KuCoin operator ordered to block US traders, pay $500,000 CFTC penalty
A U.S. court ordered KuCoin operator Peken Global to block US traders and pay a $500,000 penalty to the CFTC.Summary
Peken Global Limited, the operator of the KuCoin exchange, has been ordered by a U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York to permanently bar U.S. participants from accessing the exchange unless it registers as a foreign board of trade. The consent order also imposes a $500,000 civil monetary penalty from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
The CFTC had initially sued Peken Global and three other entities in March 2024 for operating an unlicensed digital asset derivatives exchange. While the CFTC sought disgorgement, it is not imposing it in this order, citing Peken Global's cooperation in the CFTC investigation and a parallel criminal action.
This regulatory resolution follows a January 2025 guilty plea by Peken Global to operating an unlicensed money transmitting business, which resulted in a $112.9 million criminal fine and $184.5 million in forfeiture, along with an agreement to exit the U.S. market for at least two years.
(Source：The Block)