Kraken vs Bitstamp
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.
| Kraken | Bitstamp | |
|---|---|---|
| Editorial score | — | — |
| Founded | 2011 | 2011 |
| Headquarters | — | Offices in Luxembourg, the UK, Slovenia, Singapore, and the US; owned by Robinhood since June 2, 2025 (no single HQ stated). |
| Spot maker (base) | 0.4% | 0% |
| Spot taker (base) | 0.8% | 0% |
| Listed assets | — | — |
| KYC | Required | Required |
| Notably unavailable | Crimea, Donetsk, Luhansk, Cuba | — |
How they differ
Kraken and Bitstamp are the oldest venues here, both from 2011. Kraken runs Kraken Pro alongside a simpler app; Bitstamp keeps offices in Luxembourg, the UK, Slovenia, Singapore and the US and has been owned by Robinhood since 2 June 2025. Neither profile records a coin count, so listing breadth cannot be compared.
Fees differ at the entry point. Kraken Pro starts at 0.4% maker and 0.8% taker at zero 30-day volume and tiers to 0% maker and 0.05% taker, while simple and recurring app trades carry a flat 1%. Bitstamp's recorded position is no trading fees below $1,000 of 30-day volume with tiered fees above, though that figure comes from a December 2022 blog post and should be checked against the live schedule.
Both require full verification before use. Kraken uses a KYC questionnaire plus an identity check, generally a government ID and proof of address. The Bitstamp entry, sourced from a third party rather than the official FAQ, describes a government ID, proof of address and possibly a selfie. Bitstamp records no notable exclusions and describes coverage across the EU, UK, US and Asia, while Kraken excludes sanctioned regions such as Crimea, Donetsk, Luhansk, Cuba, Iran, North Korea and Syria and notes that crypto transfers are unavailable in Indiana, Maine and New York.
Funding rails overlap: both support SEPA and US ACH, Bitstamp adds international wire and UK Faster Payments with card purchases outside the US, and Kraken adds Apple Pay, Google Pay and PayPal. Kraken's licences span Ireland under MiCA, FinCEN, the UK FCA and a Wyoming depository charter; Bitstamp reports over 50 active licences globally including a 2019 New York BitLicense. Bitstamp's incident was the January 2015 hot wallet theft of 18,866 BTC, about $5.26M, with cold storage unaffected; Kraken's was a June 2024 bug bounty case costing about $3M from its treasury, later returned. Both offer REST, WebSocket and FIX APIs.