Best Crypto Wallets
Top rated: Rabby 8.3
Software wallets for everyday use.
5rated →
8.4/10
Crypto Exchanges
Company file: Kraken, owners, incidents →
Kraken
Kraken pairs one of the best reserve-disclosure records among the large venues with the cheapest order-book entry tier of the three US majors. It has published Merkle-tree proof of reserves for longer and more consistently than almost anyone. It does have a retail tier: the Kraken app charges 1% plus spread, against 0.40% / 0.80% on Kraken Pro. And as a private company its accounts are not public.
Best for: Traders who use Kraken Pro and want reserve proofs they can check themselves
Company file: Kraken, owners, incidents →How this score was reached
8.4 is the weighted average of the five pillar findings below. Does the job well with no material unresolved concerns.
- Custody & Security30%
- 8.9
- Cost & Fee Transparency20%
- 7.6
- Regulation & Legal Standing20%
- 8.5
- Performance & Reliability20%
- 8.5
- Access & Support10%
- 7.8
Recurring third-party Merkle-tree proof of reserves that lets a client check their own balance; the 30 Jun 2026 attestation showed BTC 102.9%, ETH 100.5%. No client funds lost to a hack of its own wallets; the June 2024 CertiK bug exploit took about $3m of Kraken's own money and was returned. Private, so no audited balance sheet is public.
Two price levels on one account. The Kraken app charges a 1% commission plus spread on instant trades; Kraken Pro starts at 0.40% maker / 0.80% taker and falls with 30-day volume. Both schedules are published, and withdrawal fees are shown before you confirm.
Wyoming SPDI charter, a Federal Reserve master account approved in March 2026, MiCA registrations in the EU. Past US settlements (CFTC 2021, OFAC 2022, SEC staking 2023) were over products and sanctions; the 2023 SEC lawsuit was dropped in March 2025.
Deep books in majors and stable execution through the volatility of the review period. Uptime record is among the better ones in the category.
Verification can be slow at peak and some jurisdictions are excluded outright. Documentation is thorough; support is competent but not fast.
Strengths
- Proof of reserves published consistently, not as a one-off marketing exercise
- Kraken Pro entry fees (0.40% / 0.80%) are below Coinbase Advanced's US entry tier
- Federal Reserve master account for its Wyoming bank arm since March 2026
Against it
- The Kraken app charges 1% plus spread; the cheap schedule is only on Kraken Pro
- Private company: no public audited accounts until an IPO
- Verification queues can be slow when volumes spike
Why Kraken leads this table
Kraken leads on reserve disclosure more than on anything flashy. It has published Merkle-tree proof of reserves consistently for longer than almost anyone, rather than producing one attestation for a press cycle and moving on, and a client can check that their own balance is in the tree. The 30 Jun 2026 attestation put reserves above client balances for every asset it listed, bitcoin and ether included. Proof of reserves is not proof of solvency, and we say so in the methodology, but consistency is what makes the practice mean anything.
Its order book is also the cheapest way in among the three US majors: Kraken Pro starts at 0.40% maker / 0.80% taker, against 0.50% / 0.90% on Coinbase Advanced in the US since 16 Sep 2026 and 0.60% / 1.20% on Gemini ActiveTrader since 1 Sep 2026. Its wallets have not lost client funds to a hack; the June 2024 incident, in which CertiK researchers used a deposit bug to take about $3m, came out of Kraken's own treasury and was returned.
Where it costs you
Kraken has a retail tier, and it is the default screen. The Kraken app charges a 1% commission plus spread on instant buys and sells; the same $500 of bitcoin costs about $5 in commission there before spread, against $2 as a maker order on Kraken Pro. Same account, same login — the cheaper price is one screen away, and nothing forces a first-time buyer to find it.
The other gap is disclosure beyond reserves. Payward is private: it reports adjusted revenue and EBITDA but files no public audited accounts, and its IPO has been on hold since March 2026. The asset list is short by design, because Kraken has repeatedly exited markets rather than operate in a regulatory grey zone, and verification queues slow noticeably when volumes spike.
Who should look elsewhere
Anyone whose priority is asset coverage or the deepest possible derivatives book: the depth advantage at the top of this market is real and Kraken does not have it. And anyone buying once a month and holding should be reading our hardware wallet ratings instead — the safest exchange is still one you withdraw from.
Frequently asked questions
Is Kraken safe to hold funds on?+
It has the strongest combination of operating record and reserve disclosure among the exchanges we rate: no client funds lost to a hack of its own wallets, and recurring Merkle-tree proof of reserves you can check against your own balance. It is private, so there is no public audited balance sheet. An exchange balance remains an unsecured claim on a company, and anything you are not actively trading is safer in a wallet you control.
Is Kraken cheaper than Coinbase?+
It depends on the screen and the region. On the order book in the US, yes: Kraken Pro starts at 0.40% maker / 0.80% taker, Coinbase Advanced at 0.50% / 0.90% since 16 Sep 2026. In the EU and UK, Coinbase Advanced's entry tier (0.25% / 0.50%) is cheaper. On the simple screens both add a spread, and the Kraken app also charges a 1% commission.
Why does Kraken list fewer coins than Binance?+
Because it has chosen to exit markets and decline listings rather than operate where its regulatory position would be unclear. That choice costs users optionality, and it is the same behaviour that supports its regulation score. Both facts are in the table.
Assessed by
By Emily Volker
Editor-in-Chief · September 27, 2026
◆ Disclosure
CoinRadar Daily is a non-commercial project. We have no commercial relationship with Kraken, earn nothing from any link on this page, and carry no advertising or sponsorship anywhere on the site. Findings rest on public sources; we did not open an account or transact.
Rubric v2.0How we score →
The rest of the crypto exchanges table
- 01Kraken — you are hereTraders who use Kraken Pro and want reserve proofs they can check themselves8.4
Related tables
How we score →Independent, rubric-scored tables for the services behind this story.
Best Hardware Wallets
Top rated: Trezor Safe 5 8.6
Devices whose only job is to keep a key away from the internet.
5rated →
Best Stablecoins
Top rated: USDC 8.5
A stablecoin is a promise about redemption.
4rated →