Kraken Exchange Review

Kraken Exchange Review

Kraken is a name that just about everyone has heard in the crypto space. It is both the preferred exchange of many seasoned traders, as well as one of the first exchanges many traders start out with when they are just getting started in the world of crypto. In this article we will be taking a detailed look at the iconic crypto exchange, Kraken.

The History of Kraken

The San Francisco based crypto exchange Kraken was initially created a decade ago – between the years of 2011 and 2013 – by its founder, Jessie Powell. Kraken was created in a direct response to the infamous Mt. Gox security breach of 2011. Powell got his start in crypto trading at Mt. Gox. After witnessing one of the biggest – and arguably most detrimental – Bitcoin hacks in history, Powell was convinced that he could do a better job running an exchange himself. Powell – being convinced that Mt. Gox was only hanging on by a thread – toured the floors of the Mt. Gox exchange and began working on his new and improved exchange which we now know as Kraken.

How Big is Kraken

The Kraken exchange is supported in 190 countries and boasts approximately 7 million users, making it the 4th largest crypto exchange in the world. Kraken operates as a fiat gateway exchange which supports 7 fiat currencies and offers over 70 different crypto/fiat pairs. Kraken is also one of the largest exchanges regarding the number of employees which work for the company, with more than 2,000 team members, living in over 60 different countries worldwide.

Kraken Account Verification Levels

Kraken has a multi-tiered account verification system, which determines what features and services are available to the user of the account. These different tiers are based on the amount of personal verification you have completed. Tier zero for example is the most basic account with no trading functionality – only wallet functionality – which users can operate anonymously. Tiers three and four on the other hand, require full personal verification and provide the user with fiat funding functionality and leverage trading capabilities.

Kraken’s Security

Being one of the oldest exchanges around, Kraken has had more time to stress-test and improve upon their security protocols by comparison to other exchanges. Kraken keeps 95% of their funds in air-gapped, geographically distributed cold storage. Users can of course withdraw finds easily and quickly from Kraken’s own reserve funds. If Kraken were to be hacked, their user’s funds would remain 100% protected. A hacker could only potentially get away with insured funds which belong only to Kraken. This system has become the standard for user fund security for many of the large exchanges in recent years, simply because this is a system that works well.

When it comes to the security of the platform itself, Kraken goes above and beyond most of the competition. Access to the Kraken platform is strictly limited to a small number of authorized individuals and no single one of them can deploy or make changes on the platform, without several layers of approval. Anyone attempting to hack into the Kraken mainframe would need to possess the technical knowledge to physically bypass the security protocols on the mainframe servers. The servers themselves are entombed in a locked cage, which is monitored by both security cameras and a team of well-armed security personnel, who guard the mainframe around the clock.

Kraken protects all sensitive account information with inscription at the system level and the data level. The exchange also employs a cyber security team which is dedicated to hacking their own security systems to look for and fortify any weak points they discover. Kraken also offers a “bug-bounty” program that encourages white-hat hackers to break into the system for monetary rewards.

Kraken’s Trading Platform

Kraken has received complaints in the past, regarding issues with their trading platform interface prior to 2019; however, the team has responded to these complaints with some major updates to the interface. At one point the Kraken team completely replaced the old trading engine, with a new auto-matching engine, that is regularly improved upon. The Kraken interface now offers numerous auto-execution options, which are on par with most other large exchanges.

Kraken has margin trading functionality. This gives users the option to trade with leverage on the exchange. It is important to mention that the degrees of leverage offered by Kraken’s margin trading are relatively low by comparison to some other platforms. Kraken users can apply up to 5X leverage to trading orders on the exchange. Those of us who are looking to trade with high levels of margin may not find Krakens leverage to be ideal for their needs. Kraken however continues to update and improve their user experience, so perhaps we will see higher levels of margin available in the future.

Maker and Taker fees

• Maker fees start at 0.16% on standard trading pairs, 0.20% on Stablecoin and FX pairs and can go as low as 0.00% depending on your current 30-day trading volume.

• Taker fees start at 0.26% on standard trading pairs, 0.20% on Stablecoin and FX pairs and can go as low as 0.10% on standard pairs or 0.00% on stablecoin and FX pairs.

In Conclusion

Kraken is a fantastic all-around exchange. With competitive maker and taker fees, and a security system which has so far never been hacked, Kraken is a great choice for anyone who is looking for a cost-effective, straightforward, and secure fiat gateway exchange.

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