The registration process for Coinbase is also a breeze. Like Kraken, they have mastered the experience for new users. Each step is clearly defined, articulated, and guided through the entire process. It’s difficult to get lost, so you will always know what you need to do next.

The major difference between Coinbase and Kraken is the wallet experience. Coinbase has completely separate services for its exchange and wallets. That means when you sign up for Coinbase, you don’t need to understand trading. The steps to purchase your first Bitcoin is more simple.

Institutions may have mixed feelings about the way Coinbase has separated its exchange and wallet services. Transferring funds between the wallets and the exchange is a little inconvenient. However, it does provide a clear separation between the funds you would like to hold and those you would like to trade.

Who has a better user experience?

If you’re a new user in the crypto market, Coinbase has the easiest experience of any exchange. They make it simple to get started, educate you at every step of the process, and don’t over complicate your life with trading features.

Kraken on the other hand may be more convenient for experienced traders and institutions. Getting funds straight into the exchange may feel more natural for those users. They will then be able to quickly start trading without having to migrate and manage everything across both the wallet and exchange services.

With everything said, we would consider Coinbase to have the best user experience in the crypto space. Beyond these two exchanges, we don’t see ANY cryptocurrency exchange having a better UI than Coinbase.

Security

At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter how much cryptocurrency we own if it gets hacked. Whether we have 1 BTC or 100 BTC, we need to make sure we use the most secure products and services to ensure the funds are not lost.

Thankfully, both Kraken and Coinbase have impressive track records when it comes to security. Neither of these exchanges have had any major security breaches. With an industry plagued with hacks, this is re-assuring.

Kraken

Kraken has been widely known for its strict focus on security. In fact, when reviewed by ICORating’s exchange security audit they were ranked as the #1 most secure cryptocurrency exchange.

Like many of the other most secure exchanges, Kraken keeps 95% of its assets in air-gapped cold storage. They have also implemented strict surveillance across their exchange platform to ensure every transaction, deposit, and withdrawal is monitored.

On the user’s side, the list of security features remains impressive. Every user has access to 2FA, withdrawal email confirmations, precise API key permission control, SSL encryption, and so much more.

As a user, it’s important to take full advantage of each and every one of these security features to ensure we never jeopardize our funds. Security is not only the exchange’s responsibility, but it’s ours too. Never give anyone access to your account, passwords, or codes.

Coinbase

Coinbase is no less impressive than Kraken. 98% of the digital assets held by Coinbase are in air-gapped cold storage. Additional security is provided through splitting the data and securing it using AES-256 encryption before copying to paper and FIPS-140 backups. These backups are then geographically distributed around the world.

As we previously mentioned, user security is also critical for securing our funds. For this reason, all users are required to enable 2FA. In addition, the assets not held in cold storage by Coinbase are privately insured. The policy covers a range of incidents that further help ensure the safety of funds.

Finally, Coinbase has also been able to provide FDIC-backed insurance for USD balances up to $250,000.

Who has better security?

When it comes to security, these exchanges are neck and neck. While both of these exchanges have slightly different security features, they are both exceptional in their own right.

Since we have not heard about any major hacks targeting these exchanges after their over 7 years in business, we believe this is proof of a heavy focus on security. We feel comfortable recommending both of these exchanges due to their track record of securing user funds.

Coinbase and Kraken both provide exceptional security, so we must call a tie.

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