Kraken is one of the best cryptocurrency exchanges operating in Canada today. Founded in San Francisco in 2011, Kraken has a number of features users love, including an excellent mobile app and top-notch security.
Kraken also charges the lowest fees of any crypto exchange in Canada, which makes it an excellent choice for Canadian crypto investors. If you're looking to buy Bitcoin or any of the other 100+ cryptocurrencies Kraken supports, Kraken is a great way to do it.
What Is Kraken?
Founded in 2011 in San Francisco, Kraken is one of the most trusted cryptocurrency exchanges in the world. With over 9 million customers and $200 billion in quarterly trading volume, Kraken offers a wide range of features, including:
- A secure trading platform:Â Kraken uses industry-leading security measures to protect its users' funds. Kraken is also insured by Lloyd's of London for up to $100 million.
- Deep liquidity:Â Kraken has deep liquidity, which means there's always plenty of buyers and sellers trading on Kraken. This makes it easy to buy and sell cryptocurrencies at competitive prices, and keeps spreads to an absolute minimum.
- A wide range of cryptocurrencies:Â Kraken supports over 100 cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and Dogecoin. Kraken also offers trading pairs for a variety of fiat currencies, including CAD, USD, EUR, and GBP.
- 24/7 customer support:Â Kraken offers 24/7 customer support via live chat, phone, and email. This makes it easy to get help if you have any problems with the exchange.
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.
Kraken also has a social media presence, so you can contact them 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 100 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, with transaction fees that are just 0% to 0.26% per trade. Depositing and withdrawing money is free, too, making Kraken significantly cheaper than any other Canadian exchange.
However, keep in mind that you'll incur a 3.75% fee for credit card purchases, and a 1.5% fee for ACH crypto purchases.
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.
Kraken FAQs
How can I withdraw money from Kraken?
Withdrawing funds from Kraken is just like with other exchanges like VirgoCX, Bitbuy or CoinSmart. You just need to follow these steps:
- Sign in to your Kraken account.
- Click Funding and then Withdraw..
- Select the currency you want to withdraw, choose a Funding Provider, and request your withdrawal.
- Select a bank account from the drop-down menu.
- Enter the amount of currency you want to withdraw and click Review Withdrawal.
- Click Confirm Withdrawal.
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 Wealthsimple 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 $100 million in insurance on user funds.
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?
No, Kraken does not offer its users referral codes. Here's a list of crypto signup bonuses in Canada, though you won't find Kraken on that list.
Does Kraken report to the CRA?
No, Kraken does not report to the CRA. Since Kraken is a U.S.-based crypto exchange, it is not required to report its transactions to the CRA.
