Who Is Kraken Good For?
Kraken is available internationally and to most U.S. residents. However, the exchange is not currently available to residents in the states of New York or Washington.
Potential clients need to understand that Kraken only accepts a handful of fiat currencies. This means there may be additional conversion fees for residents of certain countries. However, since U.S. dollars are accepted, U.S.-based users have no cause to worry on that front.
What Makes Kraken a Good Choice
Kraken’s top-notch security, low trading fees and solid range of available cryptos makes it a good choice for investors who are just experimenting with crypto as well as more experienced traders.
New users shouldn’t dwell on Kraken’s beginner platform for too long. Kraken Instant Buy charges a 0.9% flat fee for stablecoins and a 1.5% flat fee for all other cryptos—these fees are not at all competitive.
Advanced traders who use the Kraken Pro trading platform are charged very reasonable fees, and also benefit from access to a wide range of cryptocurrency trading markets. Even better, fees decline as trading volumes increase.
More experienced investors should also appreciate Kraken’s wide range of coins, plus their margin trading features. Note that in the U.S., margin trading is restricted to users with very large account balances.
Kraken’s Disadvantages
Kraken’s beginner trading program, Instant Buy, has some pretty hefty trading fees, and unfortunately, beginning crypto investors may not even be aware of how uncompetitive these fees are.
For traders choosing to use Instant Buy, the platform charges 1.5% on all trading pairs and 0.9% if the user wants to trade stablecoins. Investors should tread cautiously with even simple crypto trading on Kraken or any other platform.
Kraken Features
Trading Fees
There are different fees for using Kraken’s Instant Buy option, which may appeal to beginners less experienced with maker/taker models.
Instant Buy allows you to buy crypto quickly, but fees are much higher than if you used the Kraken Pro trading platform. Users would be better served learning how to use the trading platform to minimize costs.
With Instant Buy, the company charges a fee of 0.9% for stablecoins and 1.5% for other cryptos. Users also get saddled with a 0.5% processing fee if they use an online bank account to purchase their crypto. If you use a credit or debit card, other fees apply.
For users who opt for Kraken Pro, fees are considerably lower. It charges a 0.16% maker fee and a 0.26% taker fees for trades of $50,000 or less based on activity within the last 30 days.
The table below shows the pricing tiers for Kraken Pro:
| 30-Day Volume (USD) | Maker Fee | Taker Fee |
|---|---|---|
|
Less than $50,000
|
0.16%
|
0.26%
|
|
$50,001 to $100,000
|
0.14%
|
0.24%
|
|
$100,001 to $250,000
|
0.12%
|
0.22%
|
|
$250,001 to $500,000
|
0.10%
|
0.20%
|
|
$500,001 to $1,000,000
|
0.08%
|
0.18%
|
|
$1,000,001 to $2,500,000
|
0.06%
|
0.16%
|
|
$2,500,001to $5,000,000
|
0.04%
|
0.14%
|
|
$5,000,001 to $10,000,000
|
0.02%
|
0.12%
|
|
More than $10,000,000
|
0.00%
|
0.1%
|
Security
Over the years, cryptocurrencies have proven particularly vulnerable to hacks resulting in millions of dollars in lost coins. While most hacked exchanges have reimbursed their clients for any lost value, you don’t want to wind up at a crypto exchange with low cybersecurity that might leave your coins ripe for the picking.
Kraken takes its commitment to security seriously, ranking second on the crypto exchange security review site CER. Notably, Kraken has not had any major hacking events. That said, there are user complaints about Kraken on online forums about hacked individual accounts.
Not only does Kraken offer safe coin storage, with 95% of deposits held offline in cold storage units spread across the world, but it also promises platform security. Its servers are kept in secure cages under 24/7 surveillance by armed guards and video monitors.
In addition to physical security measures, Kraken encrypts all of your sensitive contact information at the system and data level and regularly engages in vulnerability testing of its own system. Recently, Kraken received the CSO50 Award for its security initiatives.
Opening a Kraken Account
The Instant Buy platform can make Kraken a pricey way to get into crypto, but there are no barriers to entry if you’re just getting started. You will be verified within minutes.
Getting authorized to use Kraken Pro can take several days, as it requires certain documents to be reviewed manually.
Once you’re verified, you can fund your account with fiat currency, such as U.S. dollars, and start purchasing cryptocurrencies. The platform accepts credit card and debit accounts to fund your account.
New investors may also feel a little overwhelmed by Kraken’s assumption of customer knowledge, although the platform does offer decent educational information—you’re mostly on your own with the actual investing.
While Kraken does operate in the U.S., it has some geographic restrictions. The platform is not available to users in New York and Washington.
Cryptocurrencies Available on Kraken
Kraken offers more than 200 cryptos in the U.S. Here is a list of some of the major cryptocurrencies traded on Kraken:
Top 30 coins available on Kraken
For a full list of the cryptocurrencies available on Kraken, see the company’s Prices page.
Kraken Ratings
What Kraken Can Do to Improve
More Fiat Currencies
Kraken currently supports only eight fiat currencies. Although many of the world’s major currencies, such as U.S. dollars, the British pound and euros are supported, to name a few.
This means that beginning users in some extremely populous countries such as India may have to convert their currency either to a supported currency or to a cryptocurrency to make a trading pair. Obviously, this can wind up creating additional fees for those users.
Lower Instant Buy Fees
Although Instant Buy is an easy service to access and use, its high fees can chip away at a user’s wealth. Instant Buy allows users to instantly trade cryptocurrencies on Kraken’s exchange. In fact, to use Instant Buy, Kraken Starter users can be verified in under two minutes and immediately begin trading.
However, with a 0.9% fee on stablecoins and a flat 1.5% fee on all other cryptocurrencies, Instant Buy fees can quickly start adding up. Most beginning users would be better served placing only one or two trades before learning how to decipher maker/taker fees and upgrading to Kraken Pro.
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Methodology
To determine crypto exchange rankings, we assessed the features and options offered by nearly 25 exchanges, trading apps and brokerage platforms that offer crypto trading options.
To rank the best crypto exchanges overall and the best exchanges for beginners, we assessed all of the features and options offered by these 25 platforms. The editorial team then developed a standardized methodology, analyzing 10 key benchmark features and variables to assess quality across the platforms.
Basic trading features count as one factor in the overall and beginner rankings. Other ranking factors include platform availability, customer service, educational resources, security and storage, staking and rewards, to name a few.
The sum of weighted values across all or some of these key factors was calculated for each ranking to award each brokerage or exchange its overall rank. Margin trading, platform lending, and advanced trading were not considered for choosing the best crypto exchanges for beginners.
Is Kraken the Right Crypto Exchange For You?
On Kraken's Website
Kraken FAQs
Does Kraken offer margin trading?
In addition to the coins available to everyone, some investors on Kraken can have access to margin trading.
However, for those interested in margin trading, keep in mind that in the U.S. this service is restricted to those investors with $10 million or more in investable assets.
Does Kraken offer staking?
Crypto staking is no longer available to U.S.-based customers of Kraken. Approved customers in other locations can still stake select coins on Kraken.
What is Kraken Instant Buy?
Instant Buy allows users to buy or sell crypto instantly. Although all Kraken users can participate in Instant Buy, it’s the only method that Starter accounts use.
