Currencies: 204 (153 fiat & 51 crypto) Countries: 255 PSs & Banks: 571 Exchanges: 333 Offers:
BTC/USD:

Kraken review & 3 testimonials for kraken.com (03.2024)

Kraken user interface: the home page in English

What is Kraken in a nutshell? It's a trusted, respectable, well established, promising exchange service (trading platform) working with 35 cryptocurrencies: you can buy and sell coins using 7 fiat currencies (10 banks & payment systems are supported) or exchange one crypto into another here. Exchange service started the business Jul 2011, it's a fully compliant, licensed financial company. Besides the cryptocurrencies exchange, Kraken also provides other services, for example, Mobile wallet, OTC trading, Margin Trading, Futures Trading, Staking, MasterNodes, etc. (passive income opportunity).

This service integrated with a number of currencies, banks, and payment systems. Hence to estimate the fees level we calculated an average fee you'll spend for an exchange here. Based on this number (2.0%) we may say that Kraken charges moderate fees: 0.25% — 3.75% (in line with our statistics, 80% exchanges offer lower average fee) and has very low buying limits: $14.58 — $365 (considering the gathered statistics, 70% exchanges have higher order limits). This Trading Platform welcomes customers from 234 countries (including your country: United States!). It serves the US and allows registrations from 54 states and territories. On the report of the actual users, customer service is exceptional, 5 stars quality; the exchange is always instant! (or close). You will have to verify your account (ID Verification, Address Confirmation should be normally required) before being able to use the service.

Since 2011, kraken.com has got a few great testimonials from the customers: just our platform already has 3 user reviews, 100% of those are positive. The majority of the users value the quality of the customer care, fast order processing, speed of account verification, usability of the user interface most of all. Our platform assigns the kraken.com 100/100 rating: it's the perfect, an ideal result, only few competitors have such a high rating! For example, Changelly and Kuna are ranked below.

Kraken has being assigned the special status: The best Trading Platform in North America! What does that mean? Our platform ranks all the exchanges basing on a number of factors: business model, licenses, time in the business, customers' testimonials, complaints (if any), etc. Then we compare all the leaders in each category (like trading platform) to determine who's the best-of-the-best for each continent. Hence, we are pleased to say that Kraken is exactly the one!

Based on all these facts, our verdict is the following: Kraken is a legit and perfectly safe place to buy and sell cryptocurrencies, almost an ideal exchange with great feedback we can recommend to our dear visitors!

Overview: is Kraken safe?

Kraken is the Trading Platform; Payward, Inc. (dba Kraken) started the business in July 2011. The company is based in the United States with the headquarters located in the San Francisco. Official Kraken address is 237 Kearny Street Suite 102 San Francisco, CA 94108. The firm is a licensed MSB, regulated by the FinCEN; it holds the Money Transmission license. FINCEN registration number 31000176593851.

Kraken was founded by Jesse Powell. Meros Equity Global Management, RIT Capital Partners, etc. are among the lead investors. Kraken CEO is also Jesse Powell; other notable people are holding various positions in firm, for example Marco A Santori (Chief Legal Officer), Nelson Minier (Head: OTC Sales & Trading).

Besides the FinCEN registration in the US, Kraken possess financial licenses in several other jurisdictions. FINTRAC in Canada (#M19343731), FCA in the UK (#757895, "CryptoFacilities Ltd." entity), AUSTRAC in Australia ("Bit Trade Pty Limited" ABN: 42163237, 634 ACN: 163237634), FSA in Japan ("Payward Asia, K.K.", #00022) and other regulators across the globe recognize and approve Kraken as money exchange business. Kraken Bank, a Special Purpose Depository Institution is going to become the first even crypto-exchange awarded by a U.S. state banking charter. The Bank is regulated by the Wyoming division of banking.

Answering the question how safe is Kraken:

Kraken is perfectly safe! 100/100 rating is really hard to get, only a few competing services have such a high rating! Let's break down how the Kraken exchange got such a rating.
Time in the business: 12 years 7 months
Feedback count: 3
Reviews: 3 positive, 0 negative, 0 neutral
Business model: licensed, fully compliant
Order Speed: instant
Support Quality: perfect
Verification Speed: instant
UI Usability: perfect

Overall rating for Kraken: 100 / 100

Pros & Cons of Kraken

Since Kraken is rated as one of the best exchanges in the world by our visitors, there should be many strong sides clients admire and probably some downsides anyway. Let's check it out:

  • It's very stable and reliable exchange service operating from 2011.07. Fully compliant and regulated business, service provided by licensed financial company.
  • Kraken earned perfect testimonials from the clientele.
  • 35 digital currencies and 7 fiat ones are supported: definitely a good choice! 10 payment systems and banks are supported, both international and national ones: Visa & Mastercard, Any Local Bank, SEPA Transfer, etc.
  • Fees are relatively low.
  • Almost all the countries in the world are welcomed here! Feel free to check if your country is allowed to register an account.
  • Low buying limits.
  • Trading platform utilizes a business model based on holding the clients funds at the online wallet; such approach has some risks.

Seems that there are not so many cons, but a lot of pros. We hope you will enjoy your experience exchanging at Kraken! Try Kraken today and let us know how you like it!

Services, Kraken Provides

The platform provides the following cryptocurrency exchange-related services:

  • Allows the customers to buy cryptocurrencies with fiat currencies
  • Provides the clients with ways to "cash out" the crypto to fiat currency
  • Helps you to exchange one crypto to another
  • Provides mobile wallet software for iPhone, Android and other phones
  • OTC (Over-The-Counter) Trading for those who like to buy/sell off the market
  • Margin (leveraged) trading; traders can access greater sums of capital than they possess by borrowing it from the exchange
  • And other ones! The full list: Mobile wallet, OTC trading, Margin Trading, Futures Trading and Staking, MasterNodes, etc. (passive income opportunity).
  • And other ones! The full list: Mobile wallet, OTC trading, Margin Trading, Futures Trading and Staking, MasterNodes, etc. (passive income opportunity).

That's impressive number of features! According to our statistics, 97% of the competition provide less services, many just allow the buying and selling, so this trading platform is among the champions in this field!

Currencies & Payment Systems

Kraken provides the service of buying and selling and exchanging 35 digital currencies using fiat currencies and crypto. Besides the fiat-to-crypto conversion and vice versa, it also allows to exchange one cryptocurrency to another. The following cryptocurrencies are available to buy-sell-swap: Aave (AAVE), Cardano (ADA), Bitcoin Cash (BCHABC), Bitcoin (BTC), BitTorrent (BTT), MakerDAO (DAI), Dash (DASH), Polkadot (DOT), EOS (EOS), Ether Classic (ETC), Ether (ETH), Filecoin (FIL), Internet Computer (ICP), ICON (ICX), Kusama (KSM), Chainlink (LINK), Lisk (LSK), Litecoin (LTC), Polygon (MATIC), OmiseGO (OMG), Augur (REP), Solana (SOL), SushiSwap (SUSHI), TRON (TRX), TrueUSD (TUSD), Uniswap (UNI), USD Coin (USDC), Tether (USDT), Waves (WAVES), Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC), Stellar (XLM), Monero (XMR), Ripple (XRP), Zcash (ZEC), 0x (ZRX).

There are not much exchanges with so many cryptos supported! If you are not sure, which one of these electronic currencies you are most interested in, you are welcome to read our guides. For example, these: Most scalable cryptocurrencies to invest in 2024.

7 fiat currencies are supported to provide crypto purchase and selling: Australian Dollar (AUD), Canadian Dollar (CAD), Swiss Franc (CHF), Euro (EUR), Pound Sterling (GBP), Japanese Yen (JPY), US Dollar (USD). The Trading Platform will let you buy and sell Bitcoins and 34 other cryptos using the following payment systems:

  • Visa & Mastercard. An international payment system (available worldwide) allowing credit/debit cards payments in various currencies. Just the EUR payments are available for purchasing cryptos at the exchange. Visa & Mastercard is a popular way to buy BTC and other cryptocurrencies available at 7 exchanges of various types. You are welcome to find the best rate for buying bitcoin with visa & mastercard at our home page!
  • Any Local Bank. An universal payment method, allowing payments from/to all the banks in various currencies. kraken.com has options to use local bank transfers in the Australia, Canada, United States and Switzerland. AUD, CHF, CAD and USD payments are available for both buying and selling cryptocurrencies at this exchange.
  • SEPA Transfer. An international payment system (it's available in 46 countries) allowing international bank transfers payments in Euro currency. Just the EUR payments are available for both buying and selling cryptocurrencies at this exchange.
  • Faster Payments. A local bank (serving United Kingdom) in Pound Sterling currency. Just the GBP payments are available for both buying and selling cryptocurrencies at this exchange.
  • SWIFT Transfer. An international payment system (available worldwide) allowing international bank transfers payments in various currencies. CHF, CAD, EUR, GBP and USD payments are available for both buying and selling cryptocurrencies at this exchange.
  • CHAPS. A local bank (serving United Kingdom) in Pound Sterling currency. Just the GBP payments are available for both buying and selling cryptocurrencies at this exchange.
  • BACS. A local bank (serving United Kingdom) in Pound Sterling currency. Just the GBP payments are available for purchasing cryptos at the exchange.
  • PayID. A local bank (serving Australia) in Australian Dollar currency. Just the AUD payments are available for purchasing cryptos at the exchange.
  • Cash at Post Office. An international payment system (you may use from Canada) allowing cash payments payments in various currencies. Just the CAD payments are available for purchasing cryptos at the exchange.
  • Etana. An international payment system (it's available in 217 countries) allowing other payments in various currencies. JPY, AUD, GBP, CHF, CAD and USD payments are available for both buying and selling cryptocurrencies at this exchange.

Kraken fees

The fees you need to pay at this trading platform during the process of buying and selling cryptocurrencies are easier to understand if you break it down like that (note that you can skip the details, jumping to the conclusion):

  1. Deposit/withdrawal fee. Depending on the fiat payment system and currency, it's as follows:
    • Commission for the money withdrawal to Any Local Bank in Australian Dollar: 0%
    • 0.75 flat fee to deposit funds by Any Local Bank in Swiss Franc.
    • 0% to deposit funds by Any Local Bank in US Dollar.
    • Commission for the money withdrawal to Any Local Bank in US Dollar: $4 flat fee
    • Commission for the money withdrawal to Any Local Bank in Swiss Franc: 1 flat fee
    • 0% to deposit funds by Any Local Bank in Australian Dollar.
    • 0% to deposit funds by Any Local Bank in Canadian Dollar.
    • Commission for the money withdrawal to Any Local Bank in Canadian Dollar: 0.25%
    • 0% to deposit funds by BACS in Pound Sterling.
    • 0.25% + 1.25 to deposit funds by Cash at Post Office in Canadian Dollar.
    • Commission for the money withdrawal to CHAPS in Pound Sterling: £21 flat fee
    • £21 flat fee to deposit funds by CHAPS in Pound Sterling.
    • 0% to deposit funds by Etana in Swiss Franc.
    • 0% to deposit funds by Etana in US Dollar.
    • Commission for the money withdrawal to Etana in US Dollar: $35 flat fee
    • 0% to deposit funds by Etana in Pound Sterling.
    • Commission for the money withdrawal to Etana in Pound Sterling: £35 flat fee
    • Commission for the money withdrawal to Etana in Japanese Yen: USD 35 flat fee
    • 0% to deposit funds by Etana in Japanese Yen.
    • Commission for the money withdrawal to Etana in Swiss Franc: 35 flat fee
    • 0% to deposit funds by Etana in Canadian Dollar.
    • Commission for the money withdrawal to Etana in Canadian Dollar: 35 flat fee
    • 0% to deposit funds by Etana in Australian Dollar.
    • Commission for the money withdrawal to Etana in Australian Dollar: 35 flat fee
    • 0% to deposit funds by Faster Payments in Pound Sterling.
    • Commission for the money withdrawal to Faster Payments in Pound Sterling: £1.95 flat fee
    • 0% to deposit funds by PayID in Australian Dollar.
    • Commission for the money withdrawal to SEPA Transfer in Euro: €0.09 flat fee
    • 0% to deposit funds by SEPA Transfer in Euro.
    • 0.75 flat fee to deposit funds by SWIFT Transfer in Swiss Franc.
    • 0% to deposit funds by SWIFT Transfer in US Dollar.
    • Commission for the money withdrawal to SWIFT Transfer in US Dollar: $4 flat fee
    • 0% to deposit funds by SWIFT Transfer in Euro.
    • Commission for the money withdrawal to SWIFT Transfer in Euro: €5 flat fee
    • 3 flat fee to deposit funds by SWIFT Transfer in Canadian Dollar.
    • Commission for the money withdrawal to SWIFT Transfer in Canadian Dollar: 13 flat fee
    • £3 flat fee to deposit funds by SWIFT Transfer in Pound Sterling.
    • Commission for the money withdrawal to SWIFT Transfer in Pound Sterling: £13 flat fee
    • Commission for the money withdrawal to SWIFT Transfer in Swiss Franc: 1 flat fee
    • 3.75% + €0.25 to deposit funds by Visa & Mastercard in Euro.
  2. Trading fee. This trading platform charges the following when your trade order matches and executes:
    • 0.26% of the order amount, whatever fiat or crypto currency you trade.
  3. Cryptocurrency withdrawal fee. Please note that this fee applies only when you transfer the crypto 'out': to your own wallet, to someone else, etc.!
    • 0.000150 BTC when you purchase Bitcoins
    • 2.500000 USDT for the Tethers purchasing
    • 0.003500 ETH for the Ethers purchasing
    • the usual transaction fee in the according crypto, when you are buying: AAVE, ADA, BCHABC, BTT, DAI, DASH, DOT, EOS, ETC, FIL, ICP, ICX, KSM, LINK, LSK, LTC, MATIC, OMG, REP, SOL, SUSHI, TRX, TUSD, UNI, USDC, WAVES, WBTC, XLM, XMR, XRP, ZEC, ZRX.

Are Kraken fees high or low?

Now it's time to draw a conclusion: considering the average fee the exchange charges for an operation we can state that Kraken charges moderate fees. According to our statistics, most of the exchanges charges about the same fees Kraken does. For example, an average fee you pay to buy Bitcoin with Visa & Mastercard in EUR across various exchange brokers, trading platforms, p2p marketplaces and e-wallets is -8%, kraken.com charges 3.75% for this. Seems fair.

Buying and selling limits

This Trading Platform has the following limits, applicable when you buy or sell cryptocurrencies (there are no limits on crypto-to-crypto swaps):

  1. Purchase limits (when you buy crypto).
    • CHF 1 minimal buy and USD 100,000 max purchase when using Any Local Bank in Swiss Franc.
    • $1 minimal buy and $100,000 max purchase when using Any Local Bank in US Dollar.
    • AUD 5 minimal buy and USD 100,000 max purchase when using Any Local Bank in Australian Dollar.
    • CAD 25 minimal buy and USD 100,000 max purchase when using Any Local Bank in Canadian Dollar.
    • £1 minimal buy and USD 100,000 max purchase when using BACS in Pound Sterling.
    • CAD 20 minimal buy and CAD 500 max purchase when using Cash at Post Office in Canadian Dollar.
    • £22 minimal buy and USD 100,000 max purchase when using CHAPS in Pound Sterling.
    • CHF 150 minimal buy and USD 100,000 max purchase when using Etana in Swiss Franc.
    • $150 minimal buy and $100,000 max purchase when using Etana in US Dollar.
    • £150 minimal buy and USD 100,000 max purchase when using Etana in Pound Sterling.
    • ¥15,000 minimal buy and USD 100,000 max purchase when using Etana in Japanese Yen.
    • CAD 150 minimal buy and USD 100,000 max purchase when using Etana in Canadian Dollar.
    • AUD 150 minimal buy and USD 100,000 max purchase when using Etana in Australian Dollar.
    • £1 minimal buy and USD 100,000 max purchase when using Faster Payments in Pound Sterling.
    • AUD 5 minimal buy and USD 100,000 max purchase when using PayID in Australian Dollar.
    • €1 minimal buy and USD 100,000 max purchase when using SEPA Transfer in Euro.
    • CHF 1 minimal buy and USD 100,000 max purchase when using SWIFT Transfer in Swiss Franc.
    • $1 minimal buy and $100,000 max purchase when using SWIFT Transfer in US Dollar.
    • €50 minimal buy and USD 100,000 max purchase when using SWIFT Transfer in Euro.
    • CAD 4 minimal buy and USD 100,000 max purchase when using SWIFT Transfer in Canadian Dollar.
    • £4 minimal buy and USD 100,000 max purchase when using SWIFT Transfer in Pound Sterling.
    • €10 minimal buy and €7,500 max purchase when using Visa & Mastercard in Euro.
  2. Withdrawal limits (when you out-exchange crypto to the fiat money).
    • AUD 5 min and USD 100,000 maximal withdrawal when receiving money to Any Local Bank in Australian Dollar.
    • $20 min and $100,000 maximal withdrawal when receiving money to Any Local Bank in US Dollar.
    • CHF 2 min and USD 100,000 maximal withdrawal when receiving money to Any Local Bank in Swiss Franc.
    • CAD 50 min and USD 100,000 maximal withdrawal when receiving money to Any Local Bank in Canadian Dollar.
    • £25 min and USD 100,000 maximal withdrawal when receiving money to CHAPS in Pound Sterling.
    • $150 min and $100,000 maximal withdrawal when receiving money to Etana in US Dollar.
    • £150 min and USD 100,000 maximal withdrawal when receiving money to Etana in Pound Sterling.
    • ¥15,000 min and USD 100,000 maximal withdrawal when receiving money to Etana in Japanese Yen.
    • CHF 150 min and USD 100,000 maximal withdrawal when receiving money to Etana in Swiss Franc.
    • CAD 150 min and USD 100,000 maximal withdrawal when receiving money to Etana in Canadian Dollar.
    • AUD 150 min and USD 100,000 maximal withdrawal when receiving money to Etana in Australian Dollar.
    • £5 min and USD 100,000 maximal withdrawal when receiving money to Faster Payments in Pound Sterling.
    • €5 min and USD 100,000 maximal withdrawal when receiving money to SEPA Transfer in Euro.
    • $20 min and $100,000 maximal withdrawal when receiving money to SWIFT Transfer in US Dollar.
    • €100 min and USD 100,000 maximal withdrawal when receiving money to SWIFT Transfer in Euro.
    • CAD 100 min and USD 100,000 maximal withdrawal when receiving money to SWIFT Transfer in Canadian Dollar.
    • £100 min and USD 100,000 maximal withdrawal when receiving money to SWIFT Transfer in Pound Sterling.
    • CHF 100 min and USD 100,000 maximal withdrawal when receiving money to SWIFT Transfer in Swiss Franc.

And the good news: there are no limits on other payment systems (the limitations the payment system has aside) Kraken supports! Comparing to other exchanges, Kraken has very low buying and selling limits, most of the competition allow higher amounts.

Supported countries

Platform allows the users from 234 countries to use the exchange. The following countries are supported by the trading platform:

  • Aland Islands (AX)
  • Albania (AL)
  • Algeria (DZ)
  • American Samoa (AS)
  • Andorra (AD)
  • Angola (AO)
  • Anguilla (AI)
  • Antarctica (AQ)
  • Antigua & Barbuda (AG)
  • Argentina (AR)
  • Armenia (AM)
  • Aruba (AW)
  • Ascension Island (AC)
  • Australia (AU)
  • Austria (AT)
  • Azerbaijan (AZ)
  • Bahamas (BS)
  • Bahrain (BH)
  • Bangladesh (BD)
  • Barbados (BB)
  • Belarus (BY)
  • Belgium (BE)
  • Belize (BZ)
  • Benin (BJ)
  • Bermuda (BM)
  • Bhutan (BT)
  • Bolivia (BO)
  • Bosnia & Herzegovina (BA)
  • Botswana (BW)
  • Bouvet Island (BV)
  • Brazil (BR)
  • British Indian Ocean Territory (IO)
  • British Virgin Islands (VG)
  • Brunei (BN)
  • Bulgaria (BG)
  • Burkina Faso (BF)
  • Burundi (BI)
  • Cambodia (KH)
  • Cameroon (CM)
  • Canada (CA)
  • Canary Islands (IC)
  • Cape Verde (CV)
  • Caribbean Netherlands (BQ)
  • Cayman Islands (KY)
  • Ceuta & Melilla (EA)
  • Chad (TD)
  • Chile (CL)
  • China (CN)
  • Christmas Island (CX)
  • Cocos (Keeling) Islands (CC)
  • Colombia (CO)
  • Comoros (KM)
  • Cook Islands (CK)
  • Costa Rica (CR)
  • Côte d’Ivoire (CI)
  • Croatia (HR)
  • Curaçao (CW)
  • Cyprus (CY)
  • Czech Republic (CZ)
  • Denmark (DK)
  • Diego Garcia (DG)
  • Djibouti (DJ)
  • Dominica (DM)
  • Dominican Republic (DO)
  • Ecuador (EC)
  • Egypt (EG)
  • El Salvador (SV)
  • Equatorial Guinea (GQ)
  • Estonia (EE)
  • Ethiopia (ET)
  • Falkland Islands (FK)
  • Faroe Islands (FO)
  • Fiji (FJ)
  • Finland (FI)
  • France (FR)
  • French Guiana (GF)
  • French Polynesia (PF)
  • French Southern Territories (TF)
  • Gabon (GA)
  • Gambia (GM)
  • Georgia (GE)
  • Germany (DE)
  • Ghana (GH)
  • Gibraltar (GI)
  • Greece (GR)
  • Greenland (GL)
  • Grenada (GD)
  • Guadeloupe (GP)
  • Guam (GU)
  • Guatemala (GT)
  • Guernsey (GG)
  • Guinea (GN)
  • Guyana (GY)
  • Haiti (HT)
  • Heard Island and McDonald Islands (HM)
  • Honduras (HN)
  • Hong Kong SAR China (HK)
  • Hungary (HU)
  • Iceland (IS)
  • India (IN)
  • Indonesia (ID)
  • Ireland (IE)
  • Isle of Man (IM)
  • Israel (IL)
  • Italy (IT)
  • Jamaica (JM)
  • Japan (JP)
  • Jersey (JE)
  • Jordan (JO)
  • Kazakhstan (KZ)
  • Kenya (KE)
  • Kiribati (KI)
  • Kosovo (XK)
  • Kuwait (KW)
  • Kyrgyzstan (KG)
  • Laos (LA)
  • Latvia (LV)
  • Lesotho (LS)
  • Liberia (LR)
  • Liechtenstein (LI)
  • Lithuania (LT)
  • Luxembourg (LU)
  • Macau SAR China (MO)
  • Macedonia (MK)
  • Madagascar (MG)
  • Malawi (MW)
  • Malaysia (MY)
  • Maldives (MV)
  • Malta (MT)
  • Marshall Islands (MH)
  • Martinique (MQ)
  • Mauritania (MR)
  • Mauritius (MU)
  • Mayotte (YT)
  • Mexico (MX)
  • Micronesia (FM)
  • Moldova (MD)
  • Monaco (MC)
  • Mongolia (MN)
  • Montenegro (ME)
  • Montserrat (MS)
  • Morocco (MA)
  • Mozambique (MZ)
  • Myanmar (Burma) (MM)
  • Nauru (NR)
  • Nepal (NP)
  • Netherlands (NL)
  • New Caledonia (NC)
  • New Zealand (NZ)
  • Nicaragua (NI)
  • Niger (NE)
  • Nigeria (NG)
  • Niue (NU)
  • Norfolk Island (NF)
  • Northern Mariana Islands (MP)
  • Norway (NO)
  • Oman (OM)
  • Pakistan (PK)
  • Palau (PW)
  • Palestinian Territories (PS)
  • Panama (PA)
  • Papua New Guinea (PG)
  • Paraguay (PY)
  • Peru (PE)
  • Philippines (PH)
  • Pitcairn Islands (PN)
  • Poland (PL)
  • Portugal (PT)
  • Puerto Rico (PR)
  • Qatar (QA)
  • Réunion (RE)
  • Romania (RO)
  • Russia (RU)
  • Rwanda (RW)
  • Samoa (WS)
  • San Marino (SM)
  • São Tomé & Príncipe (ST)
  • Saudi Arabia (SA)
  • Senegal (SN)
  • Serbia (RS)
  • Seychelles (SC)
  • Sierra Leone (SL)
  • Singapore (SG)
  • Sint Maarten (SX)
  • Slovakia (SK)
  • Slovenia (SI)
  • Solomon Islands (SB)
  • South Africa (ZA)
  • South Georgia & South Sandwich Islands (GS)
  • South Korea (KR)
  • Spain (ES)
  • Sri Lanka (LK)
  • St. Barthélemy (BL)
  • St. Helena (SH)
  • St. Kitts & Nevis (KN)
  • St. Lucia (LC)
  • St. Martin (MF)
  • St. Pierre & Miquelon (PM)
  • St. Vincent & Grenadines (VC)
  • Suriname (SR)
  • Svalbard & Jan Mayen (SJ)
  • Swaziland (SZ)
  • Sweden (SE)
  • Switzerland (CH)
  • Taiwan (TW)
  • Tanzania (TZ)
  • Thailand (TH)
  • Timor-Leste (TL)
  • Togo (TG)
  • Tokelau (TK)
  • Tonga (TO)
  • Trinidad & Tobago (TT)
  • Tristan da Cunha (TA)
  • Tunisia (TN)
  • Turkey (TR)
  • Turkmenistan (TM)
  • Turks & Caicos Islands (TC)
  • Tuvalu (TV)
  • Uganda (UG)
  • Ukraine (UA)
  • United Arab Emirates (AE)
  • United Kingdom (GB)
  • United States (US)
  • Uruguay (UY)
  • U.S. Outlying Islands (UM)
  • U.S. Virgin Islands (VI)
  • Uzbekistan (UZ)
  • Vanuatu (VU)
  • Vatican City (VA)
  • Vietnam (VN)
  • Wallis & Futuna (WF)
  • Western Sahara (EH)
  • Zambia (ZM)
  • Zimbabwe (ZW)

Does Kraken allow the users from United States (US)?

USA flag

Yes, kraken.com allows the registrations from the United States! Trading Platform permits the users from 54 states and territories to register at and use the services exchange provides:

  • Alabama (AL)
  • Alaska (AK)
  • American Samoa (AS)
  • Arizona (AZ)
  • Arkansas (AR)
  • California (CA)
  • Colorado (CO)
  • Connecticut (CT)
  • Delaware (DE)
  • District of Columbia (DC)
  • Florida (FL)
  • Georgia (GA)
  • Guam (GU)
  • Hawaii (HI)
  • Idaho (ID)
  • Illinois (IL)
  • Indiana (IN)
  • Iowa (IA)
  • Kansas (KS)
  • Kentucky (KY)
  • Louisiana (LA)
  • Maine (ME)
  • Maryland (MD)
  • Massachusetts (MA)
  • Michigan (MI)
  • Minnesota (MN)
  • Mississippi (MS)
  • Missouri (MO)
  • Montana (MT)
  • Nebraska (NE)
  • Nevada (NV)
  • New Hampshire (NH)
  • New Jersey (NJ)
  • New Mexico (NM)
  • North Carolina (NC)
  • North Dakota (ND)
  • Northern Mariana Islands (MP)
  • Ohio (OH)
  • Oklahoma (OK)
  • Oregon (OR)
  • Pennsylvania (PA)
  • Puerto Rico (PR)
  • Rhode Island (RI)
  • South Carolina (SC)
  • South Dakota (SD)
  • Tennessee (TN)
  • Texas (TX)
  • U.S. Virgin Islands (VI)
  • Utah (UT)
  • Vermont (VT)
  • Virginia (VA)
  • West Virginia (WV)
  • Wisconsin (WI)
  • Wyoming (WY)

It's possible to use the USD currency to buy/sell 35 cryptocurrencies at the Kraken: 3 banks and payment systems totally (out of the 10 the trading platform supports, that's 30% of all the available ones) can be used by people from the U.S.A.:

  • Any Local Bank
  • Etana
  • SWIFT Transfer

Customer service

According to the community and the exchange users' testimonials, Kraken provides an excellent, exceptional quality customers support! The analysis of reviews is the following:

Perfect: 2 votes
Good: 0 votes
Average: 0 votes
Not so good: 0 votes
Poor: 0 votes

Verification at Kraken

The trading platform requires it's clients to pass through obligatory user identification (account verification). The following procedures should be completed before the client will be able to buy and sell on the exchange:

  • ID verification
  • Address confirmation

Verification (besides the "Pro"-level with no limits) is fully automated and takes just a few minutes. If you are only interested in a "crypto to crypto" trading/conversion, there's a "Starter" level that just asks for an address information and your phone number; no need to upload or confirm anything!

According to the data submitted by the customers with the reviews and testimonials, the average time the account verification takes is up to 5 minutes! The feedback is the following:

Verification is instant: 1 votes
Process takes less than 5 minutes: 1 votes
Verification is ready in 5-15 mins: 0 votes
It takes up to an hour to pass through the identification: 0 votes
KYC is usually completed in few hours: 0 votes
It takes up to 24 hours to verify your account: 0 votes
Verification process takes few days: 0 votes
User identification takes over a week: 0 votes

An excellent result! Verification just takes a little bit of your time and the best thing is that you do it only once.

Deposit/withdrawal speed

Although the exchange process is fully automated on any e-wallet or trading platform, you may face some delay when you send the money "outside", i.e. say you are withdrawing the BTC you purchased to your personal wallet. Let's see what other cryptocurrency enthusiasts say about how fast is kraken.com!

Exchange is instant, zero delay: 1 votes
It's near instant, process takes less than 5 minutes: 0 votes
Order should be ready in 5-15 mins: 0 votes
It may take up to an hour to get your funds: 0 votes
Orders are completed during few hours: 0 votes
It takes up to 24 hours to get your money: 0 votes
Exchange may take a few days: 0 votes
The delay can be over a week: 0 votes

Is Kraken instant?

So, what can we see? According to the feedback we got from other users of this trading platform worldwide, Kraken is instant: money arrives right after you order it all the time. That's great to know!

Customers' testimonials

Our users left 3 testimonials about their experience dealing with Kraken, 100% of the testimonials are positive, 0% are neutral and there are 0 negative ones. Feel free to read as many of these as you like!

Bear H., 5 testimonials
@ 01 Aug 2021
Basov, 3 testimonials
@ 23 Jul 2021
Gipo Z., 2 testimonials
@ 29 Jul 2020
No more testimonials to show. The rest are either outdated or written in other languages. If you have any experience dealing with Kraken, can you please leave your testimonial? Thanks!

Overall result if great! 100% positive testimonials is something the business owners are very proud of, such a rating is hard to get and even harder to maintain! It means the community really trusts and likes the Kraken services, so most likely, you'd enjoy it too!

FAQ about Kraken

Does Kraken holds my funds?

Yes, it does. Although you can always withdraw the funds to your e-currency wallet "by default" Kraken holds your balance at it's own hot storage wallet. This is the standard practice for all the trading platforms, although we recommend to keep only the funds you need for the trading at the exchange.

Is Kraken a good trading platform?

According to our rating and the clients' testimonials, it is! Feel free to get acquainted with the details reading this review or just jump to the conclusion!

Is Kraken licensed? Does it hold e-money license?

Yes, Payward, Inc. (entity doing business as Kraken exchange) is licenced and regulated financial company. It holds Money Transmission license and is regulated by the FinCEN of the United States.

Is Kraken registered with the FINCEN?

Yes, Payward, Inc. aka Kraken is registered with the U.S. Financial Intelligence Unit as Money Services Business (MSB); FinCEN registration number is 31000176593851.

Does Kraken provide the mobile wallet apps?

It does! There are a mobile apps for popular mobile platforms available.

Does Kraken have a OTC (over-the-counter) trading desk?

Yes, there is such an opportunity at Kraken, you can trade "off the market" using the OTC trading desk. It may be very handy for large operations.

Does Kraken provides Margin Trading?

It does. Margin trading is possible at Kraken; if you wish to, you may trade with leverage here!

Is Kraken a ripoff?

It definitely isn't! Feel free to read the whole this review to understand why or check our conclusion: is Kraken legit or scam.

Kraken vs other exchanges

Let's compare kraken.com to other similar exchange services with more or less the same features: others of trading platform type mostly. Besides, seems reasonable to compare the platform with the exchanges having similar rating and serving (mostly) the same geographic, etc. Remember that if you wish to find the exchange offering the best price to buy/sell Bitcoin and 50 other cryptos, check the best rates to buy bitcoin and crypto in United States!

Kraken vs CEX

Let's compare the key features of these two platforms to see which one suits you best:

  • CEX is a trading platform Kraken is a trading platform, both are using the same business model.
  • CEX had started the business July 2014 Kraken started the business July 2011 (Kraken operates 2 years and 11 months longer).
  • cex.io has all the required business licenses and permissions Kraken has all the required business licenses and permissions (both exchange services operate using the same approach to the business, utilizing a same legal model).
  • Besides buying, selling and exchanging cryptocurrencies, cex.io provides the following extra services: Lending, Margin Trading, Faucets (small amounts of cryptos for free) and the Staking, MasterNodes, etc. (passive income opportunity) Kraken provides more exchange-related services: it allows us to purchase and sell digital currencies, swap cryptocoins and tokens, and besides that: Mobile wallet, OTC trading, Margin Trading, Futures Trading and the Staking, MasterNodes, etc. (passive income opportunity).
  • CEX supports 33 cryptocurrencies and tokens Kraken allows to swap 35 cryptos (Kraken additionally works with 2 added cryptocurrencies/tokens).
  • 3 fiat currencies are available on cex.io website You'll be able to use 7 national currencies to swap with digital ones at Kraken (Kraken supports 4 fiat currencies more).
  • CEX accepts deposits from and allows withdrawals to 8 fiat payment systems / banks Kraken allows the user to utilize 10 various fiat payment systems and/or banks (Kraken supports 2 fiat payment systems and banks more).
  • CEX charges 0.3% — 3.99% fee Kraken charges the client 0.25% — 3.75% fee, depending on the currency, payment system, etc. (Kraken has higher fees, generally).
  • Buying limits at CEX start from $20.00 and are up to $10,000 Deposit/withdraw limits at Kraken are $14.58 — $365 depending on the payment method (Kraken has higher buying/selling limits).
  • CEX allows registrations from 224 countries; United States is among the supported ones You may register at Kraken if you reside in one of 234 countries; it serves United States among others (Kraken supports more countries worldwide).
  • Our visitors rated customer care at the CEX 4.55 / 5.0 Customers' service at Kraken exchange was rated 5.0 / 5.0 by our visitors (Kraken support team got better rating from our customers
  • During the account verification CEX usually asks for 3 documents and/or procedures (id verification, phone confirmation, selfie) and it takes up to 5 minutes in most of the cases User identification at Kraken usually consists of 2 different procedures: id verification, address confirmation and the process usually takes up to 5 minutes (Kraken's KYC, AML, etc programs and policies permit a user to finish fewer procedures, to share reduced personal information).
  • Due to results of community feedback, CEX process deposit/withdrawal orders in about in couple of minutes (although the exchange is instant) Due to results of community feedback, Kraken process deposit/withdrawal orders in about a couple of seconds, in fact — instantly, without any delay; everything is automated (Kraken processes deposits and withdrawals faster
  • Our users left 27 testimonials about CEX, 100% of which are positive We've collected 3 users testimonials about Kraken, 100% are positive (Kraken & CEX share the same percentage of positive user reviews).

Although the final decision, which exchange — CEX or Kraken — is better is up to you, we'll try to help you with the decision. Both exchanges are great, since both exchanges are equally rated, we recommend you look at the list above and decide, what is most important for you!

If you feel like need more comparison versus other exchanges, feel free to check these:

Kraken vs Coinbase

Let's compare the key features of these two platforms to see which one suits you best:

  • Coinbase is a e-wallet Kraken is a trading platform, it has a different business model (feel free to read about the differences between e-wallet and trading platform)
  • Coinbase had started the business June 2012 Kraken started the business July 2011 (Kraken operates 10 months longer).
  • coinbase.com has all the required business licenses and permissions Kraken has all the required business licenses and permissions (both exchange services operate using the same approach to the business, utilizing a same legal model).
  • Besides buying and selling cryptocurrencies, coinbase.com provides the following extra services: ATM Cards, Merchant Services and the Staking, MasterNodes, etc. (passive income opportunity) Kraken provides more exchange-related services: it allows us to purchase and sell digital currencies, swap cryptocoins and tokens, and besides that: Mobile wallet, OTC trading, Margin Trading, Futures Trading and the Staking, MasterNodes, etc. (passive income opportunity).
  • Coinbase supports 21 cryptocurrencies and tokens Kraken allows to swap 35 cryptos (Kraken additionally works with 14 added cryptocurrencies/tokens).
  • 6 fiat currencies are available on coinbase.com website You'll be able to use 7 national currencies to swap with digital ones at Kraken (Kraken supports 1 paper currency up).
  • Coinbase accepts deposits from and allows withdrawals to 8 fiat payment systems / banks Kraken allows the user to utilize 10 various fiat payment systems and/or banks (Kraken supports 2 fiat payment systems and banks more).
  • Coinbase charges 1.0% — 3.99% fee Kraken charges the client 0.25% — 3.75% fee, depending on the currency, payment system, etc. (Kraken has lower fees in general).
  • Coinbase gives the gifts to the customers Kraken has neither gifts or cashback available (Kraken & Coinbase both provide the same bonuses for customers).
  • Buying limits at Coinbase start from $2.00 and are up to $5,000 Deposit/withdraw limits at Kraken are $14.58 — $365 depending on the payment method (Kraken has higher buying/selling limits).
  • Coinbase allows registrations from 39 countries; United States is among the supported ones You may register at Kraken if you reside in one of 234 countries; it serves United States among others (Kraken supports more countries worldwide).
  • During the account verification Coinbase usually asks for 2 documents and/or procedures (id verification, phone confirmation) and it takes up to 5 minutes in most of the cases User identification at Kraken usually consists of 2 different procedures: id verification, address confirmation and the process usually takes up to 5 minutes (Kraken & Coinbase require the client to pass through the — more or less — the same process during the verification).
  • Due to results of community feedback, Coinbase process deposit/withdrawal orders in about a couple of seconds, in fact — instantly, without any delay; everything is automated Due to results of community feedback, Kraken process deposit/withdrawal orders in about a couple of seconds, in fact — instantly, without any delay; everything is automated (Kraken & Coinbase process the deposits and withdrawals with equal speed).
  • Our users left 25 testimonials about Coinbase, 96% of which are positive We've collected 3 users testimonials about Kraken, 100% are positive (Kraken has better testimonials from the clients).

Although the final decision, which exchange — Coinbase or Kraken — is better is up to you, we'll try to help you with the decision. Both exchanges are great, since both exchanges are equally rated, we recommend you look at the list above and decide, what is most important for you!

If you feel like need more comparison versus other exchanges, feel free to check these:

Kraken vs TransCoin

Let's compare the key features of these two platforms to see which one suits you best:

  • TransCoin is a broker Kraken is a trading platform, it has a different business model (feel free to read about the differences between broker and trading platform)
  • TransCoin had started the business May 2018 Kraken started the business July 2011 (Kraken operates 6 years and 9 months longer).
  • transcoin.me has all the required business licenses and permissions Kraken has all the required business licenses and permissions (both exchange services operate using the same approach to the business, utilizing a same legal model).
  • Besides the digital currencies exchange, TransCoin provides no extra services Kraken provides more exchange-related services: it allows us to purchase and sell digital currencies, swap cryptocoins and tokens, and besides that: Mobile wallet, OTC trading, Margin Trading, Futures Trading and the Staking, MasterNodes, etc. (passive income opportunity).
  • TransCoin supports 1 cryptocurrency Kraken allows to swap 35 cryptos (Kraken additionally works with 34 added cryptocurrencies/tokens).
  • TransCoin allows registrations from 255 countries; United States is among the supported ones You may register at Kraken if you reside in one of 234 countries; it serves United States among others (Kraken supports less countries).
  • During the account verification TransCoin usually asks for some (it depends) documents and/or procedures User identification at Kraken usually consists of 2 different procedures: id verification, address confirmation and the process usually takes up to 5 minutes (Kraken's compliance program forces a client to take more actions or to provide more data).
  • Our users left 5 testimonials about TransCoin, 100% of which are positive We've collected 3 users testimonials about Kraken, 100% are positive (Kraken & TransCoin share the same percentage of positive user reviews).

Although the final decision, which exchange — TransCoin or Kraken — is better is up to you, we'll try to help you with the decision. Both exchanges are great, since both exchanges are equally rated, we recommend you look at the list above and decide, what is most important for you!

If you feel like need more comparison versus other exchanges, feel free to check these:

Kraken vs Changelly

Let's compare the key features of these two platforms to see which one suits you best:

  • Changelly is a broker Kraken is a trading platform, it has a different business model (feel free to read about the differences between broker and trading platform)
  • Changelly had started the business December 2013 Kraken started the business July 2011 (Kraken operates 2 years and 4 months longer).
  • Changelly is an ordinary company without licenses, etc. Kraken has all the required business licenses and permissions (Kraken utilizes a safer and more stable business model).
  • Besides buying, selling and exchanging cryptocurrencies, Changelly provides no extra services Kraken provides more exchange-related services: it allows us to purchase and sell digital currencies, swap cryptocoins and tokens, and besides that: Mobile wallet, OTC trading, Margin Trading, Futures Trading and the Staking, MasterNodes, etc. (passive income opportunity).
  • Changelly supports 42 cryptocurrencies and tokens Kraken allows to swap 35 cryptos (Kraken works with 7 cryptocurrencies & tokens fewer).
  • 34 fiat currencies are available on changelly.com website You'll be able to use 7 national currencies to swap with digital ones at Kraken (Kraken supports 27 fiat currencies less).
  • Changelly accepts deposits from and allows withdrawals to 1 fiat payment systems / banks Kraken allows the user to utilize 10 various fiat payment systems and/or banks (Kraken supports 9 fiat payment systems and banks more).
  • Changelly charges 7.25% fee Kraken charges the client 0.25% — 3.75% fee, depending on the currency, payment system, etc. (Kraken has lower fees in general).
  • Buying limits at Changelly start from $30.00 and are up to $12,000 Deposit/withdraw limits at Kraken are $14.58 — $365 depending on the payment method (Kraken has higher buying/selling limits).
  • Changelly allows registrations from 242 countries; we are sorry, but United States is not supported this time You may register at Kraken if you reside in one of 234 countries; it serves United States among others (Kraken supports less countries).
  • Our visitors rated customer care at the Changelly 5.0 / 5.0 Customers' service at Kraken exchange was rated 5.0 / 5.0 by our visitors (Kraken & Changelly provide the equal quality of customer support).
  • During the account verification Changelly usually asks for 2 documents and/or procedures (id verification, address confirmation) User identification at Kraken usually consists of 2 different procedures: id verification, address confirmation and the process usually takes up to 5 minutes (While Changelly agrees on certain exceptions granting no verification for specific orders, Kraken follows the stricter rules and sets more restrictions).
  • Due to results of community feedback, Changelly process deposit/withdrawal orders in about a couple of seconds, in fact — instantly, without any delay; everything is automated Due to results of community feedback, Kraken process deposit/withdrawal orders in about a couple of seconds, in fact — instantly, without any delay; everything is automated (Kraken & Changelly process the deposits and withdrawals with equal speed).
  • Our users left 17 testimonials about Changelly, 94% of which are positive We've collected 3 users testimonials about Kraken, 100% are positive (Kraken has better testimonials from the clients).

Although the final decision, which exchange — Changelly or Kraken — is better is up to you, we'll try to help you with the decision. Both exchanges are great, although Kraken has a better total rating 100 vs Changelly's 84, we recommend you look at the list above and decide, what is most important for you!

If you feel like need more comparison versus other exchanges, feel free to check these:

Kraken vs Kuna

Let's compare the key features of these two platforms to see which one suits you best:

  • Kuna is a trading platform Kraken is a trading platform, both are using the same business model.
  • Kuna had started the business January 2016 Kraken started the business July 2011 (Kraken operates 4 years and 5 months longer).
  • Kuna is an ordinary company without licenses, etc. Kraken has all the required business licenses and permissions (Kraken utilizes a safer and more stable business model).
  • Besides buying and selling cryptocurrencies, kuna.io provides the following extra services: Cash codes Kraken provides more exchange-related services: it allows us to purchase and sell digital currencies, swap cryptocoins and tokens, and besides that: Mobile wallet, OTC trading, Margin Trading, Futures Trading and the Staking, MasterNodes, etc. (passive income opportunity).
  • Kuna supports 1 cryptocurrency Kraken allows to swap 35 cryptos (Kraken additionally works with 34 added cryptocurrencies/tokens).
  • 3 fiat currencies are available on kuna.io website You'll be able to use 7 national currencies to swap with digital ones at Kraken (Kraken supports 4 fiat currencies more).
  • Kuna accepts deposits from and allows withdrawals to 7 fiat payment systems / banks Kraken allows the user to utilize 10 various fiat payment systems and/or banks (Kraken supports 3 fiat payment systems and banks more).
  • Kuna charges 1.0% — 3.0% fee Kraken charges the client 0.25% — 3.75% fee, depending on the currency, payment system, etc. (Kraken has higher fees, generally).
  • Buying limits at Kuna start from $1.00 and are up to $10,000 Deposit/withdraw limits at Kraken are $14.58 — $365 depending on the payment method (Kraken has higher buying/selling limits).
  • Kuna allows registrations from 251 countries; we are sorry, but United States is not supported this time You may register at Kraken if you reside in one of 234 countries; it serves United States among others (Kraken supports less countries).
  • Our visitors rated customer care at the Kuna 5.0 / 5.0 Customers' service at Kraken exchange was rated 5.0 / 5.0 by our visitors (Kraken & Kuna provide the equal quality of customer support).
  • Kuna allows the user to be anonymous, there is no account verification, etc. User identification at Kraken usually consists of 2 different procedures: id verification, address confirmation and the process usually takes up to 5 minutes (Unlike kuna.io that agrees to serve anonyms, Kraken abides certain KYC, AML/CTF policies, there's an account verification)
  • Due to results of community feedback, Kuna process deposit/withdrawal orders in about a couple of seconds, in fact — instantly, without any delay; everything is automated Due to results of community feedback, Kraken process deposit/withdrawal orders in about a couple of seconds, in fact — instantly, without any delay; everything is automated (Kraken & Kuna process the deposits and withdrawals with equal speed).
  • Our users left 4 testimonials about Kuna, 100% of which are positive We've collected 3 users testimonials about Kraken, 100% are positive (Kraken & Kuna share the same percentage of positive user reviews).

Although the final decision, which exchange — Kuna or Kraken — is better is up to you, we'll try to help you with the decision. Both exchanges are great, although Kraken has a better total rating 100 vs Kuna's 84, we recommend you look at the list above and decide, what is most important for you!

If you feel like need more comparison versus other exchanges, feel free to check these:

Conclusion: is Kraken legit or scam?

Now it's time to draw a conclusion, is kraken.com a scam or is it a legit exchange? We are 100% sure Kraken is a trusted, legit exchange with great reputation in the community. There is no way it can be called a scam! Let's summarize what we like most (and what we don't) about the Kraken:

  • It is licensed, regulatory compliant financial company
  • The trading platform holds users' funds
  • This company has being in the business for a long time; exchange was started 12 years and 7 months ago
  • Exchange supports 35 cryptocurrencies and 7 fiat ones (totally 10 payment systems / banks are available). Besides buying, selling and exchanging digital currencies, the following services are available: Mobile wallet, OTC trading, Margin Trading, Futures Trading and Staking, MasterNodes, etc. (passive income opportunity)
  • It charges moderate fees: from 0.25% to 3.75% depending on the payment method; although the exchange of smaller amounts is rather inexpensive
  • The purchase / withdrawal limits are very low: from $14.58 to $365 USD, it depends on a payment system choice
  • Kraken allows registrations from 234 countries; people from United States may use the service
  • Clients' testimonials are perfect, 100% (3 out of 3) note their positive experience dealing with Kraken. According to the customers feedback:
    • Customer support is great
    • Deposits and withdrawals are instant
    • Verification is really fast

Last but not least, according to our rating and the feedback from the Kraken clientele, we consider it as "The best Trading Platform in North America!" That means the platform really stands out from the 333 exchange services we monitor; our ranking algorithms and the input we got from the actual exchange customers confirm that. With all the features and positive reviews, it's obvious why Kraken has been so successful for 12+ years and we invite you to check out by yourself!

Overall rating for Kraken: 100 / 100