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Kraken Introduces Simple, Secure, and Powerful Kraken Wallet

Kraken, a leading cryptocurrency exchange, has taken a significant step towards accelerating crypto adoption with the release of Kraken Wallet. The self-custodial wallet is designed to be simple, secure, and powerful, offering users an easy-to-use gateway to the decentralized financial system.

Whether individuals are Kraken clients or not, they can utilize the multichain Kraken Wallet as a bridge to the world of decentralized finance. Built on the principles of privacy and security, Kraken Wallet ensures self-custody of digital assets and data. Users can enjoy an onchain experience supported by Kraken’s world-class security measures and dedicated client service.

Kraken Wallet provides a beautiful user experience, eliminating the need for network switching or manually creating multiple seed phrases. It serves as a one-stop solution for all self-custody needs, offering features such as comprehensive portfolio tracking, multichain support, WalletConnect integration, and round-the-clock customer support.

With comprehensive portfolio tracking, users can conveniently monitor their tokens, NFTs, and DeFi positions in one place. The wallet seamlessly interacts with eight of the most popular blockchains, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, Optimism, Base, Arbitrum, Polygon, and Dogecoin. Additionally, the integration of WalletConnect ensures secure access to thousands of the latest and most popular decentralized applications (dApps).

Privacy is of paramount importance to Kraken Wallet. The wallet collects only the minimum amount of data required for its functioning and does not gather internal app performance analytics. User activity is proxied through Kraken’s infrastructure, safeguarding their IP addresses and preventing external exposure of identity and location information. Kraken Wallet does not store any user sign-in details, email addresses, or KYC information.

Backed by Kraken’s industry-leading security measures, Kraken Wallet prioritizes the protection of user data and digital assets. The wallet was developed in collaboration with the team responsible for securing Kraken exchange’s assets for over 12 years. It incorporates multiple layers of security, including biometrics from mobile devices and user-provided password encryption.

To further ensure the wallet’s security, Kraken engaged Trail of Bits, a renowned security audit firm, to conduct a comprehensive audit of the code. This step helps identify any potential vulnerabilities and strengthens the overall security of Kraken Wallet. In a move towards transparency and community involvement, Kraken Wallet is the first major-exchange wallet to be open-source at launch, with its code available on GitHub.

Kraken Wallet marks the beginning of an ongoing journey, with plans to introduce more functionality in the future. Kraken remains committed to its cypherpunk principles and aims to bring the world into the onchain future. As the crypto industry continues to evolve, Kraken Wallet strives to embody the spirit of decentralization and empower users in their financial freedom.

To download Kraken Wallet and learn more about its features, users can visit the official website. The Kraken Wallet deep-dive technical blog provides additional insights into how the wallet addresses challenges in mobile crypto security. Users can also refer to the Kraken Wallet privacy notice for full disclosures.

Image source: Shutterstock

BTI Report Reveals Kraken and Coinbase as the Cleanest Crypto Exchanges

The September issue of the Blockchain Transparency Institute’s market surveillance report shows that the cryptocurrency exchange volumes of Kraken and Coinbase are the cleanest in the industry.

The institute is also primarily responsible for filtering these volumes through its proprietary algorithm.

“Since the start of 2019, global wash trading has reduced by 35.7% among the real Top-40 exchanges. The process of sharing our data reports with many of these exchanges has resulted in enhanced mechanisms for detecting wash trading accounts and shutting them down.”

Evidence in the report reveals that the cleanest exchanges continue to stand with Kraken, Coinbase, Poloniex, and Upbit. In contrast, the exchanges with the highest rates of wash trading are: OKEx and Bibox.

Globally, the report shows that Japan and the United States are in the lead of exchanges with accurate volume reporting. The report claims:

“This can be due to several factors, the main of which is the legal and regulatory standards in these countries. However, stricter regulatory frameworks do not always produce the cleanest exchanges.”

Bitwise Asset Management published Bitcoin trading figures and admitted up to 95% of Bitcoin trading volume was due to wash trading.  

In a report published earlier this year by Bitwise Asset Management, revealed that up to 95% of Bitcoin trading volume seen on CoinMarketCap was due to wash trading.

Kraken’s Subsidiary Becomes the First Licensed Derivatives Platform to Offer Leveraged Crypto in the EU

Kraken Futures, a subsidiary of Kraken, also known as Crypto Facilities, has announced it had been granted a Multilateral Trading Facility (MTF) license from the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

Kraken is the largest cryptocurrency exchange in Europe in terms of trading volume in euro, and its subsidiary has become the first cryptocurrency firm to obtain this type of license.

Crypto Facilities was acquired by Kraken in February 2019, and provides futures contracts in Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Ripple (XRP), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), and Litecoin (LTC), with up to 50 times leverage.

After obtaining the MTF license from the FCA, Crypto Facilities would be able to expand its product range for its institutional clients who are restricted to trade only on licensed platforms.

This news marks Kraken’s Crypto Facilities as the first and only licensed derivatives platform to offer exposure to leveraged cryptocurrencies in the European Union. Jesse Powell, CEO and Co-founder Kraken said in a statement:

“We undergo these licensing efforts because Kraken is about making crypto accessible for everyone. This particular license means that a sophisticated class of investors, limited by their own requirements to interface with a regulated venue such as an MTF, will not have access to crypto derivatives in Europe for the first time. More participants means more liquidity and a better experience for everyone.”

A Multilateral Trading Facility is a term used for trading systems that facilitate the exchange of financial products between different parties in Europe. However, with the Brexit deal still in negotiation, it has not been made clear how regulatory licensing will be treated for after the event.

Swiss InCore Bank offers banking services to Kraken’s clients

Switzerland’s InCore Bank AG has become the first bank in the country to offer banking services to Kraken’s clients, using Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) deposits. SEPA was designed to simplify euro bank transfers.

Under the current uncertain macroeconomic climate, the companies announced that institutions and traders have been seeking alternative sources of capital value during this time.

Image source: Susan Yin via Unsplash

Kraken Report: Bitcoin Trading Hit a 6-Month Low of 51% Amid Snail Speed in June

Leading US cryptocurrency exchange Kraken has presented a report through its research arm Kraken intelligence showing Bitcoin trading has nosedived by 51% depicting a six-month low since the start of the year.

Snail’s pace recorded in June

Bitcoin’s trading volatility was sluggish in June because it represented a 31% month over month (MoM) decline. As per the report, “A lackluster market drove Bitcoin’s annualized volatility to a 6-month low of 51% amid a -31% MoM drop in trading volumes this June, making it the quietest month since February for the world’s largest crypto asset by market capitalization.”

This trend flipped the correlation between Bitcoin and other financial instruments. For instance, its correlation with gold was weakened from 0,50 to -0.49. On the other hand, Bitcoin’s connection with the S&P 500 index was strengthened from 0.13 to 0.52.

This change of events was recorded amid propelled confidence of economic conditions bottoming and the worldwide stock market recovering.

Tightened S&P 500 Correlation

The report notes that Bitcoin’s price action was uneventful in June as the leading cryptocurrency’s relationship with the S&P 500 index was boosted. Therefore, market participants have been asked to be cautious and give CBOE’s Volatility Index (VIX) a keen eye as this will offer a better comparison between Bitcoin’s market dynamics and the traditional financial markets.

Kraken Intelligence also stipulated, “With Bitcoin hovering beneath the resistance of a multi-year pennant formation for more than 2 months and holding above its 50-week moving average, some believe bitcoin is on the brink of embarking on a new bull-market cycle in the month(s) ahead.”

The report suggested that a Bitcoin bull run could be triggered if it could break the $10,500 resistance level as this could prompt an uptrend by setting a higher high.

In a recent radio interview, ‘Rich Dad, Poor Dad’ renowned author Robert Kiyosaki stated that there was light at the end of the tunnel for Bitcoin as he has had a hawkeye for Bitcoin-stock fluctuations for quite some time.

Kraken Brings Crypto Asset Liquidity to Skrill and Neteller

Paysafe, a leading specialized payments platform has chosen US-based cryptocurrency exchange Kraken as their crypto asset liquidity provider.

Paysafe has become the latest enterprise payments platform to choose Kraken as its crypto asset liquidity provider.

According to the announcement, the partnership will further strengthen Paysafe’s own cryptocurrency trading services through its massively popular digital wallets— Skrill and Neteller.

Leveraging Skrill and Neteller, Paysafe customers will now be able to buy, sell and spend cryptocurrencies while Kraken will provide the underlying liquidity.

Daniel Kornitzer, Paysafe’s Chief Business and Development Officer said, “We’re delighted to be collaborating with Kraken as we continue our journey of delivering industry-leading, frictionless crypto-asset trading services to our Skrill and Neteller clients.”

For Kraken, the announcement is indicative of the strength of their global liquidity as they are now powering more than 150 real-time markets for the cryptocurrency and fiat currency transactions.

Maximillian Marenbach, Kraken’s EMEA Head of Banking said:

“We are proud and thrilled to have been chosen by Skrill and Neteller to be a source of crypto liquidity.” He added, “This is a great sign for the growing acceptance of and interest in crypto and amazing news…for the whole industry.”

How Liquid is Kraken?

Recent independent research conducted by Finery Tech found Kraken cryptocurrency exchange to be the “clear leader” and offers the deepest liquidity for BTC/EUR pairing. The study determined Kraken as the front runner while also assessing popular exchanges Binance, Bitstamp, and Coinbase.

As recently reported by Blockchain.News—Kraken Futures, a subsidiary of Kraken, also known as Crypto Facilities, recently announced it had been granted a Multilateral Trading Facility (MTF) license from the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

Image source: shutterstock

Polkadot (DOT) Becomes the Tenth-Largest Crypto by Market Cap Leading the Altcoin Surge

Polkadot (DOT) has recently become one of the most talked-about altcoins recently in the crypto industry, as it recently surged and became the tenth-largest crypto by market capitalization. The DOT token recently completed its second token sale just a month ago, and its first sale was in 2017.

Recently, two large crypto exchanges have decided to list Polkadot, ahead of its redenomination from the project. The redenomination witnessed DOT denominated at one-hundredth of the value of the old DOT after the community voted. According to the Polkadot network, the DOT token has three purposes, governance, staking, and bonding on the network.

The Polkadot’s DOT token has been available for trading since 2019, and the future of the DOT token was handed to its community for voting. The co-founder of Polkadot announced the results of the community vote on July 27. There were a few choices for the vote, the community could keep the original DOT value, or a stock-split of DOT, creating a new DOT token that was either one-tenth, one-hundredth, or one-thousandth of the old DOT.

As the announcement confirmed that the new DOT would be to split the token by a factor of 100, the new DOT value would be in effect on Aug 21.

Binance and Kraken crypto exchanges announced that they were listing the DOT token on Aug 18, with immediate effect. However, there was some controversy around its listing time, as the exchanges caused massive confusion among traders, showing the prices at the redenominated value. The price of DOT was inflated by up to ten times during the first hour of trading, then a plunge followed.

After the controversy with the crypto exchanges, the DOT token surged to $4, reaching a 40 percent gain. Polkadot is currently trading at $3.93 at press time. The recent DOT price surge was driven by its growing utility, redenomination, and a strong technical outlook, with its rally towards $5.

Polkadot also briefly became the seventh-largest crypto by market cap, surpassing Cardano (ADA) and Bitcoin SV (BSV). The lead technical analyst at Blockfyre said:

“$DOT is already #7 in marketcap. It feels like most of the money that’s going to be made already has been made. Thus I can’t image the upside is tremendous from here and that most buying from here on will lose.”

However, Polkadot is now the tenth largest crypto by market cap, just slightly below Cardano and Bitcoin SV.

US Crypto Exchange Kraken Predicts Bitcoin Price Crash in September

US-based crypto exchange Kraken has released its August 2020 volatility report which predicts that Bitcoin’s price will likely crash and perform negatively in September.

According to Kraken’s August 2020 volatility report, Bitcoin is due for a very negative performance in September that could see the pioneer crypto’s price crash before returning to a state of extreme volatility.

According to the Kraken report:

“Historically, September is Bitcoin’s worst-performing month, with an average return of -7%. With Bitcoin underperforming its average monthly returns for most of the year, we could see returns below -7%.”

The Kraken report warns that Bitcoin volatility will be on the rise soon due to “lesser-known market dynamics.” The report reads:

“Twelve times in the past, Bitcoin’s annualized volatility bottomed between 15% and 30% before climbing, on average, to 140% and returning +196% over 94 days. As of the end of August, 38 days have passed since the volatility low of 23% set on July 24, with volatility rising to 44% and price gaining +25%”

Bitcoin Whales and Long Term Holders

The only bullish indication for the Bitcoin price that Kraken notes is the amount of Bitcoin being hoarded over the last 12 months, and indicator which usually precedes a new bull run.

Bitcoin’s monthly high $12,480 coincided with Nasdaq-listed MicroStrategy announcing a $250 million Bitcoin purchase as part of a new capital allocation strategy.

There have also been on-data reports that there are more Bitcoin Whales— with more than 2000 BTC wallets are currently holding over 1000 Bitcoin, or more than $11 million in Bitcoin per wallet.

According to Kraken in its August volatility report:

“As of August 31, a record 63% of Unspent Transaction Outputs (UTXOs) on the Bitcoin blockchain have not moved in +1 year, indicating that an unprecedented number of Bitcoins are in the hands of long-term holders. Historically, this dynamic has foreshadowed a new bull market.”

Chainalysis Partners with Wyoming Watchdog to Fight Cybercrime and Crypto Laundering Scams

Chainalysis has announced its partnership with Wyoming Division of Banking to fight cybercrime and illicit activities pertaining to crypto laundering, crypto scams, sanctions violations, and more.

Wyoming Bank and Chainalysis to fight cybercrime together

The blockchain analysis company has been at the forefront in helping government agencies and crypto firms establish cybersecurity, through their research and data analytics tools. Now, with cryptocurrency adoption on the rise, Chainalysis products will be serviced by the Wyoming Division of Banking “to verify Wyoming banks’ compliance with anti-money laundering, Bank Secrecy Act, know-your-customer, and sanctions requirements.” Co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer of Chainalysis, Jonathan Levin, said:

“Chainalysis transaction monitoring is an important tool in helping them (Wyoming Division of Banking) embrace virtual currency as the technology of the future of financial services while ensuring financial institutions and virtual currency businesses in their jurisdiction are compliant.”

On top of helping Wyoming’s watchdog monitor anti-money laundering schemes, Chainalysis’ services and cybersecurity tools will also be leveraged by federal and state law enforcement agencies to run data tests and to monitor digital transactions.

Speaking about the collaboration, Wyoming Division of Banking addressed its plans to change and prevent cybercrime. The Commissioner for the banking institution also said that Chainalysis’ tools would enable Wyoming banks to conduct deposit-taking “custody and fiduciary activities with digital assets” safely and soundly. Wyoming Banking Commissioner, Albert Forkner, added:

“Wyoming was the first US jurisdiction to authorize banks to conduct digital asset activities in 2019 […] Though Wyoming is committed to responsible innovation, we are equally committed to harnessing distributed ledger technology to push criminals out of the digital asset space.”

Wyoming at the forefront for digital asset regulation

Since 2019, Wyoming has been leading the pack for digital currency regulation in the United States.

The Wyoming Legislature passed and approved the chartering of special purpose depository institutions (SPDIs) as a new bank charter. It also set in place a legal framework for digital currency custody.

At the time of writing, Wyoming is reported to be in the process of developing regulatory policies revolving around crypto assets, so that digital currencies can be monitored and transacted in a secure way. Wyoming Division of Banking is working to find a middle ground between crypto and traditional banking institutions, and it seems to have progressed and succeeded in integrating both, starting with Kraken crypto exchange.

Kraken is the first crypto exchange to become a US bank

Recently, the Wyoming Banking Board had announced that it had approved Kraken San Francisco-based crypto exchange’s application for a SPDI charter, making Kraken the first exchange to become a US bank.

As an official US bank, Kraken crypto exchange will be able to hold digital assets in custody, approve payment transactions, facilitate transfers between fiat and crypto with ease, and more.

Kraken Is the First Cryptocurrency Exchange to Become a US Bank

Kraken San Francisco-based crypto exchange was approved yesterday by the Wyoming Banking Board and is now the first exchange to become a US bank.

The crypto exchange applied for a special purpose depository institution (SPDI) license and was approved by the Wyoming Banking Board. Following the approval of its charter, Kraken is now the first SPDI bank in the US, located in Wyoming state. This entails that Kraken crypto exchange can now hold digital assets in custody, approve payment transactions, and operate payments systems; customers will also be able to easily switch between fiat money and crypto. Speaking about the matter, Kraken’s financial managing director David Kinitsky said:

“By becoming a bank we get direct access to federal payments infrastructure, and we can more seamlessly integrate banking and funding options for customers.”

Not only has Kinitsky taken on Kraken as a business venture, but the managing director has also formerly been part of Grayscale Investments firm and Fidelity Investments. Now, with crypto horizons looking great for Kraken, the managing director has taken it upon himself to expand and enhance digital services through the crypto exchange.

License has a few limitations for Kraken

Though this is a step forward for Kraken, the SPDI charter does come with a few limitations.

Kraken will be considered a custody bank under the Wyoming Banking Board’s license approval, and this subsequently will mean that the crypto exchange will not be allowed to issue loans from customer deposits. Furthermore, customers’ digital assets reserves are to be maintained and held by Kraken, following Wyoming’s state law.

Kraken’s crypto aspirations after becoming a US bank

The coin exchange plans to introduce new features to their existent services, and there are talks of a potential crypto debit card being issued, as well as staking services. These will all take time to come into effect and are rumored to begin next year.

Furthermore, after the bank officially launches, Kraken intends to offer services in which US residents, excluding New Yorkers, could pay their bills in cryptocurrency, as well as receive their salary in digital assets form. Cryptocurrency funds could also be held with the bank, and Kraken will maintain its customers’ crypto investments, just like any traditional financial institution.

Chief legal officer for Kraken, Marco Santori, shared his enthusiasm about the news on Twitter. He said:

“Kraken just won approval to create America’s first crypto bank. World, please meet Kraken Financial. Kraken Financial, world. Wait, a what? Kraken is a BANK?! How did this even happen?!”

Through its title as America’s first crypto bank, Kraken will be able to provide digital asset custody services to investors in 49 states.

US Crypto Exchange Kraken Predicts Bitcoin Price Will Rally in October

US-based crypto exchange Kraken has released its September 2020 volatility report which predicts that Bitcoin’s price will likely rally in October after a further separation in correlation from traditional markets and the US dollar.

According to Kraken’s September 2020 volatility report, all indicators show that Bitcoin’s correlation to legacy markets and the US dollar is continuing to weaken.

According to the Kraken report:

“Bitcoin’s correlation with the S&P 500 sank to an 8-month low of -0.27 in the first week before rebounding and finishing the month at 0.60. Inversely, bitcoin’s correlation with the U.S. dollar index (DXY) momentarily turned positive before resuming a 5-month trend of negative correlation.”

The Kraken report states that with Bitcoin coming off what is historically the least volatile month of the year—September—one ought to expect incremental market volatility to surface as of 4Q2020.

The report adds that several factors have not yet been exhibited in Bitcoin’s price. Per the report:

“The ever-growing number of addresses containing between 1,000 BTC and 10,000 BTC and the number of coins held in these addresses suggests that Bitcoin’s strong fundamentals and vigorous demand from “smart money” is not entirely reflected in bitcoin’s price.”

What to Expect in October?

The Kraken report predicts better returns on Bitcoin in October stating that historically, Bitcoin sees and average return of around 11% following the conclusion of its lowest month, September.

Per the Report:

“With bitcoin’s worst-performing month now behind us, October may outperform September, just as it has for 8 of the past 9 years, with an average return around +11%. Note that bitcoin has underperformed its monthly average in 6 of the past 9 months.”

The report also indicates that a large number of BTC whale addresses containing “1,000 BTC and 10,000 BTC continues to grow strongly” as well as the total number of coins held in these addresses. The numbers indicate “a strong pattern of accumulation that started about 7 months ago.”

Along with the amassing BTC whale wallets, further positive signs for the Bitcoin price have been highlighted by the increased institutional demand. At the time of writing, there is almost $7 billion of Bitcoin currently held by 13 publicly listed companies, notably MicroStrategy, Square, Galaxy Digital and Grayscale.