Krakenvs
MEXC
Compare Kraken vs MEXC perpetuals: funding rates, fees, open interest, trading volume, liquidity, liquidation data and regulatory compliance updated in real-time.
Coinperps score
Four weighted criteria, scored out of 10 by Coinperps Research. How we score ›
Kraken8.2/10MEXC7/10Market position
Each venue's share of the perpetual venues Coinperps tracks, live over the last 24 hours.
The same market on each venue
One perpetual, both books: where the liquidity and the crowd actually are right now.
KrakenBTC/USDTMEXCWinner marked per row. Funding is an 8-hour equivalent; the lower rate is cheaper for longs. Depth: order-book liquidity within 1% of mid.
BTC funding over 90 days
Daily funding on each venue's BTC perpetual against the cross-venue median, every venue normalised to an 8-hour equivalent. Persistent gaps are what a carry trade or a long hold actually pays.
Kraken vs MEXC: head-to-head
Fees, leverage and regulation from each venue's published terms; volume, open interest and funding live from the Coinperps feed. The better figure is marked where one exists.
| Dimension | Kraken | MEXC |
|---|---|---|
| Fees & costs | ||
| Taker fee | 0.05% | 0.02% |
| Maker fee | 0.02% | 0% |
| Volume & liquidity | ||
| Perpetuals volume (24h) | -- | -- |
| Open interest | -- | -- |
| Options volume (24h) | -- | -- |
| Liquidations (24h) | -- | -- |
| Perpetual contracts listed | -- | -- |
| Live funding rates | ||
| BTC funding rate | -- | -- |
| ETH funding rate | -- | -- |
| SOL funding rate | -- | -- |
| XRP funding rate | -- | -- |
| All funding on this page is shown as an 8-hour equivalent. Venues that settle hourly (Hyperliquid, Kraken, Coinbase, dYdX) are scaled by the interval the feed reports, so the figures compare like for like. | ||
| Trading features | ||
| Contract types | USDC and USDT | USDT only |
| Maximum leverage | 50x | 200x |
| Spot assets | 369 | 2900 |
| Platform type | Centralized | Centralized |
| Regulation & trust | ||
| Regulation | Tier-1 Regulators including FCA (UK), BaFin (Germany), CySEC (Cyprus), DASP (France), MSB (USA & Canada), AUSTRAC (Australia), and 8 more | Unlicensed (Previous Licenses revoked in Seychelles & Estonia) |
| Proof of reserves | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Supported countries | 150+ | 170 |
| Users | 15 Million | 30 Million |
| Headquarters | United Arab Emirates | Seychelles |
About Kraken
Kraken is the most heavily regulated major perpetuals venue and one of the oldest exchanges in crypto, founded in 2011 and now operating under parent Payward at a $20 billion valuation following an $800 million raise and a confidential IPO filing.
Its derivatives platform runs perpetuals at up to 50x leverage with a structure rivals don't match, settling funding hourly rather than every 8 hours and accepting BTC, ETH, and other assets directly as multi-collateral margin.
Regulation is the moat. Kraken holds MiCA authorization through the Central Bank of Ireland, a MiFID derivatives license, and the only full CFTC stack held by a crypto-native firm, making it one of the few venues offering regulated perpetual futures to US traders.
Security rests on a record no major rival shares. The exchange has never suffered a major breach in its history, backs custody with audited Proof of Reserves and a Wyoming-chartered bank, and holds ISO 27001 and SOC 2 certifications.
About MEXC
MEXC is the highest-leverage major perpetuals venue, founded in 2018 and now serving more than 40 million users across 170+ countries from its Seychelles base. Its catalog of 3,000+ listed tokens is among the largest in the industry.
The futures platform runs 700+ perpetual pairs at up to 500x leverage with the lowest standard fee schedule of any major exchange, charging nothing on maker orders and 0.02% on takers before MX token discounts.
Its regulatory posture is the trade-off. MEXC holds no license from a major financial regulator and has drawn warnings from authorities including Germany's BaFin, the UK's FCA, and Hong Kong's SFC, so users trade without the consumer protections regulated venues carry.
Security rests on verifiable reserves rather than oversight. Monthly Hacken-audited Proof of Reserves shows major assets backed well above 100%, a $100 million Guardian Fund with public wallet addresses backstops users, and no exchange-level hack has been confirmed since founding.
