Binance vs Kraken

Binance and Kraken are two of the most popular cryptocurrency exchanges in the world, providing users with the opportunity to buy, sell and trade a vast range of cryptocurrencies. On top of the standard services, both exchanges offer additional features such as staking and earning yield on digital asset holdings.

Formed in 2015, Binance is an unregulated, globally distributed exchange that regularly claims it has no primary headquarters. The company continues to remain flexible due to the decentralisation of cryptocurrencies. It's flexibility has enabled it to offer an enormous range of industry leading products and services, as it is not regulated by any prominent financial authorities.

Launched in 2011, Kraken is one of the older exchanges in the cryptocurrency industry. Headquartered in San Francisco, US, Kraken is globally distributed, serving over 50 countries.

The main difference between these two exchanges is the number of cryptocurrencies, range of products, and regulation. Binance hosts a substantially greater number of cryptocurrencies and services when compared to the US-regulated Kraken.

At a glance: Binance vs Kraken

	Kraken	Binance
Location	United States	Distributed
Supports fiat currencies?	USD, EUR, CAD, AUD, GBP, CHF, JPY	AED, AFN, AMD, ARS, AUD, AZN, BGN, BHD, BND, BOB, BRL, BYN, CAD, CHF, CLP, CNY, COP, CRC, CZK, DKK, DOP, DZD, EGP, ETB, EUR, GBP, GEL, GHS, HUF, IDR, ILS, INR, ISK, JOD, JPY, KES, KGS, KHR, KWD, KZT, LAK, LBP, LKR, LYD, MAD, MDL, MMK, MNT, MXN, NAD, NOK, NZD, OMR, PAB, PEN, PHP, PKR, PLN, PYG, QAR, RON, SAR, SDG, SEK, THB, TJS, TMT, TND, TRY, TWD, TZS, UAH, UGX, USD, UYU, UZS, VES, VND, XAF, XOF, ZAR
Range of supported cryptocurrencies?	235 cryptocurrencies	381 cryptocurrencies
Features	Fiat-to-cryptocurrency exchange Instant cryptocurrency purchases Ethereum 2.0 staking pool Kraken Cryptowatch Dark pool trading	Instant cryptocurrency purchases Staking DeFi and CeFi LaunchPad Peer-to-Peer trading services
Trading fees	Maker: 0.00-0.16% Taker: 0.10-0.26% 3.75% + €0.25 for instant buy purchases with cards 1.7% + $0.10 for instant buy with online banking Deposit fees vary Withdrawal fees vary	Maker: 0.02-0.10% Taker: 0.04-0.10% Holders of the native BNB can receive discounts
Customer support	Online help centre, email and social media, 24/7/365	Online help centre, email and social media
User interface	Intermediate Clean and sleek design, but less user friendly Designed primarily for a more advanced and active trader Offers "Trading Interface Guide" for new users 3 Kraken mobile apps: Kraken, Kraken Pro and Kraken Futures	Intermediate Both simple and advanced trading platforms are available Slightly more intuitive interface
Set-up for new users	New users must provide the following: Username Email address To begin trading, users must provide: Address Phone number	New users must provide the following: Email address Proof of ID for fiat deposits
Supported countries	Global (50+ countries)	Global (50+ countries)
Learn more	Read our full Kraken review	Read our full Binance review

Features

Trading Fees

Payment methods

Volume

According to information collected by exchange aggregator CoinGecko, Binance is the largest exchange in the world by trading volume, while Kraken comes in third place.

Likewise, at the time of writing, Binance had the largest liquidity score on market aggregator CoinMarketCap, while Kraken was fourth.

Both are among the most popular cryptocurrency exchanges by trading volume, which ensures high liquidity and low slippage.

Security

Binance and Kraken are widely considered among the safest exchanges on the market. They both offer a variety of ways to secure your account, including customer support for compromised accounts and 2-factor authentication (2FA) which has become a standard procedure in the cryptocurrency industry. This is often facilitated through a mobile phone.

For cryptocurrencies stored on the exchanges, Binance and Kraken employ cold storage facilities to mitigate against online attacks. Cold storage means that funds are held within offline wallets and cannot be accessed without physical presence.

Kraken explicitly states that 95% of its funds are currently held in cold storage. While Binance does not disclose the percentage of funds held in offline facilities, it does promote a "SAFU" fund (Secure Asset Fund of Users). This is an emergency fund comprising 10% of all trading fees and can be used to reimburse users in response to a security breach.

Kraken is praised as being one of the most secure exchanges on the market, having never been hacked. Binance, unfortunately, did suffer a hack in 2019 that resulted in the loss of roughly 7,000 BTC, after which it audited and upgraded its cybersecurity. It is now also touted as being one of the safest exchanges in the cryptocurrency space.

Regulation

Binance operates in a distributed manner, with the location of its primary business and operations subject to controversy. Although based in Hong Kong, the exchange has historically been reported to be registered in Malta. This is disputed by the Malta Financial Security Authority (MSFA) that has stated "Binance is not authorised by the MSFA to operate in the cryptocurrency space and therefore is not regulated by its laws". There have also been further claims that Binance is registered in the Cayman Islands and/or Seychelles.

Originating in the US, Kraken is a US-regulated organisation. The exchange is registered with FinCEN and has recently been granted a US state banking charter. It is a Wyoming-based cryptocurrency bank, being the first of its kind. The company is also registered in Canada, the UK, Australia and Japan. It complies with all laws and regulations of the countries it operates in.

Verdict: Should you use Binance or Kraken?

Binance and Kraken are without a doubt among the top exchanges in the world and can be used by both beginner and advanced cryptocurrency investors. They both have a unique set of features, with a rich environment that extends beyond standard trading. Users looking to extend their cryptocurrency experience to things like staking or derivatives will feel at home on either of these exchanges, as will total beginners.

Ultimately, the decision is yours, with the biggest difference between the two being where the companies are located and therefore regulated, which affects the depth of products they can offer.

Compare Binance and Kraken

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