KuCoin Exchange to incentivize customers with $10 million airdrop amid DoJ, CFTC-related lawsuit

■  KuCoin CEO announces $10 million airdrop worth of KCS and BTC in appreciation for community support.

■  Exchange faces regulatory troubles after DoJ, CFTC and HSI called it out for violating AML laws.

■  Rules for the airdrop will be released in three days, but KuCoin token KCS remains  down 5%.

In a Tuesday announcement, the US Department of Justice (DoJ) in collaboration with the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”) levied charges against KuCoin Exchange and two of its founders, Chun Gan (Michael) and Ke Tang (Eric). 

Charges concern the violation of US Anti-Money Laundering Laws in their efforts to grow KuCoin into one of world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, servicing over 30 million customers.

KuCoin CEO plans $10 million airdrop

As reported, the news had spelled fear uncertainty, and doubt (FUD) among KuCoin customers, who fled to avoid exposure in case the worst happened. After the Terraform Labs and FTX debacles, ‘better safe than sorry’ became the way to go. Consequently, the platform witnessed over $1 billion in outflows on Wednesday as retail took out their holdings.

Amid massive withdrawal transactions, customers experienced delays, which worsened the situation, prompting the exchange to announce the safety of funds.

To soothe customers after hours of fear and anxiety, KuCoin Exchange CEO Johnny Lyu has announced a $10 million airdrop as incentive for users and supporters, with rules to be communicated in three days.

According to the Wednesday blog, The giveaway is in appreciation for years of support that community members have accorded the platform. Notably, this is not the first time the exchange is attempting to soothe community members after a negative issue.

In October 2017, the delisting of the CFD project also sparked negative sentiment, causing the introduction of the proactive compensation program, which earned KuCoin the reputation of being the "People's Exchange." The airdrop borrows from this leaf, totaling 10 million USD in KCS and BTC.

Bearing in mind the security issues relating to airdrops, Lyu has urged community members to be aware of any form of scams. Notably, bad actors tend to put up misleading links to defraud unsuspecting customers.

Meanwhile, the KuCoin token (KCS) price is yet to recover from the crash and is down around 5% in the last day.

KCS/USDT 1-day chart