Kraken was founded in 2011 and is located in San Francisco with offices around the world. It operates in most countries in the world, including the US. Kraken has a competitive pricing model and supports both individual and institutional investors.
Kraken Review - Cryptocurrencies Supported
Kraken supports more than 120 cryptocurrencies, including the most popular ones like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin, etc.
Kraken Review - Trading Experience
Kraken has two trading platforms, viz., Kraken and Kraken Pro. Kraken Pro is priced lower than Kraken.
Kraken
Kraken is best for beginners. Once they verify their account, they can easily buy cryptos from a linked bank account. They can easily convert currencies into their account. You can deposit your crypto for staking, and in that process, you can earn up to 21% interest, which depends on the currency.
Kraken Pro
Kraken Pro can be intimidating to newbies, but it is worth learning nonetheless. Kraken Pro offers detailed asset information, including active charts and a view into open orders. Kraken Pro offers advanced features in addition to lower fees.
Kraken Review - Fees
Kraken has varying pricing and fees, which depends on the platform you use and the trades you enter. For most cryptos, the fee is 1.5% for instant purchases, and it is 0.9% for stablecoins. Kraken Pro is priced lower than the main platform of Kraken. Its pricing is based on your total trading volume over the last 30 days. In most trades, either a taker fee of 0.26% or a maker fee of 0.16% applies.
Kraken Review - Security
Kraken offers two-factor authentication to follow good online security practices. It provides you with the option to create different two-factor codes for sign-in, account withdrawals, and trades. You can lock your account too, in case you feel that your account was breached.
Kraken Review - Support
Kraken is available 24/7 via live chat, phone, and email.
Kraken Review - Advanced Trading Features
Kraken offers margin, stop orders, and crypto short sales – such features are offered only by a few crypto exchanges. It offers a dark pool where high-volume traders can trade in an anonymous way. It allows you to leverage a currency pair by up to 5x and lets its eligible pro clients access up to $500,000 in the margin.
Kraken Review - Investing Options
Kraken offers mainly four types of investing options, namely crypto assets, futures trading, margin trading, and OTC trading.
Kraken Review - Futures Trading
Kraken offers futures trading on both web and mobile apps dedicated especially to futures traders. It allows you to borrow up to 50 times your balance for trading.
Kraken Review - Areas Served
Kraken operates all over the world, except in those areas that have strict crypto regulations. There might be a few restrictions that you may face due to your location.
Kraken Review - Account Management
Account management on Kraken is mostly self-service and can be done via its website and mobile app. Its dashboard has the option to update your settings, manage your approval levels, manage API keys, lock down your account, and add 2FA.
Kraken Review - OTC Trading Services
Kraken’s OTC services can be used by institutions and individuals with a high net worth (individuals with at least $1 million). They are the ones who place larger orders that might be too disruptive for the open market/Kraken exchange. This option includes expert insights, full-fledged support for all crypto assets and fiat listed on its exchange, and 24/7 global support.
Kraken Review - One-On-One Support For Advanced Traders
Kraken offers one-on-one support from a Kraken account manager for advanced traders.
Kraken Review - Websockets API
Kraken provides WebSockets API that provides users with real-time market alerts, staking rewards, public key support, and offline cold storage of crypto-related assets.
Conclusion
To conclude, Kraken is a good choice for beginners and experts alike because of its competitive pricing. Kraken Pro has lower pricing and high rates for staking. It offers its users 2FA, which is a must these days.