KUCOIN EU expands under MiCA with Sabina Liu in charge

Vienna will become a strategic base for KuCoin EU as the exchange pursues its next phase of growth under the European Union’s MiCA regime.

Sabina Liu appointed to lead European strategy

KuCoin has appointed former London Stock Exchange Group executive Sabina Liu as managing director of KuCoin EU, tasking her with driving its business across the bloc. The move follows the exchange securing a crypto asset service provider license in Austria, with Liu operating from Vienna as the focal point of its regional push.

Liu previously headed KuCoin’s institutional division and spent more than a decade at LSEG, where she worked with global investment banks and cross-border trading clients. Moreover, the company said in an announcement shared with Cointelegraph that her background in traditional markets is expected to support tighter integration between digital asset venues and established finance.

MiCA as growth framework, not constraint

Liu described securing a MiCA license as a “major milestone” that gives the exchange a unified regulatory framework to serve a region with mature and diverse financial markets. She highlighted the European Union’s growing use of crypto assets and “significant room” for further adoption across stablecoins, payments and wealth products under clear european crypto regulation.

However, rather than viewing MiCA’s stricter capital, reporting and governance requirements as a drag on profitability, Liu argued they provide structural “guardrails” for long-term growth. She said KuCoin does not see compliance as a trade-off against margins but as the foundation for a sustainable business model and robust consumer protection.

In that context, she framed the kucoin eu strategy as positioning the platform as a regulated alternative in a market where larger exchanges already command most of the trading volume. Moreover, she said the team’s focus is on building trust over time rather than chasing short-term market share at any cost.

Competitive positioning in a crowded market

According to Liu, KuCoin EU aims to leverage its MiCA authorization and institutional experience to differentiate itself. “Our objective is to offer users greater choice through differentiated services and a clear compliance-first positioning,” she said, signaling that regulatory rigor will be a core part of the value proposition.

That said, the exchange still faces intense competition from incumbents that have already built deep liquidity pools and retail audiences in Europe. However, Liu suggested that a clearly articulated regulatory stance, combined with tailored product design for European users, can carve out space even in a mature market.

Compliance shift after US criminal case

The strategic reset in Europe comes less than a year after KuCoin’s parent company, Peken Global Limited, pleaded guilty in a US criminal case. The charges centered on operating an unlicensed money transmitting business and failures related to anti-money laundering (AML) controls.

Under the settlement, the company agreed to forfeit $184.5 million, pay a $112.9 million fine and exit the US market for two years. Moreover, Liu characterized the case as a turning point that reflected what she called the “historical context of the crypto industry’s early development” and the growing need for clear regulation and compliance.

She stressed that the European arm has embedded “high compliance standards from the start” and maintains regular dialogue with regulators across the region. However, the earlier enforcement action underscores the pressure on exchanges globally to demonstrate credible crypto compliance standards as rules tighten.

From altcoin-heavy listings to MiCA-aligned offerings

MiCA also forces KuCoin to revisit its long-standing altcoin listing strategy, which historically leaned on a large universe of altcoins and early-stage tokens. Under the new regime, exchanges must align listed products with detailed disclosure, governance and risk requirements set out in the legislation.

Liu said KuCoin EU remains “committed to supporting the pioneers of the Web3 ecosystem,” but only within the MiCA rulebook. Moreover, she emphasized that the platform will use its own listing procedures and risk assessments to balance innovation with regulatory expectations, signaling a more selective approach than in previous market cycles.

Building consumer use cases with Tomorrowland

Her appointment is closely tied to KuCoin’s effort to convert its MiCA authorization into visible, consumer-facing products. A key initiative is a multi-year deal to become music festival Tomorrowland Winter and Tomorrowland Belgium‘s exclusive crypto exchange and payments partner from 2026 to 2028.

Under the partnership, KuCoin plans to use its European license to support compliant crypto payments at festivals, enabling attendees to interact with digital assets within a regulated framework. However, Liu framed the arrangement less as a branding exercise and more as a real-world pilot for mainstream adoption of regulated crypto infrastructure.

She said the goal is to integrate “compliant crypto into real-world experiences” so that digital assets operate as trusted financial plumbing behind the scenes. Moreover, by stress-testing this model at large-scale events, KuCoin aims to refine its offerings for broader deployment across payments and digital wealth services.

Overall, KuCoin’s European strategy under Sabina Liu centers on using MiCA as an anchor for long-term expansion, moving from an altcoin-focused exchange image toward a regulated platform that blends innovation with compliance in one of the world’s most closely watched crypto markets.