Anyone who’s on the lookout for a cryptocurrency trade to make use of for his or her digital property, crypto buying and selling, and futures buying and selling must be involved about safety and buyer assist. In spite of everything, you’ll be trusting that trade along with your cash and investments! Try to be taking an in depth have a look at their safety measures and what they’re doing to make their platform secure for you.
Kraken is without doubt one of the largest and most widespread cryptocurrency exchanges on the planet. Earlier than you join an account with this main crypto trade, let’s reply a very powerful query: Is Kraken secure? On this Kraken evaluation, we’ll concentrate on a very powerful safety measures, together with issues like encryption, two-factor authentication, regulation, insurance coverage, and extra, that can assist you resolve if you can purchase crypto or conduct otc buying and selling on Kraken.
About Kraken: Historical past and Overview
Let’s begin with a quick historical past and overview of Kraken. Kraken’s included as Payward, Inc. The corporate was based again in 2011 and was one of many first Bitcoin exchanges to be listed on Bloomberg Terminal.
Kraken was began by Jesse Powell, Thanh Luu, and Michael Gronager. Powell was working as a marketing consultant for Mt. Gox and (appropriately) anticipated that the corporate would fail. He began engaged on Kraken as a substitute.
By March of 2014. Kraken had secured a $5 million funding from Hummingbird Ventures. From that preliminary funding, Kraken has grown steadily through the years. Listed here are a number of key moments in Kraken’s historical past.
- 2016: Kraken completes its Collection B spherical of investments, led by SBI Group.
- 2017: Kraken acquires Cryptowatch, a crypto charting and buying and selling platform.
- 2019: Kraken acquires Crypto Amenities.
- 2020: Kraken turns into the primary crypto trade to be granted a particular goal depository establishment (SPDI) constitution.
- 2021: Kraken releases its cell app.
- 2022: Kraken launches its personal NFT market.
- 2023: Kraken declares it is going to permit buying and selling of shares and ETFs.
- 2024: Kraken launches its crypto pockets.
As of January of 2025, Kraken has over 9 million customers in 190 nations worldwide. The corporate is valued at $5.5 billion.
Is Kraken a Protected Crypto Change?
You’re questioning if Kraken is secure, so let’s begin with our general opinion. Sure, we imagine Kraken is secure in comparison with different exchanges. The corporate has had a number of ups and downs through the years, however they’ve all the time prioritized maintaining their customers secure, maintaining Kraken charges low, and defending their property and your financial institution accounts.
One of many causes that Kraken was chosen to supervise the aftermath of Mt. Gox’s failure is that they’d skilled no safety breaches. They labored with regulators to trace down lacking property and restore them to customers.
Right here’s a part of what Kraken has to say in regards to the firm’s dedication to person security and safety:
We’ve assembled a worldwide group of high safety professionals who take a risk-based method to making sure our purchasers’ property are protected on the highest ranges whereas sustaining distinctive efficiency and an unparalleled shopper expertise.
Within the subsequent part, we’ll take a deep dive into Kraken’s safety measures that can assist you perceive simply how critically they take your security.
Professional Tip:
Do you know which you could commerce over 200 distinctive cryptocurrencies with Kraken?
Kraken Safety Measures and How They Shield Customers
Now, let’s stroll by way of a few of Kraken’s most vital safety measures and the way they will shield you as a person.
Two-Issue Authentication
Two-factor authentication, or 2FA, is a safety measure that requires customers to sign up first with a password, then with a secondary technique similar to a passkey, texted code, authenticator app, or fingerprint scan. Among the best methods to defend your Kraken account is by enabling 2FA.
Along with commonplace 2FA, Kraken has additionally carried out one thing they name Step-up 2FA. It’s an additional step that protects you from unauthorized adjustments to your 2FA settings. In the event you or anybody else requests a change to your Kraken account, you’ll be prompted to verify your sign-in once more with a brand new scan or code.
Grasp Key
Kraken strongly encourages customers to arrange a Grasp Key as an added measure to guard their accounts. Within the occasion your password or account data is compromised, the Grasp Key might be required to reset your password or take every other account motion. For that cause, the Grasp Key must be a distinct technique than what you employ on your commonplace 2FA.
A {hardware} safety key is the really useful Grasp Key possibility for Kraken. In the event you favor, you should utilize a static password or authenticator app, however these strategies are usually much less safe, which is why Kraken recommends a {hardware} safety key as a substitute.
Passkeys
Passkeys are a web site or app-specific type of 2FA, which means that no one can use a passkey from a distinct web site or app to signal into your Kraken account. Kraken recommends that customers allow passkeys as a part of their 2FA, since they’re probably the most safe type of authentication.
Most passkeys take the type of both a fingerprint scan or facial recognition. They’re standardized by the FIDO Alliance and make it practically unimaginable for anyone to entry your account with out your permission.
Professional Tip:
Do you know which you could commerce over 200 distinctive cryptocurrencies with Kraken?
International Settings Lock (GSL)
The International Settings Lock, or GSL, is an added layer of safety that may be accessed out of your Kraken settings. As soon as it’s on, no one will be capable of add a withdrawal account, reset your password, or change your e-mail handle, 2FA, or Grasp Key.
Even when somebody had been to attempt to make unauthorized adjustments to your account, the GSL places a ready interval in place, supplying you with time to react and re-secure your account. Kraken recommends turning GSL on and never permitting it to be overridden along with your Grasp Key.
Are Kraken Deposits and Holdings Insured?
One space the place we imagine Kraken falls wanting a few of its opponents is insurance coverage. Cryptocurrency exchanges aren’t thought of to be financial savings establishments. In different phrases, they’re not banks or credit score unions, and as such, deposits aren’t coated by the Federal Deposit Insurance coverage Company, or FDIC.
Whereas a scarcity of FDIC insurance coverage is the norm for crypto exchanges, a lot of Kraken’s opponents carry separate crime insurance coverage to guard customers’ deposits and holdings from safety breaches brought on by negligence on their half. Kraken doesn’t.
What this implies is that it’s as much as you as a person to reap the benefits of Kraken’s security measures. You gained’t be protected by insurance coverage in case your account is compromised or hacked.
Has Kraken Ever Had a Safety Breach?
Kraken prides itself on its safety. They supply loads of methods for customers to guard themselves, however they’re not resistant to safety points. In 2024, a so-called researcher found a flaw after a Kraken replace and inside a number of days, had shared it with others and exploited it to steal about $3 million in cryptocurrency.
Typically, intrusions like this one are a type of “white hat hacking,” the place researchers discover safety breaches to be able to assist corporations repair them. The 2024 Kraken breach was not carried out to be useful, and we all know that as a result of the folks behind the breach have refused to return the cash.
What’s price noting is that Kraken has been round since 2011, and this was its first and (to date) solely safety breach. As a comparability, Coinbase has been hacked a number of occasions and so has Binance. That mentioned, you’ll must make your personal choice about whether or not you are feeling comfy utilizing Kraken.
Professional Tip:
Do you know which you could commerce over 200 distinctive cryptocurrencies with Kraken?
Kraken and Regulatory Compliance
The difficulty of regulatory compliance is one which looms massive for crypto exchanges like Kraken. Cryptocurrency is decentralized, which implies that regulatory compliance is commonly seen as a grey space. Many crypto exchanges, together with Kraken, have been locked in authorized motion with the SEC over whether or not cryptocurrencies are labeled as securities.
In 2022, the SEC accused Kraken of providing unregistered securities by way of its cryptocurrency staking program. Kraken settled with the SEC in 2023, and as of 2025, they’re as soon as once more providing cryptocurrency staking to customers.
The SEC filed a second lawsuit in 2023, claiming that Kraken had been working as an unsecured securities trade for 5 years. The swimsuit additionally named Kraken’s guardian corporations, Payward Inc. and Payward Ventures. A decide disallowed Kraken’s protection, which many specialists imagine places the SEC on strong footing when it comes to claiming regulatory energy over cryptocurrency exchanges.
What does all of this imply for you as a crypto investor? The underside line is that SEC disputes with Kraken don’t put your investments or deposits in danger. They’re a danger – and probably an costly one – for Kraken.
Kraken Buyer Assist
What would you do in the event you turned a Kraken person and had a safety concern that you simply couldn’t resolve by yourself? It’s an vital query, which is why our Kraken evaluation wouldn’t be full with out details about the assist that’s obtainable.
Kraken supplies assist through a number of channels:
- On-line self-support library, together with FAQ, movies, weblog posts, and detailed directions associated to safety, buying and selling, and extra.
- Reside chat assist, which is on the market on the web site or on the Kraken app.
- E-mail assist.
- Cellphone assist is on the market 24/7 within the US, EU, and UK.
Remember the fact that in the event you do must contact assist, no one at Kraken will ever ask you on your password, two-factor authentication code, system approval code, pockets handle, or Grasp Key. Additionally they gained’t ask you to make any adjustments to your account safety settings or to allow them to entry your system remotely.
Is Kraken Protected? Our Remaining Verdict
The ultimate take of our Kraken evaluation is that Kraken is secure to make use of. There are a number of layers of safety. In the event you avail your self of all of them, together with 2FA, passkeys, a Grasp Key, and International Settings Lock, it will likely be very troublesome for anybody to entry your account with out authorization.
It’s vital to notice right here that your safety on any trade is barely nearly as good as how carefully you guard it. Selecting a weak password or sharing your data with a 3rd social gathering will compromise your safety and should result in you dropping your digital property. We propose maintaining all the pieces personal to maintain your self secure.
FAQ
You’ll be able to fund your Kraken account utilizing a Visa or Mastercard credit score or debit card, through an ACH or wire switch out of your financial institution, or utilizing property in a digital pockets. There could also be a holding interval of as much as 72 hours earlier than deposits can be found.
Kraken takes account documentation critically. You’ll want to offer:
Proof of handle (e.g. mailed financial institution assertion, utility invoice, property tax invoice, or jury summons, amongst others.}
Face ID within the type of a driver’s license, state-issued ID, passport, or inexperienced card.
In the event you’re within the US, you’ll want to offer both a legitimate Social Safety Quantity (SSN) or Particular person Taxpayer Identification Quantity (ITIN).
It could take a number of days after you submit proof of identification on your account to be verified.
No. Right now, Kraken is on the market in 48 states and the District of Columbia. It’s not obtainable in New York or Washington. Further states could also be added sooner or later, and if they’re, we’ll replace this evaluation.
Like a number of on-line buying and selling platforms, Kraken permits for fractional shares. The minimal quantity will range relying on which crypto coin you wish to purchase. An instance could be Bitcoin, the place the minimal commerce quantity is simply $1.
We expect that Kraken is greatest suited to intermediate or superior crypto traders who already know the ropes. In the event you resolve to make use of Kraken as a newbie, you need to anticipate to come across a studying curve. Spending a while studying by way of Kraken’s articles and FAQ, plus watching their movies, might help you rise up to hurry.
Kraken is free to hitch. Its buying and selling charges are, in our opinion, a bit complicated in comparison with another crypto exchanges. In the event you make a easy commerce, there’s an trade price and a selection price, and also you gained’t know what the entire is till you provoke a commerce. The excellent news is that in the event you commerce often, the charges are decrease!
