The Complete Guide to the Kraken Exchange

• History
• Founder
• Kraken Overview
• How to Create a Kraken Trading Account
• Depositing and Withdrawing Funds
• Making Trades
• How to Place an Order
• Advanced Trading
• Trading Fee
• Locations Served
• Trading on Kraken with APIs
• Trading on the Go: Kraken Mobile App
• Security and Controversies
• Token Listing
• Customer Services
• Regulatory Compliance
• Conclusion

Counted among one of the oldest exchanges still in existence, Kraken (Payward Inc.) was established in 2011 and after two years of extensive testing, began operations in 2013. Based in San Francisco, the crypto exchange initially offered trading of Bitcoin, Litecoin and Euro based trades. As the exchange expanded, it started to include other currencies and offered advanced markets such as futures.

Today, Kraken is among the top crypto exchanges in the world, averaging around $199.6 million US in daily trading volume spread across 38 cryptocurrencies and 175 trading pairs including crypto to crypto and crypto to fiat.

History

Jesse Powell, a digital currency enthusiast long before the advent of Bitcoin and blockchain, saw an opportunity to start a crypto exchange that would provide trading services to the then predicted market gap that would be created by the impending closure of Mr. Gox after its infamous hack.

Development on the exchange started in 2011 and after two years of extensive testing of services and security, the exchange was formally launched in 2013. The same year, Kraken played an important role in the formation of Digital Asset Transfer Authority, a self-regulated body that was established to cater for the emerging crypto and digital asset industry. Jesse Powell, CEO, is among the founding members of the body.

Jesse Powell’s prediction of Mt. Gox closure came true in 2014. Kraken was quick to capture the market and saw significant growth in its first few years of operations. The exchange’s potential was noted by many people and received a $5 million US investment by Hummingbird Ventures. Within its first year of operations, Kraken was listed on Bloomberg Terminal, a first for any crypto exchange.

Jesse Powell, Founder and CEO

A graduate of Philosophy with emphasis on Ethics and Law, Jesse Powell wasn’t new to digital coins and assets when he saw the chance to set up a cryptocurrency exchange in 2011. A natural in the arena, he has been working in the industry even before Bitcoin was born.

He is an entrepreneur with Kraken being his fifth venture:

• Lewt Inc: October 2001 to July 2011. Co-Founder and CEO. The firm was aimed towards providing digital assets to players around the world. Offered services included in game tokens, powers, player and character accounts.
• Internet Ventures and Holdings: July 2006 to July 2011. Co-Founder and CEO. Online forums and services for the gaming community. The firm not only developed, but also acquired different platforms to bring it all under one roof.
• Verge Gallery & Studio Project: June 2007 to March 2010. Founder and CEO. It was the largest fine arts gallery in its location and gave budding artists a platform to host their works.
• Verge Centre for the Arts: April 2010 to date. Founder and Board Member. Taking up where Verge gallery & Studio Project left off, Verge Centre of the Arts is a non-profit organisation that offers more studios and lessons to artists to present their works and improve upon.
• Kraken Exchange: August 2011 to date. Co-Founder and CEO. One of the oldest crypto exchanges, offers 175 crypto and fiat trading pairs to traders from all over the world.

Kraken Overview

A professional approach to cryptocurrency trading, Kraken has been built with a global audience in mind. The exchange believes in providing the best of services to traders and the top security to keep their funds safe. Unlike many exchanges, Kraken regularly performs a third-party audit that is permanently recorded on blockchain, making it impossible to manipulate the reported data.

Over the years, Kraken has witnessed many hacking attempts. The trading volume, though smaller in comparison to market-leading crypto exchanges, is still significant enough to warrant the attention of malicious parties. The year 2017 was the most successful for the crypto sphere all over the world, spurred by massive launches of different blockchain projects, each offering its own custom token as a medium of value and exchange. The immense increase in value and volume of cryptocurrencies saw Kraken constantly dealing with DDoS attacks through the year, but not once were hackers able to penetrate its defences.

The trading interface is built from the ground up to be simple and intuitive for traders. For the uninitiated, the trading page does seem a bit overwhelming, but the learning curve is not that difficult. People who have had even a small experience in any kind of trading user interfaces will feel themselves immediately at home.

The trading graph is directly in the centre of the screen, showing the trend of the asset value over time. On the right is the detail of the asset. The first tab is on the Market Details, such as the volume of trade, changes in value over the last 24 hours and price. Next to the Market Detail tab is the Order Book that shows the buy and sell orders placed by traders in real time.

Traders will find the option to select their asset and its trading pair on the top left of the page. A drop-down menu can be used to select their preferred cryptocurrency. Kraken offers both crypto-to-crypto and crypto-to-fiat trading pairs. For a complete detail on the trading pairs, traders can check out the dedicated page. Below the asset trading pair selection, users will find the order form area. Traders can place simple orders such as Market and Limit or go for the advanced ones such as Stop Limit.

Under the main graph, traders can view the status of all of their orders. Each status is placed separately in its own tab: open positions, open orders, orders that have been triggered but not executed and finally, orders that have been filled.

How to Create a Kraken Trading Account

Kraken provides users with a secure platform where they can trade digital assets with ease, and without the worry of securing their holdings. To ensure that its traders are genuine and legitimate, anyone wishing to buy and sell cryptocurrencies must first register on the exchange.

The signup is easy and similar to other common exchange signups. First, users must head over to the official Kraken website. Users are advised to ensure that the link they use to go to the Kraken website is the official one. Phishing is a popular method employed by digital thieves who use similar-looking web pages and lure traders to go through signup or login procedures to fool and copy their credentials.

On Kraken’s homepage, there is a Create Account button on the top left that users can click to start the procedure. The first field users will be presented is the email address of the trader. The next field is the username. Unlike some exchanges that employ traders’ email IDs as usernames, Kraken doesn’t. The reasoning by Kraken is privacy and the platform states, “by their nature email addresses are shared with others and thus not private.”

Kraken advises traders to have usernames that are:

• Hard to predict by other people
• A minimum length of 5 characters and a maximum of 32 is allowed. Longer usernames are encouraged.
• Can’t start with the word Kraken
• Not similar to users’ email addresses

After traders have entered a username, they will need to enter their choice of password for the Kraken account. Like the recommendations and requirements for usernames, Kraken has similar ones for user passwords:

• Passwords must be 8 to 128 characters long. The longer, the better.
• Must have at least 1 number and 1 special character.
• Can’t have the username anywhere in it.
• A password less than 15 characters can’t have a common word in it (like names or proper words).
• Passwords are advised to be unique and not be used by the trader on other websites.
• A password manager is recommended to generate a random password that’s hard to guess.

The last field is a drop-down menu that traders can use to select their location. Kraken, although offering services all over the world, has legal/regulatory restrictions in some areas. Countries that aren’t offered Kraken services are Afghanistan, Cuba, Guinea-Bissau, Iran, Iraq, Japan, North Korea, Tajikistan. The services, however, are only restricted geographically. Residents of these countries can sign up to access Kraken trading services if they’re living outside their countries. Some US states also have restricted access. To see the complete list, traders wishing to sign up on the exchange can see it here.

Traders then must agree to the Terms of Services and Privacy Policy of the exchange by selecting the option below. Clicking the Create Account button will start the registration process at the platform’s end.

Kraken will send an activation code to the email entered during the registration process above. Users will need to access their email and either enter the activation code provided or alternatively use the activation link inside the email. Kraken will then ask the user to enter the password they had created. This step is to ensure that only the owner of the email can activate the Kraken trading account. After the password is entered, the trader will need to enter a captcha. This is a second security layer to defeat any bots that hackers attempt to create a trading account. Clicking the Activate Account button below completes and activates the user account.

Verification of Trader & Trading Account Levels

The activation of the trading account gives user access to the Kraken exchange, but still limits the user from making any trades. To start trading, a user will need to verify him or herself. This requires some level of documentation and information.

Kraken basically divides users in three categories, Starter, Intermediate and Pro. To start their verification, users can head over to their profile (their name on the top right of the page) after logging on to their Kraken account. The third option presented is to Get Verified.

Details of the information and documents required for each of the levels are supplied here:

Each level comes with greater services and relaxed limits on asset movement in and out of the exchange. The higher the level, the more benefits a trader has access to. Each level has its own restrictions, outlined below:

Depositing and Withdrawing Funds

With the Kraken account now registered and verified, traders can start funding their accounts in order to buy or sell digital assets. On top of the main trading interface, users will see the Funding button. Clicking it will take them to their fund management page.

The page contains all the information about the different funds available to the trader, along with deposit and withdrawals of each. On the left side of the screen, users will see a large circle with their total balance mentioned (in fiat equivalent) along with the number of assets held. The circle is a round chart that has different colours, representing the ratio of each asset in the trader’s basket. Below the circle, users will be able to view the different accounts they have on the exchange. To help traders, Kraken stores the spot trading and staking funds separately so that traders can have better control on how much of their asset is available for each type.

On the right side of the circle, there is a container that tells the trader of their funding limits. There are two tabs, one of Fiat and the other of Crypto. Each tab has further numerical information below on the limits of daily and monthly deposits and withdrawals, with a line graph showing how much of the limit is consumed.

Another container below the funding limits has the account balances. The first list is of the fiat held by the user, with cryptos detailed below. Normally, only the currencies that are held by the trader are visible, but a selection of Show all assets will enable the user to see all options he or she has. Each asset is represented through their symbol, the asset name, the balance held and the US Dollar equivalent. Next to the information is the option for depositing or withdrawing the assets.

Depositing Funds

Clicking the fiat deposit will take the user to specific instructions for each currency. Depending on the area the user lives and the facilities, the trader may not be able to deposit the fiat using all of the options presented, or might not be able to deposit the currency at all. Normally, each fiat will involve a bank, wire or a SWIFT transfer. Only the residents of Canada have the option to deposit CAD in person. Users are also charged for deposits. This is a fee that’s charged by Kraken and doesn’t include any fee incurred by the bank or the transferring agency.

Deposit methods (with minimum amounts), Kraken charges, and time required are as follows:

USD Deposit Options

EURO Deposits Options

AUD Deposit Options

British Pound Deposit Options

Swiss Franc Deposits Options

Japanese Yen Deposit Options

Crypto Deposit Options

On using the deposit option for cryptocurrencies, traders will be provided with their unique wallet address. The long string of characters is the public key that traders can use as the recipient account number in order to transfer cryptos from a wallet to the Kraken account. Each cryptocurrency has its own unique network and the public keys are one of a kind. Care should be taken to ensure that the wallet public key is for the same cryptocurrency being deposited. Entering another network’s key (or the wrong key, for that matter) may result in the loss of funds.

Like fiat, cryptocurrencies are subject to a minimum deposit and a Kraken deposit fee. To see the supported cryptocurrencies, their minimum deposits and Kraken fee, check out the complete list here.

All first-time deposits by traders will be subject to a 72-hour withdrawal hold. Although users will be able to start trading as soon as the funds are released into their Kraken accounts, they will not be able to withdraw as a security method. Once the wait period is over, traders would be able to instantly withdraw. However, deposits made from high-risk banks might be subject to the withdrawal wait even afterwards.

Withdrawing Funds

Next to the deposit option on the fund management page is the withdrawal option. Clicking ‘withdraw’ on the preferred currency will take the trader to the specific page where all the options available to him are presented. In case of fiat, the trader will be given the banking channels that are available according to the fiat and the location of the trader. A user can request a withdrawal option that suits him or her and enter the amount of money to be sent. Withdrawals are in the form of bank or wire transfers only. Cards and cash of all kinds are not supported at all.

Like deposits, each fiat is subject to a minimum withdrawal, Kraken fee and an estimated processing time. See the complete list of all options for fiat and their fees here.

Cryptocurrencies also carry a withdrawal fee and a minimum amount that can be moved off the exchange. The complete list is available here.

Making Trades on Kraken

When users have verified and funded their Kraken accounts, they can start trading immediately. After users have logged into their accounts, they will be taken to the trading interface. The interface is designed to be very user friendly, with all the information placed in separate containers. Each container is customisable to allow users to tweak the display in a way that they’re most comfortable with.

Trading Graph

The default settings will let users see the trading graph in the middle of the screen, with a traditional Japanese candlestick graph in one-hour time intervals. The green colour sticks represent an hour where the closing price was higher than the opening one, while a red one would mean that the closing price was lower than the opening. A line above the stick (called the head) would show where the maximum price was during that time interval, whereas a tail would show the lowest price had touched.

The graph allows traders to see the trend of the asset they are interested in buying and selling. The time interval is customisable, from one minute up to one month. This allows traders to see the trend of the asset value in different time scales, enabling them to make decisions on when to trade.

Asset Details

Market Details are on the right side of the graph. These include the type of instrument, the total volume of the asset traded on the exchange, current price and other information such as interest and any premium (in case of derivatives). A tab next to the Market Detail or the Orderbook will give an overview of all the buy and sell orders placed on the exchange of the selected asset. This can help the trader in determining the liquidity and market sway.

Below this container, the trader has another one that gives the trade history of the user and the amount held in each pair wallet through two different tabs.

Order History

At the bottom of the screen, below the trading graph, users will see all of their orders placed separately in different tabs. This container includes orders that were filled, any orders that have been triggered but not executed, open orders that are in the order book and if using derivatives, any open positions.

Order Placing

On the left side of the screen, users will find the container with the order forms. The order form is used to define and place buy or sell orders.

How to Place an Order on Kraken

The order container is where traders must head on the main interface to place, and buy and sell orders. Before a user places an order, he or she must select the correct trading pair by selecting it from right above the order container.

When the correct pair has been selected, the whole interface will start displaying data on that particular pair in all the containers, the graph, market details, order books, history, etc. The user can now place a buy or a sell order. Kraken gives traders the option to place simple and complex buy or sell orders, offering a flexibility for novice and professional traders on the same page. The basic spot trading allows traders to place six different types of orders (both buy and sell).

Market Order

A market order is just what it sounds like. The order placed would be on the asset’s value in the market at the moment. The order is executed immediately, without any delay. The trader will only need to enter the amount of cryptocurrency he or she needs to buy (or sell) and press either the Buy or Sell button at the bottom of the container. To make it easy for traders to identify the buttons, the Buy is green and the Sell is red.

In case of a buy order, the quantity entered by the trader can’t exceed the amount of the base asset (for example a user that has $500 USD in the Kraken account, the trader can’t place a buy order for a value of BTC greater than $500 in a BTC/USD trade). Similarly, if the trader wishes to sell, the asset value entered can’t be greater than that being held.

Market order is for traders who are comfortable with the current market price and don’t want to wait for the trade to execute.

Limit Order

Limit Orders are for traders who want a better price for the trade than the one currently in the market. This can be helpful for traders who believe that there’ll be a shift in the market and they can either buy or sell the asset at lower or a higher value to generate profit.

Unlike the market order, where only the amount of asset being bought or sold is entered, this order opens up another field, where the trader can enter the value of the asset at which he or she wishes to trade.

For example, assume that in a BTC/USD trade, BTC is being traded at $9,500 and the trader is sure that there will be a slight dip in the value, with BTC touching just below $9,400. The trader can use the first field in the order to enter the amount of BTC to be bought, with the second field to enter at whatever the desired price the asset should be bought at. Let’s assume the trader had entered $9,380.

On pressing the Buy button, the order will be open and placed in the order book. Only when will there be a selling order matching with the user’s requested price, will it be executed. This gives users the ability to set the price at which they are comfortable and buy assets at lower prices. Similarly, if the user wishes to sell an order at a better price, the Limit Order of sell can be used. This time, instead of setting a lower price, the user can enter a higher price than the market one. As same as the buy version, the order will be placed in the order book and only executed if a buyer is willing to part with his funds for the requested value.

Users have to keep in mind that the Limit orders can be executed partially in case the matching buy or sell order for their asset is in a lesser quantity than they desire. Traders will have the option to cancel the order if it is partially filled. However, the portion that is filled won’t be cancelled or reversed.

Stop Loss Order

Stop Loss Orders are designed to reduce the exposure of losses in case an asset falls in value. Basically the order is executed at a price that the trader is willing to bear. Available in the advanced tab, the order has three fields that the user needs to fill to start.

The first is the volume field, where the user enters the amount of crypto he or she is willing to part with in the case that the price starts to drop. The second is the Stop Loss. This is the trigger price of the asset that should be in the market when the crypto should be sold off. The value entered can be either in terms of the base asset of the trading pair or the percentage. The third field, the Stop Price is the actual price of the asset that should be entered in the order book.

You can see here in the example screenshot that the Stop Loss amount is set at $11000.01 USD per BTC. Maybe you bought previously at $10,000 USD per BTC and saw the jump above $11,000 and you want to protect your $1,000 gain.

The Stop Loss Order can also be used as a buy order to protect against rising price of assets. In that case, the stop price should be above the current market price.

Take Profit Order

Limit Orders, where the exchange guarantees that the trade will be executed at the price desired by the user, has the shortcoming of being partially filled. This can be problematic for some traders. To counter this partial order fulfilment, Kraken allows users to place a Take Profit Order. This type of order is very similar to the way a Limit Order works, but with one little difference that the order is completely filled, acting like a market order.

In the advanced tab, users can select the Take Profit Order to start it. In case of a sell order, the user must enter the amount of asset he wishes to sell in the first field. In the Profit Price field, the trader can enter the amount of profit he or she is comfortable with. This can be entered as a value of the base asset or a percentage. The next field is the total base asset the user wants to commit to the trade.

Once the trade is opened, it will only be executed if there is a buy order that matches and allows the seller’s order to be executed completely. There is a catch, however. Acting as a market order at the profit level, the trade will incur a taker fee, not a maker fee.

The Take Profit Order can also be used to buy assets at lower prices in the same way. The user needs to place the order as a buy with a lower value in the Profit Price field.

Stop Loss Limit Order

The Stop Loss Limit Order is basically a combination of two different types of orders: the Stop Loss and Limit Order. To start this order and place in the order book, two different values must be entered. The first is the Stop Price, which determines when the order is to be executed. When the last traded value in the order book touches this, the order is triggered. The Limit Price is the value at which the trader wants the order to be executed.

The user must enter the amount of crypto he is willing to sell in case of a price drop, the stop price and the limit price in the order. Normally, a Stop Loss Limit Order is considered as a maker and the relevant maker fee is incurred. A taker fee can be charged, but only if the order is executed immediately.

Take Profit Limit Order

Just like the Stop Limit Order, a user can take advantage of Kraken’s offering of a combination of Take Profit and Limit Order to trade at a profit. In this order, the trader needs to enter the volume of the asset being sold or bought. The profit price, which is the trigger value of the asset in the market. Only when an order in the book is executed at the profit price, the Take Profit Limit Order is placed.

The third field is of the Limit Price. This is the value of the order at which the user prefers his or her order to be filled. Both the profit price and the limit price can be placed either as a percentage or an absolute value of the base asset.

Advanced Trading at Kraken

Kraken provides its global users with the ability to trade using the basic methods of spot trading or for traders who want to gain more profits, advanced trading features. Kraken offers multiple markets:

Margin Trading

Margin trading is designed to give traders a chance to drastically increase their profit earnings from trading by giving them access to more complex strategies. Margin trading basically allows traders to open positions that are greater than the value of their funds, allowing them to make profits and pay off a small commission fee to the fund provider. Margin trading offers the following advantages to traders:

• Leverage: Users can leverage positions up to five times of their funds. This means users can trade with values that are greater than five times their holdings of that asset or base.
• Lower Fee: Rollover fees are reduced to up to 02% for every four hour cycle.
• Increased Margin Limits: Traders can use up to $500,000 USD in margin limits, subject to eligibility.
• Pro Interface: Advanced trading requires advanced tools. Margin trading gives a professional trading interface with all the information displayed that an advanced trader might need.
• Advanced API Access: The complex margin trading means that simple API access doesn’t meet the requirements of the user. Margin traders gain access to advanced API to allow them to manage their positions with ease.

Futures

Many traders enter a futures contract, where they commit to buy or sell an asset or cryptocurrency at a future date on a fixed price that is determined at the time of the contract. Riskier than other forms of trading, this allows users who have done their research properly to cash in on profits that otherwise they would not be able to access.

• Hedge Risk: A combination of a future contract and a specialised short futures on the asset at the same time means that if trader prediction goes wrong, the short can close the position and hedge against any risks of loss of assets.
• Lower Volatility: Futures allow for users to trade in longer terms than spot and over time, the effect of volatility is lowered. The lowered exposure to price fluctuations means that traders can focus on what they do and worry less about losses.
• FCA Verified: Kraken is registered with UK’s Financial Conduct Authority and has a license to operate Futures Contract. Compliance with regulators means that traders have the security of being offered valid futures contracts.

Over The Counter

Like any asset, the value of cryptocurrencies depend a lot on the supply and demand. Any increase in supply will cause the price to drop and a surge in demand will cause the value to rise. For large players, this presents a unique challenge as they prefer to trade in large volumes, but do not want to affect the market price. A large buy order can preemptively cause the price to increase on the exchanges, causing loss to the trader and vise versa.

To ensure that large-volume traders are able to perform trades without the worry of undue market manipulation and still retain the liquidity they need, Kraken offers an Over-The-Counter (OTC) trading desk.

The trades made here are not in the main order books and therefore, the market can operate without the influence of the huge volumes of cryptocurrencies exchanging hands. Kraken’s OTC offers a number of benefits to big traders, including:

• Deep Insight: Financial experts with experience in different renowned institutions are ready to give traders the insight they need to make their trades.
• All Assets Supported: Kraken OTC gives large-volume traders support for all listed fiat and cryptocurrencies.
• Individual Support: A complete walkthrough of the whole trade is done by trained experts who are available at every step of the way, providing consultation and advice.
• World Wide Coverage: OTC support is available to users from Europe, Asia, and the Americas with a 24/7 service.

Kraken Trading Fee

Kraken has an industry standard maker-taker fee that utilises a volume-based model for its trading fee. The way it’s designed, Kraken encourages users to do more and more trade as higher trading will result in a lower fee on the trades. Kraken calculates the last 30 days’ trading volume of the user to determine the fee:

Kraken, however has a different fee schedule for fiat to stable coin trading pairs (e.g. EUR/USDT):

The Maker fee is incurred when traders open orders that add liquidity to the order book. Any order that is placed and isn’t immediately executed, becomes an addition in the order book and brings liquidity. In simpler terms, any order that isn’t executed and becomes the asking price is a maker, and in case the order is executed, the maker fee applies.

For trades that are immediately executed because a matching sell or buy order is in the order book, it becomes the taker since it takes what is available and a taker fee incurs.

Locations Served by Kraken

Kraken is a global crypto exchange that offers trading services to people from all over the world. Yet, it has restrictions on different geographical locations and countries due to regulatory and legal requirements. Currently, Kraken is not available in the following countries:

• Afghanistan
• Cuba
• Guinea-Bissau
• Iran
• Iraq
• Japan
• North Korea
• Tajikistan

Kraken does seem to understand that even with the restrictions, there are people who originate from the above mentioned countries, but aren’t living there. During the verification process, if individuals are able to prove that they are residing in supported countries, they can open trading accounts in the exchange.

Limitations in the United States

Although Kraken does cover the US and its citizens, due to high cost in some US states for maintaining regulatory compliance, Kraken has to make feasibility decisions. Currently, Kraken doesn’t comply with the state of Washington and New York and therefore, residents of these states aren’t allowed trade on Kraken.

Kraken expanded to the US states noted as a result of the acquisition.

Also, due to regulations, traders from the states of New Hampshire and Texas cannot deposit, hold or trade on Kraken in Euro pairs.

Trading on Kraken with APIs

Application Program Interface, or API, is a tool that can be used to connect with different platforms and access them remotely in a new interface so that the user can interact with it. APIs are very popular in the crypto trading sphere as they allow users to connect to their exchange without the need of actually accessing the exchange through the regular browser. Through APIs, users are limiting their exposure to hackers and phishing attacks. Plus, APIs also allow the users to see the correct information without being distracted by all the other information displayed on the exchange.

There are many different APIs available online that can be used to remotely connect with Kraken accounts. For any API, certain keys are needed to authenticate the connection securely.

API Key Creation

To create the API keys, users need to log in to their Kraken account first. On the upper-right corner, users will see their name. Clicking on it will make a drop-down menu appear. Users will need to select the Settings option. More options will be presented to the user and under the API Panel, users can go to the Create Key tab. Users will then be given two options on creating their API keys.

General API

Users have the option to give three kinds of permissions to the API:

• No Access: Selecting this option means that the API will not have any kind of access generically. This option is selected if the user only wants to create special keys to withdraw assets.
• Read Only: This type of permission allows the user to access and view the information and status of the trading account and its balances. The API will not have the permission to perform any other action.
• Full Access: This option gives the trader complete access to all of his or her account through the API, including the ability to perform trades. However, this option still doesn’t give the trader the ability to withdraw funds.

Withdrawal API

This API key is designed specifically to create the option for a trader to withdraw assets from the Kraken trading account. This key option is kept separate from the other ones as a security point.

When the trader has selected the preferred access option, the user can press the Create Key button below. Kraken will show the user the API public key and the Private key. Both of these keys need to be entered in the preferred API of the trader to access the Kraken account remotely.

Users are advised to record the keys and note them down securely. The keys are only shown once and after the user dismisses the keys, they won’t be available to be viewed again. In case the keys are lost or recorded incorrectly, the user will need to delete the keys and create new ones.

As in all data that can lead to access of funds, users are advised not to share their keys with anyone. Depending on the level of the user account, multiple keys can be created with different levels of data access.

Trading on the Go: Kraken Mobile App

One of the strangest crypto exchange mobile decisions in modern times, Kraken offers a mobile app for traders that is basically an in-house mobile-based API. Users of both Android and iOS can download the application. When getting ready to login from these apps, they’ll be faced, not with an interface asking for them to enter their login credentials and password, but the API public and private key.

Fortunately, our previous section just covered how to create API keys so readers of this guide shouldn’t have any problem in creating their keys and entering those in the Kraken app.

There are basically two different versions of the Kraken mobile app:

Kraken Pro

Kraken Pro basically gives traders all of the functionality of Kraken in their palms. Users can login on the Kraken Pro mobile app and buy, sell or withdraw their crypto assets. The Android version of Kraken Pro has been downloaded more than 100,000 times and holds an impressive 4.6 star rating. However, the rating comes from only 2,136 reviews. The iOS version holds a 4.7 rating from 438 reviews.

In each case, there are limitations to the mobile app. Since users access their accounts using API keys, if a user sets up a general API, the trader will not be able to withdraw funds as this requires a separate key. Users will be forced to enter the withdrawal key, transfer their funds out and then login again from the general key that allows trading functionality to be able to make trades again. Since the APIs are used, users do not have the option to fund their accounts at all.

To get the full functionality and experience of Kraken trading, the exchange simply guides users to the mobile-friendly website instead.

Kraken Futures

Kraken has a dedicated mobile app version for advanced traders who use the Futures Contracts. With higher-leveraged trades, the app allows traders faster trading by allowing them to close contracts with just a couple of taps. Futures traders are also given support 24/7 with a dedicated team of Client Engagement specialists.

The Android version of the app has a lower rating than its Pro counterpart (only 3.3). The negative reviews that led to a lower rating mostly reported connectivity issues and problems syncing with the exchange. The iOS version, at first glance, seems to be doing better with a full five-star rating, but with only six reviews, it is highly doubtful that it is that good.

Kraken continues its strange ways of how users login to its exchange through its mobile apps. This time, instead of using API keys, users need to first login to their account through a computer or a laptop and head over to the settings option. Users will find a Mobile Token tab under the settings management. In it, they can request for a mobile token. Kraken will generate a QR code that needs to be scanned by the Kraken Futures app to verify the user and allow the trader to conduct futures contracts through their mobile.

Kraken Security and Controversies

Kraken was born when its founder, Jesse Powell, realised that the Mt. Gox hack would eventually lead to the exchange closing down and that there’d be a large gap in the market that would need to be fulfilled. To ensure that Kraken would never face the same fate as the ill-fated Mt. Gox, Kraken team spent two years testing the exchange before it was confident enough that it was robust enough to withstand hacks and other digital attacks. To date, there has never been a breach in the exchange’s security, a testament to its dedication of funds protection.

The New York Attorney General’s office held an inquiry in 2018 in regards to market manipulation on a number of crypto exchanges, including Kraken. Powell refused to cooperate with the investigation, stating that the investigation was in the wrong spirit and was bad for cryptocurrency exchanges. Kraken has been reported in the final report to be in violation of New York’s virtual currency regulations. But, Kraken does not offer its trading services to residents of New York, so this has not much effect on the exchange’s business.

Token Listing

Kraken normally has a dedicated team that keeps an eye out for crypto tokens and projects that it deems feasible to be listed on the exchange. If they do and the project meets the requirements set by the exchange, Kraken reaches out to the developer team.

If a blockchain project believes that it has the right mix of elements to be the next big thing and hasn’t been noticed by Kraken, the team can always reach out to the exchange to be listed. Kraken encourages projects to provide all documentation such as a whitepaper and other information like team members, the current state of the project, etc., to make the application stronger.

The Kraken team will scrutinise each application individually and may ask for further information. If the project fulfills the requirements, the exchange may list it.

Customer Service

Kraken offers its users an enriched customer service experience with a round-the-clock dedicated team of professionals who are ready to solve any issues faced by the platform’s traders.

The exchange has a whole section of its website dedicated to hundreds of articles that help users, from the experienced to the novice, to solve their issues. A live webchat on the bottom right of each page is also available for users to chat directly with the exchange’s support staff. Users can, alternatively, place a request for any issue they are facing and the exchange team will investigate it.

For OTC traders, there is a special team of customer service agents who act as personalised trading consultants, helping and guiding traders through every step of the process, giving a pleasant, custom experience.

Regulatory Compliance

The Kraken exchange is basically a US-based trading platform, allowing people from all over the world to buy, sell, and trade cryptocurrencies. To facilitate its users, Kraken has compliances and licenses from different legal entities from different countries:

• US: Registered with FinCEN, under registration number 31000136371793.
• Canada: Registered under the name Kraken Futures (CryptoFacilities) the Canadian FINTRAC (registration number M19343731).
• United Kingdom: Regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). For reference, see FCA number 757895.
• Australia: Registered under the name Bit Trade Pty Limited, Kraken is regulated under the classification of a Digital Currency Exchange by the Australian Transaction and Analysis Centre, ABN: 42163237634 and ACN: 163237634

Kraken has a detailed Privacy Notice that covers how it will collect information on its users and will present it to legal authorities if requested or if the exchange itself believes that some foul play is happening. The notice also explains how it will securely store users’ personal data in order to ensure that it is safeguarded.

Proof of Reserves

Kraken is one of the few exchanges that is open about the activities happening on the platform. It has a third-party financial audit, including how user funds are handled. This Proof of Reserves Audit includes information on the retained cryptos too. The audit is a cryptographic verified one, making it impossible to manipulate or edit the data of the auditing firm. The audit results are also made public so that anyone can view them.

Offices

Kraken is a worldwide crypto exchange. In order to assist its users and law enforcing agencies from around the world, the exchange has several offices located in different geographic locations:

• US: 237 Kearny St #102, San Francisco, California (Headquarters)
• Japan: 9-3 Nibanchō, Chiyoda City.
• Singapore: 8 Temasek Blvd.
• United Kingdom: One London Wall, Barbican, London.

Cryptocurrencies Listed and Trading Pairs

A trading pair consists of two currencies. The first one is the asset that is bought or sold, with the second currency being the used as the base in which the first currency’s value is quoted in. For example, an ETH/EUR trading pair would allow a user to sell and buy Ethereum using Euros.

Unlike many exchanges, Kraken not only deals in crypto-to-crypto and crypto-to-fiat trading pairs, but also has fiat-to-fiat pairs like a regular ForEx. Kraken supports the following currencies:

• Cryptocurrencies: Algorand, Augur, Basic Attention Token, Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Cardano, Chainlink, Compound, Cosmos, Dash, Dai, Dogecoin, EOS, Ethereum, Ethereum Classic, Gnosis, ICON, Kava, Kyber Network, Lisk, Litecoin, Watermelon, Monero, Nano, OmiseGO, Orchid, PAX Gold, QTUM, Ripple, Siacoin, Stellar Lumens, Storj, Tether, Tezos, Tron, USD Coin, Waves and Zcash.
• Fiat: US Dollar, Euro, Canadian Dollar, Japanese Yen, British Pound, Swiss Franc and Australian Dollar..

Not all currencies are traded against every base pair offered on Kraken. For complete details regarding what trading pairs are available for a certain cryptocurrencies or fiat, visit the exchange’s website and view the complete list.

Conclusion

Kraken is an excellent exchange for people wishing to trade cryptocurrencies. The exchange offers a wide variety of cryptocurrencies against both crypto-to-crypto and crypto-to-fiat trading pairs. Kraken also offers fiat-to-fiat pairs. This gives users a lot of opportunities in terms of trading and making profit.

The exchange has an excellent history of security and has never been hacked. It also offers multiple layers of security at the user end, such as Two-Factor Authentication and Google Authenticator. The robust system, cold storage for most cryptocurrencies and dedicated team of security experts makes it one of the best exchanges in the world.

Kraken, however, isn’t for everyone. The exchange, although marketed as an exchange that has one of the lowest trading fees, offers these extremely low rates for high-volume traders, essentially cutting off small traders from the attractive rates.

A regulatory-compliant exchange, it has registered several registrations all over the world. However, the New York Attorney General investigation issue is a separate case where Jesse Powell, the founder and CEO of Kraken refused to cooperate with the investigation of market manipulation. The exchange is, however, open about the financial dealings and publishes an independent audit report.

Overall, it is worth trading on Kraken if a user is comfortable with the rates and the trading pairs offered. In the end, users are advised to be careful when it comes to trading cryptocurrencies. The digital assets are volatile in nature and sharp upshifts or down shifts in value is an expected norm. Invested money can lead to irrecoverable losses. Only invest an amount of money you’d be comfortable never seeing again.