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Kraken is known to be one of the best cryptocurrency exchange in terms of liquidity and euro volume. Its headquarters is located in San Francisco California. It operates worldwide across the United States, Canada, Europe, and Japan. The one major factor that distinguishes Kraken from its peers is its low transaction fees and an overall excellent security system.
It was founded in the year 2011. You can purchase Ethereum, Litecoin, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies on Kraken with fiat currencies like USD, JPY, and EUR. Experienced users also have the option of margin trading on Kraken platform. There are other numerous offers that Kraken offers but the interface on their platform isn’t exactly beginner friendly.
There have been some complaints by lots of Kraken users over the years. Due to that, CEO Jesse Powell apologized for the issues that have been plaguing the exchange. The complains were mainly due to Krakens inability to cope with the increasing demand for the cryptocurrency. This resulted in users receiving error messages which prevented them from assessing the platform for its intended purposes. To correct these issues the exchange made a promise to install better upgrades by December 2017.
Currency support
Not every currency can be used on Kraken platform. These are the fiat currencies that can be used on Kraken.
- Euro (EUR)
- Japanese Yen (JPY)
- Canadian dollar (CAD)
- British Pounds (GBP)
- US dollar (USD)
You can use wire transfer, SEPA or SWIFT to make deposits or withdrawal. Deposits or withdrawal takes about 1-5 working days depending on the method of transfer of funds. In most cases, it is free of charge to deposit most of the accepted cryptocurrencies but in some minor cases, you pay a small address setup fee. Fiat currency deposits are free when using SEPA and this makes Kraken very convenient for countries in the European Union. It costs $5 to $10 to make wire transfers from within the United States. Whiles it costs £10 or €10 to make wire transfers from outside the States.
Cryptocurrencies available on Kraken
Only 17 cryptocurrencies can be supported on Kraken currently.
- Bitcoin (XBT)
- Bitcoin cash (BCH)
- Ethereum (ETH)
- Ethereum classic (ETC)
- Dash (DASH)
- Gnosis (GNO)
- Litecoin (LTC)
- Iconomi (ICN)
- EOS (EOS)
- Augur (REP)
- Stellar Lumes ( XLM)
- Monero (XMR)
- Ripple (XRP)
- Dogecoin (XDG)
- Zcash (Zec)
- Melon (MLN)
- Tether (USDT)
Kraken Fees
The fees charged on Kraken is one of the lowest amongst bitcoin exchanges. The amount of the fees you pay are in parallel with the tier of your account. The higher the account tier the lower your fees and the higher the volume of trades you can make. Both the buyer and the seller pay some amount of fees in each trade but the buyer pays more fees than the seller.
Supported countries
Despite the fact that Kraken is assessable all over the world, there are currently only two language options available. The exchange can also be assessed on iOS app but the reviews on the app usage aren’t that great. The general consensus is that the app is not very reliable.
Account types available on Kraken exchange
Once you open an account, you should look at the verification section and there you will find the five different account types which have been scaled from 0 to 4. The amount of fees you will pay depends on the tier of your account. Ego different account level users pay different amount of fees. Also, the deposit and withdrawal amounts differ with each tier of account. The amounts basically increase as your account level increases.
A user with tier 0 account cannot make deposits or withdrawals. However, all you need to reach a tier 2 account is to provide some basic information like date of birth, full name, phone number, and country of residence. Tier 2 account type allows a daily deposit of $2000 and a total monthly deposit of $10,000. Tier 3 account holders are required to provide some proof of Id or address. Tier 4 account holders have an advantage of being able to contact the support team since that level is reserved for high value and corporate accounts.
Customer Support
The website has a very extensive support system which offers full information about trading to account verification. The website is set up in such a way that every challenging information you might require inquiries into is available. Regardless, you can always submit a support ticket in case you require extra assistance. Though this might take some time to get a response regarding your inquiry, you will eventually get it.
Kraken Security
The Kraken site is one of the most secure websites on earth with a two-factor authentication feature which is available on the account login as well as the trading and funding process. There is also an option to set up a master key for the recovery of your password as well as a two-factor authentication bypass. Another security feature available on the platform is a global settings lock that is used to prevent the tempering of details of account information.
Online reviews and public opinion of Kraken
It is always important to do intensive research before choosing any bitcoin exchange. The major strength of Kraken is in its low transaction fees, advanced features, and strong security. Despite all these advantages, Kraken has been unable to cope with the increased traffic on the website. Though this problem seems to have been addressed as of December 2017. Another criticism that Kraken faces is the technicality of the interface of its platform which makes it not friendly for beginners.
Conclusion
After all that has been said, Kraken seems to be seems to be an option worth considering due to its excellent security features and low fees on transactions. /Kraken will be an excellent choice for users who wouldn’t mind about the complexity of the interface of the website. Beginners have the option of learning to use the platform and enjoy the benefits of a tighter security that Kraken offers.
Kraken exchange review
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