Kraken vs Bitstamp | Here's Why We Give The Edge To Kraken
Jack Moreau
Feb 2024
10 min read
Fact checked
Are you trying to decide between Kraken vs Bitstamp? Let us help you out! Our detailed comparison takes a deep dive into their sign-up process, KYC requirements, trading fees, product offerings and user experience. Read on to make an informed decision and ensure that you do not waste money you don't have to un high trading fees!
eToro is a multi-asset investment platform. The value of your investments may go up or down. Your capital is at risk.
eToro USA LLC: Investments are subject to market risk. Including the possible loss of principal. Don’t invest unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest.
eToro is a multi-asset investment platform. The value of your investments may go up or down. Your capital is at risk.
eToro USA LLC: Investments are subject to market risk. Including the possible loss of principal. Don’t invest unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest.
Kraken and Bitstamp are two well-established cryptocurrency exchanges that have been operating in the industry for quite some time. Kraken was founded in 2011 by Jesse Powell and is registered in the United States with headquarters in San Francisco.
Kraken exchange
On the other hand, Bitstamp was established in 2011 by Nejc Kodric and Damijan Merlak in Slovenia and is registered in the United Kingdom with headquarters in Luxembourg.
Bitstamp exchange
Kraken boasts an impressive workforce of over 2000 employees, while Bitstamp has over 400 employees.
Both exchanges have gained popularity for their commitment to regulatory compliance and robust security measures.
Kraken is known for its security, reliability, and wide range of crypto and fiat currencies. The exchange provides its users access to buy and sell over 190 cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum and Cosmos.
Kraken offers various services, such as spot trading, margin trading, futures trading, and staking, catering to both beginners and experienced traders.
The Kraken app has been downloaded over 1 million times and has a strong 4.3 star rating with over 20,000 reviews.
Kraken app
Similarly, Bitstamp has the distinction of being the oldest continuously-operating cryptocurrency exchange globally, having supported the Bitcoin ecosystem since 2011.
With a long-standing reputation and a mature approach to the industry, Bitstamp offers a secure and transparent platform to over four million customers.
The exchange provides support for over 80 cryptocurrencies including BTC, ETH, LTC, XRP, USDT, USDC, and others.
Bitstamp app
In terms of user base, Kraken has over 9 million users mainly based across North America and Europe, while Bitstamp has 4 million users. The Bitstamp app has over 500,000 downloads with a 3.7 rating with 12,000 reviews.
Kraken vs Bitstamp Signup & KYC
Kraken and Bitstamp each have their own unique signup process and KYC requirements. Kraken requires all their customers to verify their identity via KYC. KYC on Kraken comes in three flavours, starter, intermediate and pro.
The starter takes 1-2 minutes to complete and users have to enter some personal information which then allows them to deposit cryptocurrencies and trade. In order to deposit fiat currencies, users will also need to provide an ID.
The verification process on Kraken can be completed within an hour but can take up to a few business days in some cases.
Kraken KYC
On the other hand, Bitstamp also requires KYC verification for all its users. Signing up takes a minute with users needing to provide their name, email, date of birth and country of residence.
Bitstamp signup
Once users have created their Bitstamp account, they can then go ahead and complete KYC which means uploading an ID plus personal information.
For users who would like to signup to exchanges that offer cryptocurrency trading without any KYC, we recommend OKX as a solid alternative.
Kraken vs Bitstamp Products & Services
If we switch to product features, Kraken is a US-regulated exchange that offers spot trading for hundreds of cryptocurrencies, cash-settled futures with various maturities and margin trading. The exchange also offers staking for non-US users and an NFT marketplace.
Kraken orderbook
For institutional clients, Kraken also provides an OTC desk and 24/7 account management teams. The user experience on Kraken is beginner-friendly, designed to make buying and selling of cryptocurrencies simple for everyday users.
Staking on Kraken
Liquidity on Kraken is in the top 10 with daily spot trading volumes ranging from $300 to $600 million. The max leverage that users can take on Kraken is 50X, with 5X in terms of margin leverage.
Kraken NFT marketplace
Bitstamp on the other hand is an exchange with a small selection of products such as spot trading for over 80 cryptocurrencies, staking, and lending services for coins like BTC, ETH, USDC, USDT, and others.
Cryptocurrencies on Bitstamp
Bitstamp also offers professional trading tools and powerful APIs that cater to more experienced traders.
The user-friendly platform makes it easy to buy and sell crypto either through the exchange or via the app.
Bitstamp trading
However, liquidity on Bitstamp is relatively low, with an average daily spot trading volume of $140 million.
Let's take a look at the trading fees offered by Kraken and Bitstamp. Kraken charges a spot maker fee of 0.16% and a spot taker fee of 0.26%.
They also charge a futures maker fee of 0.02% and a futures taker fee of 0.05%. However, these fees can be lowered for users that trade higher volumes. For users whose monthly trade volumes exceed $50,000, they are eligible for a fee reduction.
Kraken spot fees
On the other hand, Bitstamp charges almost double the market fee of Kraken with a spot maker fee of 0.30% and a spot taker fee of 0.40%.
Unlike Kraken, Bitstamp doesn't offer any futures trading. However, they do offer trading fee rebates for those who trade over $1,000 in a 30-day period.
Bitstamp spot fees
Overall, Kraken offers quite a bit lower fees than Bitstamp. For those that want to further push their trading fees down, we recommend looking into exchanges such as Binance and OKX.
Kraken and Bitstamp are two popular cryptocurrency exchanges that have a wide range of deposit options available for their users. Let's take a closer look at the deposit methods offered by both exchanges.
Beginning with Kraken, the support deposits with 7 fiat currencies including USD, EUR, CAD, AUD, GBP, CHF, and JPY.
The deposit methods include Fedwire, SWIFT, ACH, SEPA, FPS and more. Kraken offers free ACH deposits for USD, EUR and CAD via bank transfers (ACH) and SEPA. This makes it easy for users to deposit their fiat currencies without incurring any fees.
Bitstamp supports three fiat currencies in USD, EUR and GBP. Bitstamp supports fiat deposits via Wire, ACH, SEP, Faster Payments (FSP) and via debit/credit card.
Bank transfers with ACH, SEPA and FSP are free of charge while Instant purchase comes with a 4-5% fee and Wire Transfer have a minimum $7.5 fee.
Both exchanges have a wide range of options for depositing fiat currencies, with Kraken offering more currency options compared to Bitstamp.
But how does Kraken and Bitstamp stack up when it comes to their withdrawal methods?
Kraken as you would expect offers fiat withdrawal options for all the 7 currencies they support. Customers can withdraw via ACH (free), SEPA (0.9 EUR), SWIFT ($4) and FPS (1.95 GBP).
In terms of fees for cryptocurrency withdrawals, Kraken offers low fees. For example, Bitcoin withdrawals incur a 0.00001 BTC fee while Ethereum and Solana withdrawals cost 0.0035 ETH and 0.01 SOL respectively.
Turning our attention to Bitstamp, they also offer a variety of fiat withdrawal methods for wire, ACH, SEPA, and FSP.
There's a 3 EUR fee for SEPA withdrawals, 2 GBP via FSP, free withdrawals via ACH and $25 for wire withdrawals.
Withdrawal fees for cryptocurrency are relatively low, with a 0.0005 BTC fee for Bitcoin withdrawals, 0.0006 ETH for ETH withdrawals and 0.01 SOL for SOL withdrawals.
While both Kraken and Bitstamp offer reliable withdrawal methods, Kraken has the edge with more fiat currencies, deposit methods and lower fees overall for both fiat currencies and cryptocurrencies.
Kraken and Bitstamp are two well-established cryptocurrency exchanges that have been around for almost 10 years.
Kraken has become a large company with over 2000 employees while Bitstamp not managed to reach the same success.
Competing with Kraken is not easy. Kraken is available in 190 countries while Bitstamp is available in over 100 countries, mainly in Europe.
Kraken offers spot trading for 190 cryptocurrencies, margin trading, futures trading, and staking, catering to both beginners and experienced traders.
Kraken's user-friendly interface, advanced trading tools, and competitive fees makes it a better option than Bitstamp.
Bitstamp only offers 80 cryptocurrencies for it's users to buy and sell and much fewer products. The trading fees on Bitstamp are also higher than Kraken. Kraken has the edge of 0.16% maker fee compared to almost the double for Bitstamp.
In terms of user base, Kraken has over 9 million users mainly based across North America and Europe, while Bitstamp has 4 million users.
Both exchanges have a wide range of options for depositing and withdrawing fiat currencies, with Kraken offering more currency options, deposit methods and once again lower fees.
In short, Kraken beats Bitstamp in nearly every category that we have compared and thus has earned our clear recommendation.
eToro is a multi-asset investment platform. The value of your investments may go up or down. Your capital is at risk.
eToro USA LLC: Investments are subject to market risk. Including the possible loss of principal. Don’t invest unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest.
eToro is a multi-asset investment platform. The value of your investments may go up or down. Your capital is at risk.
eToro USA LLC: Investments are subject to market risk. Including the possible loss of principal. Don’t invest unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest.
Author
Jack Moreau
Jack is a crypto writer and reviewer who has been active in the space since he caught the crypto bug in 2017. With a passion for trying out new shiny things, Jack is always eager to try the latest cryptocurrency exchanges, wallets or DeFi applications.
