Spanning over 190 countries and a massive user base of 9 million, Kraken is one of the most prominent cryptocurrency exchanges around the world today. If you are looking for a reliable crypto exchange to buy, sell, and trade cryptocurrencies in the United States, then Kraken is the right choice for you.
With Kraken, you will get lower fees, higher liquidity, and comparatively more features than other crypto exchanges in the market. Whether you are a beginner or a professional trader, Kraken has something for you.
In this article, we will show you what Kraken is, how to sign up and log in, and how to use its platform. We will also give you some tips on what to do if you have any issues with your account. By the end of this article, you will have a clear understanding of how Kraken works and why it is an excellent choice for your crypto journey.
What is Kraken Exchange?
Kraken is a US-based crypto exchange for buying, selling, and trading over 200 cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, and others, using fiat currencies such as US dollars, Canadian dollars, euros, and Japanese yen. It provides these services in a variety of ways, including over-the-counter trade, spot trade, and others.
It was established in 2011 and is headquartered in San Francisco. It is also fully regulated as a Money Services Business with FinCEN and in accordance with US and other jurisdictional regulations.
What is Kraken Website?
You can visit the Kraken website by typing www.kraken.com in your browser or clicking on this link. The Kraken website is the online platform where you can access all the features and services that Kraken offers after creating an account and depositing funds.
Step by Step Kraken Sign Up Process
To sign up for a Kraken account, you need to follow certain steps. Here’s the breakdown of the Kraken sign-up process step-by-step:
Step 1: Go to the Kraken website (www.kraken.com) and click on the Create Account button at the top right corner of the page.
Step 2: Enter your email address, username, and password. Make sure to choose a strong password, and note that the username cannot be changed once created. You can also choose your country and agree to the terms of service and privacy policy. Then, click on the Create Account button again.
Step 3: Check your email for a verification code from Kraken. Copy and paste the code in the account verification form on the website and click on Verify. If prompted, enter the captcha and click the Activate Account option.
Step 4: Congratulations! Now that you’ve successfully created an account on the Kraken exchange, you’re ready to start trading on Kraken.
Step by Step Kraken Login Process
To login to your Kraken account, here are the steps that you need to complete:
Step 1: Go to the Kraken website and click on the Login button at the top right corner of the page.
Step 2: Enter your username and password that you created during the sign-up process. You can also choose to remember your username for future logins.
Step 3: Click on the Login button again.
Step 4: You will be asked to enter a two-factor authentication (2FA) code to verify your identity. This is an extra layer of security that protects your account from unauthorized access. You can choose from different 2FA methods, such as Google Authenticator or SMS. You need to set up your 2FA method during the sign-up process or in your account settings.
Step 5: Enter the 2FA code that you receive from your chosen method and click on Submit.
Step 6: You will be logged in to your Kraken account and see your dashboard. You can view your balances, orders, history, and more.
How to Use Kraken After Login
After you’ve successfully logged into your Kraken account, you need to first secure your account, get verified, and then fund your account to start buying, selling, or trading cryptocurrencies.
Securing your account: If you have securely logged into your account, the next step is to set up 2FA using a Hardware Security Key. After that, set up a Master Key to completely secure your Kraken account.
Getting verified on Kraken: The next step after creating an account is to verify the account by clicking on the Verify Identity button on the Kraken home page. Here you need to provide your personal details, Identity documents, and face verification. After successfully entering them, click Continue to get verified.
Fund your account: Once the verification is done, you can now fund your account by using a card, cash, or crypto. To deposit fiat currency, you need to link your bank account or use a wire transfer service. To deposit cryptocurrency, you need to generate a deposit address for the specific coin or token you want to send to Kraken.
Buy or sell crypto: After you have funded your account, you can start buying or selling crypto on Kraken. You can use the simple interface on the Buy Crypto page, where you can choose the amount and the currency you want to buy or sell and see the current price and fees.
Alternatively, you can use the advanced interface on the Trade page, where you can place different types of orders, such as market, limit, stop loss, and take profit orders. You can also use leverage to trade with borrowed funds on the Margin page.
Earn rewards by staking: If you want to earn passive income by holding your crypto assets, you can stake them on Kraken and receive rewards in the same currency or in another one.
Staking is the process of locking up your coins or tokens in a smart contract or a network node to support the security and functionality of a blockchain network. By staking, you can earn up to 24% in rewards annually, depending on the asset and the staking method
I Can’t Sign in to My Kraken Account! What to Do
If you can’t sign in to your Kraken account but the status page is still showing that the Kraken services are operational, this might mean a number of things:
- You might have put in an incorrect username. In this case, check the username and enter it carefully to sign in. If you happen to forget your username, enter your email address to recover it via email.
- You might have entered the wrong 2FA code when signing in to the account. In this case, follow the troubleshooting instructions for the specific error you’ve been prompted with.
- You are prompted with error messages like:
- Error 1015 “You are being rate limited”: Clear the browser cache and cookies from “All time.”
- Error 1016 “Origin DNS Error”: Visit https://www.kraken.com/cdn-cgi/trace and copy the “colo=” value. Change the location via VPN as well, in the meantime.
- Error 1020 “Access Denied”: Clear cache, try another device, or browser.
- You may have put in an incorrect password. Reset your password in this case by entering your email address.
- If you are trying to sign in from a new device. In this case, Kraken will send you an email from [email protected] that is associated with your Kraken account. Click the Approve Device button, and you will be able to sign in within the next 20 minutes.
- Your browser might be facing some issues.
- In that case, try using the incognito mode of your browser. If that works, you need to clear the cache and cookies of the browser to sign in to Kraken.
- Also, make sure to keep your browser up-to-date. Here’s the required version for the popular browsers to sign in to your Kraken account:
- Android Chrome >= 80
- Brave >= 1.0
- Chrome >= 57
- Firefox >= 52
- iOS Safari >= 10.3
- Safari >= 10.1
- Make sure you have enabled Javascript, cookies, and the referer header in the browser settings.
- If these steps don’t work, try restarting your browser, a different browser, or an internet connection to solve the issue.
