Kraken
grade F
One of the top ten regulated cryptocurrency exchanges in the world by trading volume.
grade F
What the documents mean for you
Kraken can suspend your withdrawals indefinitely, lock or close your account, and keep your funds if it believes you committed misconduct. Identity verification with government ID is mandatory, it holds your coins in custody, and it keeps KYC records for years after you leave.
Kraken requires an account for most services, and that account requires a real email, mobile phone number and street address, with Kraken reserving the right to demand proof you meet those conditions. Its privacy pages state it is legally obliged to verify the identity of every customer and that it collects government-issued ID, proof of address and other KYC data, so identity verification is mandatory rather than exceptional.
Identity checks happen at onboarding and can be repeated at any time, including during payment processing, systemic risk checks, tax obligations and ongoing sanctions screening. You hand over a government-issued ID, proof of address, selfie photos or videos (which may be processed with technology that extracts biometric data), and source-of-funds and tax details. If Kraken cannot verify you or decides it must comply with a legal or regulatory obligation, it can lock, disable and close your account and suspend withdrawals for an indeterminate time.
Warnings
Kraken can suspend withdrawals indefinitely and lock, disable or close your account to meet legal and regulatory obligations. On closure it can keep what it says you owe, and it need not return assets if it believes you acted fraudulently or negligently.
You must give a real name, address, phone number, government ID and proof of address, and Kraken can repeat these checks at any time. Selfie photos and videos may be run through technology that extracts biometric data.
Kraken records device ID, IP address, MAC address, location and full clickstream, and shares personal data with payment, identity, fraud and sanctions providers, group companies, and authorities in several countries.
Kraken states your account is not a bank or deposit account and that neither your account nor your digital assets are covered by insurance, FDIC or SIPC protection, or any comparable scheme anywhere.
How the score was reached
Privacy7/100
Trust49/100
Overall = (privacy × 0.6 + trust × 0.4) / 10, rounded = 2/10, grade F. Each attribute above rests on a clause quoted below or was assigned by a moderator; the rest is what the listing knows.
Attributes16 moved the score
May require KYC/SOF by policy/lawprivacy -6 · trust -4
The service may require identity verification, KYC or Source of Funds information, by its own policy or by law, at any time.
Kraken reserves the right to run identity and eligibility checks on you at any time, directly or through third parties.
“You authorize us to make inquiries, whether directly or through third parties, that we consider necessary to verify your identity, to confirm the above eligibility requirements, to protect you or us against fraud or other financial crime”
Terms, www.kraken.com
Custodial walletprivacy -3 · trust -5
The service manages the private keys and keeps custody of funds, which requires trusting it.
Kraken holds the digital assets in your account in custody and controls the blockchain addresses they sit on.
“Digital Assets, including Received Assets (as defined in Annex A), held within your account are assets held in custody by us for you.”
Terms, www.kraken.com
KYC depends on partnersprivacy -5
The service routes through partner providers whose KYC policies vary. The actual experience depends on which partner is used.
May suspend your accounttrust -4
The service reserves the right to suspend or limit access for violations or arrears.
Kraken reserves the discretion to temporarily suspend your account.
“We may, in our discretion, determine that it is necessary or appropriate to temporarily suspend or even terminate your account.”
Terms, www.kraken.com
Phone number is requiredprivacy -4
A valid phone number is needed, verified by SMS or a call. Anonymous SMS services are often acceptable.
A current and valid mobile phone number is one of the conditions for opening and keeping an account.
“have a current and valid email address, mobile phone number, and street address,”
Terms, www.kraken.com
Service termination policytrust -4
The provider can terminate access at any time, without notice, at its discretion.
Kraken can cut off your access to the services and your account at any time, with no notice and no liability.
“We can, at any time and without liability or prior notice to you: modify or discontinue our services or Platforms (or any parts of them), suspend, restrict, or terminate your access to our services or Platforms,”
Terms, www.kraken.com
Data sharingprivacy -3
Personal data may be shared with authorities or third-party providers for compliance.
Kraken shares personal data with regulators and law enforcement, and with service providers for payments, identity verification, fraud and sanctions screening.
“**Toezichthouders en opsporingsinstanties** – wanneer dit wettelijk vereist is of op basis van een geldige juridische procedure”
Privacy policy, www.kraken.com
May freeze or seize fundstrust -3
Internal monitoring may freeze or seize funds flagged for suspicious activity, stolen or sanctioned sources.
Kraken states it can lock, disable and close accounts whenever it decides this is needed for legal or regulatory compliance, which reaches the money held in them.
“We reserve the right to lock, disable and close accounts as deemed necessary by us in order to comply with any such legal and regulatory obligations now existing or hereinafter imposed.”
Terms, www.kraken.com
No-refund policytrust -3
The service does not offer refunds.
Trades and deposits are final and non-refundable, and orders cannot be cancelled once placed.
“All Trades are final and non-refundable. All orders are non-cancellable, including before or after we execute a Trade, unless otherwise provided in these terms.”
Terms, www.kraken.com
Transaction monitoringprivacy -1
Deposits are analysed for blacklisted or high-risk sources; flagged ones need verification.
Kraken says it applies financial rules on identity verification, sanctions screening and transaction monitoring to its users.
“Financiële regels voor identiteitsverificatie, sanctiescreening en transactiemonitoring”
Privacy policy, www.kraken.com
Account requiredprivacy -1
An account has to be created to access and use the service.
You must open an account to use most Kraken services.
“To use most of our services, you need to create an account with us.”
Terms, www.kraken.com
Verifiedtrust +10
Passed repeated checks over time and showed consistent behavior.
Auditedtrust +5
The service has been audited by an independent third party.
Kraken says an external auditor regularly performs a Proof-of-Reserves audit, and it holds an ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certificate and a completed SOC 2 Type 1 examination.
“We werken regelmatig samen met een externe auditor om een Proof-of-Reserves-audit uit te voeren met als doel meer vertrouwen en transparantie te ontwikkelen in de assets die op onze exchange en on-chain stakingservice worden aangehouden.”
Security, www.kraken.com
Good customer supporttrust +5
Customer support is usually fast and helpful.
Uses own liquidityprivacy +5
The service runs its own liquidity, so there is no third-party liquidity provider that could independently demand KYC or block funds.
Legally registeredtrust +2
Legally registered as Payward Interactive, Inc. in United States.
What costs you most first. Tap one to read the clause it rests on, or what the listing knows, priced as kycnot.me prices it.
What the documents say
Kraken can suspend your withdrawals and fiat redemptions completely, for an indeterminate time, whenever it decides this is needed for compliance.
“We reserve the right to suspend your ability to make Withdrawals or Redemptions altogether for an indeterminate amount of time to ensure, as determined in our sole discretion, compliance with these terms or any legal, regulatory, or administrative obligation or guidance.”
Terms, www.kraken.com
If you trade on margin, Kraken can sell the assets in your account without contacting you first and without waiting for any deadline it gave you.
“You authorize us to sell your assets without contacting you. We have no obligation to contact you for a margin call to be valid, and we may liquidate assets in your account without contacting you first.”
Terms, www.kraken.com
Verification data includes passport, driving licence and selfie photos or videos, which Kraken says may be processed with technology that extracts biometric data.
“Verificatie-informatie, waaronder informatie die nodig is om je identiteit te verifiëren, zoals een paspoort, rijbewijs, selfiefoto's/video's, inloggegevens of een door de overheid afgegeven identiteitsbewijs, die kan worden verwerkt met technologieën die biometrische gegevens extraheren.”
Privacy policy, www.kraken.com
When Kraken runs these checks, your personal information can be passed to credit reference and fraud or financial crime agencies, which may answer its questions in full.
“When we carry out these inquiries, you acknowledge and agree that your personal information may be disclosed to credit reference and fraud prevention or financial crime agencies and that these agencies may respond to our inquiries in full.”
Terms, www.kraken.com
Kraken can hand your data about your use of its services to government, regulatory and law enforcement bodies, including ones outside the country where you live.
“kunnen we je persoonsgegevens met betrekking tot je gebruik van Kraken-diensten en ons platform bekendmaken aan overheids-, toezichthoudende of wetshandhavingsinstanties, ook buiten het rechtsgebied waar je woont, voor zover Kraken verplicht is dergelijke openbaarmakingen te doen.”
Privacy policy, www.kraken.com
Anti-money-laundering and securities law can require Kraken to keep your customer due diligence file, transaction records and communications for around 5 years after you leave.
“Daarnaast zijn we onderworpen aan bepaalde antiwitwas- en effectenwetgeving die ons kan verplichten het volgende gedurende een bepaalde periode (bijv. 5 jaar) te bewaren nadat onze zakelijke relatie met jou is beëindigd:”
Privacy policy, www.kraken.com
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