Kraken Exchange : A Review

Kraken, based in San Francisco and founded in 2011, lets you exchange multiple currencies and buy bitcoins on its platform. Integration with Bloomberg terminals in 2014 provided greater visual access for this company. The company uses innovation and good security to structure a safe and viable trading platform.

Currencies traded include bitcoin, Ripple, Dogecoin, Litecoin, Ven, U.S. dollars, the euro, and the Korean won. Using the International Standards Commission's abbreviation for bitcoin, Kraken uses XBT rather than BTC. The X designates a decentralized currency. This San Francisco Company offers a quick platform for customer exchanges, the website itself is well planned, and the designers incorporated a light-hearted look to the website itself.

Fees to buy and sell bitcoins on this exchange vary by volume and the types of pairs traded. For instance, the bitcoin USD exchange fee is roughly 0.30 percent initially, and the XBT/LTC fee starts at 0.20 percent. The USD/XRP is 0.10 percent initially. Volume results in fee decreases over most pairs. Extremely high volume can result in fees of 0.05 percent.

The final price of bitcoins includes not just trading fees but other fees as well. For instance, there are conversion, slippage and withdrawal and deposit fees. The latter fees on this exchange are 0.19 percent.

It is important to know all transaction fees as well as deposit fees when estimating the final cost. Since bitcoins use a market value, it is vital to look for the smallest spread at any given time.

When you buy bitcoins, you want to know that adequate security is in place. This company prides itself on knowing its customers and taking adequate measures to prevent illegal acts. Ways to establish security include a two-factor authentication system. This method, used when logging in and putting virtual funds in the account, prevents hacking into your account. You can even design a master key for recovery. In addition, you are able to create a two-factor authentication to buy bitcoins and sell virtual currency. Additional security measures let you lock the settings on your account with an overall settings lock. The platform also allows Pretty Good Privacy for decryption and encryption of email. This depends on whether or not your email server allows PGP encryption.

The cost to buy bitcoins depends on the volume at the exchange level. In addition, its large trader base might be a reflection of the level of trust in this exchange. The API set includes margin-trading, proof of reserve and advanced trade types. Kraken is a functional platform to buy bitcoins. It offers multiple security protections and has a proof of reserve.