Jesse Powell founded Kraken after meeting with Mt. Gox founders and understanding the security threats crypto exchanges faced every day. He designed Kraken with impenetrable security, making it one of the safest and better organized options in the crypto world. From 2013 to 2019, Kraken slowly advanced to become one of the top contenders of the best cryptochannels in the world.
An Overview of Kraken Exchange
With ties to banks and financial institutions in Germany and being the first to be listed on Bloomberg Terminal, Kraken is a name which is synonymous with respectability, security and trust. Kraken, a veteran global Bitcoin exchange provides an advanced trading platform to traders who are interested in OTC options and margin trading.
Although, it was previously criticized for its unstable platform, the newly designed website has seamless features and customer support with an acute focus on security. Among other veteran crypto exchanges, Kraken offers one of the lowest trading fees. It has a streamlined user interface that makes it easier for users to make withdrawals, deposits and measure their portfolio performance. Keeping track of digital assets is considerably easier with Kraken.
Kraken is known for its revolutionizing security features, high liquidity option and a round-the-clock customer support service. Kraken also holds customer reserve funds themselves and uses an independent and cryptographically verified auditing system to satisfy third-party users that their funds are secure.
Features and Services
Kraken provides its users an advanced crypto trading platform, with the option for margin and spot trading for experienced users. Although it has features aplenty, it is not a great choice for beginners. High volume trades over $100K are accompanied by Over The Counter services as well as 1-on-1 service. Kraken also provides their frequent high-volume traders their very own account manager, who caters to their trading needs.
Users are also offered a Dark Pool, which is essentially an order book that remains invisible to the market and provides each trader an insight into their own order. It also allows traders to place tremendous amounts of buy/sell orders anonymously, thus keeping their identity and trading interests a secret from others. As huge orders can tip the market unfavorably, this service makes it easier to achieve fulfillment of an order at a desired rate.
Compatibility
Kraken is compatible with US Dollars (USD), Euros (EUR) and Canadian Dollars (CAD). SEPA, SWIFT, domestic and wire transfers can be used to make deposits and withdrawals and can take up to 5 business days. Regularly, deposits take just 24 hours and an average deposit requires no fee with the exception of a small setup fee for address, applicable in a few cases. In regard to Fiat deposits, Kraken is the most convenient and pocket-friendly option as it requires no fee with SEPA deposits. An average wire transfer within US costs $5-$10 and if transaction is made outside US, it can cost up to €10 or £10.
Moreover, it is compatible with most cryptocurrencies and supports 20 major coins such as Bitcoins, Dash, Dogecoins, Litecoins, Ethereum Classic, Ethereum and many more.
Kraken Fees and Availability
Kraken has one of the lowest fees among all veteran Bitcoin exchanges. The trading fees is usually dependent on the trading volume of the last 30 days and is generally based on maker/taker basis. For example, makers pay a lower fee to add limited orders to the crypto exchange as compared to takers who are fulfilling existing orders. Following is an overview of fees.
• Spot trading fees (0.26% – 0.06%)
• Stablecoin trading fee (0.2% – 0%)
• Dark pool fees (0.36% – 0.2%)
Kraken has a worldwide availability except Iran, Iraq, Cuba, Tajikistan, North Korea, Japan and Afghanistan. It also accepts residents of all US states except New York and Washington.
Is It Worth Your Time?
Kraken has gained a lot of popularity and respect in a few years due to its secured platform, low transactions fees and widespread availability. It is a godsend for crypto traders with an interest in high volume trading.