Kraken vs Bybit: fees, derivatives and MiCA licences

Kraken vs Bybit is a comparison between two crypto exchanges that both hold a MiCA licence, so EU readers can choose on cost and products rather than legality. Bybit EU is the cheaper of the two for spot trading, at a flat 0.25%. Kraken costs more per trade but offers EU-regulated futures, many more coins and fiat currencies, and a track record without the $1.5bn hack Bybit suffered in February 2025. Whether you search Kraken vs Bybit or Bybit vs Kraken, which one fits depends on what you trade.

We checked both exchanges’ fee pages, licence registers and public records on 23 October 2026, and every figure below comes from those checks. For the full picture, read our Kraken review and Bybit review.

Kraken vs Bybit: the short answer

Bybit EU wins on spot trading fees; Kraken wins on futures, choice and track record. If you only buy and sell large coins with euros and want the lowest fee, Bybit EU is the cheaper cryptocurrency exchange. If you want regulated futures, smaller coins, non-euro currencies or a US account, choose Kraken.

• Spot fees: Bybit EU charges 0.25% maker and taker. Kraken Pro charges 0.40% maker and 0.80% taker at entry level.
• Derivatives: Kraken offers EU futures through a CySEC-licensed entity. Bybit EU offers no derivatives.
• Assets: Kraken has 600+ assets and seven fiat currencies; Bybit EU has 100+ coins with euros and Polish zloty.
• Security record: Bybit lost about $1.5bn in ETH in 2025. We found no verified hack at Kraken.
• US residents: only Kraken.

Bybit vs Kraken: market position and platform focus

The two crypto exchanges come from different directions. Kraken, operated by Payward and founded in 2011, pairs a simple app with Kraken Pro, its platform for active traders, and serves beginners and experienced traders alike. Bybit, founded in 2018, runs a global platform that includes derivatives; it moved its headquarters from Singapore to Dubai in 2022 and reports more than 80 million users worldwide.

For EU residents, what matters is the EU entity, not the global brand. Bybit EU, based in Vienna, is a spot-focused service: spot trading, spot margin, Earn and a card. The derivatives on Bybit’s global platform are not part of the bybit.eu offer. Kraken’s EU offer includes spot, staking, a card and, for clients who qualify, futures. Global user numbers say nothing about which suits you.

Kraken vs Bybit for European regulation and customer funds

Both are authorised under MiCA, the EU’s crypto law, and both licences are passported across the EEA. Since 1 July 2026 only MiCA-authorised firms may serve EU residents, so both pass the first test.

Kraken serves EEA residents through Payward Europe Solutions Limited, authorised by the Central Bank of Ireland on 25 June 2025. A second Irish entity, Payward Global Solutions Limited, is authorised to operate the trading platform. Futures come from Payward Europe Digital Solutions (CY) Limited, licensed by CySEC under MiFID II (licence 342/17). Kraken also holds e-money licences in Ireland and the UK. In August 2026 it agreed to take over MEXC’s clients in the Netherlands.

Bybit EU is Bybit EU GmbH, authorised by Austria’s FMA on 28 May 2025 for custody, exchange of crypto for funds and other crypto, placing and transfer services. Its passport covers the EEA including the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium and Ireland, but excludes Malta. In August 2026 the FMA also licensed Bybit Payments GmbH as an electronic money institution. Before its licence, Bybit served Dutch clients without registration until September 2023, for which DNB fined Bybit Fintech €2.25m in 2024.

A licence means supervision and more regulatory transparency, not a guarantee. Crypto-assets are not covered by investor compensation schemes, so a licence does not refund losses from falling prices or a failed exchange.

Proof of reserves and customer funds

Both exchanges publish Merkle-tree proof of reserves, with different extra assurances.

• Kraken: proof of reserves checked by an independent accountant, latest snapshot 30 June 2026. Kraken’s card page states that major crypto assets are held 1:1 and covered by £125m of insurance, without detailing the scope.
• Bybit: proof of reserves with published wallet addresses, latest snapshot 23 September 2026. Bybit EU runs a spot-margin insurance fund fed by a 2% liquidation fee.

Proof of reserves shows that customer funds were matched by assets at one moment. It is not a full financial audit: it doesn’t show all of an exchange’s debts, and it says nothing about the day after. Neither exchange publishes a cold-storage percentage on the pages we checked.

Bybit vs Kraken fees: crypto trading fees and derivatives fees

In the Bybit vs Kraken fee comparison, Bybit EU has the lower spot fees; Kraken is the only one of the two with EU derivatives fees to compare. The standard Kraken app costs more than both.

Spot fees: Kraken Pro vs Bybit EU

Since 5 October 2026 Bybit EU charges one rate, 0.25%, for maker and taker orders on accounts under 100,000 USDC of 30-day trading volume. Kraken Pro charges 0.40% maker and 0.80% taker at entry level, after a July 2026 restructuring raised its rates from 0.25%/0.40%. The standard Kraken app, Kraken’s instant buy route, charges 1% on direct and recurring buys (1.5% for custom orders), plus a variable spread and possible payment-method fees.

On a €1,000 market order, Bybit EU’s exchange fees are €5.50 lower than Kraken Pro’s taker fees, because Bybit EU charges the same rate for maker and taker fees. Against Kraken Pro limit orders, the gap is €1.50. On the standard Kraken app, the same €1,000 costs €10.00 plus the spread, so if you choose Kraken, use Kraken Pro.

Volume tiers and VIP status

Both exchanges cut fees for frequent traders, but the ladders differ.

• Bybit EU: the 0.25% rate falls to 0.15% at the best non-VIP tier. VIP status lowers it further, down to 0.045% at Supreme VIP.
• Kraken: volume tiers sit on a shared ladder that counts spot volume, futures volume or assets held, so higher volume tiers can be reached through futures trading too. Stablecoin and FX pairs cost 0.20% maker and taker. Kraken+ members pay no app trading fee on up to $10,000 a month, though the spread still applies.

For most readers investing €50–500 a month, neither VIP ladder is relevant. The entry-level rate is the one you will pay.

Derivatives fees

Only Kraken offers derivatives to EU residents, so for derivatives traders the Bybit vs Kraken question is settled before fees come in. Kraken’s entry tier for futures is 0.02% maker and 0.05% taker for accounts under $5m of futures volume. Bybit EU has no futures trading; we have not verified the derivatives fees on Bybit’s global platform, whose derivatives markets EU residents can’t use anyway.

Worked example on Kraken: you post €1,000 as margin and open a perpetual futures position at 5x leverage, worth €5,000. As a taker, opening costs €2.50 and closing costs another €2.50, so a round trip is €5.00 before funding payments. Perpetual contracts also carry funding payments, which you pay or receive at set intervals depending on market conditions; held for weeks, they can cost more than the trading fee. Our glossary explains how perpetual contracts work.

Deposits, withdrawals and fiat transfers

Kraken publishes its euro withdrawal costs; Bybit EU shows them only after you log in.

• Kraken: SEPA deposits are free. SEPA withdrawals cost €1, or €0.90 via SEPA Instant through ClearJunction. A Bitcoin withdrawal costs 0.000015 BTC.
• Bybit EU: no Bybit fee on fiat deposits, though your payment provider may charge its own. Card and wallet top-ups with Visa, Mastercard, Apple Pay and Google Pay are supported in Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and Ireland, among other EEA countries. SEPA and crypto withdrawal costs appear only in the logged-in withdrawal window.

Round trip example: you deposit €1,000 by SEPA, buy bitcoin with a market order, sell it later at the same price and withdraw the euros. On Kraken Pro that is €8.00 + €8.00 + €1.00 = €17.00. On Bybit EU it is €2.50 + €2.50 = €5.00, plus a withdrawal fee you see only after logging in. Our Kraken fees page and Bybit fees page list every cost.

Bybit vs Kraken for active traders: advanced trading features

Kraken offers the wider set of tools to EU users, mainly because it includes futures. Bybit EU offers margin trading on spot, which Kraken offers only to “eligible clients” without saying whether that includes EU retail clients. Neither is a platform for high leverage in the EU: Bybit EU has no futures, and Kraken’s EU futures carry extra leverage limits.

Kraken Pro and the standard Kraken app

Kraken gives you two screens on one account. The standard Kraken app is built for simple and recurring buys at a 1% fee. Kraken Pro is its order-book platform for active trading, with an order book, price charts and more order types, at 0.40%/0.80%: the professional trading tools most experienced traders look for, at a lower fee than the app. EU futures are available to clients who pass the MiFID II appropriateness test, with extra product and leverage limits. Kraken also offers an API for automated trading.

Bybit EU: spot, spot margin and Earn

Bybit EU is a narrower service built around spot markets. It offers spot trading on 100+ coins, spot margin, Earn products and a card, with an API for frequent traders and high frequency traders who automate. Spot margin lets you borrow to trade, which adds interest costs and liquidation risk.

Copy trading and social trading

Neither EU offer has copy trading that we could verify. Copy trading and social trading appear in Bybit’s global help centre but not its EU one, and we could not verify copy trading for EU users on Kraken. If copy trading is what you’re after, treat it as unverified on both, and remember that following another trader does not reduce risk.

Bybit vs Kraken: asset selection, fiat funding and staking

Kraken has the much wider range of digital assets: 600+ assets against Bybit EU’s 100+. Kraken’s figure is our count of base assets with live trading pairs in its public data; Bybit EU’s public spot data listed 108 base coins on 23 October 2026. Neither is an official figure.

For fiat currencies, Kraken supports euros, US dollars, British pounds, Swiss francs, Canadian dollars, Australian dollars and Japanese yen. Bybit EU supports euros and Polish zloty. If you only buy crypto with euros, both work, and crypto deposits from another wallet are possible on both; if you hold other currencies, Kraken saves you a conversion.

A larger list is not always better. Small coins tend to have thinner order books and wider spreads, and every trading pair carries its own liquidity. For bitcoin, ether and other large coins, both exchanges cover what most investors need.

Both offer ways to earn on your holdings: staking on Kraken and Earn products on Bybit EU, which requires identity verification first. Rewards are variable, some assets have lock-up periods, and the coins themselves can fall in value faster than rewards accrue.

Bybit vs Kraken: usability, support and account management

Both have an app, 24/7 support and identity checks before you can fund your account. Their payment methods differ more than their support.

• Support: Kraken offers 24/7 in-app support and a support centre. Bybit says it offers 24/7 customer support, with cases and complaints submitted through its help centre.
• Verification: on Kraken, funding limits depend on your verification level and the name on your bank account must match your Kraken account. On Bybit EU, you need an ID document and a selfie for fiat deposits, Earn and higher withdrawal limits.
• Cards: the Kraken Card for EU users is a Mastercard issued by UAB Monavate under the Bank of Lithuania; Bybit EU also offers a Bybit Card.
• Deposit method: SEPA works on both; Bybit EU also takes card, Apple Pay and Google Pay top-ups.

If you are new, start with a small amount on either exchange, buy one large coin and withdraw a little to your own wallet, so you learn the full route before you commit more.

Kraken vs Bybit: security, risks and track record

On Kraken security versus Bybit security, Bybit has the more serious incident; Kraken’s record shows smaller regulatory settlements. On 21 February 2025 about $1.5bn in ETH was stolen from Bybit’s wallets; the FBI attributed the theft to North Korea (“TraderTraitor”). For Kraken, we found no verified security incident in the sources we checked, but we have not completed a dedicated search, so we don’t call its record clean.

Regulatory history:

• Kraken: $362,159 to OFAC in 2022 to settle apparent violations of Iran sanctions; $30m to the SEC in 2023 over its US staking programme, which it ended for US clients; and a 2023 SEC lawsuit that was dismissed with prejudice in March 2025. Payward also won a $22m arbitration award against Mazars USA, the auditor that withdrew from Kraken’s 2022 audit.
• Bybit: a settlement of about $228m with the FTX estate in 2024 over pre-collapse withdrawals by its investment arm Mirana; a €2.25m DNB fine in 2024; and a ₹9.27 crore fine from India’s Financial Intelligence Unit in 2025 for operating without registration.

On either exchange, your own account security matters: use two-factor authentication with an authenticator app, withdrawal allow-lists and a small test before large withdrawals, and keep long-term holdings in your own wallet.

Choose Kraken or choose Bybit?

Pick based on what you trade, how often and where you live.

Choose Kraken if

• you want EU-regulated futures and pass the appropriateness test;
• you want smaller coins or fiat currencies other than euros;
• you live in the US (New York is not on Kraken’s US licence list);
• you prefer an exchange without a major hack in our sources;
• you accept higher spot fees: €4.00 to €8.00 per €1,000 on Kraken Pro, €10.00 in the app.

Choose Bybit if

• you mainly buy large coins with euros and want the lowest spot fee of the two (€2.50 per €1,000);
• you like topping up by card, Apple Pay or Google Pay;
• you accept fewer coins, no futures and the 2025 hack in Bybit’s record.

Using both

You don’t have to settle Bybit vs Kraken for good. Some traders buy on Bybit EU for the lower fee and keep a Kraken account for futures or coins Bybit EU doesn’t list. Every transfer costs a withdrawal fee and adds a step where a wrong address or network can lose coins, so only run two accounts with a clear reason.

Who should look elsewhere: if you want free SEPA withdrawals or a Nasdaq-listed parent, compare Coinbase vs Bybit and Coinbase vs Kraken. If you came here from Bybit vs Binance, note that Binance has no MiCA licence; see Bybit vs Binance.

How we compared Bybit vs Kraken

This in-depth comparison is based on official sources, not on test accounts. We read each exchange’s fee schedule, licence disclosures and help pages, checked both licences in ESMA’s interim MiCA register, and used public trading data for coin counts, all on 23 October 2026. Where a figure is shown only to logged-in users, such as Bybit EU’s withdrawal fees, we say so instead of guessing. Fees and products on crypto exchanges change often, so check the live fee schedule before you trade. This page is not investment advice.

Kraken vs Bybit: final verdict

There is no single winner in this Kraken vs Bybit comparison, because both are licensed in the EU. Bybit EU is the go-to choice for low-cost spot buying of large coins with euros. Kraken is the better all-round exchange: more coins, more currencies, EU futures and a cleaner security record, at a higher fee per trade. Crypto trading involves risk, prices can fall to zero, and neither exchange is a place for long-term savings, so keep only what you trade on either platform.