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Kraken

AUSTRAC RegisteredAU Order BookGlobal · AU Entity

One of the oldest global exchanges, operating locally through Bit Trade Pty Ltd with real AUD order books, PayID rails and professional-grade tooling.

Headquarters
San Francisco · AU entity in Sydney
Founded
2011
AUSTRAC
Registered - Bit Trade Pty Limited, ABN 42 163 237 634VASP register, checked 25 Jul 2026
AU Entity
Bit Trade Pty Ltd (Kraken Australia)
AUD Deposits
PayID · Osko · Bank
Model
Order book
Assets
648
Coindaily Score
93 /100

Regulatory standing in Australia

Kraken serves Australians through Bit Trade Pty Ltd, a Sydney company it acquired in 2020 that is registered with AUSTRAC as a digital currency exchange provider. AUD deposits and withdrawals run on local rails and trading happens on genuine AUD order books rather than a brokerage spread.

Its most important local compliance event came in 2024: the Federal Court found Bit Trade had breached ASIC's design and distribution obligations by offering its margin extension product without a target market determination, and in December 2024 ordered a penalty of about $8 million. The product was reworked and the exchange kept operating - but it is a clear marker that ASIC treats Kraken's local arm as squarely within its reach.

Globally, Kraken has one of the longest security records of any major venue, with no major exchange-level hack since its 2011 founding, and publishes proof-of-reserves attestations.

Costs in practice

Maker
0.40%
Taker
0.80%
BTC/AUD Spread
~0.01%
Effective Cost
~0.81%

Order-book venue: effective cost ≈ entry-tier taker fee + measured spread. Limit (maker) orders cost 0.40%. Figures match the Coindaily exchanges table and are modelled; check the live schedule before trading.

kraken.com
Kraken homepage
Homepage as served to Australian visitors · captured Jun 2026

Local offerings & AUD rails

  • AUD rails: free PayID and Osko deposits, AUD withdrawals to local banks
  • AUD order books for BTC, ETH and major pairs - you trade the book, not a spread
  • Kraken Pro fee schedule from 0.40% maker / 0.80% taker, falling with volume or assets held
  • Proof-of-reserves attestations and a long institutional security record
  • Staking and some products are gated or adjusted for Australian users - check in-app availability

Where it wins

  • Global-grade liquidity with a real AUD book
  • Free, fast PayID and Osko rails
  • Outstanding long-run security record
  • Pro tools: advanced orders, API, OTC

Where it costs you

  • $8M Federal Court penalty over its margin product (2024)
  • Instant-buy spreads cost far more than Pro - use Pro
  • Some products restricted for AU retail
Trading fee from
0.40% / 0.80%
Maker / taker, Kraken Pro entry tier
AUD deposit
Free
PayID & Osko, minimum A$5
SMSF accounts
Yes
Via a business account

What it costs

Trading fees, subscriptions, deposits and withdrawals

Maker feeCharged when your limit order rests on the book and adds liquidity
0.40%entry tier, falls to 0.00%
source·
Taker feeCharged when your order crosses the spread and removes liquidity
0.80%entry tier, falls to 0.05%
source·
How fee tiers are earnedRestructured 9 July 2026 - qualify on the best of three measures
Volume or balance30d spot, futures, or assets on platform
source·
Instant buy feeThe simple app flow - materially dearer than Kraken Pro
1.00% + spread1.50% on custom orders
source·
Kraken+ subscriptionWaives app trading fees to A$10,000/month - not on Kraken Pro, API or OTC
A$4.99per month, or A$49.99/yr
source·
AUD deposit - PayID & OskoNear-instant local bank transfer
Freeminimum A$5
source·
AUD deposit - card & walletsDebit, credit, Apple Pay and Google Pay
3.75% + 25cavoid - use PayID
source·
AUD withdrawalTo an Australian bank account, Osko rail
Freeminimum A$5
source·
Crypto withdrawal feeKraken uses a mix of fixed and network-variable fees
Dynamicquoted before you confirm
source·
Inactivity feeCharged for leaving an account dormant
None
source·

Limits and the costs that hide

Spreads, deposit caps and the charges that do not appear on a fee page

Instant buy spreadKraken states it varies by size, asset, payment method and market conditions
Undisclosedon top of the 1% fee
source·
BTC/AUD order-book spreadMeasured live from Kraken's public API
~0.01%Coindaily snapshot, 25 Jul 2026
source·
AUD deposit limitA real constraint if you are moving a lump sum
A$10,000 / dayand A$40,000 / month
source·
Does instant-buy volume earn fee tiers?Buying in the simple app does not progress your Pro discount
No
source·
RTGS depositHigh-value same-day settlement
A$33minimum A$100
source·

What you can trade

Assets, Australian dollar pairs, staking and derivatives

Tradable assetsAvailable to Australian accounts
648
source·
Direct AUD pairsEverything else routes through USD or a stablecoin
~14BTC, ETH, SOL, XRP, ADA and more
source·
Blocked for Australian usersPrivacy coins are unavailable locally
XMR, DASH, ZEC
source·
StakingWeekly payouts; Opt-In Rewards and DeFi Earn are not offered in Australia
Yes25+ assets
source·
Derivatives & futuresRetail Australians are excluded outright, not leverage-capped
Wholesale onlynet assets A$2.5m or income A$250k
source·
Margin tradingRestricted for Australian clients after the 2024 ASIC action
Restricted
source·
OTC deskNegotiated pricing for block trades
US$50,000minimum ticket
source·

How your assets are held

Custody, reserves, insurance and self-custody

Custody modelAir-gapped, geographically distributed cold storage
95% coldoffline reserves
source·
Proof of ReservesMerkle-tree attestation you can verify against your own balance
Yeslatest 31 Mar 2026
source·
Insurance on your balanceKraken states exchange balances are not covered by any deposit-insurance scheme
None
source·
Security certificationsIndependently audited controls
ISO 27001:2022SOC 2 Type 1 & Type 2
source·
Withdraw to your own walletIncluding Bitcoin over the Lightning Network
Yeson-chain + Lightning
source·
Exchange breach historyA 2024 researcher exploit hit corporate treasury, not client accounts
Noneno client-fund loss since 2011
source·

Who can open an account

Entity types Kraken will onboard in Australia

IndividualStandard personal account, 18+
Yes
source·
JointTwo names on one non-business account is not possible
No
source·
CompanyCorporations, LLCs, sole traders and partnerships
Yesbusiness account
source·
TrustRequires the trust deed and beneficial-owner detail
Yesbusiness account
source·
Self-managed super fundOpened in the fund's name; deposits must come from an account in the SMSF's name
Yesno SMSF-specific product
source·
Minor or kids accountAccount holders must be at least 18
No
source·

Trading features

Order types, recurring buys, tooling and access

Market & limit ordersThe basics, on both the app and Kraken Pro
Yes
source·
Stop-loss & take-profitIncluding stop-limit and take-profit-limit variants
Yes
source·
Trailing stopStandard and trailing-stop-limit
Yes
source·
Conditional, OCO & icebergConditional close, paired auto-cancelling orders and hidden size
Yesplus post-only, GTC/IOC/GTD
source·
Recurring buysDaily, weekly, fortnightly or monthly; free for Kraken+ to A$10,000/mo
Yes1% fee
source·
API accessIncluding FIX, which most local venues do not offer
REST · WS · FIX
source·
Demo accountA futures sandbox exists, but there is no spot paper-trading mode
Nofutures demo only
source·

Money in and out

Minimums, methods and settlement speed

Minimum depositBank transfer, PayID or Osko
A$5A$1 via PayPal
source·
Minimum tradeWhichever of the cost or volume floor applies
A$1or 0.0001 BTC
source·
Deposit methodsLocal rails plus card and PayPal
PayID · Osko · bankcard, PayPal, RTGS
source·
Withdrawal speedOsko settles close to instantly in practice
0-2 daysminimum A$5
source·
Other fiat currenciesReachable from Australia by international wire
USD · EURSWIFT, minimums apply
source·

Tax and reporting

What you get at tax time, and what you do not

Australian tax statementKraken's own tax forms are US-centric; the ATO report comes via Koinly
Not nativevia Koinly instead
source·
Koinly integrationOne-click connect; produces an ATO myTax report. Kraken+ adds a free report to 800 transactions
Official partner25% member discount
source·
Crypto Tax CalculatorAustralian-built; connects by API or CSV
Yes
source·
Full history exportTrades and ledger entries over any date range, plus read-only API keys
YesCSV
source·

Platform and support

Apps, account security and how you reach a human

iOS & Android appsA simple Kraken app and a separate Kraken Pro app
Yestwo apps
source·
Desktop appNative build for Windows, macOS and Linux
Yesfree
source·
Two-factor authenticationNo SMS-based account recovery, which is a security positive
TOTP · passkeyYubiKey / FIDO2
source·
Address allowlist & settings lockGlobal Settings Time Lock and a Master Key
Yes
source·
Support channelsKraken publishes no dial-in number and warns that any it finds online is a scam
24/7 live chatemail + in-app callback
source·
Australian support hoursSupport is global and round-the-clock rather than AU-based
Global 24/7no AU phone line
source·
EducationArticles, videos and guides graded beginner to advanced, with AU tax and SMSF material
~380 itemsKraken Learn
source·

Trust and regulation

The entity you are actually contracting with

Australian legal entityThe company your account agreement is with
Bit Trade Pty LtdACN 163 237 634
source·
AUSTRAC registrationAlso registered as an independent remittance dealer
Registered
source·
AFSL for spot tradingKraken states it holds no AFSL for its exchange services - the industry norm, and changing under the 2026 framework
NoneAUSTRAC only
source·
Derivatives licensingBit Trade acts as authorised representative 001312156
AFSL 545124Beaufort Fiduciaries
source·
Year foundedBit Trade launched locally in 2013 and Kraken acquired it in January 2020
2011AU entity since 2013
source·
Parent & ownershipPrivately held; a US listing was filed confidentially in late 2025 and paused in March 2026
Payward, Inc.private, United States
source·
Australian enforcement historyASIC's first design-and-distribution penalty, over a margin credit product
A$8M penaltyDecember 2024
source·

Figures are read from Kraken's own fee schedule, support articles and Australian legal disclosures, plus live order-book data from its public API. Crypto platforms change pricing and product availability often - click source on any row to check it yourself, and dispute anything that looks wrong.

Frequently asked questions

Is Kraken registered in Australia?

Yes. It operates locally as Bit Trade Pty Ltd, an AUSTRAC-registered digital currency exchange provider, with AUD deposits and withdrawals on local rails.

Can I deposit AUD with PayID?

Yes. PayID and Osko deposits are supported and typically free, and AUD withdrawals settle to Australian bank accounts.

What was the ASIC case about?

ASIC pursued Bit Trade over its margin extension product, which was offered without the target market determination required by design and distribution obligations. The Federal Court ordered a penalty of about $8 million in December 2024.

Registrations, licences and product availability change. Check the current AUSTRAC Virtual Asset Service Provider Register and the platform's own disclosures before depositing. This page is general information only, not financial advice, and may contain modelled figures.

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