Comprehensive Kraken Exchange Review (2020)

While Kraken may not be the best option for absolute cryptocurrency beginners who are not interested in trading on a regular basis, the exchange works well for those who want to get into trading for the first time. The level of customer support offered by the exchange is exceptional and the exchange helps those who may be unfamiliar with a lot of trading terminology get started. Additionally, even those who are unfamiliar with how cryptocurrency works will be able to take advantage of Kraken’s enhanced security features.

While Kraken was originally intended to fill the void left by Mt. Gox once it collapsed, the reality is a variety of different exchanges have grown in popularity since Mt. Gox went bankrupt in 2014. While it would be untrue to claim that Kraken has replaced Mt. Gox as the most dominant cryptocurrency exchange on the market, the volumes on the exchange have continued to grow at a slow and steady pace over time.

While it is not recommended to leave cryptocurrencies on exchanges when you aren’t actively trading, Kraken has a reputation for being one of the most (if not the most) secure exchanges on the market. Security is the top priority for this exchange, which is why they have been able to operate for such a long period of time without facing any serious hacking incidents.

The minimum amount of money you are able to deposit onto Kraken will depend on the method of deposit and the country of origin for the deposit.

For American customers, the deposit minimum is 20 dollars by way of ACH or FedWire transfer. It should be noted that these deposit options come with a $5 fee.

Kraken customers in Europe are able to deposit as little as 1 euro via SEPA without any associated fees.

Canadians are able to deposit as little as $20 CAD via in-person transactions at a Canada Post location.

The minimum deposits for customers in Great Britain and Japan are 150 GBP and 15,000 JPY respectively.

For a starter account where you are only trading crypto assets, account verification can take as little as a few minutes; however, this sort of automated verification is not always available.
Those who need to provide additional forms of verification to increase their account limits or enable new deposit and withdrawal options can expect a processing time of one to five days.

It is easier to list the countries that Kraken doesn’t offer services to. Currently, Kraken is unavailable to residents of the following countries;

• Afghanistan
• Cuba
• Guinea-Bissau
• Iran
• Iraq
• Japan
• North Korea
• Tajikistan

It is important to note that while Kraken is available to users in the United States, residents of Washington State and New York cannot use Kraken at this time.

Kraken bought Cavirtex in 2016, and all Cavirtex accounts have been converted to Kraken accounts since then.

Kraken’s fees are not particularly high, although it makes sense to compare fee levels at different exchanges for your specific level of expected use.

Kraken users have experienced delays on deposits and withdrawals before, but these delays are usually due to issues that are not specific to the exchange. There have also been instances of delays in the sign-up and verification processes in the past; however, this tends to happen with every exchange during times when the crypto market is heating up.