Whether you’re new to cryptocurrency trading or just looking at changing your exchange platform, it’s great you’re doing research on Kraken fees before you take the plunge.
Kraken is a solid choice for your cryptocurrency exchange. It’s a veteran to the market and offers some great features for cryptocurrency traders, but what are the fees on Kraken?
Kraken Fees
Kraken, like all exchanges, does charge fees on services within its platform. We can break these down broadly into two categories – funding fees and trading fees. Kraken charges funding fees on the following:
- Fiat deposit fees
- Fiat withdrawal fees
- Cryptocurrency withdrawal fees
- Cryptocurrency deposit fees
Regarding cryptocurrency deposit fees, it’s worth pointing out that the vast majority of these are free. But occasionally for some currencies, there may be a small charge.
Withdrawal fees on Kraken are similar to most other exchanges. For example, for Bitcoin, there’s a 0.0005 XBT withdrawal fee. Although some currencies are considerably lower than the standard market rates, like a 0.02 XRP fee.
For Fiat deposits, traders must complete a KYC (know your customer) verification beforehand. The exchange accepts USD, CAD, EUR, GDP, AUD, CHF, and JPY. Kraken offers a variety of deposit options depending on the currency, with a transparent fee breakdown list available.
Does Kraken Have Trading Fees?
Short answer, yes. But you might be surprised how low they are compared to some of the other cryptocurrency exchanges available. In some instances, you’ll pay no fees at all.
Trading fees on Kraken only apply when your order is executed. This fee will range from 0% to 0.26%. This is based on the total value of your order as well as the currency pair being traded, your 30-day trading volume, and whether your order is maker or taker.
There are minimum trading fees, which will generally only impact trades of small value. Additionally, if you’re trading using leverage you’ll also pay a margin opening and rollover fee.
Kraken has a full trading fee schedule, but in general their fee schedules breakdown into the following:
- Spot trading fees: 0.26% – 0%
- Stablecoin trading fees: 0.20% – 0%
- Darkpool trading fees: 0.36% – 0.20%
As we mentioned above, these Kraken trading fees vary based on a number of factors. Makers, so those providing liquidity, pay a lower fee than takers, those removing liquidity. As their fee schedules are volume-based, the more you trade, the lower your fee percentage for both makers and takers.
Should I Use Kraken?
Kraken is a great choice of exchange for professional traders. It’s trading fees are below the market average and drop considerably for higher-volume traders.
Advanced features such as futures and margin should appeal to experienced cryptocurrency traders. Although these features may be a little complicated for those new to cryptocurrency exchange.
As Kraken’s headquarters are based in the US, it offers particular appeal to American traders and companies who wish to be fully compliant with US and state regulations.
Who Can Use Kraken?
Kraken is available for most users worldwide, though there are some exceptions and restrictions due to local regulations. You’ll have to verify residency when creating an account, which will automatically put these restrictions in place if they’re applicable to you.
All Americans can use Kraken, excluding those residing in Washington State and New York. Other countries excluded or restricted are listed in full on their site.
Kraken Safety and Security
Security and safety are concerns for all cryptocurrency traders. Fortunately, Kraken is setting the bar high for its users.
Similar to other exchanges like Binance, Kraken has a hefty insurance fund to cover potential losses – more than $100 million!
The company holds 100% of reserves, proven by Blockstream’s Standardized Proof of Reserves. This offers a guarantee to users that you’ll always be able to withdraw all of your coins at any given time. This should provide a lot of peace of mind for any cryptocurrency traders who remember the shambles of QuadrigaCX in 2019.
The exchange takes security very seriously as well. They’ve never been hacked, which is impressive considering they’ve been around since 2011. Last year, the Blockchain Transparency Institute even awarded Kraken for being one of the cleanest cryptocurrency exchanges in the industry.
The platform itself offers up a host of security features for users. This includes two-factor authentication and email withdrawal notifications. Kraken even offers a bug bounty to those who find weaknesses on their platform.
How Does Kraken Compare?
Comparatively to other cryptocurrency exchanges, Kraken is a solid choice among the popular exchanges. For trading fees Kraken is among the lowest. Combined with its high liquidity, it makes it a safe option for users across the world.
However, some users may be put off by its lack of anonymity. Kraken requires ID verification to comply with local laws, so users are not given the privacy offered on some exchanges. Additionally, the interface – though revamped recently – may be difficult to navigate for less-experienced traders.
In terms of the currencies offered, Kraken is a great choice, with 40 cryptocurrencies available to trade. This puts them ahead of Coinbase in terms of currencies offered by a secure exchange platform.
Where they can’t compete with Coinbase is in New York State. Kraken doesn’t have a Bitlicense so they’re unable to offer their platform to users based here, while Coinbase can.
This being said, for most American users Kraken offers a wider variety of features, like margin trading support. As American users are unable to use derivatives trading platforms generally, Kraken’s offering of leveraged positions gives it a distinct competitive edge.
Alternatively, if you’re not looking for the daily hassle of an exchange, there are other crypto savings options available to choose from.
Kraken Review
Overall, Kraken is a great choice in cryptocurrency exchange unless anonymity is the hill you choose to die on. Kraken fees are low on their versatile services offered and they’re a veteran of the industry, making them a secure and safe option.
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