Kraken review
The oldest major exchange still standing, with a security record to match. Kraken launched in 2011 and has never suffered a major loss of customer funds — a claim almost no other exchange of its age can make.
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What it does well
- Operating since 2011 with no major customer-fund loss
- Widest fiat currency support among the majors
- Proof-of-reserves audited by an independent third party
- Strong margin and futures products where they are available
Where it falls short
- Base Pro taker fee of 0.40% is above Binance and Bybit
- The simple buy interface is expensive — use Pro
- Fewer listed assets than offshore venues
- Futures unavailable to US retail traders
What Kraken is for
Kraken launched in 2011 and has never suffered a major loss of customer funds — a claim almost no other exchange of its age can make. It is not the cheapest venue and its interface has always favoured function over polish, but it has the longest unbroken operating record in the industry.
Founded in 2011, based in United States, it lists 200+ assets and supports USD, EUR, GBP, CAD, AUD, CHF, JPY for fiat funding. Kraken Futures with perpetuals, unavailable in several jurisdictions including the US retail market
Fees in practice
The headline rate is 0.25% maker / 0.4% taker at the base tier. Kraken Pro base tier; instant buy costs considerably more.
The number that actually costs people money is rarely the headline one. The simple buy interface charges significantly more than Kraken Pro on the same account — that is the single most common way retail traders overpay, and it applies on almost every exchange that runs a "simple" and an "advanced" interface on the same account. If you take one thing from this page: find the trading interface, not the buy button.
Who can use it
Most countries, with broad US state coverage. Restrictions we are aware of as of 2026-09-15: Iran, North Korea, Syria, Cuba, Afghanistan, plus sanctioned jurisdictions.
Two things to understand about these lists. First, they change — sometimes with very little notice, as several exchanges' exits from Canada and the Netherlands demonstrated. Second, account access and product access are different things: plenty of jurisdictions allow spot trading while blocking derivatives entirely.
Frequently asked questions
Is Kraken safe to use?
Kraken launched in 2011 and has never suffered a major loss of customer funds — a claim almost no other exchange of its age can make. It is not the cheapest venue and its interface has always favoured function over polish, but it has the longest unbroken operating record in the industry.
No exchange is risk-free. The questions worth asking are whether it holds licences you can verify, how long it has operated, and whether it has ever lost customer funds. The answers are above, with links to the primary sources so you can check them rather than take our word for it.
What are Kraken's trading fees?
Spot trading starts at 0.25% maker and 0.4% taker at the base tier. Kraken Pro base tier; instant buy costs considerably more. The simple buy interface charges significantly more than Kraken Pro on the same account
Work out what a specific trade costs with our exchange fee calculator. Fee schedules change — this was checked on 2026-09-15.
Which countries can use Kraken?
Most countries, with broad US state coverage. Known restrictions include Iran, North Korea, Syria, Cuba, Afghanistan, plus sanctioned jurisdictions.
Country lists move constantly, and product-level restrictions are usually stricter than account-level ones — an exchange may let you open an account but not trade derivatives. Always check the exchange's own restricted-jurisdictions page before depositing.
Does Kraken require KYC?
Tiered verification; trading requires at least intermediate verification.
Does Kraken offer futures or margin trading?
Kraken Futures with perpetuals, unavailable in several jurisdictions including the US retail market
If you trade leveraged products, the liquidation heatmap and funding rates dashboards show where the rest of the market is positioned and what it is paying to stay there.