term holdings to your own crypto wallet.
KuCoin uses 2FA and has tightened its security posture post-2020, but its $275M hack history and subsequent US guilty plea are major red flags regardless of geography. Crypto.com holds SOC 2 and ISO/IEC 27001:2013 certifications, mandates MFA and withdrawal whitelisting, and carries substantial third-party insurance. Since KuCoin is not available to Canadians, only Crypto.com's security is relevant here.
Regulatory Compliance
KuCoin is banned in Canada. After ignoring OSC proceedings entirely, KuCoin received a permanent ban from Ontario's capital markets in June 2022 along with the maximum penalties the tribunal could impose, about $2 million plus costs, and the CSA lists it as a banned platform nationwide. Mandatory KYC since July 2023 means there is no longer any workaround, and using a VPN violates KuCoin's own terms with the risk of frozen funds and zero consumer protection or legal recourse in Canada. This is a hard no for Canadians, not a grey area.
Crypto.com is among the most regulated crypto platforms available to Canadians. It was the first platform to sign a Pre-registration Undertaking with the CSA and OSC in August 2022, and in May 2025 it received restricted dealer registration in every province and territory, making it only the second major global exchange after Coinbase to reach this status. It's now working toward full investment dealer registration and CIRO membership. It's also registered with FINTRAC, and globally holds a MiCA license in the EU, US money transmitter licenses, and licenses in Singapore, the UK and Dubai.
KuCoin is permanently banned in Canada. After ignoring OSC proceedings entirely, KuCoin received a permanent ban from Ontario's capital markets in June 2022 along with the maximum penalties the tribunal could impose — about $2 million plus costs. The CSA lists it as a banned platform nationwide. Mandatory KYC since July 2023 means there is no longer any workaround: verification requires ID from a supported country, and Canada isn't one. Using a VPN violates KuCoin's own terms, with the risk of frozen funds and zero consumer protection or legal recourse in Canada. This is a hard no for Canadians, not a grey area.
Crypto.com is among the most regulated crypto platforms available to Canadians. It was the first platform to sign a Pre-Registration Undertaking with the CSA and OSC in August 2022, and on May 8, 2025, it received restricted dealer registration in every province and territory in Canada — only the second major global exchange after Coinbase to reach this status. It's currently working toward full investment dealer registration and CIRO membership as the next step. It's also registered with FINTRAC, and globally holds a MiCA licence in the EU, US money transmitter licences, and licences in Singapore, the UK and Dubai.
KuCoin is permanently banned from Canadian capital markets and is not registered with Canadian securities regulators. Crypto.com is registered with FINTRAC and operates as a restricted dealer under Canadian securities regulation, authorized to serve Canadians in every province and territory.
Customer support
KuCoin offers FAQs, an online ticketing system and 24/7 live chat for users in supported countries. For Canadians the only relevant support scenario is recovering legacy funds, and be prepared for friction, since closed-jurisdiction withdrawals often involve extra verification steps.
Crypto.com's customer support remains its weakest area: users love the app, security and coin range, but support is chat and ticket-based and can be slow for complex issues. On the education front, the platform now offers Crypto.com University with courses and articles for beginners, so our earlier criticism about missing educational resources no longer applies.
KuCoin offers FAQs, an online ticketing system and 24/7 live chat for users in supported countries. For Canadians the only relevant support scenario is recovering legacy funds, and be prepared for friction since closed-jurisdiction withdrawals often involve extra verification steps.
Crypto.com's customer support remains its weakest area: users love the app, security and coin range, but support is chat and ticket-based and can be slow for complex issues. On the education front, the platform now offers Crypto.com University with courses and articles for beginners, so earlier criticisms about missing educational resources no longer apply.
Crypto.com's 24/7 live chat is the only relevant support option for Canadians — KuCoin's support matters only if you have a legacy account to close, and expect friction there.
Conclusion
From a Canadian perspective, this comparison has a clear answer. KuCoin is permanently banned in Canada, appears on the CSA's banned platform list nationwide, and was hacked for $275 million in 2020 to boot. Recommending it for Canadians would be wrong on every level.
Crypto.com is the clear choice. Its restricted dealer registration across all Canadian provinces and territories as of May 2025 puts it among the most compliant global exchanges operating in Canada. The feature set is hard to match: 400+ coins globally, Visa card cashback, staking, an all-in-one beginner-friendly app, free Interac deposits, and Crypto.com University for newcomers. The main trade-offs are slower customer support and a spread baked into app pricing. For Canadians who want even lower fees on high volume, Kraken Pro or NDAX are worth comparing.
If you have legacy funds on KuCoin, withdraw them to your own wallet immediately — do not transfer directly to a regulated Canadian exchange, as some platforms block incoming transfers from KuCoin. Route through your own wallet first.
We recommend choosing Crypto.com over KuCoin for your cryptocurrency trading needs. By using our referral link, you support us in conducting comprehensive independent analyses of crypto trading options for Canadians.
If you find that Crypto.com doesn't meet your requirements, explore our monthly-updated list of the best exchanges for Canadians to trade crypto.
