ZachXBT alleged on June 30, 2026, that KuCoin sent a legal-threat email to a user who lost approximately $250,000 to Atomic Stealer malware in August 2025, rather than helping recover the funds.
The theft occurred on August 18, 2025, according to EdaFace. ZachXBT alleged the stolen funds moved through five KuCoin deposit addresses registered with "purchased mule KYC," meaning real identity documents rented or bought from third parties to pass exchange verification, per CryptoTimes. The exchange's support team allegedly warned the victim that "false, misleading, defamatory, harassing, threatening or otherwise unlawful statements" could "give rise to legal claims," according to the same CryptoTimes report.
The claim follows ZachXBT's June 27 AscendEX hot-wallet concerns, but the KuCoin allegation is different in kind. ZachXBT is alleging victim intimidation and weak account controls at a larger exchange, not withdrawal stalling.
ZachXBT says more than $13M passed through KuCoin
In April 2026, ZachXBT reported that a fake Ledger Live app on Apple's Mac App Store drained more than $9.5 million from victims, with proceeds routed through more than 150 KuCoin deposit addresses, per CryptoTimes. Combined with additional incidents, ZachXBT calculates more than $13 million in recently stolen funds passed through the exchange, according to Cryptopolitan.
In a separate, earlier allegation, ZachXBT accused KuCoin of declining to cooperate with German law-enforcement investigators probing $13 million in stolen crypto, per Internet Security Central.
KuCoin has not rebutted ZachXBT's specific claims
KuCoin stated it "takes security, user protection, and compliance seriously" and directs victims toward law enforcement, but offered no detailed rebuttal to ZachXBT's specific claims, per CryptoTimes. The exchange pleaded guilty in January 2025 to operating an unlicensed money transfer business and agreed to pay $297 million in penalties for inadequate anti-money laundering controls, according to Cryptopolitan.
All allegations originate with ZachXBT and have not been confirmed by court documents or official exchange statements.