Kraken Review

Our verdict: in our view, Kraken is a sound choice if you want a long-established, regulated exchange with order-book trading, and it may be a weaker one if your focus is on making small purchases through an app. Founded in 2011 and operated by Payward, Inc., Kraken maintains licences or registrations in the US, the EU, the UK, Canada, and Australia, and it provides a proof of reserves.

The trade-off involves costs for small and occasional buyers. On Kraken Pro, the entry tier imposes a charge of 0.40% for maker orders and 0.80% for taker orders. The straightforward Kraken app includes a 1% fee plus a spread for instant buys. Fees decrease as your 30-day volume or platform balance increases.

Kraken suits you if:

• you reside in a US state Kraken serves, or in the UK, the EEA, Canada, or Australia.
• you trade frequently enough to ascend the Kraken Pro fee tiers.
• you are interested in spot trading, margin, futures, and staking within a single account, provided your country or state permits these activities.

Kraken might not be the right fit if:

• you live in New York or Maine, the two US states Kraken does not serve, or in Japan or any other region listed as unserved.
• your primary activity involves making small in-app purchases, and you wish to avoid the 1% fee plus spread or a Kraken+ subscription.

We rate Kraken the same for beginners as for functions and scope. For beginners we rate Coinbase higher, and the alternatives below also cover active traders.

Is Kraken safe?

We consider Kraken to be among the safer large exchanges, though it's important to remember that no exchange is without risk. Founded in 2011, Kraken holds licenses or registrations in the US, EU, UK, Canada, and Australia. In the EU, two Payward companies are authorized under MiCA by the Central Bank of Ireland.

Kraken publishes a proof of reserves attested by The Network Firm LLP. The snapshot of June 30, 2026 showed 102.9% for BTC. Kraken says it secures customer funds with cold storage and hot wallet solutions. It holds an ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certification, and accounts support two-factor authentication and passkeys.

On the risk side, Kraken's disclosures say digital assets and accounts are not covered by insurance against losses. Its record includes a $1.25 million CFTC penalty in 2021, settlements with OFAC in 2022 and the SEC in 2023, and a 2024 order for its Australian operator to pay AUD 8 million following ASIC proceedings. A separate SEC civil enforcement action filed in 2023 was dismissed with prejudice in 2025. In our view, coins you plan to hold for years are better kept in your own wallet, and Kraken allows you to withdraw them.

Kraken fees

Kraken charges a trading fee based on the platform, either Kraken Pro or the Kraken app, along with fees for some withdrawals and card deposits.

• On Kraken Pro spot, entry tier fees are 0.40% for makers and 0.80% for takers, consistent in the US as elsewhere, decreasing with 30-day volume or balance to 0% for makers and 0.05% for takers at the highest tier.
• For Kraken app instant and recurring buys, the fee is 1% plus a spread that Kraken may retain, and 1.5% on custom orders.
• Bitcoin withdrawals incur 0.000015 BTC on the Bitcoin network, a fee Kraken can modify, or 0.1% over Lightning.
• Deposits are free via ACH or SEPA, while debit card deposits cost $0.25 plus 3.75%.

The worked example below sums these up for a bitcoin purchase.

Kraken at a glance

• Operator: Payward, Inc., a Delaware corporation. Kraken was founded in 2011 by Jesse Powell
• Status: active
• US availability: most US states, plus Washington, DC and Puerto Rico. Details in the US section below
• Other regions: available in the EEA, the UK, Canada and Australia. Not available in Japan
• Spot fees on Kraken Pro, entry tier: 0.40% maker, 0.80% taker
• Kraken app: 1% fee on instant and recurring buys plus a spread, 1.5% on custom orders
• Crypto assets: 629 on 1,363 active trading pairs, from Kraken's public API
• BTC withdrawal fee: varies by network, 0.000015 BTC on the Bitcoin network or 0.1% over Lightning
• Minimum deposit: 1 USD by ACH, 1 EUR by SEPA
• Proof of reserves: snapshot of 30 June 2026, attested by The Network Firm LLP

Kraken in the US

Kraken serves US residents in every state except New York and Maine, as its licensing page specifies, and includes service in Washington, DC, and Puerto Rico. Availability of certain products depends on your state:

• On-chain staking is available only in specified states and territories. California, New Jersey, and Texas are among those not listed.
• Stocks and ETFs, offered via Kraken Securities LLC, are accessible in selected states, though Kraken's US guide does not specify them.
• Spot margin is available to eligible retail clients and those self-certifying as Eligible Contract Participants. Payward regards it as CFTC-regulated since the second quarter of 2026.
• Futures are provided through Kraken Derivatives US, a name used by NinjaTrader Clearing, LLC, which is registered with the CFTC as a futures commission merchant.
• Tokenized stocks (xStocks) and the 83 assets on Kraken's US restricted list are unavailable.
• US residents are unable to deposit fiat currencies other than USD. Residents of Texas and New Hampshire cannot hold or trade EUR. And in the separate Krak app, crypto transfers are unavailable in Indiana, while fiat transfers are unavailable in Indiana, Louisiana, Massachusetts, and Utah.
• Card purchases are limited to debit cards. Credit cards are accepted only outside the US.

Kraken's US money transmitter, Payward Interactive, is registered with FinCEN as a money services business and lists money transmitter or equivalent licenses for 44 states plus Washington, DC, and Puerto Rico. Its application under California's Digital Financial Assets Law is pending. Kraken Financial, a Wyoming bank chartered in 2020, was granted a Federal Reserve master account, announced in March 2026.

To compare Kraken with other exchanges that accept US residents, use our list of exchanges for US customers.

What Kraken costs: a worked example

Suppose you live in a US state Kraken serves and intend to buy bitcoin with dollars, then transfer it to your own wallet. Here are Kraken's published rates for each step:

• Fund the account by ACH: free from 1 USD, with a 7-day hold before withdrawal. By debit card: $0.25 plus 3.75% of the amount.
• Purchase on Kraken Pro with a limit order placed on the order book: 0.40% maker fee at the entry tier. For a market order: 0.80% taker fee.
• Alternatively, buy in the Kraken app: 1% plus a spread, or no fee with Kraken+ on up to $10,000 a month, plus the $4.99 monthly subscription and the spread.
• Withdraw the bitcoin: 0.000015 BTC on the Bitcoin network, or 0.1% over Lightning.

In this scenario, ACH funding combined with a Kraken Pro limit order is the most cost-effective option, offering a fee half of the taker fee and less than half the app's 1%. Conversely, using a debit card deposit followed by an instant buy is the priciest, since the card fee exceeds four times the Kraken Pro taker fee.

Regulation and regulatory actions

In the EU, Payward Europe Solutions Limited and Payward Global Solutions Limited are authorized under MiCA by the Central Bank of Ireland (registration numbers C468360 and C559106), with both listed as authorized on 25 June 2025 in the ESMA register. In the UK, Payward Limited is an FCA-registered cryptoasset firm (FRN 928768). Kraken operates as a registered restricted dealer in Canada, while in Australia, Bit Trade Pty Ltd is registered with AUSTRAC as a digital currency exchange.

Kraken has encountered five regulatory actions from US and Australian authorities since 2021, listed here from the regulator's own release:

• September 2021, CFTC: an order required Kraken to pay a $1.25 million civil monetary penalty for offering illegal off-exchange digital asset trading and failing to register as required.
• November 2022, OFAC: Kraken agreed to pay $362,158.70 to settle apparent violations of Iran sanctions.
• February 2023, SEC: Kraken agreed to terminate its US staking-as-a-service program and pay $30 million to settle charges. Later it relaunched on-chain staking for US clients in listed states.
• November 2023, SEC: the SEC filed a civil action against Kraken, dismissed with prejudice through joint stipulation in March 2025.
• 2024, ASIC: Bit Trade Pty Ltd, Kraken's Australian operator, was ordered to pay AUD 8 million after ASIC proceedings over an unlawfully issued credit facility to more than 1,100 customers.

In our view, the record is worth knowing: four of the five actions concerned how Kraken offered products or whom it served, and the fifth, the 2023 SEC lawsuit, was dismissed. A licence tells you which rules apply; it does not protect you from losses.

Alternatives to Kraken

For beginners: we rate Coinbase higher than Kraken for beginner friendliness. Coinbase accepts residents of every US state and holds a New York virtual currency license from NYDFS (license 122466), providing an alternative if you reside in New York or Maine. Refer to our Coinbase review and the side-by-side Coinbase vs Kraken comparison.

For active traders: Kraken Pro includes an order book with maker and taker fees, advanced order types, margin, and futures. Its fees decrease as your 30-day volume increases. To see how it stacks up against other platforms in terms of fees and tools, refer to our list of exchanges for day trading and the Kraken vs OKX comparison.

FAQ

Is Kraken available in New York?

No. Kraken's licensing page identifies New York and Maine as the two US states it does not serve. Residents of all other states, Washington, DC, and Puerto Rico can register. For New York residents, alternatives include Coinbase, which holds a New York virtual currency license from NYDFS.

What is the difference between Kraken and Kraken Pro?

Both platforms share the same login credentials. The Kraken app facilitates buying, selling, and staking, with a 1% instant-buy fee. In contrast, Kraken Pro includes an order book with fees starting from 0.40% maker and 0.80% taker, and offers advanced order types, margin, and futures.

How we checked this review

For this review we went through Kraken's and Payward's own pages, from the fee schedule to the legal disclosures, Kraken's public API, the app stores, Payward's Form D filing, the ESMA register, the releases of the CFTC, OFAC, the SEC and ASIC, and the alternatives' own pages. The Updated date on this page shows when we last brought these facts up to date.