Kraken Review 2026: Fees, Licences by Region, Funding and Risks

Short answer: Kraken is a centralised (custodial) crypto exchange run by Payward, operating since 2011. It holds a MiCA licence from the Central Bank of Ireland for the EEA, an FCA cryptoasset registration in the UK, FinCEN registration and state licences in the US and AUSTRAC registration in Australia. Simple app trades cost 1% plus a spread, while Kraken Pro starts at 0.40% maker / 0.80% taker. Kraken’s own disclosures say crypto held on the platform is not insured and not covered by FDIC, SIPC or the FSCS.

How this review was made: we read Kraken’s fee schedule, licence and legal disclosure pages, Terms of Service, support articles on funding and referrals, its Proof of Reserves page and the Central Bank of Ireland register, as of October 2026. We have not traded on Kraken. Kraken notes that fees and funding options change and that the figures shown at confirmation are the ones that apply.

Kraken in four numbers. Source: Kraken fee schedule, support centre and licence page, October 2026.

Kraken at a glance

Is Kraken safe and legit?

Short answer: Kraken is a long-running exchange with licences or registrations in the US, UK, EEA, Canada and Australia. It is also a custodian: your coins sit in Kraken’s wallets, so your safety depends on Kraken staying solvent and secure, and the regulator that applies depends on which Payward company holds your account.

Which Kraken company holds your account

Kraken’s Terms of Service name a different contracting company by region (source). The licence details come from Kraken’s licence page, last updated 30 September 2026 (source).

Other group companies handle specific products. In the UK, Payward Services Limited is an FCA-authorised e-money institution (FRN 1010381) and Crypto Facilities Limited is an FCA-authorised investment firm (FRN 757895). In the EEA, a CySEC-licensed company (licence 342/17) handles investment services and derivatives. In the US, Kraken Securities LLC is an SEC-registered broker-dealer and FINRA/SIPC member for stocks, and Kraken Financial is a Wyoming-chartered special purpose depository institution.

We checked the EEA licence on the regulator’s own site: the Central Bank of Ireland register lists Payward Europe Solutions Limited, trading as Kraken, as “Authorised as a Crypto-Asset Service Provider” under the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (register). The FCA register search for reference 928768 returns “PAYWARD LTD.” (FCA register). We could not open the FinCEN or AUSTRAC registers, so those references come from Kraken’s own pages.

What protection you do not get

Kraken’s legal disclosures, updated 11 August 2026, are direct about this (source):

• US: “Digital assets and Kraken accounts are not covered by insurance against losses. They are not subject to Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or Securities Investor Protection Corporation protections in the United States or the protections of any comparable organization anywhere in the world.” SIPC membership at Kraken Securities relates to the stock brokerage, not your crypto.
• UK: because most cryptoassets are not specified investments, “you will not be protected by the Financial Ombudsman Service or the Financial Services Compensation Scheme” for Kraken’s crypto services. The disclosures add that e-money in a UK account is not covered by the FSCS either.
• Australia: the page says Bit Trade “does not hold an Australian financial services licence” for its exchange services and that some cryptoassets are unregulated in Australia.
• Rest of world: if your account sits with the BVI company, we found no licence listed for it on the licence page. Treat that as unregulated custody.

FCA registration under the Money Laundering Regulations is an anti-money-laundering registration. It does not make Payward Limited an FCA-authorised investment firm for its spot crypto service.

Proof of Reserves

Kraken publishes a Proof of Reserves review in which an independent third-party accountant checks that Kraken controls on-chain assets at least equal to client balances in the assets reviewed (source). The page lists a snapshot dated 30 June 2026 with reserve ratios of 102.9% for BTC, 100.5% for ETH, 100.6% for SOL, 102.3% for XRP, 100.3% for ADA and “105%+” for USDC, USDT and USDG. Logged-in clients can check that their own balance was included using a Merkle tree leaf ID.

Two limits apply. The same page lists a shorter set of in-scope assets in its FAQ (BTC, ETH, SOL, USDC, USDT and XRP) than in its ratio panel, so check the report itself for the snapshot you care about. And the review is a snapshot of assets held against client balances at one date; the page does not describe it as an audit of Kraken’s full balance sheet or debts.

Account security

Kraken’s site mentions two-factor authentication (2FA), passkeys and physical security for its servers, plus 24/7 support (source). It says it has been running for “more than 14 years” and is used by “13+ million people”. We could not confirm on an official page what share of client assets is held in cold storage, so we leave that out.

Kraken fees

Kraken has two price lists, and the gap between them is the biggest cost decision you make (source).

Instant Buy, Sell and Convert (Kraken app and web)

• Trading fee: 1% on instant and recurring trades, 1.5% on custom orders.
• Spread: the price you see includes a spread, “the difference between the market rate and the rate you receive”. Kraken says it varies with volatility, asset, order size, VIP status and account activity, and that it “may retain any excess spread”.
• Payment fees: extra fees can apply for card, Apple Pay or Google Pay purchases.
• Kraken+ members: no trading fee on up to $10,000 a month of buy, sell or convert volume in USD, GBP, CAD, AUD, EUR or CHF. Spreads and card fees still apply. We could not find the Kraken+ subscription price on the fee schedule.
• Convert Small Balances: a fixed 3% fee on amounts below the minimum order size.

Volume from Instant Buy does not count toward Kraken Pro’s 30-day fee tiers.

Kraken Pro spot fees (order book)

Kraken Pro uses maker-taker pricing. A maker order rests on the order book (for example a limit order below the current price), and a taker order fills immediately against an existing order. Your tier is set by the best of your 30-day spot volume, 30-day futures volume or assets held on Kraken.

The table above is a selection; the full schedule has 17 tiers. The fee page carries a note that fees “may be inaccurate if you’re using a VPN”, which suggests the figures shown can depend on where you view the page from. Check the schedule after you log in.

Stablecoin and FX pairs (for example USDC/USD) have their own schedule starting at 0.20% maker and taker, and that volume does not count toward the main tiers. Some lower-liquidity pairs have a maker rebate schedule. For the basics of what a spread is and how it adds to cost, see our guide to bid and ask prices.

Which is cheaper, Kraken or Kraken Pro? On the published schedules, Kraken Pro is cheaper per trade than Instant Buy at every tier, because Instant Buy starts at 1% plus a spread and Pro starts at 0.80% taker or 0.40% maker. The trade-off is that Pro uses an order book, where a market order fills at whatever the book offers. Pro volume tiers fall with 30-day volume or assets held, and Instant Buy volume does not count toward them.

Worked example: buying $1,000 of bitcoin

If you pay by debit card, add the card deposit fee of 0.25 plus 3.75% on top. A bank deposit through ACH, SEPA or Faster Payments is listed as free.

Margin, staking and other fees

• Margin: an opening fee and a rollover fee every 4 hours, for example 0.01% to 0.02% on BTC and 0.02% to 0.04% on most other assets. Forced liquidation carries a 2% liquidation fee. Our explainer on margin calls and stop outs covers how forced closes work.
• On-chain staking: no fee to stake or unstake, but Kraken takes a commission from rewards, 20% on flexible staking for assets with an unbonding period and on its Rewards programme.
• xStocks (tokenised shares): no trading fee when bought with USDG or USD, otherwise the standard 1% instant fee.

Deposits and withdrawals

Cash deposits

Selected methods from Kraken’s cash deposit table, last updated 1 October 2026 (source):

Kraken says ACH, PayPal, card and digital wallet purchases trigger a temporary 72-hour withdrawal hold, and ACH deposits through Plaid are held from withdrawal for 7 days. The hold covers both crypto and cash withdrawals.

Cash withdrawals

From the withdrawal table, last updated 28 September 2026 (source):

Kraken does not pay out to cash, cheques, cards or third-party payment processors. It calls processing times estimates outside its control.

Crypto deposits and withdrawals

Most crypto deposits are free, but each asset has a minimum deposit after network fees, and Kraken warns that a deposit below the minimum is marked “Failed” and “the funds will be permanently lost” (source). A few assets charge a one-off address setup fee. Crypto withdrawals have a per-asset minimum and a fee; Kraken says the fee shown at confirmation is the one that applies (source). Always pick the same network on both sides of a transfer.

Products by region: margin, futures and earn

Kraken’s licence page lists what each region cannot use, and the gaps are large (source):

• United Kingdom: a mandatory 24-hour cooling-off period for newly verified retail accounts before trading. No derivatives for retail clients, no Opt-In Rewards, DeFi Earn or xStocks, and some tokens restricted.
• EEA: a long list of tokens you cannot deposit or trade, including USDT, DAI and PYUSD. Opt-In Rewards cover Bitcoin only.
• Canada: no margin trading or derivatives, no xStocks, and an extensive asset restriction list.
• United States: Opt-In Rewards only for accredited investors in select states. Kraken Derivatives US runs through NinjaTrader Clearing, a CFTC-registered futures commission merchant.
• Australia: Kraken Derivatives only for wholesale clients through Beaufort Fiduciaries (AFSL 545124). Retail clients must pass a suitability test before using fiat extensions on margin trades.

Margin and futures multiply losses as well as gains. Our leverage explainer shows the arithmetic before you open a leveraged position.

Kraken referral bonus

VestNorth’s Kraken link is a referral invite, and the program pays a reward to both sides when the new user meets the conditions. The terms, in Kraken’s words and without spin:

• Reward: the referrals page says “you and your friend will both receive up to $20 USDG” (source). The app referral article, updated 8 October 2026, describes “a fixed amount of $20 in your default currency”, for example €20 worth of BTC (source).
• Who qualifies: a new user who has never held a Kraken account, signs up through the Kraken mobile app with the link and lives in the same country as the referrer (or any eligible EEA country). The app article lists eligible referrer countries as the US (excluding Maine and New York), Puerto Rico, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, France, Spain, Poland, Italy, Belgium and Ireland.
• Conditions: deposit cash from a bank account (card deposits do not count) and trade crypto up to the amount shown in your app. Trades between cash and stablecoins, between stablecoins, of bundles and of equities do not qualify (terms).
• Deadline: Kraken’s pages disagree. The referrals page says 15 days from sign-up, and the newer app article says 30 days with a countdown in the app. Go by the countdown in your own app.
• Payout: within 14 days of completing the terms. The terms say rewards cannot be transferred or redeemed for cash unless stated, and are “not vested, earned, or guaranteed until actually credited”.

Is Kraken available in my country?

Kraken says it does not serve clients, or accept cash or crypto deposits, from Afghanistan, Belarus, Cuba, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Iran, Iraq, Japan, Libya, North Korea, Russia, Sudan, South Sudan, Syria and the Crimea, Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine (source).

United States: Kraken accepts US residents through Payward Interactive, Inc., but does not serve residents of Maine or New York. Under the heading “Krak restrictions” (Krak is Kraken’s send-and-spend app), the same page adds:

• crypto transfers are not available in Indiana;
• cash transfers are not available in Indiana, Louisiana, Massachusetts or Utah;
• Texas and New Hampshire residents cannot deposit or hold EUR or trade EUR pairs;
• US residents cannot deposit any cash currency other than USD.

Singapore: Kraken states that it is not licensed or regulated in Singapore.

Available tokens and products also change by country, as listed in the section above. Kraken’s Terms of Service forbid any attempt to “circumvent geographic or sanctions controls” (source), so a VPN is no way around these lists.

Kraken alternatives

Non-custodial platforms remove exchange insolvency risk and add the risk that a mistake you sign cannot be reversed.

Bottom line

Kraken is one of the better documented centralised exchanges: it names the Payward company for each region, lists a MiCA licence the Central Bank of Ireland register confirms, publishes a Proof of Reserves programme and keeps fee and funding tables with dates on them.

The costs and limits are clear once you read them. Instant Buy charges 1% plus a spread, card deposits cost 3.75% plus 0.25, crypto is not insured in any region, and clients outside the licensed regions sign with a BVI company. If you use Kraken, fund by bank transfer, trade on Kraken Pro with limit orders, and move long-term holdings to a wallet you control. Only deposit money you can afford to lose.