Kraken Review

  • Jackson O.
  • Read time: 13 minutes
  • Updated March 1, 2022

Overview

Kraken is a California based cryptocurrency exchange founded in 2011 where you can trade and stake crypto assets. Kraken supports more than 120 different coins to trade with market competitive exchange fees. It’s notable for supporting spot trading at current market rates and cryptocurrency futures. In addition to trading the crypto at market rates, Kraken offers margin accounts, futures trading and more volatile products that are useful for some trading strategies like scalping. The exchange aims to be the “best and most secure” crypto trading platform of the world.

Trading Instruments

Kraken offers a suitable range of cryptocurrencies to trade. The exchange offers several types of cryptocurrencies, including payment, infrastructure, financial, service, media & entertainment. Cumulatively they provide almost 120 coins to trade.
Some of the top-notch crypto coins include Bitcoin (BTC), Cardano (ADA), Ethereum (ETH), Dogecoin (DOGE), Litecoin (LTC), Polkadot (DOT), Polygon (MATIC), Ripple (XRP), Stellar Lumens (XLM), Solana (SOL), Sushi (SUSHI) and Uniswap (UNI). Kraken also offers some stablecoins like USD Coin, Tether, and Dai. There is an option of conversion of currencies on the exchange.
The range of coins they offer varies depending on the county you reside.

Trading Platforms

Kraken provides consumers with two trading platforms: Kraken and Kraken Pro, and both have mobile apps and desktop versions. Anyone with a Kraken account has access to Kraken Pro, which has a cheaper price.

The central Kraken platform is the greatest place to start for newcomers. You can instantly purchase cryptocurrency from a linked bank account with a verified account, and it’s just as easy to sell or switch between currencies. It is not necessary to fund your account initially. You may deposit your crypto for staking and earn up to 23 percent interest, depending on the currency and trade.

Kraken Pro is the next-level trading platform that offers additives to facilitate the general platform. Kraken pro offers mobile and web trading mediums with features like on-the-go deposits and withdrawals, fees low as 0%, staking, consistently rated the most secure exchange by 3rd parties, more than 115 cryptocurrencies to choose from across over 400 markets, advanced trading tools with an easy-to-use interface, deep liquidity across all markets, blazing fast WebSockets and real-time price updates, multiple charting and order book display options, advanced order types, intuitive depth chart, recent trade history, conditional close parameters and much more.

Fees

The fee for most cryptocurrencies is 1.5 percent for immediate purchases and 0.9 percent for stablecoins purchased using US dollars or another stablecoin. Additional fees may apply depending on the way you pay for the purchase. Prices vary from 0.5 percent for funding by bank account to more than 3.75 percent + 25 Euro cents for funding via debit card, credit card, or digital wallet. Kraken Pro is much more economical than the regular Kraken platform. Pricing is based on your total trading volume over the last 30 days. Most deals are subject to a 0.26 percent taker fee or a 0.16 percent maker fee.

Pricing and fees vary based on your platform and the trade you place. Prices are also subject to spread fees in any instance.

Deposit options and fees

  • EUR SEPA Deposit (Free) – EEA countries only
  • USD Bank Wire Deposit ($5 USD) – US only
  • EUR Bank Wire Deposit (€10) – outside US only
  • USD Bank Wire Deposit ($10 USD) – outside US only
  • JPY Bank deposit (Free, ¥5,000 deposit minimum) – Japan only
  • CAD Wire Deposit (Free)

Withdrawal options and fees

  • EUR SEPA Withdrawal (€0.09) – EEA countries only
  • USD Bank Wire Withdrawal ($5 USD) – US only
  • USD Bank Wire Withdrawal ($60 USD) – outside US only
  • EUR Bank Wire Withdrawal (€60) – outside US only
  • JPY Bank withdrawal (¥20) – Japan only
  • CAD EFT Withdrawal ($10 CAD fee, $25K CAD daily max) – Canada only

Trading fees are tiered, so they decrease as trading volumes increase. They also vary depending on the currency pair being traded and the kind of trading, such as standard, margin-based, and so on.

When it comes to the industry average, Kraken’s trading fees and those for making deposits and withdrawals are typically considered on the lower end of the scale.

Kraken offers deposits with a wire transfer, debit/credit cards, and cryptocurrencies. Kraken does not accept third party payment processors like PayPal. Kraken offers ACH transfer, credit or debit card, or digital wallet to withdraw. But there will be a temporary (72 hour) withdrawal hold on the account for security purposes. Like deposits, third-party payments processor is not allowed for withdrawals.

Deposits and withdrawals on a Kraken trading account or wallet may be made in various currencies like US dollars, Canadian dollars, Euros, and Japanese yen. You can also use the cryptocurrencies available for trading on the exchange to open positions.

Research & Education

Kraken is identically running its blog to deliver valuable information on coins and digital currencies. There is detailed info on coins, what they are dealing with, their working mechanism, technology, and projects. That helps make informed trading decisions for traders. For learning, there are crypto guides and video content. Regular podcasts provide useful information on the crypto market and its trend forecasting.

Privacy and Security

Security on Kraken is usually thought to be highly high. In comparison to other cryptocurrency exchanges, Kraken does demand higher levels of personal identity verification from its account holders. There are multiple tiers of accounts based on the amount of personal identity verification offered, and maximum deposit and withdrawal values are also tied to this due to money laundering considerations.

The security measures to protect funds from being hacked are quite high. Funds are kept on the account in ‘cold storage’ wallets isolated from any internet services. Accounts are safeguarded by security mechanisms such as ‘two-factor’ authentication. No one can access a user’s account unless they have access to usernames and passwords and an ‘authentication Master key.’ High levels of encryption are also employed.

The security of Kraken’s liquidity is likewise exceptionally high. The exchange maintains full reserves to prevent a ‘bank run’ from jeopardising liquidity, and all customer funds are completely segregated from operations funds and accounts.

Pros & Cons

Pros

  • Simple user interface
  • High liquidity exchange
  • High digital security
  • Several tradable fiat currencies
  • Low fees with a pro version
  • Special facilities for institutions
  • 24/7 open chat, phone, and ticket support
  • Staking option

Cons

  • Higher fees when not using Kraken pro
  • Cushion to include more crypto range
  • E-payments processors not supported

Conclusion

Kraken is universally accepted as one of the best cryptocurrency exchanges in the world. The concerns that must be attended to are Kraken’s some negative feedback on customer service levels and the support. Secondly, additional deposit/withdrawal options and more cryptos to trade should be offered. Due to its strict KYC policies, it’s also not an exchange that will appeal to individuals who want to remain anonymous.