Kraken Futures review for Australians (2025)

Kraken Futures is a futures trading feature offered on the Kraken Pro account. Once you register as a wholesale client, you can trade futures contracts using leverage on a variety of digital assets, including Ethereum (ETH) and Bitcoin (BTC). It stands out from its peers because it's one of the only futures exchanges in Australia that is fully regulated by Australian authorities (AUSTRAC).

Launched in 2011, Kraken was also one of the first crypto exchanges to grace the crypto industry. It's a respected crypto institution that is known for high security and an innovative feature-packed platform.

Important: To trade crypto futures on Kraken, you must be verified as a wholesale investor.

What can I trade on Kraken Futures?

Kraken Futures supports the following cryptocurrencies:

• Bitcoin (BTC)
• Ethereum (ETH)
• Litecoin (LTC)
• Bitcoin Cash (BCH)
• XRP (XRP)

While not all cryptocurrencies are supported, those included should have high liquidity, which is a top priority when trading with leverage.

Types of Contracts

The Kraken Futures platform offers two main types of futures contracts — delivery (traditional dated) and perpetual. Included in each of these two categories are linear (USD-margined) and inverse (coin-margined) contracts.

It's worth noting that Kraken uses the terms MCF (Multi-Collateral Futures) and CSF (Collateral-Specific Futures) to distinguish between different types of futures contracts based on collateral flexibility and settlement structure. With multi-collateral you're not restricted to just one asset, rather you can fund your margin with a range of supported crypto.

Let's go through each:

Delivery (dated) Contracts

Delivery or dated contracts are the traditional type of futures contract that are settled at a predetermined date, known as the delivery date. This is the date where the buyer is obliged to purchase and receive the underlying asset at a predefined price, although the contract can be exited before that.

With Kraken, all contracts are either settled in USD or cryptos. Kraken delivery contracts can be settled monthly, quarterly, or semiannually.

Perpetual contracts

Perpetual contracts are futures contracts that have no predefined delivery date. This means that a trader can "perpetually" hold the contract position for as long as they desire.

To keep the perpetual contract tied to the underlying cryptocurrency price, Kraken uses a funding mechanism. If the futures price is above asset price buyers pay a small fee to sellers. If the futures price is below the asset price sellers pay a small fee to buyers.

Perpetual contracts on Kraken are settled every hour, with a position rolling into the next contract assuming you provide margin to do so.

Within both delivery and perpetual contracts, sit linear and inverse contracts.

Multi-collateral (linear) contracts

Multi-collateral contracts are used for linear USD-margined contracts, where the position is quoted and settled in USD or USDT. You can choose from multiple collateral types (e.g. USDT, ETH, BTC etc) to open and maintain a position.

Due to the stability of the USD, there are more cryptocurrency futures contracts using this contract type. USD is all you need to participate. Linear contracts are also referred to as Vanilla futures contracts on the Kraken Futures platform.

Single-collateral / collateral-specific (inverse) contracts

Collateral-specific futures are used for inverse contracts. In comparison to linear contracts that are settled in USD, inverse contracts are settled in a cryptocurrency.

On the Kraken Futures platform, all USD-paired contracts offered are inverse contracts or coin-margined contracts. This means that although your contract is quoted in terms of USD, it is actually settled in the base currency (such as BTC or XRP). All gains, losses, and margins are calculated using the chosen cryptocurrency.

Because it's collateral-specific, you're locked into using a single crypto as both the margin and the settlement currency. Therefore, the chosen cryptocurrency asset that you wish to use must be in your futures trading wallet to open an inverse contract.

Kraken Futures features

Crypto Facilities is the company behind the Kraken Futures platform. It's regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority in the UK. Kraken acquired the company back in 2019 and changed the trading name to Kraken Futures.

The Crypto Facilities MTF offers a range of futures contracts. Below is an example of the inverse contracts offered for USD-paired futures contracts.

The chart below covers information for 2 EUR-paired vanilla contracts that are also offered by Kraken.

How do I create an account?

Kraken has tried to make account creation as easy as possible. Let's look at the steps you needs to take to register.

Step 1. Click on the link above to go to the official Kraken website and enter your email and password.

You will need to verify your email with a verification code sent to your personal email address.

Step 2. Confirm your email address and log in to your account.

Follow the link provided in your email and enter the code from the email to verify your email address and officially create your account.

Once a Kraken Pro account has been created, you can then set up the option to trade Kraken Futures.

Steps to trading on Kraken Futures

Step 1: Further verify your account to enable futures trading

After logging into your Kraken account, click on your name, then click on "get verified" just below. Extra verification is required to trade futures on Kraken. This will require more information such as a photographic ID, a physical address, and a phone number.

You'll also need to provide documentation that proves you are a valid wholesale investor, such as an accountant's certificate, proof of income and an AFSL certificate (if applicable).

Once all of this personal data has been collected and your verification has been approved, you'll get access to Kraken's futures trading interface.

Step 2. Fund your Futures account

Trading on the Kraken Futures platform require you to transfer funds to your Futures Holding Wallet. The Kraken Futures Holding wallet is a unique account that holds funds for use purely within the Futures platform.

Transactions between your Futures Holding wallet and Kraken wallet have no fees but there are limits on the minimum amount transferred.

To fund your futures account, first, locate and select the funding tab. Then click the "Transfer" button next to the cryptocurrency you wish to transfer to Kraken Futures. Carefully enter the amount you wish to transfer to your account and ensure it meets the minimum deposit requirements.

Select "Transfer" followed by "Submit" as seen above. If you have 2FA (two-factor authentication) enabled for withdrawals and deposits, you will need to provide your 2FA code to transfer between your Trading and Futures Holding wallets.

Once complete, you will receive a notification at the bottom of the page that your transfer has been successful. Your Futures Holding Wallet will now contain the transferred funds. Next, you must transfer funds to your Futures Trading Wallet.

This can be done on the Kraken Futures Wallet tab. While in the Holding Wallet, select "Transfer" next to the digital asset you wish to relocate to your Futures Trading Wallet. Then enter the amount.

After submitting the transfer, the balance of your Futures Trading Wallet will update.

You are now ready to begin trading Kraken Futures contracts.

Step 3. Begin trading Kraken futures

While logged into the Kraken platform, select the four squares next to your name, then click "Futures Trading".

You will be directed to the Kraken Futures Trading Platform.

Once on the platform, the first thing you need to decide is the contract that you want to buy or sell. Select a coin/fiat pairing and a timeframe that you wish to trade. Now you must choose whether to buy or sell.

Buying equates to holding a long position where you profit once an asset's price rises. Selling equates to taking a short position where you profit when an asset's price drops.

Once you have decided which direction you would like to enter the trade, you must then decide on the amount of leverage you wish to use. This is all entered within the order entry box. Kraken allows traders to choose the leverage they want, which ranges from 1x to 50x. However, higher leverage also means higher liquidation risk.

Liquidation occurs when you fail to hold a percentage of the value of your position, referred to as maintenance percentage. This is calculated based on your average entry price and the leverage chosen.

If the marked price reaches this calculated threshold, your futures position will be liquidated and the funds placed in your futures trade will be lost.

Once you are happy with your position click "Buy" or "Sell" to confirm the trade.

What are the fees and how do they work?

Kraken Futures fees are based on the percentage of the notional order value for a matched trade. The fee schedule is calculated by your 30-day rolling volume. Basically, the more trades you place and the higher volume you trade with, the lower the fees will be.

Additionally, fees are also based on which side of the trade you are on. Each trade requires a "maker" and a "taker." Makers are the party who places an order on the platform to purchase a contract and the takers are the party that accepts the other side of those orders.

Note that Kraken Future's fee schedule is separate from the spot trading fee and that spot volume does not carry over to Kraken Futures volume. Fees are charged in the collateral currency of the contract being traded.

Risks of using Kraken Futures

Liquidation risk

Cryptocurrencies are much more volatile than traditional assets, with some coins halving or doubling their value in a day. While leverage is a great way to increase the possible payout, and increase exposure with less starting capital, the risk of losing your capital investment is much higher. Unlike spot trading, futures trades have a liquidation threshold. If that liquidation threshold is hit, a position will be exited for a loss.

Platform risk

Platforms, both centralised and decentralised, risk system disruptions or failures that could impact a user's ability to trade. If a system failure occurs, a trader cannot monitor their positions or make adjustments to avoid liquidation. Although rare, significant losses are possible.

Theft

While many new security features are implemented on exchanges such as Kraken, such as 2FA, it does not guarantee the safety of the platform. Kraken, being a cryptocurrency exchange, does not qualify for traditional deposit insurance programs. With no insurance from Kraken, the platform's security features and a user's personal care and due diligence with passwords and devices are all that protect cryptocurrencies.

With that being said, in 2020 Kraken became a licensed crypto bank in Wyoming. While a user's investment will still not be FDIC insured, Kraken Bank will be fully reserved to help protect it and consumers against the risk of malicious breach or liquidations.