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Kraken

San Francisco, USA · FinCEN (USA), FCA (UK), MiCA (EU), AUSTRAC (Australia), FINTRAC (Canada)

Created Jul 1, 2026 · Updated Jul 18, 2026

★★★★★5.0· 1 review

Spot Fee

0.25%

Platforms

4

Coins

726+

About Kraken

Kraken, legally Payward Inc., was founded in 2011 and operates as a US-based centralized cryptocurrency exchange serving users in over 190 countries, with operations in 48 US states excluding Maine and New York [1][5]. It holds a MiCA license in the EU, is registered with FinCEN in the US, and is regulated by the FCA in the UK, AUSTRAC in Australia, and FINTRAC in Canada [2][10]. The platform supports 726+ coins and 1,464 trading pairs, offering spot, margin, futures, staking, and a Launchpad for new asset listings [2][7]. Kraken Pro features maker/taker fees starting at 0.25%/0.40% and scaling down to 0%/0.10% based on 30-day volume; futures maker fees are 0.02% and taker fees 0.05% [2][3][6]. The standard app charges a flat 1% fee on instant buys/sells [4]. As of 2025, Kraken has over 13 million registered users globally [4].

Pros

+726+ coins and 1,464 trading pairs with Launchpad and staking support
+Competitive Pro spot fees: 0.25%/0.40% base tier, scaling to 0%/0.10%
+Futures fees: 0.02% maker, 0.05% taker
+Regulated with MiCA (EU), FinCEN (US), FCA (UK), AUSTRAC (Australia), FINTRAC (Canada)
+95% of assets in offline cold storage with quarterly Proof-of-Reserves

Cons

-Not available in Maine and New York (US)
-Higher fees on standard app: flat 1% for instant buys/sells
-Fiat card payments cost up to 5% more than competitors
-Kraken Pro interface may be complex for beginners
-No desktop application (only Web, iOS, Android, API)

Community Reviews

1 total
OOleg S.★★★★★

Most secure exchange, period

Kraken is the most trustworthy exchange I have used. Their proof of reserves is audited regularly, customer support actually responds with real answers not copy-paste, and the trading engine has never gone down during volatility (unlike some other exchanges I could name). Spot fees are reasonable at 0.16%/0.26% maker/taker. Staking ETH gives about 3-5% APR which is not the highest but its safe. Only complaint: the UI is a bit old-school compared to Binance. If you want flashy charts and gamification this is not for you. If you want a exchange that wont collapse, this is it.

7/22/2026

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