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Kraken and Binance.US are two of the top cryptocurrency exchanges on the market. Each offers users similar digital asset selections and solid security.
Kraken is an international exchange, meaning it can cater to citizens both in and outside the US. Binance.US is only available to US residents, (though Binance is available to non-US residents) but it is simple to use and has its own proprietary wallet along with straightforward fees.
Find out who wins the competition between Binance.US and Kraken.
Round 1: Kraken vs. Binance.US on vital statistics
Both Kraken and Binance.US are based in the US, but only Binance.US offers staking options for its users.
But when it comes to trading options, Binance.US only has spot trading while Kraken has spot and derivatives trading available. Both offer mobile apps but only Binance.US has a proprietary noncustodial wallet and its own token.
Kraken offers NFTs directly on the platform in addition to offering account management. Kraken wins vital statistics because it’s accessible to a wider number of users and has more features.
The number of coins and tokens supported by both Binance.US and Kraken are comparable. The only major difference between the platforms is that Kraken supports Ripple (XRP) while Binance.US doesn’t.
Kraken supports far more fiat currencies. Binance.US only supports US dollar deposits and withdrawals. Kraken supports all the major fiat currencies for both deposits and withdrawals.
In addition, Kraken has more options for US dollar deposits than Binance.US. Kraken wins this round because it supports exponentially more fiat currencies than Binance.US.
Both Kraken and Binance.US have competitive fee structures.
Binance.US is far simpler, with trading fees starting at a flat 0.1% for both makers and takers. Kraken’s fees depend on your trading volume and what kind of trade you are doing.
However, Kraken’s USD withdrawal fees are cheaper than Binance.US’ fees. Binance.US users can get lower-cost trading fees by using Binance Coin.
Binance.US wins this round for having simpler/cheaper fees and an easier way to further reduce them.
Deposit Fees
ACH deposit - Fees vary ($10 minimum deposit) Credit and debit card - Fees vary ($10 minimum deposit) Apple Pay or Google Pay - Fees vary ($10 minimum deposit) Crypto - Free
Kraken has no proprietary wallet, only its exchange wallet that is custodial. And Kraken has no plans to offer users a noncustodial wallet.
Binance.US on the other hand has its proprietary noncustodial Binance Wallet. It can be connected to both the Binance Smart Chain and Ethereum networks, store NFTs and interact with dApps.
Binance.US wins this round for its useful, proprietary Binance Wallet.
Winner: Binance.US
Round 6: Ease of use
While both these platforms aim to cater to new users by providing lots of guides and information, Kraken is still a more complex platform. Though not difficult to use, there are far more features and things to learn if using Kraken.
Comparatively, Binance.US essentially only offers users trading and staking, creating a simpler user experience. Its user interface is also less cluttered than Kraken’s.
Binance.US wins this round for its simple interface and options.
Winner: Binance.US
Round 7: Security
Binance.US has never been hacked before, but its parent company, Binance, has. It was able to quickly pay back affected users and neither platform has had a breach since then.
Kraken has never experienced a hack. It takes a proactive security approach and offers bug bounties for those that can find issues in its security.
Kraken also does its own penetration testing. Both platforms store a majority of user assets in cold storage.
Kraken wins this round because it’s never been hacked and takes a proactive security approach.
Winner: Kraken
Binance.US vs. Kraken winner: Kraken
Though this was a close competition between two great exchanges, Kraken comes out on top by taking four out of seven categories when compared to Binance.US. Kraken is accessible to more users, has more features and has better security than Binance.US.
Neither exchange is a bad option for US citizens, with Binance.US perhaps being preferred if you are solely interested in spot trading and are not interested in any of the other features available on Kraken.
Go to
Kraken's website
Disclaimer: This page is not financial advice or an endorsement of digital assets, providers or services. Digital assets are volatile and risky, and past performance is no guarantee of future results. Potential regulations or policies can affect their availability and services provided. Talk with a financial professional before making a decision. Finder or the author may own cryptocurrency discussed on this page.
Whether products shown are available to you is subject to individual provider sole approval and discretion in accordance with the eligibility criteria and T&Cs on the provider website.
Keegan Francis was a cryptocurrency writer for Finder. He has been invested in cryptocurrencies since 2013 and writing about them since 2018. He has written and edited for CryptoVantage. In 2020 he and his wife Mrugakshee Palwe opted entirely out of the world of traditional finance and went "full crypto", covering their experience in the Go Full Crypto podcast and via a Substack newsletter. Keegan holds a Bachelor of Computer Science from Acadia University, and has attained graduate certificates from Ivan On Tech's lightning network course and the Consensys Academy Ethereum bootcamp. When Keegan is not working on cryptocurrency, he enjoys travelling, rock climbing and playing piano.
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