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Kraken and Gemini are both long-standing and reputable cryptocurrency exchanges. They were founded in 2014 and 2011, respectively.
The thing that Kraken and Gemini have in common is they both pursue a route of compliance with respect to security and regulators. Both companies are global cryptocurrency exchanges, and offer a wide range of services such as trading and earning.
Find out the winner of a comparison between Kraken and Gemini.
Round 1: Kraken vs. Gemini on vital statistics
The first interesting thing about these cryptocurrency exchanges is that both are registered. This speaks to their commitment to conform to regulations, which helps establish trust with customers.
Both exchanges offer quality services, but their range of cryptocurrencies is lacking, as is the number of use cases. From a vital statistics point of view, these exchanges offer many of the same things at similar quality levels.
Kraken and Gemini are neck and neck in terms of how many cryptocurrencies their platforms offer. However, there are a couple of key differences in which cryptocurrencies are offered.
For example, Kraken has opted to not support XRP, whereas Gemini offers XRP trading. Both exchanges have curated a unique set of coins for their users.
Kraken comes to this round with a much simpler fees and costs structure for cryptocurrency beginners. Gemini has a fee on trades over $200 and flat rates on orders beneath that threshold. Then there is a convenience fee. Kraken has rates that decrease based on your monthly exchange volume. This is a much simpler and cheaper schema for beginners.
Minimum deposits
$0
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
Cryptocurrency: None Bank transfer (ACH): None, bank fees may apply Wire Transfer: Determined by your bank Debit Card: 3.49% + Trading Fees Paypal: 2.50% of total deposit amount + Trading Fees
Trading Fee
Maker: 0-0.16% Taker: 0.1-0.26%
Taker fee - 0.03-0.4% Maker fee - 0-0.2%
Withdrawal Fees
FedWire withdrawal - $4-$35 Crypto - Fees vary depending on coin or token
Cryptocurrency: None (for 10 withdrawals and below per month) Others: None (for 10 withdrawals and below per month)
Deposit methods
Bank transfer, Credit card, Cryptocurrency, Debit card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, SWIFT, ACH online banking
Bank transfer (ACH), Cryptocurrency, Debit card, PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay, SWIFT
Neither Kraken nor Gemini have created their own wallet for their users. Despite the exchanges having been around a long time, both have opted to optimize their trading platforms, and not venture into wallet territory. They recommend that users take advantage of noncustodial wallets.
Winner: Draw
Round 6: Ease of use
Gemini has a slight edge over Kraken here due to its better designed and more intuitive user interface. Kraken’s interface is difficult to navigate making it challenging for beginners. Both exchanges offer tutorials, guides and learning portals for teaching users how to navigate their platforms.
Winner: Gemini
Round 7: Security
Kraken and Gemini have never been hacked before. They both have a long track record of adhering to security best practices and encouraging users to do the same. They both advocate for strong user-focused security such as 2FA, and address whitelisting.
In terms of insurance, Gemini has one of the largest amounts of insurance of any cryptocurrency exchange. Kraken has opted for self-insurance, and has a longer track record of not being hacked.
Winner: Gemini
Gemini vs. Kraken Winner: Gemini
Although many of the rounds ended in a tie, Gemini won overall.
It was close because both exchanges are top-notch and provide world-class service. The features that gave Gemini a slight edge was its offering of fiat currencies and its well-designed user interface. To top it off, its large insurance fund tends to give skeptical cryptocurrency beginners a better feeling when putting their money on an exchange.
For all these reasons, Gemini wins against Kraken for best cryptocurrency exchange for beginners.
Go to
Gemini'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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