Aster vs Kraken Futures

Aster vs Kraken Futures: which to use

Aster vs Kraken Futures is a decentralized exchange against a centralized one. On Aster you trade from a self-custody wallet without ID, at 0 bp maker and 4 bp taker, with up to 300x. Kraken Futures requires full verification, holds your funds in an account, and charges 2 bp maker and 5 bp taker, with up to 100x. Aster lists 588 perp markets, 133 of them real-world assets; Kraken Futures lists 278, 19 of them real-world assets. Custody, ID and the range of markets decide it for most traders.

How each exchange is built

Aster is a decentralized exchange (DEX) on BNB Chain. You trade from a self-custody wallet. It matches orders on a central limit order book.

Kraken Futures is a centralized exchange (CEX): you open an account with the company, and the account holds your funds. It also matches orders on a central limit order book.

For the trader this means a choice of custody. On Aster you trade from your own wallet. On Kraken Futures your funds sit in the account you opened.

Fees and what they mean

Aster's base tier is 0 bp maker and 4 bp taker, per Aster's fee page. Kraken Futures' base tier is 2 bp maker and 5 bp taker, per Kraken's fee schedule.

A market order pays the taker fee to open and again to close: 8 bp per round trip on Aster, 10 bp on Kraken Futures. A limit order that rests on the book pays the maker fee instead: 0 bp on Aster and 2 bp on Kraken Futures.

Fees are only part of a trade's cost. Slippage, the price you move by eating through the order book, grows with size. The cost table above adds both at each size from $1k to $5M, and every exchange's trading cost is compared on one page.

Markets and leverage

As of 1 October 2026 Aster lists 588 active perps, 133 of them stocks, commodities, FX or other real-world assets. Kraken Futures lists 278, 19 of them real-world assets. If you want stocks and commodities next to crypto, the gap in counts matters.

Aster allows up to 300x and Kraken Futures up to 100x on their highest-leverage markets; most markets allow less. Kraken Futures pays funding every hour on every market. Aster pays every 1 hour, 4 hours or 8 hours depending on the market, so check a market's interval before you hold it: an hourly market settles 24 times a day, an 8-hour market three times. The list further down this page shows the markets both exchanges have and each one's funding rate.

Who can use them

Aster asks for no ID to trade, though its terms keep a right to limited checks. It is closed to the US, Canada, the UK, China, Russia, Ukraine and sanctioned countries.

Kraken Futures requires full verification. It is not offered in the US, where a separate US product exists, nor in Canada. Australia is wholesale only, and retail UK clients are excluded.

Vaults, tokens and points

Aster runs ALP (Aster Liquidity Pool), a vault run by the exchange. It takes the other side of traders' positions, so depositors carry the traders' profit and loss. A burn locks for 48 hours, and the mint and burn fee is 0.25% ± 0.05%.

Aster's token is $ASTER, and as of 19 September 2026 its points and airdrop program was at "Stage 5".

Reading the numbers on this page

Both exchanges publish open interest as one side of open positions, so the open interest row and chart above compare like with like. Check the Head to head table for the figures.

Kraken Futures has no TVL, as is usual for a centralized exchange, so that row and chart show Aster alone. For Aster it is DefiLlama's figure for the deposits its bridge holds.

Which one fits you

• Pick Aster if you want to keep funds in your own wallet and trade without ID.
• Pick Aster if you place limit orders: 0 bp maker against 2 bp.
• Pick Aster if you need more than 100x, or want 133 real-world asset markets and a wider list of 588 perps.
• Pick Kraken Futures if you prefer an exchange account and accept full verification.
• Pick Kraken Futures if you want funding paid every hour on every market.

Check the list of Aster and Kraken markets, and the BTC page, before you pick a venue for a specific pair.