BY Bybit VS KR Kraken

The short answer

If you trade derivatives actively, want options and copy trading in the same account, and live somewhere Bybit serves, Bybit is the closer fit. If you mostly buy and hold, care more about a long regulatory record than a long product menu, or live in the US, Kraken is the more conservative choice. For US residents this is barely a contest: Bybit lists the United States as a restricted jurisdiction, so the comparison only matters if you are elsewhere. Neither is the right answer for everyone, and the honest way to choose is by what you will actually do on the platform.

Fees and costs

Both platforms use volume-tiered maker/taker schedules, so the number that matters is the one for your tier at the time you sign up. With that caveat, the entry-level shape is clear as of September 2026.

On spot, Bybit’s base rate is a flat 0.10% for both makers and takers. Kraken Pro starts well above that at the lowest volume tier, and Kraken restructured its Pro schedule in 2026 so that activity and holdings across spot, margin and futures can count toward your tier. If you are a small account making occasional spot trades, Bybit is usually the cheaper place. Kraken’s simple buy/sell flow bundles a spread and fee into one price and typically costs more than Kraken Pro, which is the same pattern described in our spot trading guide.

On derivatives the gap mostly closes. Bybit’s base perpetual futures rate is 0.02% maker and 0.055% taker, and Kraken Futures lists 0.02% maker and 0.05% taker at its entry tier. Bybit options start at 0.02% maker and 0.03% taker. Beyond trading fees, budget for per-network withdrawal fees, and for perpetual funding payments, which are a cost of holding a position rather than an exchange fee and apply on both platforms.

Products and markets

Bybit is derivatives-first. It offers spot, perpetual futures, options and copy trading, all under a Unified Trading Account that pools collateral. That pooling is efficient, but a loss in one position can eat into margin elsewhere, so learn isolated versus cross margin before using leverage. Bybit also tends to list new tokens sooner than Kraken.

Kraken offers spot, margin, staking and futures, with a deliberately more fragmented layout. Kraken Futures is a separate platform with its own order book and, historically, its own balance, so moving collateral is a manual step. In June 2026 Kraken also began offering CFTC-regulated perpetual futures to eligible US clients on Kraken Pro, which changes what “Kraken futures” means for Americans. Kraken lists fewer assets and moves more slowly on new listings. In the sources we checked, Kraken does not have a copy-trading product comparable to Bybit’s, so if following other traders matters to you, read how to evaluate a trader before copying and note that Bybit is the one that offers it.

Security and track record

Bybit suffered one of the largest exchange thefts on record in February 2025, when attackers manipulated a signing workflow and redirected roughly $1.5 billion in ETH. Bybit kept withdrawals open and made clients whole within days, and it now publishes monthly proof-of-reserves reports verified by Hacken, with reserve ratios for the assets in scope reported above 100%. That response is a point in its favour, but the incident itself is part of the record.

Kraken has never lost customer funds to a breach of its exchange systems since launching in 2011, which is unusual for an exchange of its age. It publishes quarterly proof-of-reserves attestations from The Network Firm. One correction to a common shorthand: in 2026 Kraken disclosed two insider incidents in which support staff viewed limited data on about 2,000 accounts, followed by an extortion attempt. Kraken said its systems were not breached, no funds were at risk, and it would not pay. So “never hacked” holds for funds and systems, but not “never had a security incident”. On either platform, keep only what you actively trade on the exchange; see wallets and custody.

Regional availability and regulation

Bybit operates offshore. It is not available in the US. In Europe, it received an Austrian MiCA licence in May 2025 and moved EEA users to bybit.eu ahead of MiCA’s 1 July 2026 deadline; that platform launched with spot and related products but not perpetuals or options, with a MiFID II application for derivatives pending at last report. Bybit returned to the UK in December 2025 through Archax, an FCA-authorised firm that approves its promotions, but Bybit itself is not FCA-authorised and UK retail derivatives are not offered. It also holds a UAE SCA licence and is registered with India’s FIU.

Kraken holds an Irish MiCA authorisation, UK FCA registration, and US state licences, and its Wyoming-chartered bank received a limited-purpose Federal Reserve master account approval in March 2026. Its US product set has historically varied by state, so check yours. For the wider picture see crypto regulation by region.

Who should pick which

• Choose Bybit if you trade perpetuals or options often, want copy trading, are outside the US, and accept an offshore-first regulatory profile.
• Choose Kraken if you are in the US, want a long regulatory record and quarterly reserve attestations, or plan to hold rather than trade heavily.
• Choose Kraken if you prefer separate spot and futures balances so a futures loss cannot touch your spot holdings.
• Choose Bybit if you are a small-account spot trader and low base fees matter more than licensing depth.
• Use both if you want Kraken as a long-term home for holdings and Bybit only for active trading capital, keeping each balance small.

Frequently asked questions

Is Bybit or Kraken safer? Neither is risk-free. Kraken has the cleaner history for exchange-system breaches and a broader licence footprint, including the US. Bybit was hacked in 2025 but handled it transparently and publishes monthly reserve reports. The safest habit on both is to limit what you leave on the exchange.

Can I use Bybit in the US? No. Bybit lists the US as a restricted jurisdiction. US residents who want derivatives from this pair should look at Kraken, whose CFTC-regulated perpetuals became available to eligible US clients in June 2026.

Which is cheaper? For small spot trades, Bybit’s flat 0.10% base rate is generally lower than Kraken Pro’s entry tier. For derivatives the base rates are close, and both fall as your volume rises, so compare your own tier rather than the headline figure.

Does Kraken offer options or copy trading like Bybit? Not that we found. Bybit offers both. Kraken focuses on spot, margin, staking and futures, and keeps its product set narrower on purpose.

Risk