Kraken vs Crypto.com
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 | Crypto.com | |
|---|---|---|
| Editorial score | — | — |
| Founded | 2011 | 2016 |
| Headquarters | — | Singapore |
| Spot maker (base) | 0.4% | 0.25% |
| Spot taker (base) | 0.8% | 0.5% |
| Listed assets | — | ~400 |
| KYC | Required | Required |
| Notably unavailable | Crimea, Donetsk, Luhansk, Cuba | China, Russia, Iran, North Korea |
How they differ
Kraken, founded in 2011, is a trading-first platform pairing Kraken Pro with a simpler app, funded by cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Plaid ACH in USD and PayPal. Crypto.com, founded in 2016 and headquartered in Singapore, lists about 400 assets and centres its product on a consumer app with bank transfer, card, Apple Pay and Google Pay funding plus card services. The Kraken profile records no coin count, so listing breadth is not comparable.
Base fees differ, and both maintain separate schedules for their simpler flows. Kraken Pro starts at 0.4% maker and 0.8% taker at zero volume, tiering to 0% maker and 0.05% taker, while simple and recurring app trades carry a flat 1%. Crypto.com's base exchange tier under $10,000 of 30-day volume is 0.25% maker and 0.5% taker per third-party fee trackers, with discounts for volume and CRO staking. Those figures could not be verified against the official fee page, so confirm them first.
Both require KYC. Kraken generally asks for a government ID and proof of address; Crypto.com requires a passport or national ID, or a state-issued ID in the US, to unlock trading, deposits, withdrawals and card services. Their exclusion lists overlap on sanctioned jurisdictions including Iran, North Korea, Cuba, Syria and occupied Ukrainian regions. In the US, Kraken notes crypto transfers are unavailable in Indiana, Maine and New York, while Crypto.com restricts only New York and additionally blocks China and Russia.
Both hold licences in multiple jurisdictions. Kraken records MiCA authorisation in Ireland, FinCEN MSB registration, UK FCA registration and a Wyoming special purpose depository institution. Crypto.com records a Malta MiCA licence from January 2025, a Singapore Major Payment Institution licence and both FCA registration and EMI authorisation in the UK. On incidents, Crypto.com's January 2022 case saw about $35M taken from 483 accounts with users reimbursed, while Kraken's June 2024 case involved about $3M from its own treasury, later returned.