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This article is going to provide a comprehensive or detailed review or comparison of Kraken and KuCoin exchange.
The cryptocurrency ecosystem today has seen a huge growth in recent times. With many cryptocurrency exchanges out there, a constant review can help people get a headstart.
The constant comparison of these exchanges will give users a basis to keep up patronage and help boost competition.
Exchanges improve their product and service offerings occasionally and this usually reflects in their overall rating from users.
You can follow this link to read more about GoCryptoWise’s review of popular cryptocurrency exchanges.
While there are numerous exchanges out there, classified as both centralized and decentralized exchanges.
I have joined quite a few including Kraken and KuCoin exchanges and I can say, many have poor UX.
While we cannot declare either Kraken and KuCoin exchanges to be the best in the world at this time, we would know which of the two has a better rating at the end of the post.
This comparison is based on Go CryptoWise’s research on these two platforms, and it is on this basis that I am writing this review.
Please read our other exchange comparison articles for more in-depth reviews:
- Coinbase vs Coinbase Pro
- Binance vs KuCoin
- Coinbase vs Gemini
- Bittrex vs Binance
- Kraken vs Coinbase vs Binance
Kraken and KuCoin Exchanges: The Basis for The Rating
For a fair comparison between our chosen exchanges, some parameters must be discussed.
As Kraken and KuCoin exchanges are two of the world’s famous exchanges, my rating is likely to complement those of others.
The parameters to use in comparing both exchanges is rated 1-5 stars (*) and they include:
- Security and Reliability of the exchange 1-5*
- Ease of use (UX), otherwise known as user-friendliness 1-5*
- Number of available cryptocurrencies on the platform 1-5*
- The exchange’s liquidity profile 1-5*
- The exchange’s current payment options available? 1-5*
- And what are the fees? 1-5*
Using each of these parameters, we would see how each exchange fare and finally select the best.
To know how these exchanges are rated and their respective scores, then I encourage you to read on.
The Review of Kraken Exchange
Kraken exchange is undoubtedly one of the oldest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world to date.
It is a centralized cryptocurrency exchange that was founded in 2011 by Jesse Powell.
The exchange was established almost as a replacement to Mt.Gox, a formidable cryptocurrency exchange that suffered a security breach in 2011.
Beyond the initial plans to replace Mt.Gox, Kraken is now a San-Francisco pride with presence all over the world.
It has a lot of investors and partners including Hummingbird Ventures, Trace Mayer and Barry Silbert amongst others
Using the Kraken exchange, you can buy and sell cryptocurrencies using a couple of different methods. Users can perform different trading on Kraken including spot trading, margin trading, futures trading.
A dedicated OTC-Desk purchased by Kraken is also available for individuals who want to buy a huge amount of cryptocurrencies
Kraken exchange is highly recommended for staking investments.
Staking helps you maximize your holdings in staking coins and fiat that would otherwise be sitting in your Kraken account
Currently, Kraken supports Tezos (XTZ) and Bitcoin (XBT) as staking coins. It also supports the fiat currencies Euros (EUR) and the United States Dollar (USD).
It has Cosmos (ATOM) and Dash (DASH) under review for future listing.
You can read more about Kraken’s staking service here
Kraken’s Security on the Spotlight
Kraken came off taking inspiration from an exchange that suffered a security breach. Normally, this is supposed to tick the exchange off as very secure.
This is true, Jesse Powell and his team have lived up to the task as Kraken has not suffered a successful security breach since its inception to date.
One major reason for this is that the exchange advises its users against storing the cryptos on the exchange.
This has led to about 95% of the assets on the exchange to be stored offline.
Ease of Use of the Kraken Platform
From the great website design to the responsive application, Kraken ranks high for its user experience.
As a way to help new users adapt to the platform, there is are easy to locate guides for reference.
Of the exchanges out there, Kraken has a lot of unique features that are constantly being updated all to improve user’s experience
Read more about Kraken and its easy to use features here
Kraken’s Liquidity
With the boosted competition out there, every cryptocurrency exchange looks for a feature to outpace others.
Kraken has increased its liquidity base over the years. This is being fueled by the platform’s growing number of active traders, its low fees and more funding options
An overview of the coins listed on Kraken also shows high trading volume, contributing to the boosted liquidity
Additional information about Kraken:
And here’s a summary of Kraken’s score based on all the given parameters
- Security and Reliability of the exchange: 5/5*
- Ease of use (UX), otherwise known as user-friendliness: 5/5*
- Number of available cryptocurrencies on the platform 3/5*
- The exchange’s liquidity profile 4/5*
- The exchange’s current payment options available? 4/5*
- And what are the fees? 3/5*
- Total Score = 28/30*
KuCoin Exchange Review
KuCoin has grown to be a world-class cryptocurrency exchange since it was launched in 2017.
As the new sheriff in town, KuCoin carved a niche for itself with a massive embrace of altcoins.
KuCoin is based in Hong Kong but with a global presence. In measuring its growth, KuCoin says that 1 in 4 crypto holders worldwide is with KuCoin.
One will agree that that is a very bold claim to make considering the many world-class exchanges out there
The exchange offers spot trading, Margin trading, Futures trading all with unique variations.
KuCoin has an ‘Instant Exchange’ service for large crypto orders, a service similar to Kraken’s OTC-Desk service.
Just like Kraken, KuCoin also has a good investor appeal with backings from IDG Capital and Matrix Partners.
Today, KuCoin has over 672 million accumulated trades and it has a wide reach for anybody to trade anywhere
While I will place a spotlight on KuCoin using the same parameters as I did for Kraken, you can click on this link for a detailed review of KuCoin cryptocurrency exchange
KuCoin’s Security
The developers of the KuCoin exchange did a good job of ensuring the exchange is secure. Just like Kraken, KuCoin has never been hacked yet.
Therefore, as a means to eliminate all system vulnerabilities, KuCoin exchange has a dedicated bug bounty program.
The bug is to attract cybersecurity experts to help detect bug that can hamper the exchange’s functions.
To know more about KuCoin’s Bug Bounty program, follow this link to know more
Kraken’s User Experience Review
While the KuCoin website has an attractive dark theme, I find it less appealing when compared to Kraken’s
While this is not a direct rebuff, it can take more than one visit to get used to the platform
Kraken compensates for this however with their excellent support service which is available 24/7
KuCoin’s Liquidity
KuCoin has good liquidity when compared to the various exchange out there.
KuCoin has a large number of cryptocurrencies it supports but has a lower trading volume overall to rank lower than Kraken for liquidity
However, its numerous crypto payment options and varied markets have made KuCoin a choice of traders around the world.
For More details about KuCoin;
And here’s a summary of Kraken’s score based on all the given parameters
- Security and Reliability of the exchange: 5/5*
- Ease of use (UX), otherwise known as user-friendliness: 4/5*
- Number of available cryptocurrencies on the platform 5/5*
- The exchange’s liquidity profile 3/5*
- The exchange’s current payment options available? 4/5*
- And what are the fees? 5/5*
- Total Score = 26/30*
Kraken and KuCoin: Which of the Exchange is the Best
From the review and the scores above, Kraken scored 28 out of 30 points while KuCoin scored 26/30 points.
While this is my own review, other people may have their own discretion which can change these ratings.
But if we check rankings on CoinMarketCap, We would see that Kraken ranks in the 4th position while KuCoin is number 16th. See the rankings here
A general review on Trustpilot, however, places KuCoin ahead of Kraken with over 3.6 stars against 2.3 stars
This is to re-emphasize that each user may have a unique opinion which may be different from those of others.
In our ranking, we see that the difference between the Kraken and KuCoin is narrow which helps to balance out the reviews on CoinMarketCap and TrustPilot.
Please read our other exchange comparison articles for more in-depth reviews:
- Coinbase vs Coinbase Pro
- Binance vs KuCoin
- Coinbase vs Gemini
- Bittrex vs Binance
- Kraken vs Coinbase vs Binance
Benjamin Godfrey is a blockchain enthusiast and journalist who relish writing about the real-life applications of blockchain technology and innovations to drive general acceptance and worldwide integration of the emerging technology.
His desire to educate people about cryptocurrencies inspires his contributions to renowned blockchain-based media and sites. He uses his skills in reporting current trends in the blockchain ecosystem, writing comprehensive and insightful guides, reviews, and opinion articles with the aim of bringing information and a new perspective to readers.
A writer who relishes diversity and thoroughness with about three years of experience in the blockchain and finance ecosystem. Godfrey graduated from the University of Benin where he bagged a First Class (BSc Agric). His future ambition involves helping governments develop policies that will integrate blockchain technology in agriculture as a means to guarantee Food Security. Benjamin Godfrey is a lover of sports
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