Exchange review · centralised · 3 min read · numbers checked 23 Sept 2026
Kraken review
The clearest regulation and the only one of the four open to US readers — but expensive for small trades.
By Learn Then Trade · Editorial standards
Our score
70/100
Commission is not an input
- Spot fee
- 0.4% / 0.8%
- Futures fee
- —
- Demo
- None
- $1,000 round trip
- $16.00
Entry tier, maker / taker, from Kraken’s own fee pages.
Quick answer. The clearest regulatory picture of the four — published US and EU licences, checkable on the registers, and an enforcement record it discloses itself — and the only one here open to US readers (not New York or Maine). The price is fees: 0.40% maker / 0.80% taker at the entry tier, so a US$1,000 round trip costs about US$16, against about US$2 elsewhere.
Pick it if
You live in the US (not New York or Maine), or you put regulation and account security ahead of cost.
Skip it if
Small accounts that trade often — the entry-tier fees add up fast
Where it costs you
Fees: 0.40% / 0.80% at the entry tier — about $16 on a $1,000 round trip, against about $2 elsewhere.
Our score is 70/100 from six published criteria — but read the weakness first. It is what you would want a friend to tell you.
In this review
Who you are actually dealing with
Kraken's parent company is Payward, and Payward publishes its licences on one disclosures page:
- United States: Payward Interactive is registered with FinCEN as a money services business (31000270997766), is on the NMLS register (1843762) and holds state money-transmitter licences. US futures run through Kraken Derivatives US with NinjaTrader Clearing, a CFTC-registered futures commission merchant.
- European Union: a MiCA licence from the Central Bank of Ireland (C468360), which we confirmed on the register.
- United Kingdom: Payward Ltd is listed as an FCA-registered cryptoasset firm (FRN 928768). The FCA register page did not load when we checked, so we have not confirmed this ourselves.
Kraken also discloses its enforcement history openly:
- 2023: a US$30 million settlement with the SEC, which ended its US staking service until it relaunched in January 2025.
- 2023: a separate SEC complaint alleging that Kraken mixed customer funds with its own. It was dismissed with prejudice in March 2025, "not on any assessment of the merits".
- 2022: a US$362,000 settlement with OFAC for Iran sanctions violations.
Of the four venues we review, Kraken is the one whose regulatory position is easiest to read.
What it costs
This is Kraken's weak point for small accounts.
| Where you trade | Maker | Taker | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kraken Pro, entry tier | 0.40% | 0.80% | Drops to 0.30/0.60 at US$2,500 of 30-day volume, 0.22/0.38 at US$10,000 |
| Kraken app (simple buy/sell) | — | 1% | Plus a spread Kraken does not disclose |
| Debit-card deposit | — | 3.75% + US$0.25 |
A US$1,000 round trip with market orders on Kraken Pro costs about US$16. The same trade costs about US$2 at the entry tier on Binance, OKX or Bybit. If you trade small and often, that gap adds up faster than almost any other cost. Use Kraken Pro rather than the simple app, and use limit orders where you can.
Kraken costs $16.00 on a $1,000 round trip — 8× the $2.00 at the cheapest venue here.
What can go wrong
- Proof of reserves. Kraken publishes one every quarter using a Merkle tree, covering 8 assets. It is prepared by an "independent third-party accountant" that Kraken does not name.
- Account security. Kraken's controls are the strongest of the four. You can use passkeys or hardware keys, withdrawal addresses must be confirmed by email, and the Global Settings Lock stops anyone, including Kraken's own support staff, from changing your security settings until the lock expires.
- Phone scams. Kraken has 24/7 live chat and no public phone number. Anyone who phones you "from Kraken" is a scammer. Hang up.
- No paper trading. We did not find a retail demo account. Practise elsewhere and come to Kraken with a plan.
Who can use it, and who can't
United States: available in every state except New York and Maine. On-chain staking is limited to 37 states plus DC and Puerto Rico; it is not offered in California, Texas, Illinois, New Jersey, Washington and some others. Bank deposits through Plaid are not available in Texas, and Kraken lists its California DFAL licence as still pending. For US readers, Kraken is the one venue in this review that accepts you.
UK: Kraken says its referral and affiliate programmes are "no longer available to clients residing in the UK". This site shows no Kraken link to UK readers.
If you have read the above
Open an account
Open the account, finish identity checks the same day, switch on a passkey or authenticator app before the first deposit, then start with an amount you can afford to lose entirely.
Checking whether Kraken is offered where you are…
Education only. Most retail traders lose money.
About the link
We have applied to Kraken's affiliate programme but have not been approved yet. Until we are, any link to Kraken on this site goes to kraken.com and earns us nothing.
How do you set up Kraken safely?
An account is only as safe as its first ten minutes. In order:
- Turn on a passkey or an authenticator app — not SMS. See security basics.
- Set an anti-phishing code and a withdrawal allowlist before you deposit anything.
- Kraken has no demo, so practise order types elsewhere first, then start here small.
- Decide how much to leave on the exchange like you would size a position — read position sizing and custody and exchange risk.
How does Kraken compare?
Same checks, same date, side by side:
How we scored it: 70/100
Six criteria, 0–5 each, scored only from what the exchange and its regulators publish. Commission is not one of them. How we review
- Fee transparency5/5
Every tier, the app fee and card costs are published — including the parts that make it expensive.
- Security practices4/5
Global Settings Lock, hardware keys and email-confirmed addresses; quarterly proof of reserves by an unnamed accountant.
- Regulation and disclosure4/5
Licences in the US and EU published and checkable; enforcement history disclosed, including a US$30M SEC settlement.
- Education3/5
A learning hub exists; useful, not independent.
- Usable by a learner2/5
No retail demo account, and entry-tier fees punish small, frequent trades.
- Support3/5
24/7 live chat, and a clear warning that Kraken never phones you.