FTX Vs Kraken: 7 Notable Crypto Exchange Variances

If you’re looking for a cryptocurrency exchange where you can buy and sell coins, you might have to decide between FTX Vs Kraken. In those instances, a side-by-side comparison of the two cryptocurrency exchanges is probably going to be helpful. You will learn more about that in this article.
Based on factors such as supported coins, fees, security, customer support, supported countries, leverage levels, and convenience of use, we compared FTX with Kraken. Both FTX and Kraken have advantages and disadvantages in relation to all of these elements, as we will see in a moment.

What Is FTX?

You may buy and sell cryptocurrencies on the FTX platform. It is a cryptocurrency exchange as a result. FTX was launched in 2019 and is headquartered in the Bahamas (albeit it was incorporated in Antigua & Barbuda).

What Is Kraken?

A place where you may purchase and trade cryptocurrency is Kraken. It is therefore a cryptocurrency exchange. Kraken was established in 2011 and has its US headquarters in San Francisco.

All FTX Vs Kraken Supported Coins

Considering that FTX and Kraken are both cryptocurrency exchanges, a reasonable place to start our comparison of FTX vs Kraken is by examining the coins each one supports.
All of the major coins are supported by FTX and Kraken. You can trade more than 275 different coins on FTX.
In contrast, you can trade more than 69 different coins on Kraken. As a result, FTX prevails over Kraken if the number of coins supported is the only factor in the comparison for FTX Vs Kraken. But it’s important to remember that Kraken accepts 69 different coins, including all the popular ones.
However, if you choose FTX, your chances of finding those small-time/non-mainstream coins are higher than if you choose another exchange. In other words, choosing FTX over Kraken will increase your chances of finding any specific coin. The reason for this is simply that FTX supports more currency.

All FTX Vs Kraken Supported Countries

The supported countries are a crucial factor in the comparison between FTX and Kraken (video) here. If none of these cryptocurrency exchanges is initially available in your country, they won’t be of any service to you.
Now, one interesting aspect of FTX is that it does not accept US citizens. As a result, if you live in the USA, you won’t truly have access to the primary FTX exchange platform (ftx.com). But FTX.us allows you to trade.
Additionally, FTX won’t allow you to join if you are in Iran, Crimea, or Cuba. Afghanistan, North Korea, Syria, Sevastopol, and, paradoxically, Antigua and Barbuda, where it is incorporated, are also prohibited nations.
On the contrary hand, it is important to note that US citizens can access practically all of Kraken’s support.
In the end, we discover that the majority of the countries for which FTX has limits are also those for which Kraken has restrictions.
Then again, FTX prohibits US citizens from trading on its main platform, whereas Kraken enables it. This causes the scales to tip in Kraken’s favor.
If you have to choose between FTX and Kraken while you’re in the US, you might have to go with Kraken.
You’ll have to settle for FTX.us if you insist on utilizing FTX. And that has some restrictions. For instance, you may buy and trade 275 coins on the main FTX platform. However, you’ll discover that FTX.us only allows you to purchase and sell 22.
As a result, Kraken triumphs in this element of the comparison between it and FTX. And the fact that it provides full support for US citizens is the reason for this. Additionally, it is a local (US) business.

FTX Vs Kraken Fees

It is important to consider the fees while contrasting and comparing Kraken and FTX exchanges on the basis of FTX Vs Kraken analysis.
We’ll start with FTX, which has a market maker fee of 0.02 percent. The market taker fee at FTX, however, is 0.07%. For its tier 1 traders, that would be.
We now look at Kraken, which has a market maker fee of 0.02%. On the other hand, Kraken charges a market taker fee of 0.05%.
If the taker fee is your sole factor in deciding between Kraken and FTX, we can see that FTX offers a little better deal.
We can see that FTX doesn’t charge any withdrawal fees, with the exception of minor BTC withdrawals, ETH withdrawals, and ERC-20 withdrawals.
Kraken, however, charges a few nominal withdrawal fees. Additionally, it has minimal withdrawal limits for the different coins.
In the conclusion, FTX appears to be a little superior option when comparing Kraken vs. FTX costs.
It is difficult to ignore the emphasis on these little cost variations if you compare the majority of FTX exchange review articles to the majority of Kraken exchange review articles.

FTX Vs Kraken Customer Support Service

Kraken and FTX both provide respectable levels of customer service.
You may contact customer service for FTX by email, Twitter, Facebook, and WeChat.
Kraken offers live chat, email, Facebook, and Twitter assistance.
It’s obvious that FTX appears to provide a little bit more customer assistance choices than Kraken.
For instance, Kraken doesn’t appear to have the WeChat option, although FTX offers Twitter and WeChat support.
However, some people could think that Kraken’s customer assistance is slightly superior to FTX’s in terms of quality.
Additionally, keep in mind that Kraken is a local (US) business while FTX is not. Some people might consequently believe that because Kraken is a local business, it will be better able to comprehend the problems they raise in its support tickets than FTX.
But it appears that FTX and Kraken take virtually equal amounts of time to respond to client complaints.

FTX Vs Kraken KYC Requirements/ Regulations

Both FTX and Kraken have KYC (Know Your Customer) requirements/regulations, as one might anticipate from businesses that deal with finances. In general, it is simpler to comply with FTX KYC requirements than Kraken’s.
For instance, instant account verification with Kraken is not really possible, however, it is possible with FTX.
In FTX, you can receive a $2,000 limit by just entering your email address, full legal name, birth date, country of residence, and phone jurisdiction.
Beyond that, you can trade with no restrictions if you can show evidence of address, a description of the assets’ source, an ID, and facial recognition.
Without proof of address and phone verification and confirmation, you can’t really do anything in Kraken.
Reading through the majority of the FTX vs. Kraken Reddit discussions reveals that FTX’s KYC is unquestionably simpler than Kraken’s. In fact, even if we were to compare the KYC requirements of FTX, Kraken, and Binance, FTX would likely come out on top.
It’s not that FTX does not require a KYC procedure. Just that meeting the FTX KYC criteria is a little bit simpler. Furthermore, it is obvious that the FTX KYC procedure proceeds more quickly based on the opinions expressed in the majority of Kraken versus FTX Reddit threads/ conversations.
In the end, you will discover that FTX is marginally superior to Kraken if the KYC process is the sole factor considered.
If you want a platform where you can quickly complete the KYC process and start buying/selling cryptocurrency, FTX is unquestionably better.

FTX Vs Kraken Security

Both FTX and Kraken take considerable measures to guarantee that their systems are secure because they both deal with people’s money.
Both Kraken and FTX employ two-factor authentication. Both encrypt private account information. Additionally, both offer alert systems that allow you to learn about account activity nearly immediately.
That basis is covered because FTX and Kraken are both trustworthy and legit platforms.
Kraken has, of course, existed for a longer time. While FTX has only been around since 2019, Kraken has existed since 2011. Additionally, consumers are more likely to trust older platforms than newer ones. Therefore, Kraken has a tiny advantage in this.
Additionally, it is important to keep in mind that the Kraken Exchange’s headquarters are in the US. While the company is incorporated in Antigua and Barbados, the FTX exchange’s headquarters are in the Bahamas.
Some people might be more likely to trust Kraken because it is a local (US) business with a local headquarters.
Additionally, some people may have more faith in Kraken because of the more rigorous KYC process it uses (see above).
The fact that FTX maintains a backstop liquidity reserve with a value of roughly $200 mm should be emphasized regardless.
Kraken places a strong focus on keeping ‘coins in the cold’- cold storage. According to Kraken, 95% of the coins it is in possession of are in offline, cold storage. People whose money just so happens to be in Kraken’s hands should find comfort in this.
In the end, it is evident that FTX and Kraken are both reliable cryptocurrency exchange platforms. However, some people may trust Kraken more on those accounts because it has been around longer, is based locally (in the US), and has stricter KYC procedures.

FTX Vs Kraken Leverage

There are restrictions on who can engage in margin trading in FTX.
Kraken, on the other hand, allows anyone to engage in margin trading.
The leverage restrictions for FTX were reduced from 100x to 20x in July 2021. As a result, you currently have up to 20x leverage in FTX.
Looking at Kraken, it has a 5x leverage potential (on margin).
Therefore, it is obvious that FTX still has a larger limit if the leverage limit is your only factor in making an FTX Vs Kraken comparison. That is at a 20x premium over Kraken’s 5x.
However, you must keep in mind that FTX has limitations on margin trading while Kraken allows anyone to do so.

FTX Vs Kraken Ease Of Use

Both Kraken and FTX are comparatively user-friendly cryptocurrency exchange services.
Some people might find the Kraken user interface to be a little less frightening than the FTX one.
The argument will also be made by others that, for a newbie, using Kraken is far simpler than using FTX to complete identical duties.
This is another situation when a comparison of the mobile apps for FTX and Kraken may be relevant.
Both FTX and Kraken provide iOS and Android mobile apps. On the other hand, it can appear that the Kraken mobile app is more straightforward and user-friendly. Thus, it might seem more straightforward and user-friendly than the FTX mobile app.
At the very least, it appears that using the Kraken mobile app will need less time and effort than using the FTX mobile app to do identical activities.
Therefore, Kraken looks to have a minor advantage over FTX in terms of usability. But this is arbitrary. Some people might think the contrary is true, that FTX is the most user-friendly crypto exchange.

Conclusion – FTX Vs Kraken

There are undoubtedly some areas where FTX is better than Kraken. Kraken is better than FTX in a number of other areas as well.
FTX might be a better option for you if you’re looking for a platform that supports more coins, has lower fees, a quicker KYC procedure, and has bigger leverage levels.
Kraken, on the other hand, might be a better option for you if you’re looking for an older, more reputable platform that enables margin trading for everyone, provides full US support, and is generally highly user-friendly.