Kraken vs. Bitget crypto exchanges

Can you use Bitget or Kraken in the US?

Kraken serves US residents in every state except New York and Maine, according to its US quick-start guide (updated March 30, 2026). On-chain staking and stock trading are limited to certain states.

Bitget does not serve the US. Its Terms of Use, last updated September 15, 2026, list the United States as a prohibited country, including Puerto Rico, Guam, the US Virgin Islands, American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands and the US minor outlying islands. The terms also say Bitget screens corporate accounts with US connections. Bitget’s license page lists registrations in Australia, Switzerland, South Africa, Argentina, Mexico, El Salvador, Mauritius and Georgia’s Tbilisi Free Zone, but none in the US.

Signing up from the US through a VPN breaks Bitget’s terms, and identity checks can flag the mismatch and restrict the account while your money is on it. You would also have no US regulator, no CFPB channel and no FDIC or SIPC coverage. For a US reader the comparison ends here: Kraken, or another US-registered exchange.

Fees: Bitget is cheaper on paper

Bitget’s base spot fee is 0.1% for both makers and takers, and paying fees in its BGB token takes 20% off, to about 0.08%. Its BTCUSDT perpetual futures start at 0.02% maker and 0.06% taker, with leverage on that contract up to 150x.

Kraken costs more for small traders. Kraken Pro starts at 0.40% maker and 0.80% taker under $2,500 of 30-day volume, dropping to 0.22% and 0.38% from $10,000, and tiers can also be set by the assets you hold on Kraken. The Instant Buy screen charges 1% plus a spread. Kraken Pro futures start at 0.02% maker and 0.05% taker.

On a $1,000 market order, that is about $1 at Bitget’s base rate against $8 as a Kraken Pro taker. A Kraken Pro limit order costs $4. Withdrawal fees on both vary by coin and network. High leverage magnifies losses as much as gains, and regulators such as Australia’s ASIC cap retail crypto leverage far lower than Bitget offers.

Security: Bitget's September 2026 hack

At 18:31 UTC on September 24, 2026, Bitget detected unauthorized transfers from certain hot and warm wallets. The final verified figure is about $388 million across 12 wallet addresses. Bitget says private keys and cold wallets were not compromised, user balances were not reduced, and the loss is covered by its Protection Fund, which it says it replenished to more than $300 million. Withdrawals paused and reopened in stages, finishing October 2, 2026. The Protection Fund is a company promise, not insurance.

Bitget’s September 17, 2026 proof-of-reserves report showed a 135% total reserve ratio across 19 assets, and its incident page later showed 127%. These are self-published snapshots.

Kraken has no comparable incident in the sources we checked. Its June 30, 2026 proof-of-reserves snapshot showed a 102.9% bitcoin reserve ratio, and it says it holds ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certification and has completed a SOC 2 Type 1 examination. Crypto on any exchange is not FDIC or SIPC insured.

Regulatory record

Bitget has no SEC, CFTC, DOJ or US state enforcement action in the sources we checked, largely because it bars US users rather than seeking US licenses. Abroad, Australia’s ASIC issued an investor alert in July 2025 saying Bitget’s crypto futures are unlicensed there and offered at up to 125:1 leverage, and the same alert lists earlier warnings from regulators in Spain, Austria, Germany, Alberta and Cyprus. France’s AMF placed Bitget on its blacklist and repeated that warning in April 2024. Bitget now lists Austria, France, Germany and Japan among its prohibited countries.

Kraken settled with the SEC in February 2023, agreeing to end its US staking-as-a-service program and pay $30 million. A second SEC lawsuit, filed in November 2023, was dismissed with prejudice in 2025 with no penalty. Kraken has since restarted staking in many states. It remains privately held after Payward confidentially submitted a draft IPO registration in November 2025.

Complaints and user reports

Kraken had 524 CFPB complaints from October 2023 to October 2026, led by fraud or scams (174), other transaction problems (121) and money not available when promised (120). Many involve people told by a scammer to buy crypto on Kraken and send it on. It scores 3.2 out of 5 on Trustpilot from 9,180 reviews, with complaints about withdrawal holds, account freezes and slow support.

Bitget scores 1.7 out of 5 on Trustpilot from about 1,702 reviews, with 75% one star. The most common complaints are frozen or restricted accounts, blocked withdrawals, repeated identity checks before withdrawals, P2P disputes and reports of unauthorized account access. Positive reviews mostly mention copy trading and fast execution.

On either exchange, finish identity verification before you deposit, turn on two-factor authentication, keep records of deposits and support tickets, and never send crypto to someone who contacts you with an investment offer. Report scams to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.