HTX vs Kraken Futures

HTX vs Kraken Futures: which to use

HTX vs Kraken Futures pits two centralized exchanges against each other, and both match orders on a central limit order book. HTX has a 2 bp maker and 6 bp taker fee, up to 200x leverage and 370 perp markets, 251 of them real-world assets. It also lets you start trading without ID, inside limits. Kraken Futures charges 2 bp maker and 5 bp taker, offers up to 100x and 278 markets, pays funding hourly on every market, and requires full verification. Fees, leverage and market mix decide it for most traders.

How each exchange is built

HTX is a centralized exchange (CEX): you open an account with the company, and the account holds your funds. Kraken Futures works the same way. Both match orders on a central limit order book.

Fees and what they mean

HTX's base tier is 2 bp maker and 6 bp taker, per HTX's fee page. Kraken Futures' base tier is 2 bp maker and 5 bp taker, per Kraken's fee schedule.

The maker rate is the same on both. A limit order that rests on the book and fills later pays 2 bp on either exchange. A market order pays the taker fee to open and again to close: 12 bp per round trip on HTX, 10 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 the fee and the measured slippage 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 HTX lists 370 active perps and Kraken Futures lists 278. On HTX, 251 of its markets are stocks, commodities, FX or other real-world assets. On Kraken Futures, 19 are. If you want stock, commodity or FX perps next to crypto, HTX has the larger set.

HTX allows up to 200x on its highest-leverage market and Kraken Futures up to 100x. Most markets on both allow less, so check the limit of the market you trade.

Kraken Futures pays funding every hour on every market. HTX pays every 1 hour, 4 hours or 8 hours depending on the market. An hourly market settles 24 times a day and an 8-hour market three times. Check a market's interval before you hold it. The list further down this page shows the markets both exchanges have and each one's funding rate.

Who can use them

HTX lets you start trading without ID, inside limits that verification lifts. For accounts opened since 2026-03-30 with no ID, futures are capped at 5x and API trading is closed. More leverage and the API need level-2 KYC.

Kraken Futures requires full verification. It is not offered in the US (which has a separate US product), Canada, Australia (wholesale only) or to retail UK clients.

Tokens

HTX has a token, $HTX.

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. Neither exchange publishes TVL, as is usual for a centralized exchange, so the TVL row and chart have no figures for either.

For daily volume, funding and the cost of a round trip, read the Head to head table and the charts above. They refresh every minute. To compare funding on one coin across both exchanges, use the funding arbitrage ranking.

Which one fits you

• Pick HTX if you want to start trading without ID, inside limits that verification lifts.
• Pick HTX if you want stock, commodity or FX perps: 251 of its 370 markets are real-world assets.
• Pick HTX if you need more than 100x, up to 200x on its highest-leverage market.
• Pick Kraken Futures if you trade crypto perps with market orders: 5 bp taker against 6 bp.
• Pick Kraken Futures if you want every market on an hourly funding schedule.