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 for compliance, and keep your funds if it believes you committed fraud. ID documents are required to open an account, it holds your coins, and keeps KYC records years after you leave.
Kraken requires an account for most services and states it is legally obliged to verify every customer's identity, collecting government-issued ID and proof of address as KYC data. The Terms also let Kraken run identity and eligibility inquiries through third parties at any time and lock, disable or close accounts to meet legal obligations, so verification is mandatory rather than occasional.
Verification starts at sign-up: you must give a valid email address, mobile phone number and street address, and Kraken asks for government-issued ID, proof of address and information on whether you hold a prominent public role (PEP). Kraken can repeat identity, credit and sanctions checks at any time, directly or through outside agencies, and it can also ask for extra documents for tax and regulatory reasons. If it decides it must, it locks, disables or closes your account, and it can suspend your withdrawals for an indefinite period.
Warnings
You cannot use most services without an account, and Kraken says it must verify the identity of every customer with government-issued ID and proof of address. It can repeat identity, credit and sanctions checks at any time.
Kraken can suspend withdrawals for an indefinite period and lock, disable or close accounts for legal and regulatory reasons. On closure it can keep your assets if you owe fees or if it believes you committed fraud, negligence or other misconduct.
KYC data and transaction history stay on file for years after you close the account, and Kraken says it may keep personal data beyond 5 years where legal, regulatory or technical reasons stop it from deleting.
Kraken stores and processes personal data in the EU, Australia, the UK, the USA and elsewhere, and states that courts, law enforcement, regulators and security services in those places may use legal process to reach it.
Kraken states the Terms may change at any time and without notice, and that continuing to use the platform counts as your agreement to the changes.
How the score was reached
Privacy5/100
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.
Attributes17 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.
The Terms let Kraken verify your identity and run checks through third parties whenever it considers it necessary, and act on the results without telling you.
“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, and as we determine may be necessary to facilitate compliance”
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 in.
“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 may temporarily suspend or terminate your account at its discretion.
“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 valid mobile phone number is a condition of holding an account, and Kraken may send account and security messages to it.
“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.
Access can be suspended, restricted or terminated 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.
The privacy pages state that personal data goes to regulators and law enforcement where legally required, and to service providers for identity verification, fraud and sanctions screening.
“**Toezichthouders en opsporingsinstanties** – waar wettelijk verplicht 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 reserves the right to lock, disable and close accounts, and to suspend withdrawals for an indeterminate period, when it judges this needed for legal or regulatory reasons.
“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.
Deposits, issuances and trades are stated to be final and non-refundable once made.
“All Deposits and Issuances are final and non-refundable once made, but you may be able to Redeem Fiat Balances or Withdraw Digital Assets in accordance with Section 3 (Withdrawals & Redemptions).”
Terms, www.kraken.com
Usage can be detected on public blockchainsprivacy -2
On transparent blockchains, use of the service may be publicly identifiable.
The privacy notice states that use of digital assets is recorded on public blockchains open to forensic analysis, which can re-identify the people transacting.
“Veel blockchains staan open voor forensische analyse, wat kan leiden tot heridentificatie van personen die transacties verrichten en tot de onthulling van persoonsgegevens, met name wanneer blockchaingegevens worden gecombineerd met andere gegevens.”
Privacy policy, www.kraken.com
Transaction monitoringprivacy -1
Deposits are analysed for blacklisted or high-risk sources; flagged ones need verification.
Kraken states it applies financial rules on identity verification, sanctions screening and transaction monitoring.
“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.
An account is needed for most of the 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 states it holds an ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certification and has completed a SOC 2 Type 1 examination, both carried out by outside assessors.
“ISO/IEC 27001:2022-gecertificeerd en SOC 2 Type 1-onderzoek afgerond”
Privacy policy, 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 stop you from withdrawing or redeeming for an unlimited period whenever it decides this serves compliance with the terms or any legal or regulatory obligation.
“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
When Kraken verifies you, it may pass your personal information to credit reference, fraud prevention and financial crime agencies, and it has no duty to tell you the results.
“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 collects government-issued ID, proof of address and other KYC data that financial regulators require.
“**Identiteitsverificatiegegevens** – door de overheid uitgegeven ID, adresbewijs en andere KYC-gegevens die financiële toezichthouders vereisen”
Privacy policy, www.kraken.com
For card payments and bank transfers, Kraken can lock an equal amount in your account for 120 days after the deposit, and you cannot withdraw that amount until the hold ends.
“We may require that your account has sufficient funds to cover, at a 1:1 ratio, any payments using credit card or money transfers for 120 days post deposit (“Unsecured Deposit Hold”). You may not withdraw the funds associated with the Unsecured Deposit Hold”
Terms, www.kraken.com
Kraken keeps KYC data and transaction history for periods set by financial law, normally several years after you close your account, and may keep it longer where it cannot delete it.
“moeten sommige gegevens (waaronder KYC-gegevens en transactiegeschiedenis) bewaard blijven gedurende periodes die door de financiële wetgeving zijn vastgesteld – meestal enkele jaren na sluiting van het account, afhankelijk van je rechtsgebied”
Privacy policy, www.kraken.com
Kraken hands over personal data when law, a subpoena, a court order or a regulator requires it, and also where it sees a legitimate interest in helping an investigation.
“We zullen persoonsgegevens verstrekken wanneer we een wettelijke verplichting hebben om je persoonsgegevens te verstrekken onder de wetgeving van je rechtsgebied of de wetgeving van een ander rechtsgebied waar Kraken actief is, evenals wanneer we een juridisch bindend verzoek ontvangen”
Privacy policy, www.kraken.com
Kraken says your assets are not its property, but warns a court may disagree and subject them to the claims of Kraken's creditors. Accounts carry no FDIC, SIPC or similar insurance.
“However, a court may disagree with our treatment of your Digital Assets and subject them to claims of our creditors.”
Terms, www.kraken.com
Kraken can refuse any deposit, withdrawal, trade or other transaction at its sole discretion, with no notice and no liability to you.
“We may reject any Trade or other transaction at our sole discretion, whether confirmed by you or not, and we are not liable to you for any rejection.”
Terms, www.kraken.com
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