Exchange Trading Rules

The following set of Trading rules is applicable to customers engaged in trading activity on the Kraken Exchange

1. Trading on Kraken Exchange

1. The Kraken exchange operates a trading platform consisting of a central limit order book and matching engine for trading and settlement of Crypto Assets and Fiat currency trading pairs.

2. Hours of Operation

2. With the exception of any scheduled or unscheduled downtime, the platform is in operation 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The current platform status is available at https://status.kraken.com/.

3. Access to Kraken Pro Exchange
   

1. Access to the platform is provided via the web interfaces and Application Programming Interfaces (APIs). The web interface is accessed via www.kraken.com and pro.kraken.com. The platform offers a number of different APIs for users to access with details and documentation found at https://docs.kraken.com/api/.

4. Order Submission

2. Clients are required to have a funded account and available balance for the relevant asset to place an order. The balance is required to cover the size of the order and associated fees.
3. Fees are not charged for placing orders.
4. Once an order is placed and not immediately filled the amount is subject to a hold and unavailable to the user until order is executed or cancelled.
5. Clients have the ability to cancel any order that is placed and not yet filled without incurring fees.
6. Clients have the ability to amend orders after they are placed, if the limit price is amended the order is placed at the back of the new price queue.

5. Order Matching

7. Order matching priority: A single order queue exists and orders are matched using a price-time priority mechanism:

1. Orders with the best price are matched first;
2. If multiple Orders share the same price, priority is given to the earliest order received.
3. A conditional order once triggered is added to the back of the order queue.

8. Trade Settlement & Confirmation:

1. Once a Trade is executed, the Platform will update the clients account balance and provide trade confirmation;
2. Settlement of filled orders occurs immediately via the debiting and crediting of client accounts for the relevant crypto assets.
3. Clients can withdraw crypto assets immediately subject to any withdrawal limits
4. All executed trades are final and binding.

6. Trading Fees

9. The platform operates a maker-taker fee structure:

1. A maker Order fee is applied if the trade Order is not matched immediately against an Order already on the book and is adding liquidity to the Order Book;.e.g. limit orders.
2. A taker Order fee is applied if the trade order is matched immediately against the Order Book which removes liquidity from the market e.g. by placing market orders.

10. Fees are included in the cost of the order placement and a client's available balance must cover the order quantity and associated fees. The fees are disclosed on the website: Fee Schedule.

7. Order Types

The platform offers clients the ability to place a number of different order types including conditional offers as outlined below.

11. Market Orders

1. A Market Order is an order which buys or sells immediately at the best available price (market price) on the order book for the reference asset.
2. A market order may execute at different price levels to the level specified due to the size of the order placed and existing orders on the order book.
3. Slippage may occur on market orders depending on market conditions.
4. Market orders do not have time-in-force options.
5. Reduce Only order will reduce an existing open position and not open a new position (available for margin trading).

12. Limit Orders

1. A Limit Order allows the client to buy or sell a set quantity of the reference asset at a specified price (limit price). The order will only fill at that price or better.
2. A limit order can be set with a time in force of ‘good till cancelled’, ‘immediate or cancel’ or ‘good till date’.
3. A client can ensure that a maker fee is applied by placing limit orders as post-only. A post-only order will not execute if the limit price matches against the buy or sell side of the order book immediately.  The order will be cancelled in this scenario.
4. Limit orders that have prices above the current market price for buys or below the current market price for sells will be executed immediately.
5. Reduce Only order will reduce an existing open position and not open a new position (available for margin trading).

13. Iceberg Orders

1. An Iceberg Order allows a client to place an order in the book and hide the full quantity by only showing a display quantity at the limit price.
2. When the quantity in the book has filled, another display quantity is appended to back the price queue. This cycle repeats until the whole order is fully filled.
3. This is to reduce the visibility of your total order quantity to other market participants.
4. Iceberg orders can be set with a time in force of ‘good till cancelled’, ‘immediate or cancel’ or ‘good till date’.

14. Additional Order Types

1. Stop Loss Orders - A market order is triggered when the reference price reaches the stop price (from an unfavourable direction);
2. Stop Loss Limit Orders - A limit order is triggered when the reference price reaches the stop price (from an unfavourable direction);
3. Take Profit Orders - A market order is triggered when the reference price reaches the stop price (from an favourable direction);
4. Take Profit Limit Orders - A limit order is triggered when the reference price reaches the stop price (from an favourable direction);
5. Trailing Stop - A market order is triggered when the reference price reverts a specified distance from the peak price since order entry;
6. Trailing Stop Limit Orders - A limit order is triggered when the reference price reverts a specified distance from the peak price since order entry. The limit price is relative to the triggered price;

8. Spot Group Orders

The Group order types below help traders manage their risk by allowing them to create a trade plan for multiple orders in advance. Each group strategy determines the actions following an execution on one of the orders. 

15. One Cancels the Other: Creates two orders, where the execution of one order cancels the other order.
16. One Triggers the Other: Creates two orders, where the execution of the entry order triggers the submission of the second order.
17. Bracketed entry order: Creates an entry order with predetermined stop-loss and take-profit orders which are triggered automatically when the entry order fills.

9. Order Minimums

18. All orders placed are subject to minimum order sizes that vary per asset. The minimum order quantities can be found here: https://support.kraken.com/hc/en-us/articles/205893708-Minimum-order-size-volume-for-trading.         

10. Trading Controls

19. Market Price Protection (MPP) is a feature that protects market orders from price slippage in an illiquid or volatile market. The Platform will reject market orders when the bid/ask spread is wide (typically when the spread is 2.5-20% of market price depending on the currency pair).
20. To avoid market order rejection due to MPP during volatile periods, clients can send limit orders setting the limit price to restrict slippage to acceptable threshold.
21. The platform implements self trade prevention (STP) measures, preventing clients from intentionally (and unintentionally) matching their own orders in the book. STP is applied to all orders. In the event of a self match, the client order parameters specify which order is cancelled (newest, oldest or both).
22. Error Mitigation ("Fat Finger" Safeguards): The platform employs safeguards to identify potential erroneous orders, such as those that significantly exceed market norms. These safeguards include automated prompts that request confirmation for unusually large or irregular trades, ensuring End-Clients' intentions before execution.
23. Kraken may, in its sole discretion, cancel orders and or prevent a client from trading for reasons including but not limited to cases of market abuse, technical reasons, or if required by any applicable law or regulation.
24. The platform has in place a margin liquidation level at which an automated liquidation process will occur for leveraged positions (Margin and Futures). More Details

11. Asset Custody (Fiat & Crypto)

25. Assets held in custody subject to local legal and regulatory requirements as specified in terms of service. Kraken is committed to transparency and the latest proof of reserves can be accessed on the exchange interface.

12. Exchange Availability & Interruptions
    

1. Kraken may, in its sole discretion, suspend trading and or access to maintain market integrity on the exchange including, but not limited to, any of the following circumstances:

1. In response to system disruptions;
2. Disorderly market conditions;
3. Network issues, hosting and cloud computing issues, database errors or software errors;
4. Adverse market events;
5. On-chain events such as chain splits or soft/hard forks
6. Excessive volatility or excessive price moves when it deems that not suspending trading would likely cause significant damage to the interests of clients or the orderly functioning of the exchange.

2. Kraken API Connectivity

1. API access is subject to rate limits to protect against malicious usage and order book manipulation. Clients can request a rate limit exception subject to approval by Kraken.
2. Clients can connect directly to the platform server by whitelisting IP addresses.

3. In certain circumstances clients' ability to place orders may be impacted and the trading platform degraded. In this scenario Kraken at its discretion may apply one of the following options

1. Maintenance Mode meaning that trading on the Platform is paused, no orders or trades occur, and cancellations are unavailable.
2. Cancel Only meaning that traders can cancel existing orders, but cannot place new ones or execute trades on the Platform.
3. Post Only meaning that only limit orders marked “post-only” are accepted on the Platform, no immediate trades happen.
4. Limit Only meaning that Platform restricts new orders to limit orders, rejecting market orders.

4. The Kraken platform exchange does not employ the use of automated circuit breakers to halt trading in markets available on the platform.

13. Exchange Maintenance & Scheduled Downtime

5. The exchange on occasion can experience downtime due to planned maintenance and system updates.
6. Upcoming scheduled maintenance events are posted on https://status.kraken.com/.

14. Market Integrity & Abuse

7. Clients are prohibited from engaging in any activity that amounts to market abuse and or manipulation on the exchange; examples include wash trading, layering and spoofing. Further defined as activity that:

1. gives, or is likely to give, false or misleading signals as to the supply of, demand for, or price of, a crypto-asset;
2. secures, or is likely to secure, the price of one or several crypto assets at an abnormal or artificial level;

8. The use of inside information to trade on the platform is prohibited.

15. Market Data, Pre and Post Trade Transparency

9. The exchange will make public any bid and ask prices and the depth of trading interests at those prices on the Platform.
10. The information is made available to the public on a continuous basis during trading hours. This information will also be provided free of charge and accessible on a non-discriminatory basis.
11. The exchange will make public the price, volume and time of executed transactions in respect to crypto assets  traded on the Platform.

Definitions

The terms used in the Trading Rules have the following meanings:

• “Available Balance” is the clients balance held across crypto assets and fiat currency and is available to place orders against.
• “Clients” refers to the customers holding accounts and placing orders on the platform.
• “Crypto Asset” is any digital representation of a value or a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger (or similar) technology and represents the assets that are listed on the platform.
• “Downtime” means any period of time during which any material functionality of the Platform does not function as normal;
• “Fiat Currency” means any central government issued currency e.g. USD or EUR.
• “Inside Information” where an insider deals or attempts to deal in a crypto-asset or related instrument on the basis of Inside Information relating to the crypto-asset or related instruments in question.
• “Limit Price” is the price at which a client wants an order to be fulfilled at or better.
• “Market Abuse” means any behaviour that constitutes or may constitute market abuse, market manipulation or insider trading or any other similar or analogous behaviour prohibited or subject to sanctions or penalties under Applicable Law.
• “Market Price” means the lowest current ask price (for buy orders), or the highest current bid price (for sell orders). Market price is essentially the best offer on the order book.
• “Order” means a firm offer submitted by a Member to buy or sell a Crypto asset on the Platform which, if executed, results in a Transaction.
• “Order Book” means the central limit order book in relation to a particular Crypto asset that contains bid orders and ask orders submitted by clients.
• “Order Matching Process” means the process by which a bid Order is matched with an ask Order relating to the same Crypto asset based on price-time-priority, resulting in a Transaction.
• “Settlement” means the completion of a Transaction on the Platform, whereby all obligations related to the trade are fulfilled, and no further adjustments or claims can be made by either party.
• “Trading Pairs” are the trading pairs made available on the trading platform for clients to transact in e.g. BTC/USD.