Kraken
Pros
- Regulated by FinCEN, FCA, and MiCA (Central Bank of Ireland)
- 600+ tradable crypto assets
- Spot trading starts at 0.25% maker / 0.40% taker, falling to 0.00% maker / 0.05% taker at the highest volume tier
- No inactivity fee
- Futures trading with 0.02% maker / 0.05% taker base fee
- Staking available with no transaction fee to stake or unstake
- Up to 10x leverage on spot margin (selected assets), up to 50x on perpetual futures
- Tokenized US stocks and ETFs available via xStocks in eligible regions
Cons
- No demo account
- Crypto withdrawal fees are dynamic and can rise with network congestion
- Margin rollover fees (0.01%-0.05% per 4 hours) accumulate quickly on open positions
- xStocks (tokenized stocks) not available in all jurisdictions
- Standard Kraken platform has higher fees than Kraken Pro
- Fiat deposit and withdrawal fees vary by method and can be significant for bank wire