Our Review
Kraken Australia offers 50+ coins, a 0.43% total fee for buying Bitcoin (4th place), and low fees across the board (spreads, AUD deposits, crypto withdrawals etc). It's also a highly secure and reputable platform founded in 2011.
- The best reasons to use Kraken is low fees, a super trustworthy platform, staking on a safe platform, or access to professional trading tools.
- The reasons not to use Kraken are they only have 50+ coins for Australians, it's not the most beginner-friendly, and you can find other platforms with more features.
3.8/5
Our review out of 16 Australian platforms |
💰 Fees Below Average |
📲 Features Average |
🇦🇺Deposit & Withdrawals Average |
👍 Ease Of Use Below Average |
🔒 Security Above Average |
Where It Shines:
Where It Falls Short:
Overview
Updated: Feb 16, 2022
📲 Features | Header | 🔐 Security | Header |
|---|---|---|---|
Coins Mobile App Web App Beginner Friendly? Pro Trading Terminal Limit Orders Recurring Buys Bundles Staking Margin Futures OTC 24/7 Support | 50+ Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes ? No Yes Restricted Restricted Yes Yes | App 2FA Uses Cold Storage? AUSTRAC Regulated? Any Hacks or Incidents? Insurance Policy View Login History Address Whitelisting Crypto Withdrawals Allowed Year Founded Publicly Traded? | Yes Yes Yes No No Yes Yes Yes 2011 No |
💰 Fees | 0.0/5 | 🏦 Deposits & Withdrawals | 0.0/5 |
$100 Buy After All Fees $100 Sell After All Fees Best Deposit Fee Best Withdrawal Fee Trading Fee BTC Spread (Dec 17, 21) BTC Withdrawal Fee ETH Withdrawal Fee | $99.57 $100.56 Free Free 0.16% / 0.26% 0.55% 0.00002 BTC 0.0035 ETH | AUD Fiat Wallet? Direct Bank Transfer POLi PAYid Credit/Debit BPay Other Fiat Currencies | Yes Yes No Yes No No Yes |
- Total fees and spread was tested Dec 17, 2021 and is subject to change
About Kraken
KrakenKrakenKraken is one of the world's oldest crypto exchanges and is based in San Francisco, USA. They were founded in 2011 and opened its doors to Australia in 2020. They have become one of the largest crypto exchanges in the world with over 1800 employees and have one of the best reputations as well.
When using Kraken, you can expect to find industry-leading security, intermediate and advanced trading tools, Staking features and more.
Kraken Stats
- Founded in 2011
- 1800+ employees
- Available in 100+ countries
- Based in San Francisco, USA
- Might go public in 2022
User Interface
Updated: Sep 7, 2021
Verification
Updated: Sep 7, 2021
Getting started on Kraken is similar to opening a bank account and requires some personal info and documents to verify your identity. Once you have ID ready the process takes 5-10 minutes and is straightforward. Most users will be instantly verified.
Application Time | 5-10 minutes |
KYC Verification | Yes |
Instant Verification | Yes |
Manual Verification | A few days |
Who Is Eligible? |
|
Sign Up Requirements |
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🔒 Security
Updated: Sep 7, 2021
Can You Trust Kraken?
Yes, Kraken is one of the oldest and most trusted cryptocurrency exchanges in the world. Founded back in 2011, they've never been hacked or lost users funds, they follow all laws and regulations where they operate, and users have many security features like 2FA and more.
Kraken is the industry standard for security. Let's look at their list of features:
Company Security Features (7+)
- Holds 95% of crypto in offline cold storage that's geo-distributed
- Kraken claims to hold full reserves and has a proof of reserves page
- All servers are in cages and monitored 24/7 by cameras and armed guards
- All personal information is encrypted on multiple levels
- They hire multiple security teams to test their systems
- 24/7 automatic monitoring for suspicious activity
- Bug bounty program - get paid to find vulnerabilities and security flaws
- See the rest here
User Security Features (8)
Kraken has extensive security features you can toggle on and off to keep your account safe:
- Multiple 2FA options and settings (Google Authenticator, Yubikey, 2FA for trades etc)
- 2FA and email confirmations for withdrawals
- Automatic logout settings
- Recent Activity (see login locations, IP addresses, devices, etc)
- Add Trusted Devices
- Global Settings Lock (disables making changes to your account for a period of time)
- PGP codes to verify legitimate emails
- Dedicated 24/7 support for urgent issues
Deposit & Withdrawals
Updated: Feb 16, 2022
AUD Deposit Methods
Type | Fee | Time | Limits |
|---|---|---|---|
PayID | Free | Instant | Min $5 |
OSKO | Free | Instant | Min $5 |
Direct Bank Transfer | Free | 0-2 Days | Min $5 |
Etana Custody | Free | 2-5 Days | Min $150 |
AUD Withdrawal Methods
Type | Fee | Time | Limits |
|---|---|---|---|
OSKO | Free | Near Instant | Min $5 |
Direct Bank Transfer | Free | 0-2 Days | Min $5 |
Etana Custody | $35 | 3-5 Days or Instant | Min $150 |
Crypto Withdrawal Fees
Coin | Fee | Minimum Withdrawal |
|---|---|---|
Bitcoin | 0.00002 BTC | 0.0005 BTC |
Ethereum | 0.0035 ETH | 0.005 ETH |
Kraken Fees & Spread
Updated: Feb 16, 2022
Fee Type | Amount |
|---|---|
Maker Fee | 0.16% |
Taker Fee | 0.26% |
AUD Deposits | Free |
AUD Withdrawals | Free |
BTC Spread | 0.55% (Dec 17, 2021) |
Other Fees | N/A |
Trading Fees
Kraken Price Test (Dec 17, 2021 at 1:17pm)
This data is subject to change as spreads and prices change daily. However, we tested Kraken and 10+ other platforms simultaneously to help you compare true fees on each platform.
Header | Amount | Ranking |
|---|---|---|
$100 Buy After All Fees | $99.57 (0.43% total fee) | 4th place |
$100 Sale After All Fees | $100.56 (-0.56% total fee) | 2nd place |
BTC Spread | 0.55% | 8th place |
BTC Buy Price | $66,014 AUD | - |
BTC Sell Price | $66,377 AUD | - |
Ref. Price Difference | Buy: +0.27% Sell: +0.82% | - |
Reference Price (Google) | $65,837 | - |
The "$100 After All Fees" adds everything from when you deposit money to make your order plus the reference price difference.
The price test was conducted by logging into all platforms simultaneously and collecting buy/sell orders. We did this as quickly as possible (within minutes) in order to be as accurate as possible since prices can change rapidly. Find out more about our testing process.
Overall, Kraken is one of the cheapest platforms for Australians across the board. The total purchase fee for buying Bitcoin was only 0.43% (4th place). For selling Bitcoin, Kraken had a better rate than the reference price on Google which is why it ended up being a -0.56% total fee. That was 2nd best for cashing out based on this test.
Kraken is a global platform with users in over 190 countries. This likely makes it cheaper because it has more volume than crypto exchanges only available in Australia.
The crypto withdrawal fees are also very inexpensive compared to other platforms.
The lowest overall fees we found were on Binance AU.
Platform & Features
Updated: Sep 7, 2021
Kraken is a good, reputable platform for sophisticated traders as well as institutions. Its best features are multiple mobile apps, a pro trading interface, deep liquidity and a great reputation for security.
Let's take a deeper look at everything the platform offers:
List of Features:
- iOS, Android and Web app
- Kraken Pro (advanced trading)
- Simple and Advanced Trade
- Kraken Earn (staking)
- Futures
- 24/7 Customer Support
- OTC, SMSF, Institutional accounts
- Great security and reputation
1. iOS, Android and Web App
Kraken can be accessed on all of your devices and they have three mobile apps, Kraken, Kraken Pro and Kraken Futures.
2. Kraken Terminal (Advanced Trading Interface)
Kraken's professional trading terminal provides many customizable charts, live trade views, an order book and depth chart. It also lets you apply overlays and indicators, draw on the charts and switch between a wide of variety of themes.
Advanced traders can also try CryptoWat.ch which is Kraken's paid trading terminal with more premium features.
3. Simple and Advanced Orders
On the "trade" tab you can toggle between simple and advanced orders as you see in the images below.
4. Kraken Earn (Staking)
At the time of this writing, Kraken offers 8 cryptocurrencies you can stake and earn interest on. If you want passive income for crypto that you're HODLing, you can make 4%-20% APY. The rewards are usually paid out weekly and most coins can be unstaked at any time.
Other platforms with rewards and staking include Crypto.com, Coinspot, KuCoin and many more.
5. Futures
Advanced traders can access Kraken Futures on the browser. There is also a dedicated Kraken Futures mobile app.
6. Other
- Great security reputation
- OTC, Institution, SMSF accounts
- API
- Kraken Learn
- Bug Bounty Program
- Affiliate Program
- Cryptowat.ch (premium trading terminal)
Customer Support
Updated: Sep 7, 2021
Kraken has good support overall that you can contact 24/7 via live chat on their website. They also offer phone support during business hours, an extensive help section with FAQs and articles and a live website status. There is also a live chat dedicated for urgent issues such as account security where you can speak to someone quicker.
🔎 Kraken Compared
We are tracking the 15+ most popular Australian crypto exchanges. Compare the entire industry below:
Coins | Total Purchase Fee | Trading Fees | $AUD Deposits | Beginner Friendly | Advanced Features | Website | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
600+ | 0.15% | 0.10% | Yes | No | Yes | ||
18 | 1.24% | 0.85% | Yes | No | Yes | ||
110+ | 4.50% | 2.90%* | No | Yes | No | ||
50+ | 1.09% | 0% - 2.00% | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
30+ | 0.14% + $50 | 0.10% | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
370+ | 1.89% | 0.10% - 1% | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
280+ | 2.36% | 0.05% - 0.9% | Yes | Yes | No | ||
150+ | 1.30% | 0.00% | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
270+ | 1.04% | 0.50% | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
150+ | 1.45% | 1.00% | Yes | Yes | No | ||
30 | - | 0% | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
27+ | 1.68% | 0.50% | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
50+ | 0.43% | 0.16% / 0.26% | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
700+ | 2.23% | 0.10% | Yes | No | Yes | ||
270+ | 0.41% | 0.08% - 0.1% | No | No | Yes | ||
320+ | 0.95% | 0.60% | Yes | Yes | Yes |
FAQ
Kraken states on their website that customer accounts are not insured.
Yes, Kraken is one of the oldest and most trusted cryptocurrency exchanges in the world and they comply with Australia's strict legal and regulatory requirements. In Australia, they are a registered Digital Currency Exchange (DCE) and regulated by AUSTRAC.
