Hyperliquid vs Kraken

Hyperliquid is a decentralized exchange built around on-chain trading, where know-your-customer checks are optional. Kraken is a centralized exchange that requires identity verification and holds a MiCA licence for EU customers. The main split is between a permissionless trading venue and a regulated, account-based one.

Hyperliquid vs Kraken

Category	HHyperliquid8.8/10	KKraken9.3/10
Overview
CryptoWinRate score	8.8/10	9.3/10 (higher)
Founded	2021	2011
Headquarters	Singapore	San Francisco, USA
Founder	Jeff Yan	Jesse Powell
CEO	Jeff Yan	David Ripley
KYC	No KYC	Required
MiCA licence	No	Yes
Regulator	—	Central Bank of Ireland (CBI)
Availability
Available in your country	—	—
Restricted countries	2 countries	6 countries
Deposits and withdrawals
Deposit methods	10 methods	9 methods
Withdrawal methods	1 method	7 methods
24-hour withdrawal limitKYC 1	—	$500,000
24-hour withdrawal limitKYC 2	—	$10,000,000
Trading fees
Spot maker fee	0.04% (lower)	0.4%
Spot taker fee	0.07% (lower)	0.8%
EU spot feesmaker/taker	—	0.4% / 0.8%
Futures maker fee	0.015% (lower)	0.02%
Futures taker fee	0.045% (lower)	0.05%
Coins and markets
Spot assetscrypto	334	682 (higher)
EU coins	—	682
Futures contractscrypto	186 (higher)	182
Stocks	117 (higher)	20
ETFs	1	7 (higher)
FX pairs	3	3
Indices	6 (higher)	1
Commodities	9 (higher)	6
Leverage and margin
Max leverage	40×	50×
EU max leverage	—	10×
Spot margin	—	10×
Features
Spot	Yes	Yes
Futures	Yes	Yes
Prediction Markets	Yes	No
Demo Trading	Yes	Yes
Copy Trading	Yes	No
Staking	Yes	Yes
Debit card	No	Yes
Security
Proof of reserves	Self-custody	YesAttestation ↗
Cold storage	Self-custody	Yes
Two-factor authentication	Self-custody	Yes
Withdrawal address whitelist	Self-custody	Yes
Anti-phishing passphrase	Self-custody	No
Reported hacks	—	YesSource ↗
Sign-up bonus
Fee cashback	—	10%
Fee discount	4%	—
	Visit Hyperliquid ↗Read review →	Visit Kraken ↗Read review →

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

Who should choose Hyperliquid

Hyperliquid fits active futures traders who want low costs and minimal friction. Its futures maker fee of 0.015% and taker fee of 0.045% are lower than Kraken’s, and its spot fees of 0.04% maker and 0.07% taker undercut Kraken by a wide margin. KYC is optional, which suits people who want to trade without full verification. It also offers copy trading and prediction markets, plus 117 tokenized stocks.

Who should choose Kraken

Kraken suits people who want a regulated venue and a wide spot selection. It holds a MiCA licence for EU customers, requires identity verification, and lists 682 spot coins, more than Hyperliquid. Its max leverage of 50x tops Hyperliquid’s, and it offers 182 futures markets. A debit card is available too. The trade-off is much higher spot fees, at 0.4% maker and 0.8% taker.

Verdict

Pick Hyperliquid if you trade futures often and want the lowest fees and optional verification. Pick Kraken if you want a MiCA-licensed exchange, a broad range of spot coins, and a debit card, and you accept the higher spot costs.