Kraken vs Gemini: fees, licences and which to choose in 2026

Kraken vs Gemini is settled for European readers: Gemini closed all EEA, UK and Australian accounts on 6 April 2026, so if you live in the EU, Kraken is the one you can use. Kraken serves EU residents through Payward Europe Solutions Limited, which holds a MiCA licence from the Central Bank of Ireland.

For readers in the United States the comparison is more even. Kraken offers lower entry-tier fees and far more coins, while Gemini is a New York trust company that serves New York residents, which Kraken’s US licences don’t cover. We checked both platforms’ fee schedules, licence disclosures and filings on 23 October 2026. We have not opened accounts on either, so this is a comparison of published facts, not investment advice.

Kraken vs Gemini: the short answer

Choose Kraken if you live in Europe, want lower fees on the order book or want more than a few dozen coins. Choose Gemini only if you live in the US, especially New York, and value its New York-regulated custody more than lower fees.

• Kraken: founded in 2011, MiCA-licensed in Ireland, more than 600 assets, Kraken Pro from 0.40% maker / 0.80% taker. The catch: fees rose in July 2026 and the simple app charges 1% plus a spread.
• Gemini: founded in 2014 by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, NYDFS-supervised trust company, listed on Nasdaq since September 2025, about 65 tradable assets. The catch: ActiveTrader starts at 0.60% / 1.20%, and the Gemini Earn history and open lawsuits weigh on its record.

Kraken vs Gemini for EU and UK residents

If you live in the EU or the UK, Gemini is not an option and Kraken is. Gemini announced its exit from the UK, the EU and Australia in February 2026, made accounts withdrawal-only from 5 March and closed them on 6 April 2026.

The facts table above still shows a MiCA licence for Gemini, because ESMA’s interim register lists its August 2025 Maltese authorisation without an end date. The licence is not in use for retail clients. Kraken’s MiCA authorisation dates from 25 June 2025 and is passported to every EEA country, including the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium. In August 2026 Kraken also agreed to take over MEXC’s clients in the Netherlands. UK customers use Payward Limited, registered with the FCA.

Trading fees and withdrawal fees

Kraken has lower trading fees than Gemini at the entry tier. Kraken Pro charges 0.40% maker and 0.80% taker, while Gemini ActiveTrader, on its schedule dated 1 September 2026, charges 0.60% maker and 1.20% taker.

Kraken’s fees were lower until July 2026, when it restructured Kraken Pro and the entry tier rose from 0.25% / 0.40% to 0.40% / 0.80%. Gemini’s tiers fall with 30-day volume or balance: 0.40% / 0.80% from $10,000, 0.25% / 0.50% from $25,000, down to 0% / 0.02% at $250 million.

Kraken charges 0.20% maker and taker on stablecoin and FX pairs, and Kraken+ members pay no app trading fee on up to $10,000 a month, though the spread still applies.

Worked examples: €100 and €1,000

Here is what you pay at the published rates. Gemini prices in US dollars, so US readers can read the same sums as $100 and $1,000.

On a €1,000 market order, Kraken Pro costs €8.00 and Gemini ActiveTrader €12.00, so you save €4.00 on Kraken. Before the July 2026 change the same Kraken order cost €4.00. In the simple apps the visible fee is similar, about 1% on both, so the unpublished spread decides; compare the final amount in the order preview. See our Kraken fees page for every cost.

Deposit and withdrawal fees

Kraken charges nothing for SEPA deposits in euros and €1 for a standard SEPA withdrawal, or €0.90 via SEPA Instant. Gemini no longer offers SEPA. In the US, Gemini charges 3.49% to fund with a debit card and 2.50% with PayPal; check each fee page for funding from a bank account by ACH or wire transfer.

For crypto withdrawals, Kraken lists a flat 0.000015 BTC fee for bitcoin, subject to change. Gemini shows a dynamic network fee before you confirm. If you move coins to your own wallet often, Kraken’s published fee is easier to plan around.

Kraken Pro vs Gemini ActiveTrader: trading tools

Both exchanges split a simple app from a separate order-book platform for advanced traders. On Kraken that is Kraken Pro; on Gemini it is Gemini ActiveTrader. Both have an API.

For margin and futures trading, Kraken has the wider reach. EU residents can trade Kraken futures through Payward Europe Digital Solutions (CY) Limited, licensed by CySEC, but only after passing a MiFID II appropriateness test and with product and leverage limits. Whether spot margin trading is open to EU retail clients is not stated on Kraken’s fee page. Gemini’s derivatives are not open to EU residents.

Most retail traders lose money with leveraged products. Futures trading suits experienced traders with a plan for losses, not beginners.

Coins, staking and ways to earn interest

Kraken lists far more coins: our count of its public API shows more than 600 assets with live pairs, against about 65 tradable assets in Gemini’s disclosures dated 21 May 2026. Both cover bitcoin, ether and the larger coins, so the gap matters most if you want smaller altcoins.

Both offer staking. Kraken paid $30 million in 2023 to settle SEC charges over its US staking-as-a-service programme and ended that programme for US clients, so check current staking options where you live. Rewards vary and are not interest: you can lose value on the staked coin itself.

Gemini’s past attempt to let users earn interest went badly. Gemini Earn relied on lending partner Genesis, which froze withdrawals in November 2022 after the FTX collapse. Earn users’ assets were locked until an in-kind recovery of about $2.2 billion in May and June 2024.

Security, custody and track record

Gemini publishes more about how it stores coins, and Kraken publishes more about whether the coins are there. Gemini’s custody uses offline cold storage, geographically distributed hardware security modules and multi-party computation; Gemini Trust is a NYDFS-regulated qualified custodian with SOC 1 and SOC 2 examinations. We found no proof of reserves on Gemini’s pages.

Kraken publishes a Merkle-tree proof of reserves checked by an independent accountant, most recently for 30 June 2026, so you can check that your balance is included. Its card page states that major crypto assets are held 1:1 and covered by £125 million of insurance, without detailing the scope. We found no cold-storage percentage for Kraken, and we have not completed a dedicated check of its incident history, so we make no claim about a clean record.

Gemini’s recorded incidents: the Genesis freeze of Earn customer funds (2022), data breaches at third-party vendors that exposed email addresses and phone numbers (2022), and a breach at a service provider of an ACH banking partner that affected about 15,000 users (2024). On either exchange, use app-based two factor authentication and withdrawal address allowlisting where offered.

Regulation in the US states and New York

In the US, Kraken operates through Payward Interactive, Inc., registered with FinCEN and holding state money transmitter licences, but its licence list does not include New York. Gemini Trust Company is chartered in New York, and Gemini Titan is a CFTC-registered exchange for prediction markets.

The regulatory records:

• Kraken: paid $362,159 to OFAC in 2022 over apparent Iran sanctions violations. The SEC’s 2023 lawsuit, which alleged Kraken ran an unregistered securities exchange, broker, dealer and clearing agency, was dismissed with prejudice in March 2025.
• Gemini: a 2024 NYDFS consent order over Earn ($37 million penalty plus $40 million for users), a further $50 million New York Attorney General settlement and a $5 million CFTC penalty in January 2025. The SEC dismissed its Earn case on 28 January 2026. In 2026 Gemini faced an IPO class action and a New York Attorney General lawsuit over its prediction markets.

App and customer support

Both have a standard app for buying crypto and a separate platform for active traders. Kraken lists 24/7 in-app support. Gemini lists a help centre and a web request form, so for urgent issues Kraken’s 24/7 channel is the more direct route.

Kraken also offers a Kraken Card for EU users, a Mastercard issued by UAB Monavate under the Bank of Lithuania. Gemini offers a credit card in the US only.

Who should choose Kraken, and who should choose Gemini?

Choose Kraken if you live in the EU or UK, want lower trading fees on an order book, want more cryptocurrencies or want regulated futures in the EU. The main downside is the July 2026 fee increase, which makes small buys dearer than before.

Choose Gemini if you live in the US, particularly New York, mostly buy major coins and value its trust-company custody. The main downside is the higher entry fee of 0.60% / 1.20% and a regulatory record that still includes open lawsuits.

Other exchanges to compare

If neither fits, compare Kraken with Coinbase or Crypto.com, both MiCA-licensed for EU residents. US readers looking at alternatives to Gemini can read Coinbase vs Gemini and Crypto.com vs Gemini. For the full picture, see our Kraken review and Gemini review. Avoid exchanges without a licence where you live, and only invest money you can afford to lose.