Kraken is the #1 exchange in terms of EUR trading volume at ~6,000 BTC per day. It’s currently a top-15 exchange in terms of USD volume.
How to Trade Bitcoin on Kraken
Kraken will be used as an example for this guide. The process and basic principles remain the same across all exchanges.
First, create an account on Kraken by clicking the black sign up box. You’ll have to confirm your account via email. Once your account is confirmed and you’ve logged in, you must verify your personal information. All Bitcoin exchanges require varying levels of verification as required by AML and KYC laws. Below you can find the first three verification levels.
Kraken offers many deposit methods, which are listed here:
- EUR SEPA Deposit (Free) - EEA countries only.
- EUR Bank Wire Deposit (€5) - EEA countries only.
- USD Bank Wire Deposit (Free until 3/1/2016, then $5 USD) - US only.
- USD SEPA and SWIFT Deposit (0.19%, $20 minimum).
- GBP SEPA and SWIFT Deposit (0.19%, £10 minimum).
- JPY Bank deposit (Free, ¥5,000 deposit minimum) - Japan only.
- CAD Interac Deposit (Free until 3/1/2016, then 1%, $10 CAD fee minimum, $5,000 CAD deposit maximum).
- CAD EFT Deposit (Free until 3/1/2016, then 1%, $10 CAD fee minimum, $50 CAD fee maximum, $10,000 CAD deposit maximum).
Deposits made using the traditional banking system will take anywhere from one to three days. Bitcoin deposits require six confirmations, which is about one hour. Now, navigate to the “Trade” tab. Using the black bar at the top of the page, you can switch trading pairs. In this example, we’ll use XBT/USD. We want to buy bitcoins, so let’s put in an order. Navigate to the “New Order” tab. Let’s say I’ve deposited $300 into my account with a USD bank wire. In the example below, I’ve submitted an order to buy 0.5 bitcoins (XBT) at a price of $370 per bitcoin.
Trading Risks
Bitcoin trading is exciting because of Bitcoin’s price movements, global nature, and 24/7 trading. It’s important, however, to understand the many risks that come with trading Bitcoin.
Leaving Money on an Exchange
Perhaps one of the most famous events in Bitcoin’s history is the collapse of Mt. Gox. In Bitcoin’s early days, Gox was the largest Bitcoin exchange and the easiest way to buy bitcoins. Customers from all over the world were happy to wire money to Mt. Gox’s Japanese bank account just to get their hands on some bitcoins.
Many users forgot one of the most important features of Bitcoin—controlling your own money—and left more than 800,000 bitcoins in Gox accounts. In February 2014, Gox halted withdraw and customers were unable to withdrawal their funds. The company’s CEO claimed that the majority of bitcoins were lost due to a bug in the Bitcoin software. Customers still have not received any of their funds from Gox accounts.
Gox’s catastrophic collapse highlights the risk that any trader takes by leaving money on an exchange. Using a regulated Bitcoin exchange like Kraken can decrease your risk.
How to Trade Ripple at Kraken
a. Place an order to buy XRP by going to Account > Trade > New Order
b. Select the currency pair with the fiat currency that matches the currency of your deposit. Make sure you select the correct currency pair. The currency pair you select determines which currencies are bought and sold. For example, if you select XRP/USD, clicking Buy means that you buy XRP and sell USD. With the same currency pair, clicking Sell means that you sell XRP and buy USD. For more information about trading on Kraken, see Trading Basics available in the Kraken Support Center.
c. In the New Order tab, select the Simple interface and place a Buy order for XRP.
d. Enter the amount of XRP that you want to buy. You can choose to buy at the current market rate or place a limit order.
To buy XPR with USD
a. Select the XRP/USD from the currency pair drop-down menu.
b. In the New Order tab, select the Simple interface and place a Buy order for XRP.
c. Enter the amount of XRP you want to buy and submit your order.