Cryptocurrency is in no doubt the future of our economy. That’s why cryptocurrency exchange platforms are starting to emerge in vast numbers and popularity. Two of the most established platforms among these are the Kraken and Binance.
However, venturing in this exchange is not an eeny, meeny, miny, moe decision. You should make sure that these platforms are safe and that they have a good offering of the right features that will fit what you are searching for.
In this article, we will talk about Kraken VS. Binance and how these Crypto Exchange Platforms compare with each other?
Kraken Vs. Binance: Introduction
When it comes to growth over its launching and until now, Binance might be the best contender because, in just a short period, Binance was able to be the largest cryptocurrency exchange by size and has the greatest trading pairs. On the other hand, Kraken is the contender for being one of the most secure crypto exchanges because it has never experienced any hacking scenarios.
Below is a quick overview of Kraken Vs. Binance:
Kraken
Kraken is in the cryptocurrency world ever since 2011 and was established by Jesse Powell. The headquarters is located at San Francisco, California. As mentioned, security plays a significant factor in Kraken. The CEO, Jesse Powell, knows the importance of state-of-the-art security measures to produce the most reliable platform that a lot of clients and traders will trust and go to.
Kraken’s strategy is about delisting altcoins that might harm the whole crypto platform. They are also considered the first crypto company to receive a U.S. bank charter, meaning they adhere to all legal regulation standards and requirements.
Pros
- Top-notch security
- User-friendly
- Considered as one of the most liquid crypto exchanges
- Supports trading in six different fiat currencies compared to others that has only one to three fiat currency exchanges
Cons
- Some services is not available to clients from Washington and New York
- Slow customer services support
Binance
Binance was founded in 2017, and in 2018 it became the largest cryptocurrency exchange, not just in the USA but in the world, when it comes to trading volume. Changpeo Zhao established Binance in China but eventually moved out because of regulations of crypto in the said country.
Binance is known for offering low fees and the accessibility of a significant amount of trading pairs. Also, the trading limits in Binance for a non-verified user are still relatively high. Binance currently don’t have a central headquarters and operate in fiat trading through their own token called stablecoins.
Pros
- Most recommended for advanced clients or traders
- They also provide particularly low transaction fees
- It has almost 600 trading pairs
- It has high level liquidity
Cons
- Not user-friendly
- It doesn’t provide more fiat currencies payment options
Top Six Features to Consider When Comparing
To have a compelling comparison between Kraken Vs. Binance, we need to pinpoint features that can bring out what’s best or not from the two platforms. We will have six features you can consider when choosing between Kraken and Binance: safety, ease of use, fees, supported cryptocurrencies, trader count and customer support.
1. Safety – the number one on the list should be your funds and account’s safety. This is not only applicable in Kraken Vs Binance but to all other platforms, you might be looking into. Without excellent security, you are always at risk of losing your funds and getting your information hacked.
In cryptocurrency exchanges, it mostly happens online, so you better find a platform that doesn’t have past hacking issues. Besides other things, safety and security are their top priority.
2.Ease-of-Use – either you are a skilled cryptocurrency trader or not, a reliable cryptocurrency platform should always have an option for a beginner ; not everybody started as a veteran in everything. A cryptocurrency platform should know that adapting to complicated features and technicalities in crypto exchange cannot be learned in one day, and there should always be an ease-of-use interface for other people.
3.Fees – the fees may probably be the second most important feature on the list because every time you trade or exchange in crypto, there will be fees. These fees has several factors included and can also be complex; that is why you might notice most traders are talking about fees and what might be the top deals out there to be able to gain profit.
4. Supported Cryptocurrencies – there are a lot of cryptocurrencies available. You can absolutely take a look, research, and exchange on that. The market of cryptocurrencies is continuously growing and improving; a lot of people, especially beginners, tend to create their own varied portfolios by buying several diverse cryptocurrencies aside from the primary cryptos such as (Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum, and more.)
5.Trader Count – the trader count is also essential because if it has a lot of users in the platform, it is the basis that a platform provides an effective trading setting and depicts a dependable trading for people. However, it might take a toll on customer support.
6.Customer Support – if you will be venturing into the world of cryptocurrency, most of the things you need to learn by yourself. However, most of the top platforms out there provides various walkthrough and others might also have a feature for a beginner. Thus, sometimes, customer support is the area that will be completely lacking. No matter what, as a user, you are entitled to excellent customer service.
Kraken Vs. Binance: Deeper Comparison
Safety
Kraken is one of the most highly structured platforms that conform with the appropriate rules, and regulations when it comes to secured cyber crypto trading. To evade any mix-ups and violations, almost only 2% of funds are kept online. They separate the client’s funds from the business’ funds solely for functioning use.
Kraken and Binance both use two-factor authentication to support secure log-ins. This type of authentication avoids random access from your account. However, it won’t repel you from hacking or phishing.
Kraken doesn’t stop there; they want to step up their security features more by adding a “Master Key,” this is another password to contact controlled account actions. They also offer a choice to bolt your account over a particular span of time, and it is called “Global Settings Lock.” Any unrecognized IP address that is trying to make way to your account or input changes in your setting will be blocked in this feature.
As mentioned above, it is Kraken ‘s advantage that they never faced any security issues tracing back until 2011, while Binance experienced various security matters since 2017. The specific headquarters of Binance is still in questions. This reason can be considered as a red flag if the company is confirming to rules and regulations.
Ease-of-Use
When you visit the site of Kraken, you will be greeted by several fun and interactive graphics that will not overwhelm you. They also have a feature for newbies that will basically help them to know what they need before diving in deep into the cryptocurrency industry.
Kraken makes sure that every beginner will be able to navigate well in their website and be an investor without touching or by slowly introducing the complicated topics. While in Binance, it can be a bit complicated to use. You need to have prior knowledge in cryptocurrencies and exchanges so you will be able to use the site in its full potential. They also have stablecoins that might intimidate beginners.
Also, Binance and Kraken platforms have a mobile app where you can bring your crypto trading matters to the palm of your hands. It is available in Google Play and Apple Store. This is also an advantage because you can track essential graphs, market price, wire transfers and other things easily.
So, in terms of being user-friendly, you can go to Kraken but if you are more of an advanced crypto trader then Binance might be the one for you. You will be welcomed by a lot of amazing features you can explore.
Fees
Kraken provides forthright trading fees. The user will be charged up to 0,26% for each cryptocurrency exchanges they do. If you are going to ask about the definite number, it depends on a lot of factors, for example, if you are a taker or a maker, the amount of crypto, and many more. They also provide a trading limit of $100,000 and might charge you up to $60 in terms of withdrawal fees and deposit methods.
On the other hand, Binance doesn’t have a level daily trading limit, and they also have the lowest exchanges rates. If we are talking about the withdrawal, they will charge you with 3.5% with a minimum fees of $10.
Choosing what’s best between Kraken Vs. Binance in terms of trading fees really depends on what a user needs or wants. If you will be crypto trading in small volumes, you might want to opt for Binance. If you are exchanging millions of cryptocurrencies, then you might be able to spot lower withdrawal fees on Kraken and have a lot on your table.
Binance also has its own token, which is called the Binance Coin (BNB). This will help the user have access to discounted crypto trading rates when transactions fees are paid using Binance Coin.
Supported Currencies
The top cryptocurrency exchange platforms you will see are competing when providing the users the power to sell, purchase and exchanges various cryptocurrencies available. They aim for complete convenience in a fast-paced world. If you will notice sites or platforms that only support few crypto coins, it has a high chance that it will not gain recognition from other users.
In Kraken, they provide almost 40 several diverse cryptocurrencies to choose from. All of the leading coins are included, and also the right number of altcoins. In comparison, Binance has almost over 150 cryptocurrencies to select from. It is indeed quite a lot, meaning if you are searching for a particular crypto asset, then there’s a high chance that you will be able to find it in Binance.
As mentioned above, Kraken values every user’s security seriously; that is why compared to Binance, Kraken has fewer crypto assets to choose from. They tend to do thorough research in a cryptocurrency or a project before actually making it available in their platform for cryptocurrency exchange.
Binance Vs Kraken also took off from the list Bitcoin SV altcoin because of its relation to Craig Wright. Just a little bit background, Craig Wright was accused by a lot of crypto traders in the cryptocurrency community of fraud because until now, he claims that he invented Bitcoin.
User Count
The criteria of the user count, both Binance Vs Kraken, have a large number of users. Kraken has almost 4 million individuals, while Binance has almost 13.5 million individuals. Clearly, this number of users indicates the reliability and smoothness of exchanges in the platforms. Such great amount of crypto traders also mean further chances of success the moment you begin selling and trading.
As we look closer, Binance has the most users indeed compared to Kraken, so if you are searching for more opportunities, you might want to look at Binance. However, even if it has a lower amount of users, Kraken still doesn’t disappoint!
Customer Support
Kraken offers communication through email with their tech team. They have a support button feature that redirects you to a separate page with many relevant FAQs for you and a place where you can type your concerns. Aside from that, they have also added many helpful buttons to help your way around the cryptocurrency exchanges. Not only that, but they also offer 24/7 chat box for prompt answers.
On the other hand, Binance also has a support team but still needs improving, and they also answer you in a timely manner through emails. Tickets are sent from an online form that is located on the website. Unfortunately, Binance has no phone number you can keep in touch with the support team or even live chat support that can instantly offers help when you have concerns. Binance is also known to have very slow customer support because of the volume of users. They haven’t been able to keep up with the demands of the users based on some user reviews.
In this criterion, Kraken will be the most recommended platform, and you are assured that your every query will be answered right away by various professional support teams.
Stand-out Features
The stand-out feature of Kraken lies in its top-grade security and the Cryptowatch platform. No platform can compare to Kraken’s record in terms of securing the user itself and the user’s funds. As mentioned above, Kraken holds no record of any hacking issues for the past years. Also, their Cryptowatch platform makes the traders exchange on various cryptocurrencies through a single interface.
While Binance has a great amount of altcoins available, if you want to explore many opportunities in selling and trading, you can count on Binance. Compared to other platforms, Binance has the most number of availability in crypto assets.
Conclusion
We understand that crypto exchange can be a bit scary at first, and also add the fact that a lot of crypto platforms are looming everywhere. You are quite shaken about what platform to choose and what features you can consider when choosing one. Most of the users have gone through that, don’t worry. This is the importance of these articles to be able to help you decide on what do you really need.
To sum it all up, if you are new to the world of cryptocurrency and you are searching for a lot of options and investment growth, I will recommend Binance for you; as mentioned, they have many altocoins and they can offer reasonable to low withdrawal fees per transaction.
Binance is also the largest cryptocurrency exchange in terms of trading volume that offers 600 trading pairs. However, if you are more of a million or large amount trader of cryptocurrency every month, you might want to consider Kraken. Besides, having low fees when trading in high amounts offers top-tier security that no platform can compare.