Supported crypto exchange
Kraken
One of the longest-running and most security-focused crypto exchanges.
Overview
About Kraken
Kraken launched in 2011 and is one of the oldest cryptocurrency exchanges still operating, with a reputation for security and regulatory compliance. It offers spot trading in USD, EUR, GBP and other fiat currencies, plus margin and futures trading.
AutoTrader connects to Kraken with an API key pair. Your strategies trade spot pairs in your own Kraken account using a key that only needs query and trade permissions, keeping withdrawals switched off.
Supported markets
What you can trade on Kraken
The asset classes Kraken offers, and popular symbols you can automate with AutoTrader.
Asset classes offered
- Spot crypto
- Crypto margin
- Crypto futures
- Perpetual futures
Popular crypto markets
- BTC/USD
- ETH/USD
- SOL/USD
- XRP/USD
- ADA/USD
- DOT/USD
- BTC/EUR
- ETH/EUR
Symbols shown are examples. Exact availability depends on your country, account type and the broker's current listings.
Fees & accounts
Trading Kraken: costs and where it's available
Fees and account types
Kraken Pro, which is where API orders are priced, uses a maker-taker schedule that steps down as your trailing 30-day trading volume rises. At the time of writing the entry tier is roughly 0.25% maker and 0.40% taker, and because AutoTrader places market orders, you should budget for taker fees on every fill. Stablecoin and some fiat-to-fiat pairs have their own lower schedule. Check Kraken's fee page for current rates.
There is no large account minimum, but each pair has a minimum order size, so very small investment amounts may be rejected. Your verification level also matters: higher levels raise funding limits and give API clients a larger rate-limit allowance, which helps if you run several strategies at once.
Availability and regulation
Kraken serves customers in most of the United States, although a small number of states are excluded, and it operates across Canada, the UK, the European Union and Australia among other regions. It is registered with FinCEN in the US and FINTRAC in Canada, is registered with the FCA in the UK, and holds a MiCA authorization for the EU through its Irish entity. Product availability, especially margin and futures, differs by country, so confirm what your residence allows before you start.
For automated trading
Automating Kraken: strengths and limitations
Strengths
- Fiat pairs in USD, EUR, GBP, CAD and other currencies let a strategy trade directly against your local currency instead of routing through a stablecoin.
- The API is long-established and stable, with a transparent counter-based rate limit tied to your verification level, which makes the load from automated order flow predictable.
- Granular API permissions and optional IP restriction and key expiry let you issue a key that can trade but can never move funds off the exchange.
- Kraken's long operating history and conservative approach to listings mean the pairs available tend to be established assets with consistent liquidity.
Limitations
- Kraken does not offer a public sandbox for spot trading, so paper-test your strategy in AutoTrader's simulated mode rather than against a Kraken testnet.
- Entry-level taker fees are higher than on some offshore exchanges, which eats into the edge of high-frequency strategies that trade many small moves.
- The API uses legacy asset codes such as XBT for bitcoin, and pair names like XXBTZUSD, so symbols in Kraken's own reports may look different from those in AutoTrader.
Get started
How to connect Kraken to AutoTrader
- 01
Log in to Kraken, open the account menu and go to Settings, then the API section, and choose to create a new API key.
- 02
Give the key a description such as AutoTrader so you can identify it later if you run several keys.
- 03
Enable the query permissions (funds, open orders and trades, closed orders and trades) plus the order permissions to create, modify and cancel orders. Leave Withdraw Funds and any funding or earn permissions switched off.
- 04
Optionally restrict the key to specific IP addresses and set an expiry date; leave the nonce window at its default unless you have a reason to change it.
- 05
Generate the key and copy both the API key and the private key immediately, because Kraken only shows the private key once.
- 06
On AutoTrader's Exchanges page, paste the API key and the private key into the Kraken fields, save, and confirm your balances load before enabling a strategy.
Strategy ideas
Strategies that suit Kraken
Dollar-Cost Averaging (DCA) Strategy
Kraken's direct fiat on-ramps and USD and EUR pairs suit scheduled, recurring buys of major coins without converting to stablecoins first.
Read the strategy guide →Trend Following Strategy
Fewer, larger trades help offset Kraken's taker fees, and its liquid BTC and ETH fiat pairs trend well on daily and four-hour charts.
Read the strategy guide →Swing Trading Strategy
Holding positions for days keeps the trade count low relative to the move captured, which fits Kraken's fee structure.
Read the strategy guide →FAQ
Kraken automation: frequently asked questions
Is automated trading allowed on Kraken?
Yes. Kraken provides a public REST and WebSocket API specifically so clients can trade programmatically, and using a third-party platform with your own API key is permitted. You remain responsible for the orders placed, and you must stay within Kraken's rate limits, which AutoTrader's market-order approach does not come close to straining for typical strategies.
Which Kraken API permissions does AutoTrader need?
AutoTrader needs the query permissions to read balances, open orders and trade history, plus permission to create, modify and cancel orders. It never needs Withdraw Funds, deposit or earn permissions, so leave those unchecked. Adding an IP restriction and an expiry date to the key is optional but reduces the damage if the key is ever exposed.
Does Kraken have a testnet for spot trading?
Kraken offers a demo environment for its futures platform, but not a public spot sandbox. Because AutoTrader trades Kraken spot pairs, the practical way to rehearse is to run your strategy in AutoTrader's paper mode, review the simulated fills, and then switch it to live with a small investment amount before scaling up.
Why does Kraken show XBT instead of BTC?
Kraken historically used the ISO-style code XBT for bitcoin, and its API still returns pair names such as XXBTZUSD or XBTUSD. The website increasingly displays BTC, but API responses and trade exports may use the older codes. It is the same asset, so a BTC/USD strategy in AutoTrader maps to Kraken's XBT/USD market.
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