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Today at CryptoNewsZ, we are joined by Michael Gan – a legend in the crypto domain. He is the CEO and Co-Founder of KuCoin, former Technical Expert of Ant Financial of Alibaba Group, a veteran in financial solutions, and Senior Partner of internet giants like MikeCRM, KF5.COM, Youlin, and Missyi Inc.
CryptoNewsZ: Michael, you have pursued engineering in Computer Science; what sparked the idea to start a promising cryptocurrency exchange like KuCoin?
I was among the first batch of users of NetEase’s free personal site hosting service in 1998. In 2009, while at university, I became the main developer and co-founder of Missyi Inc., an image sharing and editing app, and later I was a technical expert for Alibaba Group’s Ant Financial.
During my time at university, I also became very interested in Bitcoin mining and blockchain technology. That is when my focus shifted to the crypto-world. While I continued with university and my entrepreneurial goals, I was becoming more and more focused on blockchain technology, which eventually led to creating KuCoin.
I’d like to share an interesting story. I remember I got my first Bitcoin in about 2011, by registering a crypto forum. And when the price of Bitcoin starts to pick up and reached about $100, I bought hundreds of BTC on Mt.Gox and of course those coins have gone with Mt.Gox at last. My friends and I used Mt.Gox a lot as it is the biggest exchange at the time but to be honest the overall experience is not satisfactory at all, that’s also a reason that we want to create a new exchange that can offer a user-friendly trading experience.
Michael Gan
CryptoNewsZ: How does the KuCoin ecosystem work? What are the intrinsic technicalities behind it?
I’d like to share our thoughts regarding the ecosystem of our product and service. Actually, we started to think about this in early 2019; it is because we self-developed all the underlying infrastructure of the first version of KuCoin and in the following 1 and a half years, we focused more on improving the infrastructure. At the end of 2018, we feel that our tech and team are ready and also we already have a solid user base, we then started to develop KuMEX, our own futures trading platform. Soon after that, we kicked off more projects including spot trading leverage, OTC, Soft Staking, Pool-X and more. Our main objective of introducing all these products is always the same, making KuCoin the best place for users to store and trade crypto. And we are still working hard to make the experience more friendly.
Michael Gan
CryptoNewsZ: KuCoin had a significant system upgrade in February. What makes the KuCoin platform 2.0 different from its first version? What technical upgrades has it brought into the ecosystem?
KuCoin Platform 2.0 is a significant upgrade. Some of the key upgrades include:
Advanced Brand New API — KuCoin’s APIs are designed to offer an easy and efficient way to develop a secure and programmatic trading strategy. LEVEL 2 and LEVEL 3 data has also been added.
Various Order Types — KuCoin offers users a suite of order types to give traders the tools they need for every scenario. These include Limit, Stop, Market, Post Only, Iceberg, etc.
Reliable Security Solutions — Multiple security mechanisms to protect users’ information and funds are our first priority. With the update, KuCoin now supports SMS authentication, a device trust system, and protective walls to reinforce user information and assets.
More Attractive Fee Program — KuCoin launches a new Tiered Trading Fee Discount Program, developing separate trading fees for Takers and Makers, creating high liquidity, and effectively reducing trading fees, all while improving transaction efficiency.
More Convenient Self-service Management Features — Platform 2.0 has added support for internal transfers, self-service unbinding, self-service freezing/unfreezing of accounts, and other user self-service functionality to greatly improve service efficiency.
Efficient Notification Module — The KuCoin WebSocket feed, together with newly added App and SMS push notifications, will let you easily gain access to real-time market data.
And we have also improved user experience through the simplification of the KYC verification process, price warnings and internal notices, the construction of savings accounts and trading accounts will better ensure the security of users’ assets, a more powerful trading matchmaking engine and more.
We are happy that in the first month after the KuCoin V2 release, our website traffic increased 4 times with trading volume doubled. And till now, we have seem 10x growth of our trading volume, significantly increasing our market depth and trading experience.
Michael Gan
CryptoNewsZ: Please tell us more about the “KuCoin Spotlight.” What is KuCoin’s vision behind the launch of Spotlight?
KuCoin has been persistent in its pursuit of finding and supporting blockchain projects with real potential. KuCoin’s vision brings Spotlight to the stage. KuCoin Spotlight aims to assist blockchain projects in raising the needed funds, attracting market attention, and improving industrial influence.
Take our latest project TOKO as an example, Tokoin, Indonesia’s #1 blockchain project, backed by local government institutions and organisations, provides MSMEs (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises) in emerging markets with a platform to conduct business and create a viable profile credit score giving them access services such as loans, insurance, lines of credit and a marketplace to facilitate their growth which was not available to them. The project used to focus more on Indonesia and SEA, but with the launch on KuCoin Spotlight, we introduced the project to our 5M users from over 100 countries and regions, significantly contributing to its awareness and user base.
And of course, our users have also benefited from this project. Until now, we have successfully launched 5 Spotlight projects, and according to the data from Ceteris Paribus, the average rate of return of KuCoin Spotlight projects is 103%. And it is worth noting that the price of the latest project TOKO surged 7x (ATH is 9x), ranking the 2nd place on Cryptorank.
Michael Gan
CryptoNewsZ: KuCoin will soon be hosting a Meetup event in Delhi, India. Your primary agenda is to share thoughts about the new and upcoming blockchain trends. However, in India, people are yet to be familiar with this revolutionary technology, understand its significance, and embrace it with open arms. Do you think this meetup will usher in the much-needed change in India? How soon do you think blockchain technology will become mainstream in India?
As the crypto exchange with the most widely distributed users, we have tons of users from developing countries like India. We have noticed that users from those areas are eager for new technologies and opportunities. We are hoping meetup like this could enlighten more people in terms of this cutting-edge technologies as well as the changes the tech may bring to their country. I believe blockchain can be a really good chance for developing countries to catch up with their developed counterparts, and for the people there, many of them feel the freedom of finance for the first time of their life with the help of blockchain technology.
I believe the blockchain technology will be widely adopted in many countries in the next 3 – 5 years, but it depends on the development of the Internet infrastructure and the regulators’ attitude as well. For countries that more actively embrace the technology, that day will come sooner, and they will benefit more from it.
Michael Gan
CryptoNewsZ: KuCoin has experienced amazing progress since its launch; like surpassing the highest daily trading volume of 320 million USD and raising $20 million in the Series A funding round. What has been the secret behind its astounding journey?
Yes, we have achieved something, but I think KuCoin is still a young startup. We will celebrate the 2nd birthday of KuCoin in the middle of September. One secret behind our development in the last 2 years is that I always require the team to keep the passion in day one, being open to new changes and continuing to bring value to our users.
Michael Gan
CryptoNewsZ: Thinking about the future, where do you want to go with KuCoin? What more is planned and where do you see KuCoin in the next few years?
This is a big topic, and I’d like to share our plan in the next couple of years. We will pay more and more attention to the development of our ecosystem. While we are trying to make every product the best of its kind, we will think more about the synergy between them. Meanwhile, as the native token of KuCoin and KuMEX, KCS will be integrated into our product system in a much deeper way, enabling users to benefit from the growth of KuCoin.
Michael Gan
CryptoNewsZ: Michael, you have an incredible journey in the blockchain space. What advice would you like to give to novices, who are starting their career as an entrepreneur in the blockchain industry?
I want to tell all the novices that this can be the best industry and the worst as well. There are as many geniuses as frauds here, so don’t be scared by so many new concepts and jargons, and don’t be enticed by the easy money. Blockchain industry is still in a very early stage and if you could immerse yourself into it, you will get more returns than most industries.
Michael Gan
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Thanks for talking to CryptoNewsZ today. Michael, we at CryptoNewsZ thank you for your valuable time and wish you success for all your future ventures.
