A U.S. federal court has imposed an indefinite ban on Peken Global Limited, the operator behind the KuCoin cryptocurrency exchange, blocking it from providing services to U.S.-based users. The permanent injunction, approved by the Southern District Court of New York, formalizes the termination of the company’s operations in the United States, marking a significant regulatory milestone for international crypto platforms.
Peken Global Limited’s exit from the U.S. becomes permanent
According to the court’s ruling, Peken Global Limited can only register U.S. participants if it does so as a “foreign exchange” and complies with strict regulatory requirements. Beyond these restrictions, the company has been ordered to pay a $500,000 administrative fine. What began as a two-year withdrawal plan from the U.S. market has now become an open-ended, court-mandated prohibition, ensuring the company’s American operations are permanently ceased.
Background: Growing scrutiny and legal action
Peken Global Limited is recognized as the key entity behind the KuCoin platform, one of the world’s prominent cryptocurrency exchanges. While KuCoin has a strong international user base, its activities in the United States have faced mounting legal and regulatory pressure in recent years. U.S. authorities began intensifying their scrutiny as concerns grew over compliance with domestic laws and regulations.
The turning point in KuCoin’s U.S. journey came in January 2025, when the company admitted to unlicensed money transmitting activities. That admission led to approximately $297 million in combined fines and asset seizures. This latest court decision illustrates a broad regulatory push by U.S. agencies—targeting not only financial penalties but also access to American markets.
Violations, user accounts, and sanctions
Data from the U.S. Department of Justice estimates that KuCoin amassed around 1.5 million registered U.S. users, generating at least $184.5 million in transaction fees from these customers. Investigators emphasized that while the platform introduced know-your-customer (KYC) requirements for new accounts, it failed to extend these protocols to existing users, a lapse that became a focal point of enforcement actions.
The case also saw the dismissal of allegations against several other entities linked to KuCoin, including Mek Global Limited, PhoenixFin PTE Ltd., and Flashdot Limited. The court found insufficient grounds to pursue these claims further, narrowing the scope of the overall legal action.
Compared to other sanctions, penalties stemming from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC) investigation were relatively limited. In evaluating further restitution, the regulator cited the company’s willingness to cooperate with authorities—as well as compliance with asset seizure orders obtained by the Department of Justice—as reasons not to pursue additional financial penalties.
Peken Global Limited’s decision to cooperate during the penalty phase, along with its adherence to the court’s asset seizure orders, played an important role in limiting the scope of additional sanctions imposed.
Back-to-back court proceedings in the U.S. have once again highlighted the necessity for crypto exchanges to align with regulatory and security standards. What started as a criminal prosecution closed with a comprehensive prohibition on KuCoin’s access to the American market.
As a result, KuCoin’s operations in the U.S. have been halted entirely by court order. Any potential return to the American market will only be possible if the company secures all required regulatory approvals, a significant hurdle given the strengthened oversight landscape.
