KuCoin hires ex-LSEG executive Sabina Liu to lead MiCA expansion in Europe

MiCA has turned Europe into a licensing sprint. Exchanges that secure authorization in one member state can often passport services across much of the European Economic Area, and regulators have been pushing for consistent standards during the transition.

KuCoin says it’s building its EU business around Vienna, where its local entity, KuCoin EU Exchange GmbH, is authorized by Austria’s Financial Market Authority as a crypto-asset service provider. The exchange says that license opens the door to regulated services across 29 EEA countries (excluding Malta), including custody, crypto-fiat and crypto-crypto exchange, placing and client transfers.

To steer that rollout, KuCoin named Sabina Liu, formerly with London Stock Exchange Group, as managing director of KuCoin EU.

Liu previously ran KuCoin’s institutional business and spent more than a decade at LSEG working with global investment banks and cross-border trading clients. In her new role, she is expected to translate the MiCA framework into consumer-facing products, including regulated offerings built around stablecoins, payments and other everyday financial use cases.

The hiring also lands as KuCoin tries to move past its U.S. legal troubles. In 2025, KuCoin’s parent company, Peken Global Limited, pleaded guilty in a U.S. criminal case tied to operating an unlicensed money transmitting business and related anti-money-laundering failures. The company agreed to forfeit $184.5 million, pay a $112.9 million fine and exit the U.S. market for two years. Liu described that settlement as a turning point that underscored the need for clear rules.

MiCA is also changing how KuCoin approaches listings. The company says it still wants to support early Web3 projects, but only with tighter screening and risk assessments. KuCoin is also testing regulated rails outside of crypto-native circles, including a deal to become Tomorrowland Winter and Tomorrowland Belgium’s exclusive crypto exchange and payments partner from 2026 to 2028.