Kraken vs Gemini
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 | Gemini | |
|---|---|---|
| Editorial score | — | — |
| Founded | 2011 | 2014 |
| Headquarters | — | New York City, US (per NYDFS charter announcement). |
| Spot maker (base) | 0.4% | 0.6% |
| Spot taker (base) | 0.8% | 1.2% |
| Listed assets | — | ~66 |
| KYC | Required | Required |
| Notably unavailable | Crimea, Donetsk, Luhansk, Cuba | United Kingdom (accounts closing effective 2026-04-06), European Economic Area (accounts closing effective 2026-04-06), Australia (accounts closing effective 2026-04-06) |
How they differ
Kraken, founded in 2011, runs Kraken Pro alongside a simpler app and supports cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Plaid ACH in USD and PayPal. Gemini, founded in 2014 and based in New York City, lists about 66 assets and funds accounts through US ACH, wire, SEPA, UK Faster Payments, Singapore FAST, debit card, Google Pay, Apple Pay and PayPal in selected regions. Kraken's profile records no coin count, so listing breadth is not comparable here.
Both separate professional pricing from their simple interfaces. Kraken Pro starts at 0.4% maker and 0.8% taker at zero 30-day volume, tiering down to 0% maker and 0.05% taker, while simple and recurring trades in the Kraken app carry a flat 1%. Gemini ActiveTrader starts at 0.600% maker and 1.200% taker below $10,000 of volume, reaching 0.000% and 0.020% at $250M and above, with selected stablecoin pairs at zero and Gemini Mode priced separately.
Verification is mandatory on both, with Kraken generally requiring a government ID and proof of address and Gemini collecting full identity details plus a photo ID and, for US citizens, an SSN. Availability is the decisive difference for non-US readers: Gemini states that UK, EEA and Australian accounts will be closed effective 6 April 2026, while Kraken operates in most regions, excluding sanctioned areas such as Crimea, Donetsk, Luhansk, Cuba, Iran, North Korea and Syria, with crypto transfers unavailable in Indiana, Maine and New York.
Kraken lists licences in several jurisdictions: MiCA authorisation in Ireland, FinCEN MSB registration, UK FCA registration and a Wyoming depository institution. Gemini's authorisations are New York-centred, with a limited purpose trust charter from October 2015 under NYDFS supervision. Neither recorded event was an exchange hack: Kraken's June 2024 case involved about $3M drawn from its treasury via a bug bounty report and returned, while Gemini Earn withdrawals froze in November 2022 with lending partner Genesis, later resolved by returning assets in kind.