Kyber Network Crystal (KNC) is the governance token of Kyber Network. The project describes itself as a "multi-chain crypto trading and liquidity hub" that pulls liquidity from several sources and routes trades through them. Holders stake KNC in KyberDAO to vote on governance proposals. Today's KNC is not the 2017 original: it is a new ERC-20 contract that holders began moving to on 20 April 2021, at a 1:1 swap from the old token. As of 25 October 2026, Etherscan shows a total supply of about 241.05 million KNC on that contract.
The newest developments
February 2025: US charges over the November 2023 exploit
On 3 February 2025 the US Department of Justice unsealed a five-count indictment against a Canadian national. He is accused of stealing about $65 million from two DeFi protocols between 2021 and 2023. One of them was Kyber's decentralised exchange aggregator. The IRS Criminal Investigation release on the same case gives these figures:
- November 2023: about $48.8 million taken from 77 liquidity pools on six public blockchains in Kyber's protocol.
- Method: the attacker allegedly used borrowed funds to create artificial prices. He then used calculated trade combinations that made the automated market maker "glitch" so he could drain the pools.
- Settlement demand: around November 2023 he allegedly proposed a "sham settlement". Under it he would return 50 percent of the assets in exchange for "complete control" of the protocol.
Both releases stress that an indictment is an allegation and the defendant is presumed innocent. Neither gives a custody or trial date.
December 2023: the team was cut in half
After the exploit, Kyber Network CEO Victor Tran said the company had "reduced our workforce by 50%". He also said it was "temporarily pausing our liquidity protocol initiatives and KyberAI project". This was reported in late December 2023. Earlier in December 2023 the team had pledged to reimburse affected users for up to 100% of the stolen funds. That pledge appears only in press coverage of Tran's posts, which this article could not check against the original posts.
What KNC is used for
According to the project's own site, the token has three roles:
- Governance: "Kyber Network is governed by the community through KyberDAO." KNC holders stake the token to vote on proposals.
- Rewards: stakers can earn KNC rewards that come from trading fees. The site does not state current reward levels, and this article could not confirm whether fee distribution is running as of October 2026.
- Upgrades: the 2021 migration put token upgrades under KyberDAO control.
The 2021 token upgrade: KNC vs KNCL
This matters to anyone who still holds tokens from before 2021.
- Start date: migration began on 20 April 2021 under KyberDAO proposal KIP-6.
- Ratio: 1 old token for 1 new token. Both are ERC-20 tokens.
- Naming: the old token was relabelled KNC Legacy (KNCL). The new token kept the KNC ticker.
- Contracts: new KNC is
0xdeFA4e8a7bcBA345F687a2f1456F5Edd9CE97202(Etherscan lists it as "Kyber Network Crystal v2"). The legacy contract is0xdd974d5c2e2928dea5f71b9825b8b646686bd200. - Practical risk: CryptoSlate warned against sending KNCL to a custodial platform that supports only the upgraded KNC, because the funds may be lost. DeFi protocols also had to switch to the new token. For example, the lending protocol Aave ran a governance proposal to disable "old" KNC and activate the new one.
- Deadline: as of August 2021, CryptoSlate reported that the migration had no hard deadline. This article did not find a later deadline.
Which KNC contract are your tokens on?
Answer up to two questions to see whether the 2021 token upgrade affects the KNC you hold.
Did you get your KNC before the migration began on 20 April 2021, and have you never moved it to the new contract?
- Yes → next question
- No, I got it later or I already migrated → next question
- I am not sure → Check the contract address first
Are you planning to send these tokens to a custodial platform?
- Yes → Check before you send: this is probably KNC Legacy (KNCL)
- No, I am keeping them in my own wallet → You probably hold KNC Legacy (KNCL)
Does your token's contract address match 0xdeFA4e8a7bcBA345F687a2f1456F5Edd9CE97202, which Etherscan lists as "Kyber Network Crystal v2"?
- Yes → You hold the current KNC
- No, or I cannot tell → Check the contract address first
Tokens from before the April 2021 upgrade sit on the legacy contract 0xdd974d5c2e2928dea5f71b9825b8b646686bd200, which was relabelled KNCL. CryptoSlate warned that sending KNCL to a custodial platform that supports only the upgraded KNC may mean the funds are lost.
The upgrade swapped old tokens for new ones at 1:1. As of August 2021, CryptoSlate reported that the migration had no hard deadline, and the article found no later deadline. DeFi protocols had to switch to the new token, so the legacy token may not be accepted where the new KNC is.
This is the contract that went live in April 2021 under KyberDAO proposal KIP-6. On 25 October 2026 Etherscan showed a total supply of 241,052,860.65 KNC on it. You can stake this token in KyberDAO to vote on proposals.
Two contracts share the KNC name. Look up your token's contract address before you send or bridge it. Current KNC is 0xdeFA4e8a7bcBA345F687a2f1456F5Edd9CE97202. KNC Legacy (KNCL) is 0xdd974d5c2e2928dea5f71b9825b8b646686bd200.
This only tells the two Ethereum contracts apart. It does not cover bridged copies on other networks, whether a given platform accepts KNCL today, or whether any migration route still works.
Key data (checked 25 October 2026)
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Ticker | KNC |
| Standard | ERC-20 (Ethereum), bridgeable to other networks |
| Current contract | 0xdeFA4e8a7bcBA345F687a2f1456F5Edd9CE97202 |
| Total supply on this contract (Etherscan) | 241,052,860.65 KNC |
| Holder addresses on Ethereum (Etherscan) | 18,276 |
| Original token sale | September 2017 |
| Current contract live | April 2021 |
| Mineable | No. KNC is a smart-contract token, not a mined coin |
Supply and holder counts are a snapshot from one source and change over time. The holder count covers Ethereum only.
Risks worth understanding
- Smart-contract risk is real, not theoretical. The November 2023 loss came from a pricing flaw in the protocol's own pool contracts, according to US authorities. Audited code can still fail.
- Legacy-token confusion. Two contracts share the KNC name. Before you send or bridge tokens, check the contract address.
- Smaller organisation. The 50% staff cut in December 2023 and the paused projects mean the team building the protocol is smaller than it was before the exploit.
- Governance concentration. KyberDAO votes are weighted by staked KNC, so large holders carry more weight. This article did not check current staking or participation figures.
Limitations
Each section rests mostly on a single source. Exploit figures come from US government releases, layoff details from one press report quoting the CEO, supply data from Etherscan, and the token's role from the project's own site, which shows a 2021 footer and may be outdated.
