Quick Take: Kraken is a centralised cryptocurrency exchange that was founded in 2011 and has offices all over the world including Australia, Japan, United States, United Kingdom, Canada and the British Virgin Islands.
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The cryptocurrency exchange offers a variety of products on its platform including spot, futures & margin trading, cryptocurrency staking, indices and much more. Kraken is also in the process of launching its own NFT marketplace that will be supported across multiple chains and will not incur any gas fees.
It offers services to clients from all over the world and accepts the following fiat currencies - AUD, JPY, USD, CAD, EUR, CHF, GBP.
Is Kraken Expensive? Trading, Deposit & Withdrawal Fees
One of the only downsides to using Kraken is its relatively expensive and confusing fee schedule. Below we have outlined how much Kraken charges for trading, deposit & withdrawal fees. Please note that transactions are processed in EUR, if your deposit method is based in another currency, check with your bank to determine what conversion fees will apply.
Deposit Fees
Bank Transfer/Osko - Free deposits above $5AUD and instant when using Osko
Debit/Credit Card - 3.75% + €0.25
SWIFT Transfer (Etana Custody) - Free deposits above $150AUD and will take 2 - 5 business days to hit your Kraken account
Crypto - 3.75% + €0.25
Withdrawal Fees
Bank Transfer - Free and will take up to 2 business days
Osko - Free and instant withdrawal
SWIFT Transfer (Etana Custody) - $35AUD and will take up to 5 business days
Crypto - $10 - $50AUD depending on what token, refer to Krakens Crypto Withdrawal Fees page
Trading Fees
Instant Buy - 0.9% fee for any stablecoins and 1.5% fee for any other crypto or FX pair
Spot (on Kraken Pro) - Maker starts from 0.16 and Taker starts from 0.26
Futures - Maker starts from 0.02% and Taker starts from 0.05%
Margin - 0.02%
For a full breakdown of Krakens Fees, we recommend visiting their Fees Schedule.
Krakens Instant Buy Fees
Security, Regulation & Licensing in Australia
The Kraken exchange is registered as a Digital Currency Exchange in Australia under the entity “Bit Trade Pty Limited” and is regulated by AUSTRAC. Krakens ABN number is 42 163 237 634. Kraken is yet to acquire the ISO 27001 standard security certificate but is in the process of applying for it.
In addition to being regulated, 95% of Krakens users funds are kept in offline, air-gapped, geographically distributed cold storage. Its servers reside in secure cages that are monitored by 24/7 surveillance and armed guards with video monitors. The platform requires its users to enable 2FA to keep their accounts secure from cyber attacks.
Available Cryptocurrencies on Kraken
There are currently 169 supported cryptocurrencies and seven different fiat currencies available on the Kraken exchange. If you would like to see the full list and live prices of available digital assets, please visit Krakens Prices tab.
Supported Digital Assets on Kraken
Krakens Features: Staking, Indices & Futures Trading
Kraken is one of the only cryptocurrency exchanges in the world to offer both cryptocurrency and fiat currency staking. Not only can you stake more than one asset, but you can also choose to stake on-chain or off-chain. This is a unique feature available only on Kraken. There are currently 16 different staking options available. Refer to the list below for more details.
Bitcoin (BTC) - 0.25% APY* US Dollar (USD) - 2% APY* Euro (EUR) - 1.5% APY*
*APY (Annual Percentage Yield) is estimated and subject to change, staking rewards are generally paid out every Tuesday and Friday.
Users also have access to indices, Kraken provides highly accurate pricing data with cryptocurrency indices powered by CF Benchmarks. The real-time indices and spot trading rates update every second to calculate a single, comprehensive price. Users can open positions with complete confidence that Krakens price is a consistently accurate reflection of market value.
Supported Devices - iOS & Android
The mobile version of Kraken is available for both Android and iOS. On iOS the app is supported on iPhone and iPad. Kraken is currently ranked #26 overall in the Finance category on the app store and has a rating of 4.7 stars from 1.4K reviews.
The Kraken mobile app offers the same functionality and UI of its web version, investors can access their portfolio, open positions, check markets, stake cryptocurrencies and more from the tips of their fingers.
Krakens iPhone Screenshots
Customer Support and Online Communities
When contacting Kraken for customer support there are a few options you can choose from - calling them directly via phone, messaging them on Live Support (available 24/7, 7 days a week) or opening up a conversation via their online ticketing system. In addition to these methods, you can also join their online communities like Telegram, Discord & Reddit.
Contact Page on Kraken
Alternative Cryptocurrency Exchanges to Kraken
If Krakens fees are too expensive or you cant find the cryptocurrency you want to buy on the exchange we recommend going through CoinSpot. CoinSpot is Australias largest, most secure and affordable exchange. It has over 350 available cryptocurrencies and offers significantly more staking options. The UI is easy to navigate and the platform can be tailored to suit both experienced traders and crypto beginners.
If you would like to learn more about CoinSpot and its features we recommend visiting our CoinSpot Review.
Serah is our Editor in Chief and was the first person to join the Buy Crypto Australia team. She is a digital & crypto native, having been in the space since 2015.