KuCoin announces $10 million airdrop in Bitcoin and its native token amid legal woes

Crypto exchange KuCoin will launch a special $10 million airdrop in Bitcoin and KuCoin tokens for users experiencing withdrawal delays, said Johnny Lyu, CEO of KuCoin, in a recent post on X. This decision came after the exchange was hit by new charges from the US Department of Justice (DOJ) on Tuesday.

Thanks for standing by and trusting KuCoin during this time. It means a lot to us.

With great gratitude, we’ll launch a special $10M airdrop in $KCS & $BTC to the users who experienced longer-than-expected wait times during the withdrawal process in the past 2 days.

Details…

— Johnny_KuCoin (@lyu_johnny) March 27, 2024

Details of the airdrop will be revealed in the next three days. In addition to this special airdrop, the exchange plans to reward users who stayed with the exchange during this time. This came after a user inquired about the possibility of rewarding those who “didn’t paper-hand” and left KuCoin.

Stay tuned for further details. Of course, we will reward those who’ve always been with us!

— KuCoin Updates (@KuCoinUpdates) March 27, 2024

KuCoin has dealt with numerous withdrawals since the recent charges surfaced. According to Nansen’s data, KuCoin’s users have pulled $1 billion (not including Bitcoin) from the exchange over the past 24 hours. Additionally, the total assets on the exchange dropped to $4.8 billion, down 20%.

Some users took to X to complain about withdrawal problems in the past hours.

Kucoin insolvent? My funds are stuck in Kucoin.

I tried withdrawing, but it hasn’t completed for 30 minutes; it’s still showing Processing.

Withdraw your funds from Kucoin as soon as possible. It’s abnormal, similar to FTX. Better safe than sorry. pic.twitter.com/Q7402pyFFy

— Vasu Crypto (∎, ∆) (@0x_Lens) March 26, 2024

However, Spot on Chain reports that KuCoin still processes remittances normally. This may take longer due to the increased number of user requests.

Some Kucoin users reported withdrawal problems, but from our on-chain data, the withdrawal is still enabled and working.https://t.co/bqWUWJg8oY pic.twitter.com/FM0ZUg3zqt

— Spot On Chain (@spotonchain) March 26, 2024

The DOJ’s accusations against KuCoin and its founders include operating an unlicensed money transmission business and facilitating $9 billion in illegal transactions since 2017. KuCoin has acknowledged the allegations and is actively seeking legal counsel to address the matter, assuring users that their assets remain secure.

The exchange has also faced legal challenges from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which has cited the company for offering unregistered trading services and non-compliance with KYC regulations.

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