Swissborg vs Kraken | Why Kraken Is Likely Be Better for You
Jack Moreau
Feb 2024
8 min read
Fact checked
Swissborg vs Kraken: Looking for the best crypto exchange? We've got you covered! We've compared Swissborg and Kraken on various metrics like KYC requirements, product offerings, fees, deposit methods and more. Keep reading to find out which one is the perfect fit for your crypto trading needs!
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.
Swissborg was founded in 2017 by Anthony Lesoismer and Cyrus Fazel. This Swiss-based exchange is known for its user-friendly mobile app, which is suitable for beginners in the crypto space.
Swissborg exchange
While Swissborg does have a smaller user base of around 700,000 users mainly in Europe, it does offer its services in over 50 countries worldwide.
Additionally, Swissborg's selection of cryptocurrencies to buy and sell is limited, with only 50 options available.
In comparison, Kraken is one of the biggest names in the cryptocurrency space. Jesse Powell founded the US-based exchange in 2011 and today, Kraken has over 9 million users worldwide, with the majority being based across North America and Europe.
Kraken exchange
Kraken's reputation is based on its security, reliability, and wide range of supported crypto and fiat currencies. It is also known for its user-friendly interface, emphasis on security and regulations, and competitive fees.
Kraken offers a much wider selection of cryptocurrencies to buy and sell, with over 190 coins and tokens available. The Kraken app has also been downloaded over 1 million times and has a strong 4.3 star rating based on over 20,000 reviews.
Kraken app
Overall, Kraken is the bigger exchange with the larger user base, wider range of cryptocurrencies, and wider range of products compared with Swissborg.
Swissborg vs Kraken Signup & KYC
Moving on to signup procedures, Swissborg and Kraken both require Know Your Customer (KYC) verification from all of their users.
The signup process for Swissborg involves downloading the app on either Android or IOS. Once the app has been downloaded, users must first verify their phone number.
They are then prompted to create a 4 digit passcode. Finally, users must pass KYC by providing personal details, email, residential address, identity verification, and answering a questionnaire.
In contrast, Kraken's signup process takes less than a minute and basic verification can be achieved in less than 2 minutes.
To pass the KYC procedure on Kraken, users must submit personal information about country of residence, address, and more together with a valid government ID.
Kraken KYC requirements
Once the information has been provided, it can take Kraken up to 1-2 business days to process the information and verify the account.
In conclusion, both Swissborg and Kraken are reliable exchanges that take KYC verification seriously with Swissborg's signup process is more cumbersome, and Kraken's verification process being faster.
Swissborg vs Kraken Products & Services
Swissborg offers a more limited selection of products and services compared to Kraken. On Swissborg, users can buy and sell a limited range of 50 cryptocurrencies and earn interest on a small selection of those.
Swissborg cryptocurrencies
Swissborg is also in the process of launching its own multi-asset launchpad where users can access early-stage opportunities. Swissborg has its own native token called CHSB, which benefits and increases in value based on the growth of the ecosystem.
Swissborg earn products
The user experience on Swissborg is limited to their mobile apps as no services are available via a browser like most other exchanges.
Besides that, it's a beginner-friendly exchange that offers basic products and services in an easy-to-understand manner.
Swissborg unique selling points
Kraken on the other hand offers a more extensive product offering than Swissborg even though it's constrained by US regulations.
This include products such as spot trading for over 200 cryptocurrencies, cash-settled futures with monthly, quarterly, semi-annual and perpetual maturities, and margin trading.
Kraken spot and margin trading
In terms of liquidity, Kraken frequently is in the top 10 with daily spot trading volumes in the range of $300 to $600 million. The max leverage that users can take on Kraken is 50X, and 5X in terms of margin leverage.
Kraken futures trading
Kraken also offers staking (for non-US users) and an NFT marketplace. For institutional clients, Kraken offers an OTC desk and 24/7 account management teams.
The user experience on Kraken is designed with beginners in mind which makes buying and selling of cryptocurrencies simple for your everyday users.
When it comes to trading fees, Swissborg offers two types of trading fees: exchange fees and thematics fees.
The exchange fees range from 1% to 0.25%, depending on the account status of each user. For example, users with a Genesis account (highest level) will pay lower fees than those with a Standard account (lowest level).
As for thematics fees, they range from 2% for Standard accounts to 1% for Genesis accounts. This means that Swissborg's trading fees can be quite high for some users, especially those with lower account levels.
Kraken offers lower trading fees compared to Swissborg. The spot maker fee is 0.16% while the taker fee is 0.26%. For futures trading, the maker fee is 0.02% and the taker fee is 0.05%.
These fees can be lowered for both spot and futures trading if monthly trade volumes exceed $50,000. This means that Kraken is a more cost-effective option for users who are looking to trade frequently.
Let's take a closer look at their deposit options. Swissborg supports four fiat currencies including EUR, GBP, CAD, and CHF.
For GBP, Faster Payments and Swift transfers are available, while SEPA is the way to go for EUR deposits. For those who wish to deposit CAD or CHF, they can do so via Swift transfers.
Users can also deposit funds with Visa or Mastercard. Deposits from a bank account are free of charge while deposits with cards have a minimum fee of 5 EUR and range between 1.5% to 4.5%.
On the other hand, Kraken offers support for deposits with seven fiat currencies including USD, EUR, CAD, AUD, GBP, CHF, and JPY. 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.Overall, Kraken offers a wider range of deposit options for fiat currencies compared to Swissborg with more options and lower fees.
When it comes to withdrawing funds on Swissborg, users will have to pay a 0.1% execution fee with a minimum of 1 EUR and a maximum of 100 EUR. This includes both fiat and cryptocurrency withdrawals.
For cryptocurrencies, the minimum withdrawal fees are 0.0002 BTC for Bitcoin, 0.0018 ETH for Ethereum, 0.008 SOL for Solana and 7 USDT for Tether. This means that as the withdrawal amount increases, so does the fee, which can become quite costly for users. No good!
On the other hand, Kraken offers fiat withdrawals for all seven currencies they support. Users can withdraw funds via ACH for free, SEPA for a fee of 0.9 EUR, SWIFT for $4, and FPS for 1.95 GBP.
For cryptocurrency withdrawals, Kraken charges a withdrawal fee of 0.00002 BTC for Bitcoin, 0.003 ETH for Ethereum, 0.01 SOL for Solana, and 3-10 USDT for Tether. It's clear that Kraken offers a more affordable option for both fiat and cryptocurrency withdrawals compared to Swissborg.
In conclusion, Swissborg is limited to mobile platforms (Android and iOS), while Kraken provides both web and mobile-based platforms, giving it an advantage in terms of accessibility.
In terms of user base, Swissborg has over 700,000 users primarily across Europe, while Kraken has over 10 million users mainly based in North America and Europe. This gives Kraken a larger user base and much better liquidity which leads to smaller spreads and better prices for users.
And when it comes to selection of cryptocurrencies, Swissborg only offers a limited selection of 50 cryptocurrencies whereas Kraken has over 200.
When it comes to trading fees, Swissborg's fees range from 1% to 0.25% depending on the account status, while Kraken's fees are generally lower, ranging from 0.16% to 0.26%. This makes Kraken more cost-effective for traders, especially those who trade frequently or in larger volumes.
In terms of fiat currency support, Swissborg supports only four fiat currencies (EUR, GBP, CAD, and CHF) and has higher withdrawal fees. Kraken, on the other hand, supports seven fiat currencies (USD, EUR, CAD, AUD, GBP, CHF, and JPY) and offers lower withdrawal fees for cryptocurrencies.
It's clear to see that Kraken holds an advantage over Swissborg across all categories whether it be platform availability, user base, cryptocurrency selection, trading fees, and fiat currency support.
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.
