Exchange (holds your funds for you)
KrakenB3/5· Medium risk
Facts last reviewed 27 Sept 2026
A long-established exchange (since 2013), with MiCA (Ireland), a Wyoming SPDI bank, and multiple other licences; quarterly proof of reserves by an independent accounting firm. It has never lost customer funds; Dubai is only a preliminary approval.
Compare a move (switching cost) →History: published and paid rates, incidents, legal status →Official site ↗
Why this tier
- Falls short: Proof of reserves exists but is not published every month
- Meets: Licensed by a major regulator: EU (Ireland, CBI), United States (Wyoming)
- Meets: Operating since 2013 (13 years)
- Falls short: No user protection fund disclosed
- Meets: Users were fully compensated for every known incident
- Note: Support staff improperly accessed data from ~2,000 accounts (2 incidents, since 2/2025), accompanied by extortion threats; Kraken said its systems were not breached and no funds were lost.
Tier history
- 29 Sept 2026B· Medium riskMedium risk
Products
| Coin | You earn | Highest rate | Tier | Product | Term | Conditions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USDT | 5.60% | Highest rate5.60% | B2/5· Medium risk | Opt-in Rewards 18 months | 548 days | |
| USDT | 5.20% | Highest rate5.20% | B2/5· Medium risk | Opt-in Rewards 12 months | 365 days | |
| USDT | 4.90% | Highest rate4.90% | B2/5· Medium risk | Opt-in Rewards 6 months | 183 days | |
| USDT | 4.75% | Highest rate4.75% | B2/5· Medium risk | Opt-in Rewards 3 months | 91 days | |
| USDT | 4.00% | Highest rate4.00% | B2/5· Medium risk | Opt-in Rewards Flexible | FlexibleWithdraw any time | |
| USDC | 5.60% | Highest rate5.60% | B3/5· Medium risk | Opt-in Rewards 18 months | 548 days | |
| USDC | 5.20% | Highest rate5.20% | B3/5· Medium risk | Opt-in Rewards 12 months | 365 days | |
| USDC | 4.90% | Highest rate4.90% | B3/5· Medium risk | Opt-in Rewards 6 months | 183 days | |
| USDC | 4.75% | Highest rate4.75% | B3/5· Medium risk | Opt-in Rewards 3 months | 91 days | |
| USDC | 4.00% | Highest rate4.00% | B3/5· Medium risk | Opt-in Rewards Flexible | FlexibleWithdraw any time | |
| EURC | 0.10% | Highest rate0.10% | B3/5· Medium risk | Opt-in Rewards | FlexibleWithdraw any time | |
| USDE | 4.13% | Highest rate4.13% | B2/5· Medium risk | Base Rewards | FlexibleWithdraw any time | |
| BTC | 0.74% | Highest rate0.74% | B3/5· Medium risk | DeFi Earn · Advanced Strategies BTC | Flexible | |
| BTC | 0.15% | Highest rate0.15% | B3/5· Medium risk | Opt-in Rewards Bonded 30d | Staking | |
| BTC | 0.10% | Highest rate0.10% | B3/5· Medium risk | Opt-in Rewards Flexible | FlexibleWithdraw any time | |
| ETH | 2.53% | Highest rate2.53% | B3/5· Medium risk | Staking Bonded 6d | Staking | |
| ETH | 1.27% | Highest rate1.27% | B3/5· Medium risk | Auto Earn | Staking | |
| BNB | 0.96% | Highest rate0.96% | B3/5· Medium risk | Staking Bonded 7d | Staking | |
| BNB | 0.48% | Highest rate0.48% | B3/5· Medium risk | Staking Flexible | Staking | |
| SOL | 5.31% | Highest rate5.31% | B3/5· Medium risk | Staking Bonded 3d | Staking | |
| SOL | 2.65% | Highest rate2.65% | B3/5· Medium risk | Staking Flexible | Staking | |
| XRP | 0.10% | Highest rate0.10% | B2/4· Medium risk | Opt-in Rewards | FlexibleWithdraw any time | |
| TRX | 3.22% | Highest rate3.22% | B3/5· Medium risk | Staking Bonded 14d | Staking | |
| TRX | 1.61% | Highest rate1.61% | B3/5· Medium risk | Staking Flexible | Staking | |
| DOGE | 0.10% | Highest rate0.10% | B3/5· Medium risk | Opt-in Rewards | FlexibleWithdraw any time |
USDT
USDC
BTC
ETH
BNB
SOL
XRP
TRX
DOGETier: A lowest risk, D active incident. The number after the letter is the criteria met.
Legal status by country
Taken from regulators’ registers and notices. A row without a source or a month confirmed says so.
Vietnam
Not licensed · Sept 2026
Kraken is not yet licensed in Vietnam. Kraken's terms (updated 14/9/2026) exclude only sanctioned jurisdictions (Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia, Belarus, Syria, Crimea, Donetsk, Luhansk), not Vietnam.
Source ↗Europe (EEA)
Licensed · Payward Europe Solutions Limited · Sept 2026
Listed in ESMA's CASP register (version dated 24/9/2026): Payward Europe Solutions Limited (Kraken), with a MiCA licence granted by the Central Bank of Ireland on 25/6/2025, covering custody, exchange, order execution, portfolio management, transfer of assets, and applicable throughout the EEA.
Source ↗UAE (Dubai)
In-principle approval · Payward FZCO (VARA: preliminary approval) · May 2026
Payward FZCO (Kraken) received preliminary approval from VARA on 21/5/2026 for broker-dealer and investment management activities, but was not yet listed in the VARA register (9/2026).
Source ↗Indonesia
Banned · Jun 2026
Payward Inc. (Kraken) ranks 179th on the list of 228 unlicensed exchanges halted by OJK's Satgas PASTI (1-5/2026, published 6/2026); it is not on OJK's list of licensed exchanges.
Source ↗Nigeria
Not licensed · Sept 2026
Kraken is not registered with SEC Nigeria (not listed by the SEC). Kraken's terms (updated 14/9/2026) exclude only sanctioned jurisdictions (Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia, Belarus, Syria, Crimea, Donetsk, Luhansk), not Nigeria.
Source ↗