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Kraken vs Crypto.com: What Works Better For Canadians?

Oleg Galeev

Last updated April 20, 2023

Kraken and Crypto.com are two Canada-friendly cryptocurrency exchanges that allow you to purchase Bitcoin, Ethereum, and more in just a few clicks. Both exchanges are suitable for beginners, so here at OCryptoCanada, we looked into both exchanges to see how they compare.

Description

Crypto.com is a crypto exchange that is gaining popularity in Canada. It offers its own coin (CRO), staking, lending, NFTs, and pre-paid Visa crypto cards offering cashback. Crypto.com offers everything in one place and is suitable for Canadians looking for an easy way to buy crypto.

Kraken is a Canada-friendly, but US-based crypto exchange that has been operating since 2013. Kraken has a strong reputation due its security and compliance with US regulations. Kraken aims to accelerate mass adoption of cryptocurrency and offers a wide range of coins.

Coins

150+

90+

Fees

Free deposits
Variable Withdrawal fees
Send crypto to other crypto.com users for free
0.04 to 0.4% maker/taker fees

nstant buy incurs a 1.5% fee (0.9% for stablecoins) plus:
3.75% and€0.25 card processing fee or,
3.75% + €0.25 digital wallet processing fee or,
0.5% online bank transfer fee

Pros

Wide range of coins available
Suitable for beginners and pro traders
Interac e-Transfer available
Deposits take up to one day to process
Visa cards
Staking
NFT marketplace
20+ fiat currencies supported
Free deposits

Wide range of coins
High fees when not using Pro
Good for beginners
Free CAD deposits
Advanced tools with the Pro platform
Staking

Cons

No crypto education articles
Poor customer service

No Interac e-Transfer
Deposits can take 1-5 business days
Extremely high trading fees
Tend to freeze accounts for no apparent reasons
Slow support

Account Limits

Low

App

Methods to buy

Interac e-Transfer

Wire transfer
Debit card

Security

100% coins held in cold storage
Ledger Vault partnership
Multi-factor authentication
Mandatory whitelisting of withdrawal addresses

95% of coins held in cold storage
Servers monitored 24/7 by armed guards
2FA available
Confirm withdrawals via email
Fully Audited

Mobile and Desktop Trading

When it comes to Kraken vs crypto.com, both exchanges offer beginner-friendly trading platforms as well as advanced tools for more experienced traders.

Kraken has an “Instant Buy” option, where users can purchase crypto in seconds with their card or from funds in their fiat wallet. Instant Buy, while convenient, incurs high fees. There is a standard purchase fee plus an additional fee depending on the method of payment. Still, the Instant Buy option is suitable for beginners and is easy to navigate.

Kraken Pro has more reasonable fees based on the maker/taker method. However, the interface could be confusing for beginners. It shows advanced charting and offers more trading tools and order types.

Kraken’s mobile app has a 3-star rating from 2,200 reviews on the Apple App Store and a 2.2-star rating from over 13,000 reviews on Google Play. A lot of users say the app has trouble loading, certain funding or purchase options are unavailable and it is generally not user-friendly.

In the crypto.com app, users can buy and sell crypto easily. You can also directly stake or lend your crypto, apply for a crypto.com card, track favourite coins, withdraw to external wallets and more. The app is an all-in-one trading platform that’s user-friendly and suitable for beginners.

The app has a 4.3-star rating from 56,000 reviews on the Apple App Store and a 3.9-star rating from 200,000 reviews on Google Play.

If you’re looking for more advanced tools, you can use crypto.com’s desktop exchange. The exchange offers more charting and order types but the interface can be confusing for beginners. The crypto.com app has everything you need, so you’d only use the Exchange for slightly lower fees or advanced order types.

Crypto.com

The app has a 4.3-star rating from 56,000 reviews on the Apple App Store and a 3.9-star rating from 200,000 reviews on Google Play.

Advanced Desktop Trade

List of coins

Crypto.com app interface

Crypto.com app interface while trading

Kraken

Kraken's app is well-designed and offers tools for both beginners as well as advanced tools for more experienced traders.

Kraken Pro has more reasonable fees based on the maker/taker method. However, the interface could be confusing for beginners. It shows advanced charting and offers more trading tools and order types.

Kraken’s mobile app has a 4.5-star rating from 3000+ reviews on the Apple App Store and a 2.2-star rating from over 13,000 reviews on Google Play. A lot of users say the app has trouble loading, certain funding or purchase options are unavailable and it is generally not user-friendly.

Kraken desktop interface

Kraken Pro Trading view

Kraken app interface

Kraken app interface while trading

Security Compliance

Crypto.com is highly secure crypto exchange. They keep funds in cold storage, offer two-factor authentication to keep accounts secure, encrypt user data, and more.

Crypto.com keeps 100% of users’ funds in cold storage, specifically in a Ledger vault. This percentage is the highest we’ve seen of any crypto exchange, showing crypto.com truly values security. Crypto.com also has $750M in cold storage insurance in case of theft.

Crypto.com also makes its users whitelist all withdrawal addresses via email and users multi-factor authentication - such as FaceID - to

Kraken keeps 95% of users’ funds in cold storage. All account information is encrypted, their servers are locked in cages under 24/7 surveillance by armed guards.

To help secure your Kraken account you can use two-factor authentication. You will receive an email notifying you of any withdrawal, and there is an account timeout for added protection.

Both Kraken and crypto.com are highly secure crypto exchanges. They keep funds in cold storage, offer two-factor authentication to keep accounts secure, encrypt user data, and more. Kraken even states that its servers are protected by armed guards.

While Kraken keeps 95% of users’ funds in cold storage, crypto.com keeps 100% of users’ funds in cold storage, specifically in a Ledger vault. This percentage is the highest we’ve seen of any crypto exchange, showing crypto.com truly values security. Crypto.com also has $750M in cold storage insurance in case of theft.

Crypto.com also makes its users whitelist all withdrawal addresses via email and users multi-factor authentication - such as FaceID - to secure accounts. You can be sure your funds are as safe as can be with crypto.com.

Regulatory Compliance

Crypto.com is fully regulated and can be accessed in Canada, USA (except New York), Europe, and other countries around the world.

Kraken is fully compliant with US regulations. The exchange is independently audited to show that customers’ funds are properly held. Canadians can use the platform as well.

Kraken is fully compliant with US regulations. The exchange is independently audited to show that customers’ funds are properly held. Crypto.com is also fully regulated and can be accessed in Canada, USA (except New York), Europe, and other countries around the world.

Customer support

The customer support for crypto.com is quite slow. Users like the app, security, and the wide range of coins, but the customer service needs work. Crypto.com does not offer educational resources or a knowledge centre, which is a let down.

Kraken offers a 24/7 live chat and email support. It also offers a good amount of learning documentation and helpful articles on its website. Unfortunately, many people say Kraken has poor customer support with tickets taking a long time to be resolved if ever. The same can be said for crypto.com. Users like the app, security, and the wide range of coins, but the customer service needs work. Crypto.com does not offer educational resources or a knowledge centre, which is a let down.

Conclusion

If the question is Kraken vs crypto.com for Canadians, then the clear winner is crypto.com. While Kraken is a good exchange and many people like it, crypto.com offers so much more. Not only can you earn cashback with the crypto.com Visa cards and stake your crypto directly in the app, but crypto.com offers free deposits via Interac E-transfer making it a top choice for Canadians to buy crypto. Crypto.com’s fees are more reasonable than Kraken’s, plus it offers more cryptocurrencies. Crypto.com has been marketing itself well lately, and its own coin, crypto.com coin (CRO) is slowly catching up on Binance coin (BNB). Overall, crypto.com has everything you need in a crypto exchange. You can sign up here.

On top of these two, we would recommend Coinsmart for a number of reasons. Why? Check on our Coinsmart review.

Author

Oleg Galeev

Cryptocurrency Specialist

Oleg is a Canadian citizen & crypto expert who has been trading since 2016. He started out with Coinbase, Kraken and Peer-to-Peer exchanges. After some time, centralized exchanges started charging crazy fees to their users.

He decided to review different crypto exchanges that operate in Canada and start a Youtube channel in order to educate Canadians on what kinds of things are going inside each one while giving them unbiased advice. On top of that, Oleg also has experience with NFT, airdrops, and crypto staking and he is constantly checking on new crypto assets.

His writing has been featured in popular Canadian media sources such as Toronto Sun and Ottawa Citizen.