Bitcoin and cryptocurrency for beginners

Master the basics with Kraken's Crypto Guides, where we take an in-depth look at some of the top projects in the space so you can be informed before you invest.

Our most popular assets

btc

Bitcoin (BTC)

Bitcoin is an open-source software that since 2009 has enabled the exchange of an entirely new form of money (BTC) over the internet.

eth

Ethereum (ETH)

One of the most ambitious cryptocurrencies to date, Ethereum was launched in 2014 to decentralize products and services in a broader array of use cases beyond money.

xrp

Ripple (XRP)

XRP is a cryptocurrency that aims to complement traditional payments, migrating transactions that occur today between databases controlled by financial firms to a more open infrastructure.

bch

Bitcoin Cash (BCH)

Launched in 2017, Bitcoin Cash (BCH) is a newer cryptocurrency that intends to offer an alternative to the world’s oldest and most widely traded cryptocurrency, Bitcoin (BTC).

ltc

Litecoin (LTC)

Litecoin (LTC) is one of the very first projects to copy and modify Bitcoin’s code and use it to launch a new cryptocurrency.

eos

EOSIO (EOS)

The cryptocurrency that powers the EOSIO blockchain, buying EOS is essential for developers who must buy and stake EOS to launch decentralized applications (dapps).

Newest assets added to Kraken

snx

Synthetix (SNX)

Synthetix is a software that allows users to mint new crypto assets that mimic both real-world assets (like the U.S. dollar) and crypto assets (like Bitcoin). These synthetic assets (Synths) are backed by the platform's cryptocurrency, Synthetix Network Token (SNX), which is staked as collateral in order to generate rewards.

bal

Balancer (BAL)

Balancer facilitates trading without a central order book, instead letting users create index funds by locking up as many as eight crypto assets into custom lending pools. With Balancer, your portfolio is rebalanced on the blockchain by traders who are taking advantage of arbitrage opportunities.

crv

Curve (CRV)

Curve awards the CRV token to users who provide liquidity to their pools. Traders then use the pooled funds to exchange different stablecoins, avoiding slippage and high fees.

dot

Polkadot (DOT)

Polkadot is a software that seeks to incentivize a global network of computers to operate a blockchain on top of which users can launch and operate their own blockchains.

ksm

Kusama (KSM)

Kusama is a public pre-production environment for Polkadot, one that allows any developer to experiment and test new blockchains or applications before releasing them on this network.

rep

Augur (REP)

Augur is a software aiming to incentivize a global network of computers to maintain a prediction market platform on top of Ethereum (ETH). Users can state opinions on the likelihood of a future event by buying shares in a given outcome without reliance on a managing bookkeeper.