Kraken vs Upbit: Como estas exchanges de cripto se comparam

Crypto platforms play a crucial role in the industry's wider ecosystem, acting as a key entry point for many users. Exchange often differ across products such as spot, futures, margin and tokenized assets, as well as other categories like fees, asset availability, security and customer support.

It’s vital to consider all these variables alongside your investment goals before deciding where to start your trading journey. Kraken is a global brand that is well-respected with an excellent track record of security and customer-first operations. Upbit primarily focuses on the South Korean market with deep KRW liquidity and strong compliance with local regulations.

This comparison article explores Kraken vs. Upbit, breaking down how they differ in key areas, to help you decide which platform is most suitable for you and your investment needs.

Fundada em 2011 nos Estados Unidos, a Kraken está entre os nomes mais antigos e estabelecidos na indústria de criptomoedas. Lançada menos de dois anos após a estreia do Bitcoin, a exchange ganhou reconhecimento global pelo seu forte foco em segurança, transparência operacional e uma experiência de utilizador de alta qualidade.

Hoje, a Kraken serve mais de 15 milhões de clientes em mais de 190 países. As suas ofertas variam desde a plataforma principal Kraken para investidores individuais, até plataformas de negociação completas e poderosas para traders avançados e institucionais através da plataforma Kraken Pro e da aplicação Kraken Desktop.

A suite institucional da Kraken abrange mercados à vista (spot), de margem, de futuros, staking e negociação OTC para clientes qualificados. A Kraken também investe fortemente em educação através do Kraken Learn, apoiando traders novos e experientes.

Com sede em Wyoming, a Kraken destaca o seu compromisso com a responsabilidade através de Provas de Reservas regulares, uma prática que introduziu na indústria em 2014. Foi também a primeira crypto exchange a ser listada no Bloomberg Terminal, ajudando a preencher a lacuna entre as finanças tradicionais e os ativos digitais.

Com licenças regulatórias em mercados-chave, incluindo os EUA, Canadá, Reino Unido, UE e um histórico de assistência em casos como os pedidos de credores da Mt. Gox, a Kraken construiu uma reputação de operações estáveis e conformes, o que a torna um destino de confiança para quem procura uma crypto exchange segura e duradoura.

Founded in 2017 in Seoul and operated by fintech company Dunamu, Upbit is South Korea’s dominant cryptocurrency exchange. It rapidly expanded its presence in the domestic market, later opening its services to users in Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand.

Upbit is primarily focused on delivering a spot trading experience — where it supports 300+ digital assets across major chains. Its popularity can be partly attributed to its KRW deposit/withdrawal functionality, greatly lowering the barrier to entry for those in its target market. Complementing its spot trading venue are staking services, custody solutions and earning products.

Its status as the ‘default’ South Korean exchange is cemented by its regulatory alignment (the exchange is fully compliant with the country’s frameworks), accessibility and deep KRW liquidity.

However, it lacks the tools of competitors that cater to more advanced traders: namely, derivatives, margin products and high-leverage options. On the global stage, it is also fairly restricted, as it only offers its services in a small selection of countries.

For those in supported regions, Upbit remains a viable choice for users that want to trade spot crypto markets or engage with a simplified product suite.

If you prioritize an exchange with global reach, expansive product access and regulatory consistency, Kraken offers more options than Upbit’s regional-first model.

Kraken is licensed in over 190 jurisdictions, offering spot, futures, staking and equities access, and is well positioned to serve both retail and institutional clients.

By contrast, Upbit remains strongest in the South-Korea/APAC region, focusing on spot trading and local fiat rails.

For traders whose strategy demands worldwide flexibility and deep product layers, Kraken holds a clear advantage.

O ecossistema de produtos da Kraken foi concebido para suportar uma vasta gama de estilos de negociação e níveis de experiência. Os utilizadores podem negociar em movimento com a sua aplicação móvel otimizada ou aceder a ferramentas mais avançadas através do Kraken Pro, que oferece gráficos detalhados, tipos de ordem personalizados e dados de mercado em tempo real.

A plataforma suporta a negociação spot para todos os utilizadores, com negociação de margem (até 5x de alavancagem) e contratos de futuros (até 50x de alavancagem) disponíveis em regiões elegíveis. Clientes institucionais e de elevado património líquido podem aceder a serviços adicionais através da mesa OTC da Kraken e da oferta Kraken Prime.

Além da negociação, a Kraken oferece staking de cripto em mais de 21 ativos, com recompensas até 17% APY dependendo da moeda e das condições da rede. Os utilizadores podem ganhar passivamente ao fazer staking de ativos como Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL) e Cardano (ADA) diretamente através da plataforma.

A Kraken também suporta pagamentos digitais globais através do Krak, uma funcionalidade que permite aos utilizadores enviar cripto ou dinheiro sem taxas de transação.

Em 2024, a Kraken lançou a sua rede Ink Layer-2, construída na SuperChain da Optimism, proporcionando uma ponte contínua entre exchanges centralizadas e protocolos DeFi populares.

Para aqueles que procuram aprofundar os seus conhecimentos financeiros, o Kraken Learn oferece recursos educacionais que abrangem desde os princípios básicos da blockchain até estratégias de negociação avançadas.

Upbit caters primarily to users focused on efficient access to spot trading and local fiat markets in South Korea and Southeast Asia.

The platform offers trading on 150+ cryptocurrencies, more than 200 markets, and supports spot pairs against KRW, BTC and USDT. Upbit provides staking for ETH, SOL, ADA, DOT, ATOM and POLY, meaning users can earn passive income from their dormant crypto holdings.

Upbit offers API access for auto trading, meaning developers and AI agents can use the Upbit API to manage accounts, execute trades, and access real time market data programmatically.

While Upbit also provides institutional services through regional affiliates, derivatives or global stock/ETF access are not main features, making the platform more tailored toward regional spot traders than advanced multi-asset clients.

Upbit offers efficient spot trading and seamless fiat access in the Korean market, but Kraken’s product ecosystem is far more expansive.

Kraken combines deep spot markets with futures, staking, institutional features and access to traditional assets such as ETFs — all within one unified platform.

If your strategy goes beyond spot trading, global markets or diversification into equities and crypto simultaneously, Kraken presents a much more flexible and future-ready product suite than Upbit’s region-centric offering.

Os clientes podem aceder a mais de 600 criptomoedas na Kraken, incluindo as principais como Bitcoin (BTC) e XRP (XRP), bem como uma variedade de altcoins, desde memecoins até liquid staking tokens.

Existem também mais de 11.000 ETFs e ações sem comissão disponíveis para negociar diretamente na aplicação Kraken. E para clientes em locais elegíveis, podem investir em xStocks, que são versões tokenizadas destes ativos.
A Kraken suporta levantamentos e depósitos em dez principais moedas fiduciárias, tornando rápido e conveniente para os clientes globais financiarem as suas contas.

As moedas fiduciárias suportadas incluem:

• USD (Dólar dos EUA)

• CAD (Dólar Canadiano)

• GBP (Libra Esterlina)

• EUR (Euro)

• JPY (Iene Japonês)

• AUD (Dólar Australiano)

• CHF (Franco Suíço)

• ARS (Peso Argentino)

• MXN (Peso Mexicano)

• BRL (Real Brasileiro)

Existem também 15 stablecoins suportadas, incluindo Tether (USDT), USDC e USDG.

Upbit supports a narrow set of cryptocurrencies and trading pairs within its regional focus. The platform lists approximately 180 tokens and more than 300 trading pairs, especially within its Korean-won (KRW), Bitcoin (BTC) and Tether (USDT) markets.

Its offering is more regionally oriented and lacks the very wide altcoin and derivatives exposure seen on global multi-product exchanges. The regional fiat rails (KRW) and localized regulatory framework define Upbit’s asset-exposure strategy more than expansion into every global market segment.

Upbit performs strongly within its regional domain, offering a solid selection of tokens and fiat pairs in the Korean market.

However, Kraken’s asset scope goes far beyond spot crypto, offering hundreds of cryptocurrencies, as well as staking, derivatives and access to tokenised stocks and ETFs in certain markets and countries.

For users seeking deeper diversification, global access and a multi-asset setup, Kraken’s broad asset platform provides a more expansive and cross-market solution compared to Upbit’s location-focused listing and product approach.

O modelo de taxas da Kraken baseado no volume é escalonado e transparente para apoiar tanto traders profissionais quanto investidores ocasionais.

Com taxas de maker a começar em 0.25% e taxas de taker em 0.40%, existem também descontos disponíveis para indivíduos e instituições de alto volume. Com uma subscrição Kraken+, estas taxas podem ser totalmente eliminadas para clientes elegíveis até determinados volumes mensais.

A maioria dos depósitos de cripto e fiduciários são gratuitos, com algumas exceções dependendo do método de transação e do ativo específico. A Kraken também destaca a transparência ao exibir todas as taxas antes de uma transação ser confirmada, garantindo que os clientes estão cientes de todas as taxas antecipadamente e evitam surpresas dispendiosas.

Upbit employs a straightforward fee structure that differs by market type. For KRW-based pairs, trading fees are typically as low as 0.05% for both makers and takers in certain cases, and around 0.20%–0.25% for crypto-to-crypto or USDT pairs.

Withdrawal fees are charged per asset and network, for example, BTC withdrawals cost ~0.0005 BTC.

While this model offers predictability, especially for spot traders, Upbit’s fee discounts do not appear to scale dramatically based on volume or token holdings, which may make it less compelling for high-frequency or highly leveraged traders seeking ultra-low costs.

Even though Upbit’s fee structure is simple and competitive at the spot level, Kraken offers broader value for traders who operate across a number of product types and geographies.

Kraken’s published maker-taker fees, which cover spot, futures, margin and other products across multiple jurisdictions, offer clearer cost visibility and are not tied to local fiat segments.

For clients trading globally or across product types, Kraken’s unified cost framework and larger operational scale may provide better long-term transparency than Upbit’s more regional and spot-only fee model.

A Kraken é amplamente considerada uma das plataformas de cripto mais seguras do setor. Desde a sua criação, a Kraken nunca sofreu uma violação que resultasse na perda de fundos de clientes, uma afirmação que poucas outras exchanges podem fazer. Os clientes beneficiam de proteção de conta multicamadas, incluindo 2FA com chaves de acesso, encriptação de e-mail PGP, permissões de chave API granulares com limites de alcance, tempo limite de conta configurável, monitorização em tempo real para atividade suspeita, lista de permissões para levantamentos e definições de chave mestra.

A Kraken foi pioneira na Prova de Reservas em 2014 e continua a liderar o setor com auditorias regulares e independentemente verificáveis. Este procedimento criptográfico permite que os clientes revejam pessoalmente como os seus saldos de conta são apoiados por ativos reais, a qualquer momento. A Kraken também possui a certificação ISO/IEC 27001:2013, conformidade com a auditoria SOC 2 Type 2 e opera um robusto programa de recompensas por bugs público.

Upbit emphasises security and regulatory compliance as part of its regional market leadership. Its security credentials include certifications such as ISMS-P and ISO/IEC standards for information security management, a high trust-score ranking, and AI-powered fraud detection systems.

The exchange also uses standard safeguards such as two-factor authentication (2FA), withdrawal whitelisting, and maintains segregated fiat and crypto custody protocols.

While it has experienced past security incidents (notably a 2019 hot-wallet breach), Upbit responded swiftly with improved processes and asset protection mechanisms.

Although Upbit’s security is credible and rooted in strong regional compliance, Kraken offers a higher bar of global security assurance.

Kraken pioneered Proof of Reserves audits, holds broad regulatory licences in multiple jurisdictions, and has maintained a clean track record of major custodial breaches since its inception.

For traders who prioritize global compliance, institutional-grade protection and cross-border asset security, Kraken’s infrastructure presents a more comprehensive approach than Upbit’s regionally concentrated model.

A Kraken é conhecida pelo seu serviço de apoio ao cliente profissional e responsivo, oferecendo vários canais de apoio para satisfazer as diferentes necessidades dos utilizadores. Os clientes podem aceder ao chat ao vivo 24 horas por dia, 7 dias por semana, com agentes humanos reais, enviar pedidos por e-mail ou (em casos selecionados) falar diretamente com um especialista de apoio por telefone.

A equipa de apoio multilingue da Kraken pode ajudar os utilizadores em mais de uma dúzia de idiomas. Isto ajuda a empresa a servir a sua base de clientes global de forma mais eficaz.

A exchange também obteve altas classificações na satisfação do cliente e foi reconhecida como Vencedora do Melhor Uso de IA em CX (Europa) na Customer Centricity World Series. O seu foco na clareza, empatia e rapidez na resolução de problemas continua a distinguir a experiência do cliente da Kraken num espaço competitivo.

Upbit provides customer support primarily through its Help Center, email channels, and in-app ticket submissions. The exchange offers 24/7 Korean-language support, and its Help Center includes detailed guides covering account setup, verification, deposits, withdrawals, and trading.

While Upbit’s customer support is reliable for its local audience, it remains regionally focused, with limited multilingual coverage or direct live-chat options for international users.

The platform’s communication channels, including its official X/Twitter and Telegram announcements, are mostly aimed at Korean traders. This makes Upbit well-suited for domestic clients but far less accessible for global users seeking personalized or multilingual services.

Upbit performs strongly within its regional domain, offering a solid selection of tokens and fiat pairs in the Korean market.

However, Kraken’s asset scope goes far beyond spot crypto, offering hundreds of cryptocurrencies, as well as staking, derivatives and access to tokenised stocks and ETFs in certain markets and countries.

For users seeking deeper diversification, global access and a multi-asset setup, Kraken’s broad asset platform provides a more expansive and cross-market solution compared to Upbit’s location-focused listing and product approach.

Kraken and Upbit share a reputation for reliability, but their strengths cater to different types of traders. Upbit excels in regional liquidity, local fiat access (KRW), and straightforward spot trading, making it the go-to choice for South Korean users.

Kraken, on the other hand, provides a global, full-service ecosystem with spot, staking, futures, and institutional offerings supported by unmatched transparency and security.

If your focus is seamless KRW access and fast domestic settlement, Upbit fits that need well. But for users seeking international coverage, Proof of Reserves transparency, and a wider range of regulated trading products, Kraken stands out as the more versatile and trusted platform.