Kucoin opposes claims suggesting that more than 77% of Bitcoin reserves have been lost since 2023.
The Crypto Exchange misleaded and inaccurately labeled circular figures, highlighting its commitment to transparency and responsible reporting.
What is the Bitcoin reserves in Kucoin?
The controversy comes from a report from Onchain School, a data-centric platform that cites Cryptoquant data.
Their findings show that Kucoin’s Bitcoin Holdings reportedly fell from 18,300 BTC in June 2023 to about 4,100 BTC by April 2025.
The analysis amounts to about 14,200 btc of this sudden drop, which Kucoin introduced the Essential Knowledge Customer (KYC) rule in mid-2023.
The KYC policy, which came into effect in August 2023, required all users to complete their identity verification. At the time, Kucoin said the move was necessary to combat criminal acts such as money laundering and terrorist financing.
Onchain School suggested that this compliance push encouraged users to withdraw funds by citing privacy concerns.
The analytics platform also argues that the Kucoin situation reflects a broader trend towards reducing Bitcoin reserves across centralized exchanges. However, he emphasized that the Kucoin case is particularly serious due to its timing and size.
Kucoin releases proof of reservation
Kucoin rejected the findings and expressed concern about what it described as an irresponsible report.
The exchange said the reported figures did not reflect reserve levels and warned that inaccurate data could erode public trust.
The company states:
“We are concerned about the spread of false or misleading information by some platforms. Irresponsible reports will mislead users and undermine trust in the crypto ecosystem.”
To strengthen its position, the exchange shared its 30th reserve proof. This includes approximately 9,751 BTC for the User Fund and 10,306 BTC for the Exchange Control Wallet.
The report also showed reserve coverage of 116% for Ethereum, 114% for USDT and 109% for USDC.