edgeX vs Kraken Futures

edgeX or Kraken Futures: which to use

edgeX vs Kraken Futures is a decentralized exchange against a centralized one. On edgeX you trade from a self-custody wallet without ID, at 4 bp maker and 4.5 bp taker, with 107 of its 179 perp markets on real-world assets. Kraken Futures requires full verification, holds your funds in an account, and charges 2 bp maker and 5 bp taker, with 278 markets and hourly funding. Both go up to 100x. Custody, ID and how many stock or commodity markets you want decide it for most traders.

How each exchange is built

edgeX is a decentralized exchange (DEX) that runs on its own layer 2, edgeX L2. You trade from a self-custody wallet, or sign in with a wallet or MPC login. Orders match 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.

Both exchanges match orders on a central limit order book. The difference is custody. On edgeX you trade from a self-custody wallet. On Kraken Futures your funds sit in an account at the company, and you get in through its verification.

Fees and what they mean

edgeX's base tier is 4 bp maker and 4.5 bp taker, per edgeX's fee source. Kraken Futures' base tier is 2 bp maker and 5 bp taker, per Kraken's fee schedule. One basis point (bp) is 0.01% of the position.

A market order pays the taker fee on entry and again on exit: 9 bp per round trip on edgeX and 10 bp on Kraken Futures. A limit order that rests on the book pays the maker fee instead, 4 bp on edgeX and 2 bp on Kraken Futures. If you mostly post limit orders, the maker rate is the one that matters. If you mostly use market orders, the taker rate is.

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

Markets, leverage and funding

As of 1 October 2026 edgeX has 179 active perpetual markets, 107 of them stocks, commodities, FX or other real-world assets. Kraken Futures has 278, of which 19 are real-world assets. So edgeX holds more of its list in real-world assets, and Kraken Futures has the longer list overall.

Both exchanges offer up to 100x on their highest-leverage market. Most markets on each allow less, so check the cap on the market you plan to trade.

Funding is the periodic payment between longs and shorts, and a positive rate means longs pay shorts. edgeX pays it every 4 hours on every market, which is 6 payments a day. Kraken Futures pays every 1 hour on every market, which is 24 payments a day.

The list further down this page shows the markets both exchanges have, each one's funding rate and the spread between them. Funding differences between the two can also be read on the funding arbitrage ranking.

Who can use them

edgeX asks for no ID: a wallet or MPC login is enough. It is closed to US and Ontario residents and to sanctioned countries, and it forbids VPNs.

Kraken Futures requires full verification. It is closed to the US, where a separate US product exists, to Canada, and to retail UK clients. In Australia it serves wholesale clients only.

Token and points

edgeX's token is $EDGE. As of 19 September 2026 its points and airdrop program was "Active", and the airdrops page tracks programs like it.

Reading the numbers on this page

Both exchanges publish open interest as one side of open positions. The open interest row and chart above are therefore a like-for-like comparison of size, with no adjustment needed.

TVL is different. Kraken Futures is a centralized exchange and publishes none, so the TVL row and chart show edgeX alone. For edgeX the figure is DefiLlama's number for the deposits its bridge holds, which is not a measure of everything traded on the exchange.

Which one fits you

• Pick edgeX if you want to keep funds in your own wallet and trade without ID.
• Pick edgeX if you trade with market orders: 4.5 bp taker against 5 bp on Kraken Futures.
• Pick edgeX if you want stocks, commodities and FX perps next to crypto: 107 of its 179 markets.
• Pick edgeX if you want a points program: its status was "Active" as of 19 September 2026.
• Pick Kraken Futures if you prefer an account at a company and accept full verification.
• Pick Kraken Futures if you rest limit orders: 2 bp maker against 4 bp on edgeX.
• Pick Kraken Futures if you want the longer list of 278 markets, with funding paid every hour.