Kraken vs. Coinbase: Best Crypto Exchange in 2023?

A lot has changed in the world of cryptocurrency since 2022. The market is still very volatile and unpredictable, but it’s also much more mature.

Many cryptocurrencies have come and gone over the last five years, many exchanges have opened and closed their doors.

But not all exchanges are created equal.

In fact, there are several factors to consider when choosing an exchange to use, including security, customer service, fees and features.

In this article we’ll compare two of the top fiat-to-crypto exchanges: Kraken and Coinbase.

We’ll look at how they’ve changed over the last decade as well as their current offerings and prices so that you can make an informed decision about where to trade your crypto!

Kraken vs. Coinbase: Which Exchange is Better?

Kraken was founded back in 2010 by Jesse Powell, who had previously worked at Mt Gox during its heyday as one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world.

When Mt Gox collapsed in 2014 due to lax security measures and poor management decisions, Powell founded Kraken with the intention of building a better trading platform for both professional traders and casual investors alike.

Kraken vs. Coinbase: Compared

 Coinbase vs Kraken are two of the most popular cryptocurrency exchanges. They both offer trading in Bitcoin and Ethereum, though each has its own advantages and disadvantages.

Fees

The fees charged by both Coinbase and Kraken are relatively low compared to other exchanges, with Kraken being slightly more expensive than Coinbase. However, there are some differences between the two platforms that can make a big difference to your bottom line:

Kraken only charges a flat fee of 0.26% per transaction (with a minimum of $0.26). This means that if you’re trading large amounts of money on Kraken, you’ll pay less in fees than on Coinbase where a percentage fee is charged based on the amount traded.

Coinbase offers reduced fees for high volume traders but exact details have not been released yet.

Both platforms offer a wide variety of payment methods including credit cards and debit cards or bank transfers but Kraken does not allow fiat deposits (only withdrawals). This is because Kraken only accepts cryptocurrencies as deposits so if you want cash into your account then you will need to wire it directly from your bank account which can take days.

Features

Kraken and Coinbase are two of the most popular cryptocurrency exchanges in the world, both offering users a way to buy and sell bitcoin, ether, litecoin and other digital assets.

   

Kraken is a US-based exchange that was founded in 2011 and is headquartered in San Francisco. The Bitcoin exchange supports several fiat currencies including USD, EUR and JPY.

It also offers margin trading, advanced order types such as stop loss orders and trailing stops, as well as leverage up to 5X.

Coinbase is a US-based cryptocurrency exchange which was founded in 2012 by Brian Armstrong and Fred Ehrsam. It offers users the ability to buy or sell bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies using their bank account or credit card.

The platform also allows users to trade between different cryptocurrencies on its GDAX platform. Let’s take a look at how these two platforms compare against each other based on key features:

Fees & Limits: Kraken has no fees on deposits or withdrawals while Coinbase charges 1% fees on both deposits and withdrawals to your bank account or credit card. For example, if you want to deposit $100 into your account then you will pay $1 fee.

Fees

Kraken charges a 0.16% fee on all transactions, with the exception of trades involving bitcoin (XBT), which have no fee. This is pretty low compared to other exchanges, but it’s still not as good as Coinbase’s free transaction fee.

In fact, most cryptocurrency exchanges offer free transactions or a very small fee that’s hard to notice when dealing in small amounts of money (less than $20).

Trading volume

The trading volume at Kraken is lower than at Coinbase. This means that there will be fewer people willing to buy or sell cryptocurrencies at any given price point on Kraken than there would be at Coinbase, which can cause prices to fluctuate more wildly than usual during periods of high volatility.

However, this isn’t always a bad thing it means that you’ll have fewer people competing with you when entering buy or sell orders and thus have better odds of filling them quickly and cheaply than if you were using an exchange with higher trading volume such as GDAX or Bitfinex.

Security

Coinbase is a trusted US-based cryptocurrency brokerage that has been in operation since 2012. It has earned a reputation as one of the most secure exchanges to use.

Kraken is another popular cryptocurrency exchange, but it does not have the same reputation for security. Here is a comparison of how these two exchanges stack up when it comes to security.

Coinbase offers a variety of security features for its users’ accounts. These include two-factor authentication (2FA) and an encryption key that can be used to access your account on any device.

2FA requires you to enter a code from your phone or other device before you can log in. This means that someone who steals your password will not be able to log in to your account unless they also have access to the device where your 2FA code was generated.

The encryption key makes it possible for you to access your account on any device without needing to login with your password each time you want access.

Insurance

Kraken and Coinbase are two of the most popular cryptocurrency exchanges in the world, so it makes sense that people would want to compare them. Both platforms have a lot to offer in terms of user experience and security, but there are some key differences between them that may be important for some people.

   

Kraken launched its insurance program in 2015 with Lloyd’s of London, which is considered one of the top insurance providers in the world. It provides coverage for up to $100 million per customer per incident, which means that if any one person lost $100 million worth of cryptocurrency due to an attack or hack, they could get their money back without having to pay anything out of pocket.

This is quite impressive compared to other exchanges who only offer limited coverage or don’t provide any type of coverage at all.Coinbase’s insurance program was introduced in 2018 by Chubb Insurance Company (NYSE: CB), which was founded in 1882 and provides property and casualty insurance services for businesses around the globe.

Fees

Coinbase’s fee structure is pretty simple: You pay a % of your transaction amount, based on the level of verification you’ve achieved with them. This ranges from 0% for transactions under $10 to 3.99% for transactions over $200,000.

Kraken has a similar fee structure, but it’s more complex than Coinbase’s and it doesn’t charge any fees for deposits or withdrawals. As a result, it can be tough to figure out how much you’ll actually pay when buying crypto on Kraken (or selling it).

Using Advanced Accounts

Kraken and Coinbase are two of the most popular online cryptocurrency exchanges that allow users to buy, sell and trade digital currencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin and others. Both exchanges have a lot of similarities, but there are also some differences between them.

The main difference is that Coinbase only operates in 32 countries while Kraken operates in more than 190 countries. However, this does not mean that if you live in one country where Coinbase does not operate then you cannot use their service because they do accept credit cards which can be used anywhere in the world.

Another difference between these two platforms is that you cannot use Kraken without having an account while on Coinbase anyone can create an account using their email address or phone number without providing any personal information or verifying their identity.

This makes it easier for new users who want to buy cryptocurrencies with fiat currency rather than using their credit card directly through a payment processor like Stripe or PayPal which charges high fees on every transaction made by customers.

Both platforms allow users to trade digital assets against other cryptocurrencies or even fiat currencies like USD, EUR etc., however Kraken offers much lower spreads compared to Coinbase.

Withdrawal Fees

 Kraken and Coinbase are among the most popular cryptocurrency exchanges in the world. Both platforms provide a wide range of services for both beginners and advanced users.

   

The main difference between these two platforms is that Kraken offers an advanced user interface, while Coinbase is more beginner-friendly. If you’re a newbie to the world of cryptocurrency and want to buy Bitcoin, Ether or any other coins on an exchange that’s easy-to-use and intuitive then Coinbase is a good choice.

However, if you’re looking to trade cryptocurrencies or get involved with margin trading on Kraken, then this guide might help you decide which platform suits your needs best.

Coinbase charges 0% withdrawal fees for all cryptocurrencies except Bitcoin Cash (BCH). BCH withdrawals are charged at 1%.

If you want to withdraw USD from your account there will be a 3% processing fee applied for bank transfers and 4% for SEPA withdrawals. You can also choose to withdraw your money via PayPal but this will incur a 5% fee plus $3 on top of that processing fee amounting to $8 total in fees if you choose this option as your withdrawal method.

Ease of Use

Both Kraken and Coinbase have relatively simple interfaces that are easy to understand and use. However, in my opinion, Kraken has a slight edge over Coinbase in terms of user experience because it offers more advanced features than what Coinbase does.

For example, Kraken offers margin trading services for users who want to take advantage of leverage to trade on margin. In addition, you can also deposit fiat currencies into your account via wire transfer or SEPA transfer from your bank account.

You can also withdraw fiat currencies from your Kraken account via wire transfer or SEPA transfer from your bank account as well.

The process is similar with Coinbase, although it doesn’t offer margin trading services at this time and users can only deposit/withdraw cryptocurrencies from their accounts – not fiat currencies like USD/EUR/GBP etc. This means that if you want to buy some bitcoin using USD then you will need to convert USD into BTC using an exchange like Bitstamp.

Kraken vs Coinbase – FAQ

What is Kraken?

Kraken is the largest cryptocurrency exchange in euro volume and liquidity, and an established leader in the European and Japanese digital asset markets.

Founded in 2011 as one of the first bitcoin exchanges in the world, Kraken provides clients with advanced trading tools and features, a fully compliant regulatory environment, and professional services including 24/7 support.

The company was founded in San Francisco by Jesse Powell and his father Michael Powell, a former investment banker at Morgan Stanley.

In early 2018, Kraken acquired US-based Coinsetter to expand its business into the United States market. In late 2018, Kraken announced that it had acquired Crypto Facilities Ltd., a regulated futures exchange for cryptocurrencies that allows for trading on margin and short selling.

What is Coinbase?

Coinbase is one of the most popular cryptocurrency exchanges worldwide. It allows users to buy Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and Ripple (XRP) with credit cards or bank transfers on their platform.

It also has options for buying crypto with cash via an ATM or through an “Instant Buy” feature using debit or credit cards.

Can you do forex trading on these platforms?

 The answer is yes, you can do forex trading on these platforms.

In fact, there are quite a few brokers who offer the ability to trade currencies on your mobile devices.

The good news is that these platforms are not just limited to desktop computers. You can also use them on your tablet and even on your smartphone.

This makes it possible for you to get up close and personal with the markets no matter where you are located or what time of day it is.

What is the best crypto asset to invest in?

 The best crypto asset to invest in is the one that aligns with your risk tolerance and investment goals.

When it comes to investing in cryptocurrencies, there is no shortage of options. Whether you’re looking for a long-term investment or something that can be traded on an exchange, there are plenty of coins to choose from.

So how do you know which one will be the best crypto asset to invest in?

Here’s a look at some of the most popular cryptocurrencies and tokens out there today:

Bitcoin (BTC) – Bitcoin was created by Satoshi Nakamoto back in 2009, and it’s still the most popular cryptocurrency around today. It’s also probably the most well-known cryptocurrency on earth.

That’s because it was the first one ever created, so it has been around longer than any other coin out there right now. Bitcoin has had its ups and downs over the years, but it’s still going strong today as an alternative currency used around the world.

Ethereum (ETH) – Ethereum was created by Vitalik Buterin back in 2015, and it has become quite popular since then due to its smart contract capabilities as well as its decentralized application development platform known as Ethereum Enterprise Alliance (EEA). 

   

What advice should new crypto investors keep in mind?

1. Never invest more than you can afford to lose

The first thing to do before you buy any cryptocurrency is to set up a plan for how much money you want to invest, how long you will invest for, and what your exit strategy will be if things don’t go as planned. If your investment loses value, can you afford to wait until it recovers? If so, then great! But if not, then maybe you should reconsider your strategy.

2. Don’t chase the pump and dump group

There are many groups on social media sites where people buy low and sell high together so that they can profit off each other’s trades without having any real knowledge about whether or not a particular coin or token might increase or decrease in value over time. These groups often have names like “Crypto Trading 101” or “The Crypto Experts”.

Which platform is best for crypto investors?

It’s a question we get asked a lot. And it’s not always easy to answer.

There are lots of different platforms out there, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. In this post, we’ll look at some of the main ones and explain why you might choose one over another.

Coinbase

This is probably the most popular service for buying and selling crypto, but it’s also the least flexible. If you’re looking to invest in more than just Bitcoin or Ethereum, Coinbase isn’t going to be the right choice for you; they only support those two currencies at present (although they do plan to add more).

On top of that, Coinbase charges fees on every transaction (which can be as high as 4%). That means if you’re planning on buying a few different coins, transferring them around and selling them again later down the line (which is what many people do), then your profits will be eaten away by fees before they even reach your wallet.

The lack of flexibility means this isn’t great news for traders either: if you want to move money around quickly without paying fees, then Coinbase isn’t going to cut it either.

Kraken vs. Coinbase – Wrap Up

Kraken’s biggest mistake was letting its customers down. The exchange had a major outage that lasted over two hours and caused Kraken to be down for most of the day.

It was the biggest crash in the history of cryptocurrency trading, and it happened on the very first day of the year.

Coinbase had a smaller outage that lasted only about 15 minutes, but it was enough to cause some people to lose money when they tried to move their funds from Coinbase into Kraken.

Despite being down for 15 minutes, Coinbase managed to get back up and running relatively quickly after the crash, but Kraken didn’t have that luxury.

Coinbase also had better customer service than Kraken did when it came time for people to complain about their losses (or gains).