KuCoin has appointed former London Stock Exchange Group executive Sabina Liu as managing director of KuCoin EU to lead its Markets in Crypto Assets Regulation expansion in Europe.
The appointment follows KuCoin securing a crypto asset service provider licence in Austria, with Vienna set as the base for its European operations.
Liu previously led KuCoin’s institutional business and spent more than a decade at the London Stock Exchange Group working with global investment banks and cross-border trading clients.
KuCoin said the move reflects a shift towards a compliance-first strategy as it positions itself within Europe’s regulated crypto market.
Liu described the MiCA licence as a major milestone that provides a unified regulatory framework across a financially mature and diverse region.
She said the framework creates opportunities for further adoption across stablecoins, payments, and digital wealth products.
Rather than viewing MiCA’s capital, reporting, and governance rules as restrictive, Liu said they provide guardrails for sustainable long-term growth.
Our objective is to offer users greater choice through differentiated services and a clear compliance-first positioning.
Sabina Liu said.
Liu added that KuCoin does not see compliance as a trade-off against profitability but as the foundation for consumer protection and resilience.
The strategy places KuCoin EU as a regulated alternative in a European market already dominated by larger crypto exchanges.
The appointment comes less than a year after KuCoin’s parent company, Peken Global Limited, pleaded guilty in a US criminal case related to unlicensed money transmission and AML failures.
As part of the settlement, the company agreed to forfeit $184.5 million, pay a $112.9 million fine, and exit the US market for two years.
Liu said the settlement reflected the early development of the crypto industry and highlighted the need for clear regulatory standards.
She said KuCoin EU has embedded high compliance standards from the outset and maintains ongoing dialogue with European regulators.
MiCA has also prompted KuCoin to recalibrate its token listing strategy, moving away from reliance on a long tail of early-stage altcoins.
Liu said KuCoin EU remains committed to supporting Web3 innovation, but only within MiCA rules and internal risk assessment frameworks.