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General Information
Coinbase | Kraken | |
Year of foundation | 2012 | 2011 |
Country | USA | USA |
Languages | English, Portuguese, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Dutch | English, Japanese, Chinese, German, Spanish, Russian, Greek, Ukrainian, Turkish, French, Italian, Portuguese, and two types of Korean |
Mobile app | iOS, Android | iOS |

Available Cryptocurrencies and Traded Pairs
Coinbase
Coinbase executes trades on your behalf, and then you have to withdraw your money from the exchange when you are done trading. It does not support leveraged trading. It’s just a crypto-brokerage service.
Kraken
According to the section of the active market on CoinMarketCap, Kraken currently supports 72 trading pairs. The company offers a decent selection of cryptocurrencies, including some of the most popular options such as Bitcoin, Litecoin, Dogecoin, Augur, Ripple, Stellar Lumens, Ethereum, Ethereum Classic, Tether, Dash, Zcash, Monero, Gnosis, EOS, and Bitcoin Cash.

Commission
Both exchanges are known for their relatively low and average commissions. However, it is Kraken that steals the crown for the lowest fee of the two.
Coinbase
Coinbase has a slightly more complicated payment system, and while they are relatively higher than Kraken, it is worth noting that Coinbase is a much more sophisticated service. For example, Coinbase accepts debit cards (which inherently have higher fees). Bank transfer purchases on Coinbase are typically subject to a 1.49% fee, while debit card purchases are about 4.00%. They vary greatly depending on the payment method and the country you’re in.
Kraken
Kraken’s trading fees are usually well below the 0.36% mark, depending on the currency pair.
Security
It’s safe to say that both exchanges follow absolute top industry practices in terms of security.
Coinbase
In addition to offline cold storage for funds, Coinbase provides several additional safeguards. Cryptocurrency stored online in Coinbase wallets is automatically insured by Lloyd’s of London Syndicate, and U.S. customers’ wallets are covered by FDIC insurance up to $250,000.
Kraken
Kraken has a unique security system, using offline cold storage to store funds and other security measures such as two-factor authentication.
Pros and Cons
Coinbase
Kraken

I have been studying cryptocurrency for over 5 years. I have accounts in every exchange and I test everything on myself.
I want this market to be more understandable for everyone.