Bybit vs Kraken

Bybit and Kraken are both centralized exchanges that cover spot trading, futures and staking. The clearest split is focus: Bybit leans into derivatives with higher leverage and a wider set of futures and options, while Kraken keeps a broader spot menu and holds a MiCA licence.

Bybit vs Kraken

Category	BBybit9/10	KKraken9.3/10
Overview
CryptoWinRate score	9/10	9.3/10 (higher)
Founded	2018	2011
Headquarters	Dubai	San Francisco, USA
Founder	Ben Zhou	Jesse Powell
CEO	Ben Zhou	David Ripley
KYC	Required	Required
MiCA licence	No	Yes
EU platform	Via Bybit EU	—
Regulator	—	Central Bank of Ireland (CBI)
Availability
Available in your country	—	—
Restricted countries	42 countries	6 countries
Deposits and withdrawals
Deposit methods	18 methods	9 methods
Withdrawal methods	6 methods	7 methods
24-hour withdrawal limitKYC 0	$20,000	—
24-hour withdrawal limitKYC 1	$1,000,000	$500,000
24-hour withdrawal limitKYC 2	$2,000,000	$10,000,000
Trading fees
Spot maker fee	0.1% (lower)	0.4%
Spot taker fee	0.1% (lower)	0.8%
EU spot feesmaker/taker	—	0.4% / 0.8%
Futures maker fee	0.02%	0.02%
Futures taker fee	0.055%	0.05% (lower)
Options feesmaker/taker	0.02% / 0.03%	—
Coins and markets
Spot assetscrypto	380	679 (higher)
EU coins	—	679
Futures contractscrypto	711 (higher)	199
Options assets	8	—
Stocks	548 (higher)	13
ETFs	18 (higher)	5
FX pairs	65 (higher)	3
Indices	20	—
Commodities	22 (higher)	6
Leverage and margin
Max leverage	100×	50×
EU max leverage	—	10×
Spot margin	10×	10×
Features
Spot	Yes	Yes
Futures	Yes	Yes
Options	Yes	No
P2P	Yes	No
Demo Trading	Yes	Yes
Copy Trading	Yes	No
Trading Bots	Yes	No
Loans	Yes	No
Lending	Yes	No
Staking	Yes	Yes
Debit card	Yes	Yes
Security
Proof of reserves	YesAttestation ↗	YesAttestation ↗
Cold storage	Yes	Yes
Two-factor authentication	Yes	Yes
Withdrawal address whitelist	Yes	Yes
Anti-phishing passphrase	Yes	No
Reported hacks	YesSource ↗	YesSource ↗
Sign-up bonus
Bonus	$30,000	—
Fee cashback	—	10%
	Visit Bybit ↗Read review →	Visit Kraken ↗Read review →

Availability in your country is checked live against each exchange's restricted-country list.

Who should choose Bybit

Bybit fits an active derivatives trader. It offers futures on 577 coins across 711 contracts, options on 8 coins, and leverage up to 100x. Its spot fees of 0.1% maker and 0.1% taker are lower than Kraken’s, and it adds copy trading, trading bots, lending, loans and tokenized stocks. Identity verification is required. Customers in the EU sign up through Bybit EU, a separate platform with a MiCA licence.

Who should choose Kraken

Kraken suits someone whose main interest is spot trading and who wants a MiCA licence in place. Its spot list covers 679 coins, more than Bybit, and its futures fees of 0.02% maker and 0.05% taker are slightly lower. The trade-offs are higher spot fees at 0.4% maker and 0.8% taker, leverage capped at 50x, no options, and a narrower feature set without copy trading, bots, lending or loans. Identity verification is required.

Verdict

Pick Bybit if you want cheaper spot fees, higher leverage, options and extras like copy trading. Pick Kraken if you mainly buy and hold across a wider spot range and value its MiCA licence.