Flatex vs Kraken Comparison

For investors in Germany who want to hold crypto with the same broker as their shares and ETFs, flatex is a solid choice: according to flatex, liquid assets such as Bitcoin cost 0.6% in total including the spread, less liquid ones 0.7%, each for customary order sizes. The selection of 25 cryptoassets is small, though, there is no staking and no crypto savings plan, and coins can neither be transferred to your own wallet nor deposited from one. flatex does not withhold tax on crypto gains, because directly held crypto is not subject to Germany's flat-rate withholding tax. Clients without a registered address in Germany cannot use direct crypto trading at all and are left with crypto ETNs. Since April 2025 the bank has been notified to BaFin under MiCA for executing crypto orders, and its custodian Tangany has held a MiCA authorisation since August 2025. In France, the Netherlands and Spain the same bank has offered direct crypto trading under the DEGIRO brand since September 2025. If you prefer securities, more than 55 crypto ETNs can be bought through a savings plan from €1 with no order commission. If you want a wide choice of coins or your own wallet, a crypto exchange is the better fit.

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.