Kraken
5.2/10 total
The most credible large custodial exchange on security and transparency: proof of reserves, a long incident-free record, and a genuine onion service. Full KYC is mandatory and non-negotiable, so it is the opposite trade-off from everything above.
Scores
Weights are published in the method and applied identically to every entry.
For
- Best security record among large custodial exchanges
- Regular proof-of-reserves attestations
- Lowest fees among US-available exchanges on the Pro interface
- Runs a real Tor onion service
Against
- Mandatory full identity verification, no exception
- Custodial: your keys are theirs
- Delisted Monero in multiple jurisdictions
- Subject to account freezes and reporting obligations
Agent access 4/10
Excellent, well-documented REST and WebSocket APIs, all gated behind a KYC'd account and issued keys. CCXT MCP wraps it, but the key requirement is unchanged.
Reported separately and not counted in the total. It measures what an autonomous agent can do unattended, not whether the service is safe to use.
Fees
0.16% maker / 0.26% taker
Kraken Pro tier-one rates, falling to 0% / 0.10% at high volume. The simple buy interface is far more expensive.
Specification
- Type
- Custodial exchange
- KYC policy
- KYC required
- Custody model
- custodial
- Account required
- yes
- Assets
- 400+
- Chains
- 40+
- Operating since
- 2011
- Jurisdiction
- United States
- Onion service
- yes
- Works without JS
- no
- Open source
- no
- Facts checked
- 2026-07-31
Links
Plain links, no referral parameters. Verify the domain yourself; phishing clones of every service in this table exist.