KuCoin Faces Contempt Risk Over $2M Seychelles Court Order

Rabl's lawyer said the next step is to ask the court to appoint a receiver over KuCoin's Seychelles entities. A receiver would have authority to access corporate records and identify assets.

KuCoin has not publicly addressed the ruling. The exchange's terms of service say users who leave accounts inactive for 12 months may forfeit their balances. Rabl argued his account was frozen by KuCoin itself, making the abandonment clause inapplicable.

The dispute highlights a recurring friction point in crypto: what happens when an exchange declares user funds abandoned while the user says they were locked out. Similar cases have emerged at other exchanges, though few reach a supreme court judgment.

For KuCoin, the immediate risk is reputational. The exchange operates in multiple jurisdictions including the U.S., where it settled with the New York Attorney General in 2023 for $22 million over unregistered securities claims. A contempt finding in Seychelles would add to that regulatory baggage.

Rabl said he will push for a contempt hearing in early February.