Kraken Introduction
When looking for the best cryptocurrency exchange, there are several features that should be considered. The exchange should be trustworthy, offer competitive rates, provide opportunities for profit, and more.
Kraken checks all the necessary boxes and is well worth a look whether you are a novice or a serious investor. This Kraken review will cover the how and why investors might want to make Kraken their new crypto exchange and trading platform.
Kraken Crypto Trading Features
Kraken is a forward-looking cryptocurrency exchange offering many great features to those interested in getting involved in the world of cryptocurrencies.
The exchange provides avenues for simple currency (crypto) pair trading, advanced trading strategies, futures trading, staking, and much more.
Kraken offers margin on futures contracts. For spot trading, margin can be used by some traders
amplify buying power in addition to allowing investors to sell assets short. For anyone sure
about their strategy, it is quite possible to amplify the earning potential on crypto assets
exponentially at Kraken.
Kraken also offers plenty of ways to fund and withdrawal funds from trading/investment accounts as long as users are able to pass a Know Your Customer (KYC) verification process.
In addition, larger investors can take advantage of the low rates, private OTC opportunities, and personalized account management services.
Kraken Trading Products and Opportunities
The trading products and opportunities for investors to take advantage of are many. The available digital assets and associated financial products provide ample opportunity to investors as most are represented. There are quite a few altcoins that are missing from the list of available assets, but they are adding more all the time.
Traders can select from an extensive list of currency pairs, including all the primary digital assets, popular Forex options, and all the combinations those pairs represent.
Interestingly, traders at Kraken can use advanced charting tools to trade in the cryptocurrencies of their choosing with or without margin. Should investors want to get a bit creative, approved users can also utilize the margin offered by Kraken to trade between popular Forex products.
Traders can create their own Forex trading experience while maintaining complete control over the size of the trade, amount of margin they are comfortable with, and more. Fiat currencies available include CAD, JPY, EUR, and more.
Of course, the Futures trading opportunities are also a main attraction at Kraken. Read more about Kraken’s Futures products below.
Kraken Futures Trading
Futures trading is something that does well to set Kraken apart from much of its competition. The approach to trading crypto futures and the exchange’s ability to execute that approach provides many details to traders of all experience levels.
Regulated Futures contracts for several currency pairs are available to trade on the dedicated Kraken Futures platform. The benefits of trading Futures contracts are many, but some of the more popular are low capital risk (as low as 2%), high margin (up to 50x), stable pricing, and high liquidity.
Here is a breakdown from Kraken
https://www.kraken.com/en-us/features/futures/
of the various Futures contracts, their fees, and other crucial information:
Kraken Trading Platform
For technical traders, Kraken offers a slew of advanced technical analysis tools that should appease just about everyone. While pro traders may very well have more robust analysis tools at their disposal for trading commodities, indices, and stocks, Kraken’s approach to charting is certainly strong.
Kraken’s charting tools load into a browser and require few resources from the computer. Despite that, traders can take advantage of the many available features built into the charts.
From theme control to indicators to drawing tools to depth of market and more, the feel of Kraken’s charting solution is impressive – especially when compared to many of the other popular US-based crypto exchanges.
In addition to the ‘stock’ trading platform, Kraken also offers a more advanced version for its crypto Futures trading. Once approved for Futures trading on Kraken’s platform, traders can use the Futures platform to make any trades they want on Kraken, including trades on Futures, spot, and currencies.
The Futures platform is fast and comes with all the necessary tools for competitive trading.
Crypto Indices
Crypto price indices provided by CME are also useful additions to the Kraken offering. Users at Kraken always have access to CME’s realtime pricing information on the world’s most popular digital assets. For serious investors looking for the most current pricing information, it’s hard to find more accurate price information for digital assets.
Price information is available for Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, Litecoin, Shiba Inu, and Ripple (XRP).
Kraken Price Structure
An essential part of understanding whether a digital asset exchange is worth your time is looking at the fee and price structure. At Kraken, the prices and fees are quite competitive.
Fees are attached to each trade, fees are based on trade quote volume, and those calculations are created by looking back at the previous 30 days. Kraken does offer a number of fee discounts based on trade frequency and volume.
Fees associated with Instant Buy trades are as follows:
Fees associated with trades on Kraken Pro are as follows:
Fees associated with Stablecoins and FX are as follows:
Fees associated with Futures are as follows:
Kraken Funding, Deposits, and Withdrawals
Funding an account at Kraken is a straightforward process that is very similar to what you can see on other exchanges.
Funding choices range from domestic and international wire transfers to direct crypto funding. Interestingly, ACH for funding in USD is still not a thing at Kraken, but it seems that more features are being added all the time. It would not be surprising to ACH funding added in the near future.
For the time being, wire transfers are used for fiat currency funding. These transfers can take up to 5 days to clear.
The quickest and easiest way to find an account on the platform is to send crypto directly to your account at Kraken. Users have access to virtual crypto wallets capable of holding every available asset on the Kraken platform.
There are many wallet options available, but they are not all equal in terms of minimum allowable deposits, address set up costs, and deposit fees.
Here is an overview of the various differences in crypto deposit options:
It is an exceedingly long photo. Maybe it’s not a practical size…
Customer Support
The customer support system that Kraken has in place is one great thing that users will quickly notice when they have a question or issue with their account. Users can get fast answers via a comprehensive list of commonly searched topics, they can talk to an AI assistant, or chat with a live person, 24/7 via the Live Chat feature.
The range of help-centered features that the company includes as part of the customer experience makes the Kraken platform suitable for investors of all experience levels. Even complete newcomers to the crypto space can quickly find the answers and education they need within the support network.
Customer Education Suite
Newcomers to the world of trading cryptocurrencies will certainly find value in Kraken’s extensive education Suite (https://support.kraken.com/hc/en-us).
No matter what an investor might be curious about, it is very possible that they can find answers in the help/education section. Not only does the education help new traders understand what to do and how to do it on the platform, but experienced traders can also find valuable information to improve their craft.
Institutional Support
Kraken’s institutional support is yet another feature of the exchange that sets it apart from many of its competitors. The exchange devotes much of its energy to providing solutions for its institutional customer base.
Kraken offers services like high API rates, large-scale funding options, and full account management support for banks, brokers, trading firms, and more. Another interesting service aimed at institutions is the OTC desk which handles large crypto purchases without affecting the open exchange or price of the underlying asset.
While most traders may not be directly affected by the institutional involvement at Kraken, the trickle-down effect from that involvement does provide some perks that many other exchanges can’t or won’t offer. Examples include very high deposit limits, advanced trading products, crypto futures, foreign exchange, and more.
Kraken Crypto-currencies Account Final Thoughts
There are many things that Kraken does right when it comes to providing investors with the tools,
products, and services they need to make money in the cryptocurrency markets.
Traders of all types
can take advantage of the price data, trading tools, advanced financial products, and the learning
center to invest successfully. Funding is simple and fees are also lower than what you will find on
many other exchanges.
If you are looking for a full-service crypto broker to fit your personal
trading style, Kraken is an excellent choice.
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