Kraken
Website: https://www.kraken.com/
Kraken exchange is a US based platform that allows users to buy, sell, and margin trade various cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Ripple, and more. Kraken offers low fees, high security, fast execution, and diverse trading options. Kraken was founded in 2011 and is one of the oldest and most reputable exchanges in the industry.
Kraken supports over 220 cryptocurrencies and several fiat currencies, such as USD, EUR, GBP, JPY, CAD, CHF, and AUD. You can trade these currencies directly or indirectly on Kraken’s spot market, margin market, futures market, or staking platform. You can also use the Buy Crypto widget to buy, sell and convert any asset to any other asset with some restrictions.
Kraken is one of the most secure and trusted exchanges in the industry.
- Kraken uses multiple layers of protection, such as cold storage, encryption, firewalls, audits, 2FA, and more.
- It also offers a global settings lock feature that prevents unauthorized changes to your account settings.
- Kraken has never been hacked and has a strong track record of keeping customer funds safe.
Kraken charges low fees for trading, depositing, and withdrawing on its platform. The fees vary depending on the type of transaction, the currency pair, the volume, and the user’s tier level. Kraken also offers fee discounts for high-volume traders and makers who add liquidity to the order book. You can check the fee schedule for each market and currency pair on Kraken’s website.
Kraken charges a fee for buying, selling, or converting assets using Instant Buy. The fee consists of a displayed fee and, where applicable, a spread which is included in the price. The spread is determined based on a combination of factors, such as transaction size, asset, payment method, and market conditions.
Kraken charges a fee when your order is executed (matched with another client’s order). The fee ranges from 0% to 0.26% of the total cost (value) of your order and depends on the following: The currency pair that is being traded, your 30-day trading volume (in USD), whether your order is maker or taker. A maker order adds liquidity to the order book and a taker order removes liquidity from the order book. Maker orders usually have lower fees than taker orders.
Kraken charges fees for depositing and withdrawing funds on its platform. The fees vary depending on the currency, the payment method, and the network conditions. Some currencies and payment methods have no fees or minimums, while others have fixed or variable fees or minimums. You can check the deposit and withdrawal fee schedule for each currency and payment method on Kraken’s website.
Kraken Exchange offers a range of cryptocurrency products and services to suit different needs and preferences. Here are some of them:
This is the most basic and common way of exchanging one asset for another. You can trade over 100 cryptocurrencies and several fiat currencies on Kraken’s spot market, with low fees and high liquidity. You can also use the Buy Crypto widget to buy, sell and convert any asset to any other asset with some restrictions.
This allows you to borrow funds from Kraken to increase your leverage and potential profits or losses. You can trade up to 5x leverage on selected currency pairs, with competitive fees and margin rates. You need to hold one of the collateral currencies on Kraken to open a spot position on margin.
This allows you to buy or sell an asset at a predetermined price and date in the future. You can trade up to 50x leverage on selected currency pairs, with low fees and high liquidity. You need to transfer funds from your spot account to your futures account to trade on the futures market.
This allows you to lock up your assets in exchange for rewards and supporting the network security of certain protocols. You can stake selected cryptocurrencies on Kraken, such as Tezos, Polkadot, Kusama, Cosmos, Ethereum 2.0, and more. You can earn up to 20% annual rewards on your staked assets, depending on the protocol.
- Kraken supports more than 220 coins and seven fiat currencies, giving you a wide choice of digital assets to trade.
- Kraken has low fees for most transactions, especially for advanced traders who use the maker-taker fee model.
- Kraken offers margin and futures trading, as well as a dark pool for high-volume investors who want to trade anonymously.
- Kraken has high security standards and has never been hacked since its launch in 2013.
- Kraken has strong staking options that let you earn rewards for holding certain coins.
- Kraken is not available in all US states or countries, and some features may be restricted depending on your location.
- Kraken has limited options for funding your account, such as wire transfers or debit cards, which may incur additional fees or delays.
- Kraken has poor customer service ratings and reviews and may take a long time to respond to your queries or issues.
Kraken exchange is regulated by different authorities depending on the jurisdiction and the services it offers. Here are some of the regulations that Kraken follows:
In the United States, Kraken is registered as a Money Services Business with FinCEN and operates as a Special Purpose Depository Institution in Wyoming, supervised by the Wyoming Division of Banking.
In Canada, Kraken is registered as a Money Services Business with FINTRAC.
In the United Kingdom, Kraken operates as a Registered Cryptoasset Firm with the FCA and also offers certain crypto asset-related services through its subsidiary Crypto Facilities Ltd., which is an Authorised Investment Firm with the FCA.
In Italy, Kraken operates as a Virtual Asset Service Provider with the OAM.
In Australia, Kraken operates as a registered Digital Currency Exchange with AUSTRAC.
In the Abu Dhabi Global Market, Kraken operates under a Financial Services Permission by the FSRA.
Coinbase has made significant investments and commitments to manage risks that bad actors may attempt to misuse Coinbase to facilitate money laundering or terrorist financing. Coinbase follows US and international requirements to prevent, detect, and report activity indicative of money laundering and terrorist financing.
Coinbase supports customer access and choice to purchase a variety of digital assets but seeks to exclude digital assets from platform support where the asset is known or likely to defraud or harm consumers. Coinbase analyzes assets for various compliance risks, such as sanctions risks and any association with illicit activity, as well as consumer protection considerations.
- February 2023, Kraken agreed to pay $30 million to settle U.S. charges by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that it failed to register the offer and sale of its crypto asset staking-as-a-service program, whereby investors transfer crypto assets to Kraken for staking in exchange for advertised annual investment returns of as much as 21 percent. The SEC also alleged that Kraken provided investors with insufficient disclosures and investor protection.
- November 2022, Kraken agreed to pay $362,159 in a settlement over apparent violations of the U.S. Treasury Department’s sanctions program. The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) alleged that Kraken processed transactions involving digital currency addresses that appeared on OFAC’s Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List (SDN List) between 2013 and 2018. Kraken cooperated with OFAC and implemented remedial measures to prevent future violations
- September 2021, Kraken agreed to pay a $1.25 million civil fine to settle U.S. charges by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) that it illegally offered certain transactions in digital assets, including Bitcoin, to retail customers without registering as a futures commission merchant or a designated contract market. The CFTC also alleged that Kraken failed to implement adequate policies and procedures to prevent, detect and remedy manipulative or deceptive conduct on its platform.
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- What is Global Settings Lock (GSL)?
- The Global Settings Lock (GSL) is a security feature on Kraken exchange that acts as the last line of defense if your sign-in password and sign-in 2FA are compromised. When enabled, it prevents changes being made to your Kraken account and hides sensitive account information
- How to setup Global Settings Lock (GSL)?
- To set up the GSL, you need to sign in to your Kraken account, click on your name in the upper-right corner of the page, then click on Security > Global Settings Lock. You can then set the required waiting period to unlock the GSL without a Master Key and click the blue Activate Global Settings Lock button