Kraken Review
- Highly respected digital asset exchange
- Low transaction fees
- Supports short selling and margin trading
- Has all the features admired by professional traders
- Great security initiatives
- Not newbie friendly
- Limited payment methods
- Their customer support gets overwhelmed at times resulting in a slowed service
- Control one’s private keys
Kraken is a well-established and highly respected cryptocurrency exchange platform worldwide. It’s one of the oldest establishments that cropped up to facilitate the exchange of Bitcoin. As other cryptocurrencies emerged, it expanded its wings to accommodate them as well.
Kraken was the first altcoin exchange to be listed on Bloomberg terminals. Today, this exchange is trusted by regulated banks in Europe and Japan government officials making it a respected brand in everything related to digital assets exchange.
Kraken’s user interface and analytical tools provided are suitable for professional traders. Their services are tailored for the sophisticated traders who find newbie friendly sites like Coinbase to be lacking. Some of the services offered by Kraken include buying/selling altcoins, trading against fiat money, deep liquidity, margin trading, and fast execution speed.
Exchange platform
Kraken grants a trader the ability to trade cryptocurrencies against other cryptocurrencies or fiat money. The government-backed currencies accepted include the USD, Euro, Japanese Yen, Canadian dollar and British pound.
This exchange is available globally but with a few exceptions. If you open an account with them and it reads something like “pre-verified,” that could be an indication that your region is not listed. Unfortunately, there is nothing you can do to get through that.
Exchange Markets
Kraken’s goal is to offer professional traders with more features and currencies than any other exchange available. This is true if you take a look at the long list of the cryptocurrencies listed. Here are a couple of them:
- Bitcoin
- Ether Classic
- Ether
- Gnosis
- Augur
- Melon
- Litecoin
- EOS
- Bitcoin Cash
- Monero
- Dash
- Ripple
- Stellar
- Iconomi
- Zcash
- Dogecoin
The Kraken dashboard is well divided with charts (provided by TradigView) on the left and market prices and pairing on the right-hand side. The charts usually pop up as small windows that can be moved or resized. You need to be on the latest modern browsers to enjoy the best display. Check below for a preview of the latest transactions in image form.
Deposit and withdrawals
Kraken allows anyone to deposit or make payments through fiat money and cryptocurrencies. To deposit funds, log in your account, then go to “funding” then “deposit.” From here, you will be prompted to select your preferred method of deposit.
Domestic wire transfer instructions will be sent to any US resident who wishes to pay in US dollars. This must be done from your bank. Wire transfer deposits are exclusive to Tier 3 or 4 account holders only. Tiers simply refer to the level of account verification. Funds usually reflect in one’s account after within five days.
PayPal, Debit cards, and credit cards are not supported at the moment.
Kraken doesn’t charge exorbitantly. Their fees begin from zero and vary according to your transaction volume. The fee is calculated as a percentage of the quoted trading volume.
Most deposits are not charged. Withdrawals, on the other hand, attract a certain percentage with fiat money transactions having a larger percentage than their cryptocurrency counterparts.
Regarding withdrawal limits, Kraken sets them according to account tiers. Check the image below to know how much you can withdraw per day or month.
Help and Support
Kraken does have very supportive customer care. However, being one the go-to platforms for Bitcoin trading, its support staff gets overwhelmed resulting in slowed transactions. Other alternatives one can use to get help includes the Help Center, Support Center and a well-detailed FAQs. There is also a section on their site where you can submit a request if all the available resources are not helping.
Security and Fairness
Kraken has a formidable security system that encompasses the use of 2-factor authentication and cryptography practices to secure their network. 2FA methods is a secure way to lock out scoundrels from logging in someone’s account. All the cryptocurrencies traded on the platform are stored in cold wallets that are also encrypted to make them foolproof.
All the personal information and documents sent to Kraken are encrypted and sent to an isolated storage location.
Conclusion
If you are done testing the waters and want to delve deeper into the sophisticated world of digital asset trading, Kraken is the platform to use. There are many cryptocurrencies to trade in, and you get all the trading tools needed to initiate a successful trade. Albeit having a few cons, this exchange is worth giving a shot.
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