KuCoin Expands In Australia As It Invests In A Local Exchange- Bitcoin Australia

KuCoin, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges expands its base in Australia as it invests in local exchange Bitcoin Australia. The approximate $3 million of investment will enable the Singaporean exchange to enter the local market, while Bitcoin Australia will embark on its own aggressive international expansion.

According to a report on, The Australian Financial Review,  Rupert Hackett, Bitcoin Australia chief executive explains it as a good match as KuCoin targets sophisticated investors, while Bitcoin Australia aims to make cryptocurrency trading possible for the mass market. He stated:

“KuCoin is designed for speculative investors and offers 300 different cryptocurrencies to buy and sell and it doesn’t do any onboarding. It will effectively create an exchange for intermediate and advanced traders, while we’re a mass market approach, making us quite synergistic. We’ll build the consumer-friendly retail experience for people entering the market, while supporting KuCoin for advanced traders.”

The news comes amidst the falling values of cryptocurrencies, but Hackett is confident due to continued demand from local investors.

With over 300 employees, KuCoin already has more than 4 million users on its platform and transacts $US500 million per month. Investing in Bitcoin Australia, founded in 2015, will expand the company access from three markets to 30 in the next two years. Looking into the regulations introduced by Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) to police cryptocurrency exchanges put the firm in good global standing, Hackett believes this to be the right for expansion. He said:

“[The Austrac regulations] were very progressive based on the global climate. Because we’re a regulated cryptocurrency exchange, we can leverage that in these international markets and foster business relations on that foundation. The UK is our next primary target. We offer the ability to purchase cryptocurrency already, but there’s a big difference between that and a bespoke experience. We want it to be seamless with the payment infrastructure in the UK and build up the brand.”

A study from Accenture revealed that a $5.9 billion in cryptocurrency was traded by Australians in 2017. Notably, 59 percent of the value for the year was made in December month as cryptocurrency prices were peaking. About 83 percent of local crypto traders were male and 71 percent were under the age of 40. Bitcoin has since then fallen from its peak of over $25,000 (in Australian dollars) in December to now trading around $10,000.

Taking the fall into account, the local trade has also witnessed a slowdown, as admitted by Hackett. Though he sticks to his conviction that the digital assets have long-term potential. he said.

“When you compare the global trade in cryptocurrency compared to all-time high trading volumes it has depressed 5-10 per cent, but it’s still up 60-70 per cent on 12 months ago. ” 

In March, Bitcoin Australia partnered with payments platform Blueshyft to allow the purchase of bitcoin and ethereum at 1200 newsagents across the country. Hackett mentions that this was done in order to make the company a recognized as a trusted platform and to become an ambassador for bitcoin. Thus, the business opted to raise money through traditional methods, not via an initial coin offering.

“We’re really centred on establishing trust in the existing system. We’re building a vertical service [for the cryptocurrency industry] and we need to be a strong and legitimate business in this space and the way to that is through a more traditional funding route.”

With this Australia step one step closer to adopting Cryptocurrency at a reader spectrum.

Read more: Australians Can Now Pay Their Bills Using Cryptocurrencies Like Bitcoin