Finanzen invest vs Kraken Comparison

In the DACH region, finanzen.net ZERO benefits from the strong brand recognition of the finanzen.net financial portal and advertises as a neobroker without order fees. Since 31 October 2026 the service has been called Finanzen invest; the provider is still finanzen.net zero GmbH, and according to the company the account, conditions and login stay the same, with Baader Bank remaining the custodian bank. The no-fee promise does not hold for crypto assets: the price and services list sets out a brokerage fee of 0.5 % and a settlement fee of 0.5 %, together 1 % of the market value per single order. With 59 tradable cryptocurrencies, the broker offers a comparatively broad coin range among German neobrokers. Crypto custody is handled by the BaFin-licensed Tangany GmbH, which is valued by security-conscious investors.

Crypto orders are transmitted by DonauCapital Wertpapier GmbH and executed by Baader Bank as commission agent outside a trading platform. In ESMA’s MiCA register (file dated 30 October 2026), Tangany has been authorised as a crypto custodian since 8 August 2025, while Baader Bank and DonauCapital are notified for their crypto services under Article 60 MiCAR.

Particularly noteworthy are the savings plans starting at €1, which allow a low entry; crypto savings plans are free of charge. The dedicated TAN app is considered a solid security feature. For investors who want to manage crypto alongside stocks and ETFs on one platform, finanzen.net ZERO is seen as an accessible option.

Savings plan executions are free of these fees, and single orders below €500 incur an additional €1 small-order surcharge. The provider does not quantify the spread, so actual total costs are higher than the stated one percent. Only market orders are possible for crypto, and the broker does not offer crypto staking. Wallet transfers to personal wallets are also not possible and deposits are limited to SEPA transfers, both of which are occasionally criticised by users. finanzen.net ZERO is therefore mainly suited to investors who prefer a well-known German brand with BaFin-regulated custody and value low entry amounts for savings plans.

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.