specification: FinOps Framework
specificationVersion: '1.0'
schema: https://www.finops.org/framework/
provider: Kraken
providerId: kraken
created: '2026-05-30'
modified: '2026-05-30'
reconciled: true
tags:
  - FinOps
  - FOCUS
  - Cryptocurrency
  - Exchange
  - Take Rate
  - Volume Tiered
description: 'FOCUS-aligned FinOps for Kraken: per-trade take rate (volume-tiered maker/taker) on Spot and Futures, fixed 1.0% / 1.5% on the consumer app, plus per-method funding charges and per-strategy Earn allocation fees.'
sources:
  - https://www.kraken.com/features/fee-schedule
  - https://www.kraken.com/features/fee-schedule#spot
  - https://www.kraken.com/features/fee-schedule#stablecoin
  - https://www.kraken.com/features/fee-schedule#futures
  - https://docs.kraken.com/api/docs/rest-api/get-trade-volume
  - https://docs.kraken.com/api/docs/rest-api/get-ledgers-info
  - https://focus.finops.org/focus-specification/v1-3/

alignedWith:
  framework: FinOps Foundation Framework
  frameworkUrl: https://www.finops.org/framework/
  dataSpec: FOCUS
  dataSpecVersion: '1.3'
  dataSpecUrl: https://focus.finops.org/focus-specification/v1-3/

publisherName: Payward, Inc. (Kraken)
serviceCategory: Cryptocurrency Exchange + Brokerage

billingModel:
  pricingCategory: Take Rate + Pay-As-You-Go + Optional Subscription
  billingFrequency: Continuous Settlement (per-trade); monthly for Kraken+ subscription
  billingCurrency: USD (settlement varies by quote currency — USD, EUR, GBP, USDT, USDC, BTC, ETH, etc.)
  chargeCategories:
    - Usage
    - Purchase
    - Tax
    - Adjustment
    - Refund

focusColumns:
  ServiceName: Kraken
  ServiceCategory: Cryptocurrency Exchange
  ServiceSubcategory: Spot Trading, Futures Trading, NFT, Staking, Funding
  ProviderName: Kraken
  PublisherName: Payward, Inc.
  InvoiceIssuerName: Payward, Inc.
  BillingCurrency: USD
  ChargeCategory: Usage
  RegionId: global (with US-state and EEA-country eligibility gates)

meters:
  - name: spot_trade_fee
    unit: trade
    aggregation: sum
    dimensions:
      - asset_pair
      - side
      - role          # maker | taker
      - volume_tier   # 30-day USD volume tier 0..6
      - schedule      # standard | stablecoin
      - account_id
      - subaccount_id
      - api_key_id
  - name: spot_trade_volume_usd
    unit: usd_equivalent
    aggregation: sum
    dimensions:
      - asset_pair
      - period        # rolling-30d window used for tier determination
  - name: futures_trade_fee
    unit: trade
    aggregation: sum
    dimensions:
      - instrument
      - contract_type   # perpetual | fixed_maturity
      - side
      - role            # maker | taker
      - volume_tier
      - account_id
      - api_key_id
  - name: consumer_app_take_rate
    unit: trade
    aggregation: sum
    dimensions:
      - order_type      # instant | recurring | custom
      - asset
      - account_id
  - name: kraken_plus_subscription
    unit: month
    aggregation: sum
    dimensions:
      - account_id
      - plan_id
  - name: funding_fee
    unit: transaction
    aggregation: sum
    dimensions:
      - asset
      - method          # bitcoin | ethereum | fedwire | sepa | ach | swift | ...
      - direction       # deposit | withdrawal
      - tier
      - account_id
  - name: earn_allocation_fee
    unit: transaction
    aggregation: sum
    dimensions:
      - strategy_id
      - asset
      - direction       # allocate | deallocate
      - account_id
  - name: earn_reward_yield
    unit: token_unit
    aggregation: sum
    dimensions:
      - strategy_id
      - asset
      - lock_type       # flex | bonded | timed | instant
      - account_id
  - name: nft_marketplace_fee
    unit: transaction
    aggregation: sum
    dimensions:
      - collection
      - chain           # ethereum | solana
      - role            # buyer | seller
      - account_id

principles:
  - name: Visibility
    description: >-
      Per-trade economics are visible in near real time. Use the Spot REST
      `GetTradesHistory`, `GetLedgersInfo`, and `GetTradeVolume` endpoints
      (and the matching `executions` and `balances` WebSocket v2 channels) to
      stream every fill, fee charge, and the current 30-day USD volume tier.
      Funding fees land as `deposit` / `withdrawal` ledger entries; staking
      rewards as `staking` / `dividend` entries; Earn allocations/deallocations
      as `allocation` / `deallocation` entries. The same surface backs Kraken's
      annual tax export (CSV / Form 1099-B).
  - name: Allocation
    description: >-
      Attribute spend by API key (every fee carries the originating key id in
      the ledger), by subaccount (use CreateSubaccount + AccountTransfer to
      segment desks/strategies), and by client order id (cl_ord_id /
      cliOrdId, propagated through fills) so that downstream FinOps tooling
      can roll fees up to teams, strategies, or external customers.
  - name: Optimization
    description: >-
      Three concrete levers: (1) climb the 30-day volume tier — even moving
      from the entry tier to the $10K tier drops maker fees from 0.25% to
      0.20%; (2) tag toward maker liquidity using `post`-only orders and
      stp_type to capture the maker rate; (3) for stablecoin/FX flows, route
      via the stablecoin pair schedule (0.20% / 0.20% descending to 0.00% /
      0.001%) instead of the standard schedule. For Futures, multi-collateral
      margin lets a strategy avoid wasteful conversion fees between margin
      currencies.
  - name: Accountability
    description: >-
      Designate an account-level owner who reviews the monthly Account
      Statement + Tax Export against an internal P&L. Use the WebSocket
      `executions` feed to detect anomalous taker bursts in real time, and the
      CancelAllOrdersAfter dead-man's-switch (Spot and Futures) so a stuck
      strategy cannot run up unintended fee exposure.