eToro vs Kraken | Learn The Pros & Cons of Each Exchange

eToro and Kraken are two versatile exchanges each with their unique variety of products and services.

eToro is a leading trading platform that caters to a wide range of traders, providing an extensive array of financial assets and tools to facilitate effective trading.

At its core, eToro hosts a vast portfolio, including over 3,200 top-tier stocks from industry leaders like Amazon, Tesla, and Microsoft.

Alongside stocks, the platform provides options to trade in more than 50 currencies, over 30 commodities, and 20+ global indices. At the time of writing, commodities, currencies and indices are not available to users in the United States.

For those keen on the digital currency front, eToro offers trading opportunities in over 70 cryptocurrencies including popular ones like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, Cosmos, Polkadot, Arbitrum, Uniswap and others.

Moreover, those looking to diversify their holdings can explore the platform's collection of over 400 ETFs, featuring renowned options such as Vanguard and Ark Innovation.

Understanding the importance of trader education, eToro has established an Academy. This dedicated section provides an assortment of resources, from courses and webinars to practical tutorials.

From a tool perspective, eToro integrates with TradingView offering users detailed charts that help in making informed trading decisions.

Additionally, traders can make use of intuitive risk management tools to set profit goals and limit potential downturns.

One of eToro's standout features is its leverage offering that enables traders to hold larger positions in the market with a relatively smaller initial amount. eToro offers up to 30X leverage for those that trade cryptocurrencies and 5X leverage on stocks.

For those new to the trading world or looking to test strategies without real capital at stake, eToro also provides a demo mode equipped with a virtual $100,000 to practice with.

Further enhancing its user-centric approach, eToro has introduced the CopyTrader feature which lets users track and mirror the trading patterns of experienced traders.

Lastly, keeping pace with the evolving digital asset landscape, eToro has incorporated Delta which is a dedicated portal for users to buy and sell NFTs on Ethereum.

Kraken is one of the most enduring and trusted cryptocurrency exchanges in the world. The exchange offers a broad range of products designed to meet the needs of retail clients, professional traders, and institutions.

This diversity is reflected in its four unique user interfaces: Kraken, Kraken Classic, Kraken Pro, and the NFT Marketplace.

The default Kraken interface is specifically designed for beginners, providing a straightforward and user-friendly experience for those new to the world of cryptocurrency. It simplifies the processes of exploring, buying, selling, receiving, and sending crypto.

Kraken Classic offers a more comprehensive dashboard that includes access to most of the platform's products, along with account settings and an overview of security features.

For the more advanced trader, Kraken Pro is the go-to option. It offers sophisticated trading products, including a spot trading order book with over 220 cryptocurrencies like BTC, ETH, SOL, and ATOM.

While Kraken's cryptocurrency selection is more curated, it does offer most of the large market cap cryptocurrencies.

Kraken also provides margin trading, allowing users to long or short assets with up to 5X leverage across more than 100 digital assets.

Adding to its advanced trading suite, Kraken recently introduced futures trading with over 90 perpetual contracts, offering low fees and leverage up to 50X.

These contracts include various maturities, like monthly, quarterly, and semi-annual options, and traders can opt for either isolated margin to limit downside risks or cross margin to leverage their entire collateral across positions.

An analytics section is available on Kraken, providing traders with various data points to aid in executing trades effectively.

In terms of trading volumes, Kraken consistently ranks in the top 20 globally for its 24/7 spot trading, often reaching volumes of around $1 billion. However, in the derivatives market it ranks much lower with volumes typically between $50-$100 million.

Kraken also offers staking services for over 20 cryptocurrencies, including ALGO, ADA, ATOM, ETH, MATIC, DOT, SOL, MINA, and more, allowing users to put their digital assets to work.

In eligible countries, users can also earn interest on stablecoins like USDT and USDC, as well as fiat currencies such as USD and EUR, with interest rates ranging from 3% to 5%.

For enthusiasts of NFTs and digital collectibles, Kraken supports NFTs on Ethereum, Solana, and Polygon. The platform hosts over 250 digital collections, offering opportunities to trade with zero fees in certain cases.

Being based in the United States, Kraken is subject to stringent transparency and accountability standards, distinguishing it from offshore exchanges. The company regularly provides proof of reserves to assure users that all funds are properly accounted for.

Kraken also caters to high net worth individuals and institutional clients with its OTC Desk, facilitating large, private trades. Clients can receive quotes for significant transactions ranging from $100,000 to $1 million, with the convenience of 24/7 service.