Pacifica vs KuCoin

Pacifica or KuCoin: which to use

Pacifica vs KuCoin is a decentralized exchange against a centralized one. On Pacifica you trade from a self-custody wallet without ID, at 1.5 bp maker and 4 bp taker, with up to 50x. KuCoin requires standard KYC, holds your funds in an account, and charges 2 bp maker and 6 bp taker, with up to 125x. KuCoin lists 686 perp markets against Pacifica's 77. Custody, ID and the number of markets decide it for most traders: pick Pacifica for a wallet and lower base fees, KuCoin for breadth and higher leverage.

How each exchange is built

Pacifica is a decentralized exchange (DEX) on Solana. You trade from a self-custody wallet. It matches orders on a central limit order book.

KuCoin is a centralized exchange (CEX): you open an account with the company, and the account holds your funds. It also matches orders on a central limit order book.

Both match orders on a central limit order book. The difference is custody. On Pacifica your wallet holds the funds. On KuCoin the account does, and you deal with the company.

Fees and what they mean

Pacifica's base tier is 1.5 bp (0.015%) maker and 4 bp (0.04%) taker, per Pacifica's fee page. KuCoin's base tier is 2 bp (0.02%) maker and 6 bp (0.06%) taker, per KuCoin's fee announcement.

A market order pays the taker fee to open and again to close: 8 bp per round trip on Pacifica, 12 bp on KuCoin. A limit order that rests on the book pays the maker fee instead, 1.5 bp on Pacifica and 2 bp on KuCoin.

Fees are only part of a trade's cost. Slippage, the price you move by eating through the order book, grows with size. The cost table above adds both at each size from $1k to $5M, and every exchange's trading cost is compared on one page.

Markets and leverage

As of 1 October 2026 KuCoin lists 686 active perps, 159 of them stocks, commodities, FX or other real-world assets. Pacifica lists 77, of which 24 are real-world assets. If you want a wide choice of markets and tokenized assets on one exchange, the count favors KuCoin.

KuCoin allows up to 125x and Pacifica up to 50x on their highest-leverage markets; most markets allow less. Pacifica pays funding every hour on every market. KuCoin pays every 1 hour, 4 hours or 8 hours depending on the market, so check a market's interval before you hold it. An hourly market settles 24 times a day, an 8-hour market three times. A rate that looks small per interval adds up faster on an hourly schedule. The list further down this page shows the markets both exchanges have and each one's funding rate.

Who can use them

Pacifica asks for no ID. It blocks the US, Canada, the UK, China, Russia, Ukraine, the Philippines and sanctioned countries. KuCoin requires standard KYC (ID and face check) for any product, a rule in place since Aug 2023.

Token and points

Pacifica has no token yet. As of 19 September 2026 its points and airdrop program was "Active", and the airdrops page tracks programs like it. Pacifica runs no vault that arb.sh tracks. KuCoin's token is $KCS.

Reading the numbers on this page

Pacifica publishes open interest as longs plus shorts, both sides of every position. KuCoin publishes one side of open positions. For the same positions Pacifica's figure reads about twice as large, so the open interest row and chart above are not a like-for-like comparison of size.

KuCoin publishes no TVL, as is usual for a centralized exchange, so that row and chart show Pacifica alone, as DefiLlama's figure for the exchange.

Which one fits you

• Pick Pacifica if you want to keep funds in your own wallet on Solana and trade without ID.
• Pick Pacifica if you trade with market orders: 4 bp taker against 6 bp.
• Pick Pacifica if you want every market on an hourly funding schedule.
• Pick Pacifica if you farm points: the program was "Active" as of 19 September 2026.
• Pick KuCoin if you prefer an exchange account and accept ID and face verification.
• Pick KuCoin if you want 686 markets, including 159 real-world assets, on one exchange.
• Pick KuCoin if you need more than 50x, up to 125x on its highest-leverage markets.