Kraken is a San Francisco-based cryptocurrency exchange and bank that was founded in 2011 and enables you to trade fiat currencies (such as USD or CAD) for cryptocurrencies and vice-versa. However, there are a few significant disadvantages to using Kraken if you're a Canadian citizen, such as having to follow the IRS‘s strict rules instead of the CRA‘s and needing numerous levels of ID verification that could make your account take days to be created.
CoinSmart is the favourite among knowledgeable Canadian crypto investors, both for its high level of security and for its ease of use. It also has extremely low trading fees, so if you're looking for a secure, cost-effective way to buy and sell crypto in Canada with a $50 signup bonus (available until May 30, 2023), I can't recommend CoinSmart highly enough.
What Is Kraken?
Kraken is a cryptocurrency exchange and bank that was founded in 2011. It's based in the U.S. (specifically San Francisco), and the exchange allows you to trade fiat currencies (such as CAD or USD) for cryptocurrencies and vice-versa. It also allows you to trade some cryptocurrencies for others.
The exchange provides digital asset price information to the Bloomberg Terminal and is available everywhere in the world except for Cuba, Iran, and North Korea, making it one of the most widely supported crypto exchanges worldwide.
Kraken Features
1. Simple User Interface
The Kraken platform has a simple and user-friendly interface. It's more concerned with the needs of newcomers to the cryptocurrency market and offers them a simplified and approachable trading frontend.
Even if you haven't had any experience as a crypto investor, you'll still find Kraken's platform to be extremely easy to use, and it'll allow you to trade between cryptocurrencies in very few clicks.
2. Kraken Crypto Watch
Kraken also has its Crypto Watch feature, which allows you to easily keep track of the digital currency market and execute trades when the timing is right.
With this feature, you can create price and volume alerts to grab your attention when it's needed, analyze any crypto market with Kraken's growing library of data visualizations, and make trades on crypto markets via multiple exchanges, whether it's on desktop or through the Kraken mobile app.
3. Kraken Customer Support
Kraken has a wealth of information on its website, and it provides customer service in many ways, including email, phone, through their Support Center, and 24/7 live chat.
Also, keep in mind that Kraken has a social media presence, so you can contact the firm through various social networking sites such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
Cryptocurrencies on Kraken
Kraken has a very wide array of supported cryptocurrencies, supporting over 93 different digital assets. These include:
| Bitcoin (BTC) | Moonriver (MOVR) |
| Bitcoin Cash (BCH) | PAX Gold (PAXG) |
| Ethereum (ETH) | Polkadot (DOT) |
| Ethereum Classic (ETC) | Ripple (XRP) |
| Cardano (ADA) | Shiba Inu (SHIB) |
| Dogecoin (DOGE) | Solana (SOL) |
| Chainlink (LINK) | USD Coin (USDC) |
| Balancer (BAL) | Yearn Finance (YFI) |
| Axie Infinity (AXS) | Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) |
| Aave (AAVE) | Uniswap (UNI) |
| Curve (CRV) | Badger DAO (BADGER) |
| Compound (COMP) | Algorand (ALGO) |
| Kyber Network (KNC) | Basic Attention Token (BAT) |
| Litecoin (LTC) | Decentraland (MANA) |
| Monero (XMR) | EOS (EOS) |
Kraken Fees
Kraken has very low fees, often having trading rates that go between 0% to 0.26% per trade. However, keep in mind that you'll incur a 3.75% + €0.25 for crypto credit card purchases, and you'll also incur a 0.5% plus 0.9% or 1.5% for ACH crypto purchases.
Our Recommendation
Despite its many advantages, there are a few serious drawbacks to Kraken. For instance, Kraken is based in the U.S., so if you're a Canadian user, you'll have to comply with the strict regulations of the IRS instead of the CRA. It also requires several levels of ID verification, which can take days to get verified.
For these reasons, I can't really recommend using Kraken. Instead, I would suggest that you take a look at CoinSmart, our top crypto exchange in Canada. Here are a few of the reasons I recommend it over Kraken.
Introducing CoinSmart: Our #1-Rated Crypto Exchange In Canada
#2 In Canada
|
Trading Fees: 0% |
★★★★★ Rated 4.7/5 |
VirgoCX offers 50+ cryptocurrencies, charges zero trading fees, and only charges spread between 0.5% – 0.95%, making it a cost-effective exchange.
VirgoCX’s trading platform and mobile app are intuitive and easy to use, even for beginners. It offers 24/7 customer support via live chat and email, plus an extensive FAQ section on its site.
VirgoCX charges no deposit or withdrawal fees on fiat and covers the first $6 in mining fees on ERC20 withdrawals. It requires 2-factor authentication on all accounts and maintains a 95% cold storage policy to keep your assets safe at all times.
As a new VirgoCX user, you'll receive a $20 bonus upon funding your account, which you can use to buy Bitcoin, Ethereum, or any of the dozens of assets VirgoCX supports.
If maximizing your investment potential is important to you, VirgoCX is a great choice.
Features
- Lowest fees in all of Canada
- Supports 50+ cryptocurrencies
- Free fiat deposits and withdrawals
- Free deposits and withdrawals on most cryptocurrencies
- 24/7 support available via live chat and email
- User-friendly for both beginners and more advanced traders
- 95% cold storage policy keeps your crypto extra secure
Cost
- Account Opening: Free
- Cash Deposits: Free
- Cash Withdrawals: Free
- Crypto Deposits: Free
- Crypto Withdrawals: Free for all major coins
- Spreads on trades: 0.5% – 0.95%
Signup Bonus
$20 when you fund your account with $100 or more using this link.
Best For
Investors looking for the lowest fees in Canada.
In Summary
Kraken is a San Francisco-based cryptocurrency exchange and bank that was founded in 2011 and allows you to trade fiat currencies (such as CAD or USD) for cryptocurrencies and vice-versa. However, the exchange has a few serious drawbacks if you're a Canadian, such as having to comply with the strict regulations of the IRS instead of the CRA and requiring several layers of ID verification, which can make account creation take days to happen.
CoinSmart is the favourite among knowledgeable Canadian crypto investors, both for its high level of security and for its ease of use. It also has extremely low trading fees, so if you're looking for a secure, cost-effective way to buy and sell crypto in Canada with a $50 signup bonus (available until May 30, 2023), I can't recommend CoinSmart highly enough.
Kraken FAQs
How to withdraw from Kraken?
Withdrawing funds from Kraken is just like with other exchanges like VirgoCX, Bitbuy or CoinSmart. You only have to follow these steps:
- Sign in to your Kraken account.
- Click on the “Funding” tab.
- Click the “Withdraw” option.
- Use the search bar to find the currency you want to withdraw.
- Choose a Funding Provider from the drop-down menu.
- Request a withdrawal.
- Select a bank account from the drop-down menu.
- Enter the amount of currency you want to withdraw and click on the “Review Withdrawal” option.
- Double-check that the details are correct.
- Click on the “Confirm Withdrawal” option.
Is Kraken safe?
Yes, Kraken is a safe and reliable crypto exchange. Like other exchanges we've reviewed, including Newton, Shakepay, VirgoCX, Bitbuy, CoinSmart and even Wealthsimpre Crypto, Kraken has never been hacked, unlike other big names like Binance, which has been hacked several times. Kraken also provides various levels of protection for its users, including 2-factor authentication and a Masterkey level of security.
Is Kraken legal in Canada?
Yes, Kraken is legal to use in Canada. However, even though the exchange is legal to use in Canada, do keep in mind that Canadian crypto users cannot trade Ethereum tokens that have been staked for Ethereum 2.0, and crypto futures trades are banned for Ontario users.
Does Kraken have a referral code?
Unfortunately, there aren't any Kraken referral codes available at this time.
Does Kraken report to the CRA?
No. Since Kraken is a U.S.-based crypto exchange, it reports large financial transactions to the IRS, which has stricter regulations compared to the CRA.
