Kraken vs. Coinbase

If you’ve looked for cryptocurrency exchanges online, you probably came across Kraken and Coinbase. The world of trading is pretty vast, yet only a few platforms stand above all the others thanks to their amazing features and great security. But when you want to choose a crypto exchange platform for future use, it can be quite tricky if you don’t know what they offer.

So, if you were struggling to pick between Kraken vs. Coinbase, we’re here to help: this article will tell you everything you need to know.

Difference Between Kraken and Coinbase

Coinbase and Kraken are known all over the world. They are some of the most popular crypto exchange platforms, and they both allow you to use fiat money to purchase different currencies.

What’s more, they are suitable for both beginner investors and experienced ones. Coinbase is mainly appreciated in the United States by new investors because the exchange caters to U.S. investors. Meanwhile, traders like Kraken thanks to its high trading limits and low fees.

Both platforms are known to offer 24/7 customer service, as well as mobile apps and many other benefits. For this reason, they were able to gather large audiences that are now loyal to them. Both of them have features that appeal to different types of investors, but each one of them is unique, so let’s see what differentiates them.

What Is Kraken?

Kraken is a cryptocurrency exchange platform – one of the more established ones on the market. It was launched only two years after Bitcoin saw the light of the day. Everything started when Jesse Powell went to Mt. Gox offices after they dealt with a security breach in 2011. Then, he started developing Kraken to replace Mt. Gox in case the exchange closes permanently. This happened in 2014.

Kraken launched earlier than 2014, though, being established in July 2013. It is based in San Francisco, and over the years, it was able to grow a large and loyal community around it. Some of the currencies offered by it include Bitcoin and Ethereum.

What Is Coinbase?

Coinbase is one of the leading cryptocurrency exchanges in the United States. It was launched in 2012 and it is fully regulated and licensed. At first, Bitcoin was the only tradable cryptocurrency on the platform, but later, things changed and the owners added more currencies to give people more opportunities in terms of trading. That is how the platform started including cryptos like Litecoin, Ethereum, XRP, Bitcoin Cash, and many others.

Coinbase is known for having a wallet for retail investors, as well as custodial accounts for institutions, a great trading platform, and its own U.S. dollar stablecoin.

What’s the Difference?

Kraken has been around for just a bit longer than Coinbase, mainly because it was in development one year earlier.

When it comes to ease of use, Kraken may take a bit longer for newcomers. It has a lot of security measures that can be challenging for anyone looking to start trading quickly. Coinbase, on the other hand, has a much faster startup process and is simpler to use.

The two also have different maximum trading amounts, with Coinbase requiring $25,000 and Kraken requiring $100,000. Kraken also supports more cryptocurrencies than Coinbase. Kraken has low fees, whereas Coinbase has high fees.

Features Comparison

In terms of features, both platforms are amazing. They do have a few differences, though.

For example, Kraken is available in 176 countries, whereas Coinbase can be used in a bit over 100. Based on the investor’s location, both platforms offer different functions. Also, Kraken is not available in Washington and New York, while Coinbase is unavailable for people in Hawaii.

Coinbase offers margin trading, which has only been added at the start of 2020. It has limited availability at three-times leverage too. Kraken also offers margin trading, but with up to five times leverage. This is the industry average.

The platforms have mobile apps as well, and they offer the same features as the web browser does. The downside is that the Kraken app is unavailable in about 7 countries, two of them being the U.S. and Japan.

When it comes to customer service, both platforms are great. They offer support via live chat at all times, but availability decreases when the traffic is higher.

Currencies

Kraken offers 56 cryptocurrencies, while Coinbase only 50. Meanwhile, both platforms support fiat currencies like GBP, USD, CAD, EUR, CHF, JPY, and AUD. Although Kraken has a larger selection, the two platforms have different cryptocurrencies available, so it is important to make sure you check both exchanges if you want something specific.

Some of the most popular cryptos available on both platforms are Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, and of course, Bitcoin.

Security

Both Kraken and Coinbase want to make sure their users are safe, so several safety measures have been added. 95% of Kraken’s assets are stored in guarded air-gapped cold storage, with the staff performing regular tests to ensure things are safe at all times. Conversely, 98% of Coinbase’s deposits are kept offline, in geographically distributed cold storage. U.S. traders also have the advantage that the FDIC insures up to $250,000 of the USD cash balances of an individual.

Some of the security measures offered by both platforms are 2-factor authentication, as well as Google authenticator, PGP encryption, and security keys.

Also, none of the platforms has experienced security breaches so far, despite being around for such a long time.

Fees

Perhaps the largest differences between the two apps are obvious when it comes to fees. Coinbase’s baseline fee is probably one of the highest in the entire industry, while Kraken’s fees fall below the industry standards due to the maker-taker construct.

On Kraken, your transaction fees will be calculated based on the volume you trade during a 30-day period.

Kraken vs. Coinbase FAQ

You may still have questions regarding the two exchanges, and we have some of the answers you are looking for:

What Are Kraken and Coinbase?

Coinbase and Kraken are two of the largest crypto exchange platforms in the world. Kraken has been around since 2011, whereas Coinbase was founded in 2012. Both are some of the oldest exchanges on the market, and they allow investors to trade the most popular cryptocurrencies.

How Do Kraken and Coinbase Work?

The two exchanges allow their clients to invest in various altcoins. Usually, it is much easier to start trading on Coinbase compared to Kraken, as the latter has some more restrictive measures. All you have to do is start an account by offering some information about yourself, after which you await verification.

Who Should Use Kraken or Coinbase?

Kraken and Coinbase are suitable for both beginner and experienced investors. They have some educational tools so newcomers can learn more about trading, but also some more advanced features that were made for experienced traders.

Read More

• How to Make Money with Cryptocurrency
• How to Withdraw from Binance
• How to Transfer From Coinbase to Coinbase Pro
• How to Transfer from Coinbase to Binance
• How Does Cryptocurrency Gain Value?
• How to Read Crypto Charts

Conclusion

So, if you were struggling to choose between Kraken vs. Coinbase, we hope that this guide will help you. Both platforms are amazing, but they are also different in some aspects, so picking the right one for your needs can ensure long-term success.

Frank Gogol

I’m a firm believer that information is the key to financial freedom. On the Stilt Blog, I write about the complex topics — like finance, immigration, and technology — to help immigrants make the most of their lives in the U.S. Our content and brand have been featured in Forbes, TechCrunch, VentureBeat, and more.

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