Provider at a glance
- Category
- OTC Desks
- Entity
- All 6 Kraken products
- Official website
- support.kraken.com
Independent rankingchecked How it works
Details
Scored 77 out of 100 under methodology 2026.10.18, from the evidence read in September 2026.
Kraken OTC Desk
OTC desk at Kraken
OTC Desks
#2 Overall
Ranked #2 of 9 OTC desks in the published ranking
77
ChainChoice Score
The ChainChoice Score, shown against 100: published scores run from 41 to 99.- High evidence confidence
Is Kraken OTC Desk right for you?
Right for you if these matter most
- Documented settlement mechanics9/10, the category best
Look elsewhere if these come first
- Published minimum ticket8/10 here; Gemini eOTC scores 10
- Counterparty footing and asset segregation7/10 here; Gemini eOTC scores 8
- Published price transparency3/10 here; Binance OTC & Execution Services scores 5
Not yet tested for your country. Markets it lists: Global.
to test where you can use it.
The rank above is the published one, the same for every reader. Find my best OTC desk shows where it lands for you.
What will Kraken OTC Desk cost you?
Not priced on this basis
- Your monthly volume
- $1k
How safe is Kraken OTC Desk?
- Evidence: verified4 of 4 criteria rest on quoted, sourced receipts. Read September 2026.
- LicenceMiCA (EU): no register record on file here.
Alternatives to Kraken OTC Desk
Compare all 4- 1Gemini eOTC3 points above · stronger on published minimum ticket (10 against 8)80
- 3B2C24 points below · stronger on published minimum ticket (9 against 8)73
- 4Binance OTC & Execution Services11 points below · stronger on published price transparency (5 against 3)66
For your setup
Find out if Kraken OTC Desk fits you
The rank above is the published one — the same for every visitor. Answer the category's questions and this section shows where Kraken OTC Desk lands for you, which criteria your answers weight up, and which stated needs the record does or does not meet. The published rank stays beside it.
- A few questions
- No account required
- Ranking-blind: no commercial input
- Personalised in under 60 seconds
Find my best OTC deskNothing is inferred from clicks, popularity or commercial value.
Why this rank
Why Kraken OTC Desk ranks #2
Each strength is read from evidence on a 0–10 ladder and weighted as the published methodology states. The 32 objective points these produce (22.5 here) sit inside the score; availability, friction, trust record and measured data add the rest. Best in this ranking on 1 of 4.
4 published criteria · Σ weight 100
CriterionWeightStrength · 0–10ScoreContrib.MedianBestRankEvidence
308+7.685.010#3/9Loading evidence…
307+6.727.09#4/9Loading evidence…
229+6.346.09#1/9Loading evidence…
183+1.733.05#4/9Loading evidence…
Hairline = best in this ranking · tick = its median · a missing bar is "not scored", never zero
Margin−3behind Gemini eOTC, #1
RobustnessHoldsacross a one-point change to each of its 4 criterion scores, the re-run scores 75–79 and stays #2
Evidence4 of 4 scored4 quoted, 4 with a source link
What would move the rank
Each line is the ranking run again with one of Kraken OTC Desk’s criterion scores changed and every other value held: the smallest whole-point change on that criterion that moves its rank, and where the re-run puts it. Up to 4 climbs and 3 falls are listed, smallest change first. Nothing here is a forecast.
Published minimum ticket 8 → 10 on its ladder · passes Gemini eOTC+281#2 → #1
Counterparty footing and asset segregation 7 → 9 on its ladder · passes Gemini eOTC+281#2 → #1
Published price transparency 3 → 6 on its ladder · passes Gemini eOTC+380#2 → #1
Published minimum ticket 8 → 5 on its ladder · B2C2 passes it−371#2 → #3
Counterparty footing and asset segregation 7 → 4 on its ladder · B2C2 passes it−371#2 → #3
Documented settlement mechanics 9 → 6 on its ladder · B2C2 passes it−373#2 → #3
Smallest climb: published minimum ticket 8 → 10 passes Gemini eOTC, #1.
Strengths
1 from the score dataWhere it leads
Best for readers who weight
- Documented settlement mechanics — 9/10, the category best
Tradeoffs
3 from the score dataWhere it trails
Not for readers who put first
- Published minimum ticket — 8/10 against a category best of 10/10
- Counterparty footing and asset segregation — 7/10 against a category best of 9/10
- Published price transparency — 3/10 against a category best of 5/10
Record watch-outs
- 'We do not charge you any fees' and 'the all-inclusive price' describe the same thing from two directions: there is no line item because the entire cost is the difference between Kraken's quote and the market. A buyer comparing this against an exchange's published 0.20% taker fee will conclude the desk is cheaper, and has no published number with which to check that. Note also that kraken.com/features/otc returned HTTP 404 on 2026-08-06 — the substantive OTC documentation now lives on the support subdomain, not on a product page.
Competitive position
Where Kraken OTC Desk leads and where it trails
Rank on every objective dimension among the rows scored on it. A criterion in the top third of its pool is listed as a lead, the bottom third as a trail; the middle is neither. Popularity, size and commercial terms are not dimensions.
Availability#1 / 914.0 of 20 · constant here
Published criteria#2 / 916.8 of 30 · best 18.0
Friction#1 / 92.7 of 10 · constant here
Trust record#1 / 93.2 of 8 · constant here
Measured data#1 / 98.3 of 18 · constant here
Where Kraken OTC Desk leads
- Published minimum ticket#3 / 9
- Documented settlement mechanics#1 / 9
Where it trailsNo criterion in the bottom third of its pool.
Closest alternatives
The 3 nearest rows by score
Nearest by published score in either direction. Each card states the criteria on which the two rows differ and the cost difference under the same scenario inputs; the compare arithmetic below shows why the higher one ranks higher.
Gemini eOTC#1 of 9 · score 80 · 3.0 points ahead
Kraken OTC Desk leads on
- Documented settlement mechanics9 vs 8
- Published price transparency3 vs 2
Gemini eOTC leads on
- Published minimum ticket10 vs 8
- Counterparty footing and asset segregation8 vs 7
Largest single reason Gemini eOTC is ahead: published criteria (+3.1 display points).Scenario cost: Gemini eOTC has no verified pricing for this scenario.
B2C2#3 of 9 · score 73 · 4.0 points behind
Kraken OTC Desk leads on
- Documented settlement mechanics9 vs 5
- Published price transparency3 vs 1
B2C2 leads on
- Published minimum ticket9 vs 8
- Counterparty footing and asset segregation8 vs 7
Largest single reason Kraken OTC Desk is ahead: published criteria (+3.9 display points).Scenario cost: B2C2 has no verified pricing for this scenario.
Binance OTC & Execution Services#4 of 9 · score 66 · 11.0 points behind
Kraken OTC Desk leads on
- Published minimum ticket8 vs 5
- Counterparty footing and asset segregation7 vs 5
- Documented settlement mechanics9 vs 6
Binance OTC & Execution Services leads on
- Published price transparency5 vs 3
Largest single reason Kraken OTC Desk is ahead: published criteria (+11.2 display points).Scenario cost: Binance OTC & Execution Services has no verified pricing for this scenario.
Against the leader
80 vs 77 · gap 3.0Why Gemini eOTC ranks above Kraken OTC Desk
The compare workspace's arithmetic applied to these two rows. Each dimension's share of the gap is its weight × the difference, on the displayed scale — it reproduces the displayed gap of 3.0 to within rounding.
DimensionThisGemini eOTCGap share
Availability · 23% weight · constant here14.014.0same
Published criteria · 35% weight16.818.0−3.1, worse
Friction · 12% weight · constant here2.72.7same
Trust record · 9% weight · constant here3.23.2same
Measured data · 21% weight · constant here8.38.3same
Published criterionThisGemini eOTCPoints
Published minimum ticket · w30810−1.92, worse
Counterparty footing and asset segregation · w3078−0.96, worse
Documented settlement mechanics · w2298+0.70, better
Published price transparency · w1832+0.58, better
Net7780−3.0
Your scenario
Kraken OTC Desk is not priced for this scenario
Taker fee on your volume for a year. Excludes network gas and any withdrawal fee. Change an input and every figure recomputes from the published rate; the published rank does not move.
your cost/yr · default scenario — set your own
Your monthly volume · your input$1k
Rate read from the provider’s published pricing ↗ on 24 September 2026.
your cost/yrCost is stated as your cost/yr in USD; it is never a yield, never annualised, and it does not enter the score.
Not priced on this basis
Under the default inputs · USDCategory medianNot priced0 of 9 rows priced
Cheapest pricedNone pricedDifference not stated · availability not applied — set your country to filter
9 of 9 rows in this ranking have no verified rate for this scenario and are absent from the median, not counted as free.
Evidence
Evidence read 24 September 2026
One row per published criterion: the page each strength was read from, its source type by domain, the reading date and whether the file and the published table agree. Open a row for the quote and the receipt.
4 of 4 cells scored
Score evidenceVerified4 of 4 criteria reconstruct from receipts
4 of 4 criteria reconstruct from a quoted, sourced receipt equal to the published strength.Public receiptsReading…4 quoted with a source URL
The receipt file has not been read yet.Evidence confidenceHighcoverage and corroboration, never freshness
4/4 criteria scored, with 4 dated sources quoted.RobustnessHoldsrank #2 across every one-point re-run
Whether the position holds when one criterion score is changed by one point and the ranking is run again. It is always a re-run of the ranking, never an estimate.The newest evidence read on the platform is 3 November 2026; this category's reading is older. The scores stand as read on 24 September 2026.
Reading the evidence ledger…
CriterionSourceTypeReadFreshnessStatusReceipt
Published minimum ticketstrength 8 · weight 30Report an error—24 September 2026*
Unknown
No reading date is recorded for this cell or its category.No receipt
A strength is published but no quote or source page is on file for it.Counterparty footing and asset segregationstrength 7 · weight 30Report an error—24 September 2026*
Unknown
No reading date is recorded for this cell or its category.No receipt
A strength is published but no quote or source page is on file for it.Documented settlement mechanicsstrength 9 · weight 22Report an error—24 September 2026*
Unknown
No reading date is recorded for this cell or its category.No receipt
A strength is published but no quote or source page is on file for it.Published price transparencystrength 3 · weight 18Report an error—24 September 2026*
Unknown
No reading date is recorded for this cell or its category.No receipt
A strength is published but no quote or source page is on file for it.How you can lose money here, and what the ranking scores
- Insolvency failure (Kraken OTC Desk 7/10): the firm or issuer that owes you cannot pay.Scored by Counterparty footing and asset segregation · 30%
- Execution failure: you get a worse price, later, or nothing.Scored by Documented settlement mechanics · 22% (Kraken OTC Desk 9/10)Scored by Published price transparency · 18% (Kraken OTC Desk 3/10)
Not assessed by this ranking: Control failure, Liveness failure, Custody failure, Regulatory failure, Exit failure, Information failure. A high place says nothing about these; the Methodology tab says what each means. Also scored, as cost, quality or a summary of several families: Published minimum ticket (30%).
Facts
facts, not scoresWhat the record publishes
- Pricing
- "Is there a fee? We do not charge you any fees for our service. The bid or offer price we show is the 'all-inclusive' price." — quoted from https://
support .kraken .com /articles /360021967711 -introducing-the-kraken-otc-desk, page marked "Last updated: December 10, 2025", fetched 24 September 2026. The same page repeats the pattern for derivatives — "there are no fees for options trading" — and the only pricing description offered anywhere is comparative: "We offer deeper liquidity for tighter spreads as well as a more private, personalized service for institutional clients and high net-worth individuals needing to fill large orders." No spread, markup or basis-point figure is published.Kraken OTC Desk — official pricing page ↗ · 24 September 2026 - Prices published in
- USDKraken OTC Desk — official pricing page ↗ · 24 September 2026
- Licences held
- Not published
- Compliance level
- partial
- Regulatory note
- Not published
- Supported chains
- Multi-chain
- Markets served
- global
- Primary markets
- Not published
- Restricted markets
- Not published
- Operating limits
- Not published
- Availability note
- Not published
Legal entity on file: Kraken, placed in 6 products. Only confirmed entities are shown; nothing is inferred from the brand name.
If something goes wrong with Kraken OTC Desk: where to complain, and where to report a scam
Loading the routes for your country.
How this page is reviewed
Reviewed means this product in this category was read against its sources on or after that date; every ranked category is re-read at least every 45 days. Models research, extract and parse. A deterministic engine ranks. Every quote passes an adversarial refute pass.
Accountable for this review: Mathias Siemonsmeier, Founder.
How we review · Review calendar · Corrections log · How we make money
History
What the record carries
Changes to published ranks are recorded in a ledger; every step and its cause is listed on the rank-history page. The entries below begin with the current verified snapshot, then the methodology versions whose changes applied to this category, newest first.
8 methodology entries
- 24 September 2026Current verified snapshot · methodology 2026.10.18Score 77, #2 of 9. 4 of 4 criteria scored. History starts here; earlier values are not interpolated.
- 10 October 2026
2026.10.8When nothing serves your country, the list shown for reference is the published ranking · platform-wide- fixed The reference list shown when nothing serves your country is the published order with the published scores, and a build check now fails any such list out of that order or with a score the ranking does not publish.
- fixed The explorer prints an overall rank only for a row the published ranking holds; a country entrant such as Coinbase Commerce for US merchants shows no overall rank.
- changed Published orders do not move. Country results change only where nothing serves the country: in India bill pay keeps Bitcoin Well first and now shows Strike second, as published; 35 such runs across all categories and countries now match the published list exactly.
- 10 October 2026
2026.10.6A criterion you require re-scores the rows that meet it · platform-wide- changed The explorer sends each criterion you require, at any band, as fit_required with your other answers; region, licence, chain and fact filters stay filters. On /best, a required criterion joins For you as a marked preference does, which needs your country; Overall stays the published ranking, filtered.
- added Every published criterion has a golden case as the explorer sends it (require:<criterion>), so the order a requirement gives is replayed and gated as the published order is, and a change to it needs an entry here.
- 16 September 2026
2026.09.15Dimension scores carry tenths, and eleven more categories are re-read from primary sources · platform-wide- changed Dimension scores resolve to tenths of a point (O-04b), and weightedTotal is rounded to six decimal places before the order is read. 518 published scores move across 107 categories that were not re-read; none of them moves by more than 4 points, and most move by 1.
- fixed 66 published scores change in the eleven re-read categories, against a verbatim source each. The largest moves are Reflexer RAI (−16), Beefy and Unrekt (−11), Aztec (−10) and Golem (+9) — all of them rows whose sources had moved since their last read.
- changed Published order moves in 38 of 119 categories and three #1s change: smart_contract_audits (Zellic → Certora) and travel_rule_compliance (Sumsub Travel Rule → CodeVASP) on the finer resolution, kyc_compliance (Veriff → Sumsub) on the re-read.
- added availabilitySource (O-04g): for a reader who states a country, a row whose availability in that country rests on a region tag its record gives no source for sorts below every sourced row. It is inert in every order published here, which states no country.
Methodology 2026.10.18, the same published run every visitor sees · receipt otc_desks:kraken_otc:2026.10.18:a9fe754b7f1f
Are you Kraken OTC Desk? Reply to this verdict, or send evidence, ask for a correction or claim the listing. Every message gets a public ticket number; none of it changes a rank unless a public page or a signed statement supports it.