Our Review
Kraken offers 150+ coins, a 0.16%/0.26% maker taker fee, industry-leading security, advanced trading and is the best centralized platform for staking 14 coins. It was also 2nd place for cashing out BTC to a CAD bank account for the best rates. The downsides are the total BTC purchase fee was 7th place because of high CAD deposit and withdrawal fees.
Overall, Kraken is fantastic for staking, low spreads, and selling crypto and cashing out CAD. However, if you want the best CAD on-ramp and lowest total purchase fees, Newton, VirgoCX and NDAX scored better (see alternatives section).
Where It Shines:
Where It Falls Short:
Kraken Overview
Total Fees & Spreads: Mar 02, 2022
Coins Offered | 150+ in Canada |
Total BTC Purchase Fee | 1.60% (7th place) |
Total BTC Selling Fee | 0.37% + $10 (🏆 2nd place) |
BTC Spread | 0.05% (4th place) |
Trading Fee | 0.16% Maker 0.26% Taker |
Funding Methods | - Interac e-Transfer, Wire Transfer, Credit/Debit card, and more |
CAD Deposits | 1.50% - 5.25% fee |
CAD Withdrawals | $10 - $35 fee or 0.25% |
BTC Withdrawal Fee | 0.00002 BTC |
Notable Features | - Advanced trading - Staking - Margin - 24/7 Support - Great reputation |
Video Review
Don't want to read? Watch the video review published on Mar 18, 2022. Some info in the video could be outdated so refer to the rest of the blog post as well.
What Is Kraken?
KrakenKrakenKraken is one of the world's oldest and most reputable cryptocurrency exchanges founded in 2011. They are based in San Francisco and have become one of the largest crypto exchanges in the world with over 1800 employees.
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
Fees & Spread
We tested 18 Canadian cryptocurrency exchanges at the same time to compare the true fees. This data was collected on Mar 2, 2022 at 4:41pm and is subject to change since spreads and prices change daily.
- Total BTC Purchase Fee = CAD Deposit Fee + Trading Fee + Reference Price Difference
- Total BTC Selling Fee = CAD Withdrawal Fee + Trading Fee + Reference Price Difference
You can compare all platforms from the price test on this page.
Newton Fees | Amount |
|---|---|
*Total BTC Purchase Fee | 1.60% (7th place) |
*Total BTC Selling Fee | 0.37% + $10 (🏆 2nd place) |
Instant Buy Trading Fee | 0.90% for stablecoins 1.50% fee for any other crypto or FX pair |
Pro Trading Fee | 0.16% Maker 0.26% Taker |
Staking Fee | None |
CAD Deposits | Ranges from 1.50% to 5.25% or $11.50 fee |
CAD Withdrawals | Ranges from $10 to $35 or 0.25% fee |
BTC Withdrawal Fee | 0.00002 BTC |
Other Fees |
Pro Trading Fees
Price Test & Spread
Price Test (On Mar 2, 2022) | Prices |
|---|---|
BTC Spread | 0.05% (4th place) |
BTC Buy Price | $55,739 |
BTC Sell Price | $55,713 |
Ref. Price Difference | Buy: -0.06% Sell: -0.11% |
Reference Price (Google) | $55,774 |
What We Found
Kraken wasn't the best for depositing and buying with CAD but it was second best for cashing out CAD at the best prices.
From our test, Kraken had a 1.60% total fee to buy BTC with CAD which was 7th place. This number is high because Kraken has high fees for depositing CAD but if you deposit crypto, Kraken is one the cheapest platforms in the industry.
Additionally, they have very low spreads (4th place). The trading fees were higher (0.16%/0.26%) than competitors like Binance and KuCoin (both at 0.10%).
Deposit & Withdrawals
CAD Deposit Methods
Type | Fee | Time | Limits (24 hours) |
|---|---|---|---|
Interac e-Transfer | 1.50% (max $30) | 0-1 business days or instant | Min $5 |
Wire Transfer | $11.50 | 1-5 days | Min $125 |
Canada Post (in-person) | $1.25 + 0.25% | 30-60 mins | Min $20 |
Credit / Debit Card | 5.25% | Instant | $7500 |
CAD Withdrawal Methods
Type | Fee | Time | Limits (24 hours) |
|---|---|---|---|
Interac e-Transfer | $10 | Instant or 1 day | Min $15 |
EFT | 0.25% | 2-5 business days | Min $50 |
- | - | - |
Crypto Withdrawal Fees
Type | Fee | Minimum Withdrawal |
|---|---|---|
Bitcoin | 0.00002 BTC | 0.0005 BTC |
Ethereum | 0.0035 ETH | 0.005 ETH |
USDC | 20 USDC | 40 USDC |
XLM | 0.001 XLM | 25 XLM |
What We Found
Kraken was not great for funding with Canadian dollars but once you have funds in your account, it is one of the cheapest platforms in the industry. They have very low spreads (4th place) and were the 2nd best option for cashing out crypto to a Canadian bank account.
If you use Kraken, we recommend funding your account with crypto so you can avoid the CAD deposit fees. To do this we recommend Newton or VirgoCX because of their free CAD deposits and cheap/free crypto withdrawals.
Platform & Features
List of Features:
- iOS, Android and Web app
- 60+ cryptocurrencies for Canadians
- Instant Buy and Sell
- Advanced Trading
- Staking
- Margin
- OTC
1. iOS, Android and Web App
Kraken is available on all your favourite devices and they have 3 different apps: Kraken, Kraken Pro and Kraken Futures.
2. Advanced Trading
3. Instant Buy and Sell
4. Staking
- Stake 10+ cryptocurrencies
- Rewards ranging from 1%-23% APY
- Fixed and flexible staking options
- Rewards paid out weekly
- On one of the most secure and trusted crypto exchanges in the world
Other
- Margin
- OTC
- Affiliate Program
- API
- *Futures are restricted in Canada
Security
Is Kraken Licensed in Canada?
Yes, as per Canadian regulations, Kraken is a Money Service Business (MSB) registered with FINTRAC. These are the same requirements that Shakepay, Netcoins, Newton, and other exchanges in Canada follow.
Company Security Features
- Founded in 2011 (no hacks or incidents)
- 95% of deposits held in cold storage
- "Servers reside in secure cages under 24/7 surveillance by armed guards and video monitors"
- Bug bounty program
- FINTRAC registered in Canada: MSB #M19343731
- KYC required to sign up
- Visit the Kraken security page for more
User Security Features
- 2FA
- Email confirmations for withdrawals
- View login history for suspicious logins
- Address whitelisting
- Configurable account timeout
- High priority 24/7 live chat
- View system status in real-time
Can You Trust Kraken?
Kraken is considered a very safe cryptocurrency exchange and is also good at communicating their security practices. It holds 95% of deposits in cold storage, has never had any hacks or incidents, and is one of the oldest running cryptocurrency exchanges founded in 2011.
⚠️ Although Kraken is safe and has one of the best reputations in the industry, 44% of platforms we tested have had a hack or incident. We strongly recommend storing and protecting your crypto on a hardware wallet or a wallet where you own the private keys.
Is Kraken Safer Than Binance?
Kraken was founded in 2011, has never been hacked, and is good at communicating its security practices. On the other hand, Binance was founded in 2017, has been hacked once (but reimbursed its users), and has a multi-billion dollar insurance fund. While both platforms are industry leaders in security and reputation, Kraken might have a slight edge.
24/7 Customer Support
Kraken has industry leading support. You'll find a 24/7 support team which you can contact via live chat, phone or email. You can also visit their support center for helpful blogs, articles and FAQs.
Here are the best crypto exchanges for Canadians right now. We assessed 18 platforms across 60 variables and 1080+ data points.
Summary
So... is Kraken good for Canadians? Kraken has a good variety of 150+ coins, pro trading, staking and is one of the safest centralized crypto exchanges in the world. It's good for those features and has lots of liquidity as well. On the downside, there are there are better choices for beginners and better choices for fiat on/off ramps.
Depending what you need, Kraken can be a great choice for Canadians or you can check out the other platforms we mentioned above.
