Bitpanda Fusion vs Kraken Comparison

Bitpanda Fusion is the pro trading platform within the Bitpanda ecosystem and is aimed at active traders with higher volume. Instead of the flat 0.99% fee on the standard app, a tiered fee applies here that falls in seven steps from 0.25% to 0.02% as your trading volume over the last 30 days grows. Account, verification, and custody are shared with the regular Bitpanda platform, so no separate onboarding is required.

According to Bitpanda, Fusion compares the order books of more than twelve trading venues in real time and offers the best aggregated price. Fusion does not run an order book of its own: every order is executed directly with Bitpanda, which is why Bitpanda describes Fusion as a broker rather than an exchange. The interface integrates TradingView natively and supports market, limit, stop-limit, stop-market, and take-profit limit orders. According to Bitpanda, more than 2,000 trading pairs are available, including against CHF and GBP, and Bitpanda itself charges no deposit or withdrawal fees. For automated trading there is a public REST API and Fusion MCP, a free open-source tool that lets AI assistants place orders on your instruction; the API documentation does not yet list a WebSocket interface. Fusion also runs with its full feature set in the app for iOS and Android. Margin and leveraged trading are not available through Fusion; Bitpanda offers a separate margin product with leverage of up to 10x instead. The learning curve compared to the standard Bitpanda app is occasionally criticized in user comments, as is the absence of the savings plan feature.

Bitpanda Fusion is considered particularly suitable for traders who value low volume-based fees, pro order types, and API access. Those who mainly use savings plans, precious metals, or simple direct purchase are better served on the standard platform. This comparison does not constitute investment advice.

In short: Kraken is one of the oldest crypto exchanges in the world, active since 2011 and licensed under MiCA in the EEA. More than 600 coins, 490 of them directly against the euro, a regular proof of reserves and strong security features speak for the platform. The simple buy costs 1% plus spread; on the Kraken Pro order book you pay from 0.40% as a maker and 0.80% as a taker.

Is Kraken safe and licensed in the EU?

Yes, Kraken may serve customers across the EU. In the EEA, Kraken operates through Payward Europe Solutions Limited, based in Dublin, licensed under MiCA since 25 June 2025 and supervised by the Central Bank of Ireland. Through the EU passport the licence covers 30 EEA countries, including Germany, France and Spain (ESMA register, file of 30 October 2026). It covers custody, exchanging crypto for money and for other crypto, order execution and transfers, among other services. Kraken's parent Payward agreed on 14 October 2026 to buy Lithuania's Saldo Bank; closing is planned for 2027 and needs regulatory approval (our report on the deal).

Reserves and security: Kraken has its proof of reserves prepared regularly by auditors. The snapshot of 30 June 2026 shows coverage of 102.9% for Bitcoin, 100.5% for Ether, 100.6% for Solana and 102.3% for XRP, and 105% or more each for USDC and USDT. Kraken is certified to ISO/IEC 27001:2022, offers two-factor authentication with FIDO2 passkeys and a Global Settings Lock, and does not recover accounts by phone or SMS.

Account freezes and delistings: Between 17 and 24 August 2026, Kraken customers received almost 12,000 tiny deposits from wallets that analytics firms attribute to the sanctioned exchange HTX. Sanctions screening temporarily froze affected accounts; access has since been restored (our report on the dust attack). Kraken also removes tokens from trading regularly, most recently 13 tokens on 23 October 2026; withdrawal deadlines and steps are in our delisting report.

What you can do yourself: turn on a passkey or two-factor authentication and the Global Settings Lock, leave tiny deposits of unknown origin untouched and keep larger amounts on your own hardware wallet.

Who is Kraken for?

Kraken suits investors who want a long-established exchange with a wide choice of euro pairs, a savings plan and staking. Regular traders save with Kraken Pro. Since 26 October 2026, EEA customers with a derivatives account can also trade bitcoin and ether options there after an appropriateness assessment, provided by Cyprus-based Payward Europe Digital Solutions (CY) Limited under CySEC supervision. For simple euro trading, Bitvavo is cheaper, and Coinbase is an alternative with a listed parent company. All licensed providers are listed in our comparison of regulated crypto exchanges.