Binance vs Kraken
Side-by-side comparison from our sourced exchange data. A dash means we haven't verified that fact — we don't fill gaps with guesses.
How they differ
Binance, founded in 2017, is a global venue built around listing breadth, with roughly 600 assets and both card and peer-to-peer funding. Kraken, founded in 2011, runs Kraken Pro alongside a simpler app and supports a wide funding set including Visa and Mastercard, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Plaid ACH in USD and PayPal. The Kraken profile does not record a coin count, so listing breadth cannot be compared directly.
Fees are structured differently. Binance's base spot tier is 0.1% maker and taker, reduced by 25% to 0.075%/0.075% when fees are paid in BNB, with VIP tiers above. Kraken Pro starts at 0.4% maker and 0.8% taker at zero 30-day volume and tiers down to 0% maker and 0.05% taker at the top. Kraken's simple and recurring trades inside the app carry a separate 1% trading fee, so the Pro schedule only applies if you trade there.
Verification is mandatory on both. Kraken requires a KYC questionnaire and identity check, generally a government ID plus proof of address. Binance requires verification from all users, limits unverified accounts to withdrawals, is closed to US residents on Binance.com and has not accepted new UK sign-ups since October 2023. Both exclude sanctioned regions including Iran, North Korea, Syria, Cuba and Crimea, Donetsk and Luhansk. Kraken additionally notes US state limits, with crypto transfers unavailable in Indiana, Maine and New York.
Kraken lists the wider licence set: MiCA authorisation in Ireland passported across the EEA, FinCEN MSB registration, FCA cryptoasset registration in the UK and a Wyoming special purpose depository institution. Binance holds Dubai VARA and ADGM FSRA permissions. Binance's 2019 hot wallet loss of about $40.7M was covered by its SAFU fund; Kraken's June 2024 incident involved about $3M drawn from its own treasury through a bug bounty report, later returned.