Compare Kraken, Coinbase, Bitstamp and Bitvavo by evidence.
Compare trading-fee evidence, Bitcoin withdrawal paths, Lightning support, custody, reserve evidence and country-level availability without a single winner score. Use the table to narrow the field, then open the full reviews before choosing a venue.
Last verified28 Aug 2026
Published reviews4
Affiliate rankingOff
Quick read
Four different evidence profiles — choose the trade-off you actually need.
These are decision shortcuts, not rankings. Open the full review before relying on a single fee, feature or regulatory signal.
Evidence profileKrakenPublic Pro fee tiers, Bitcoin + Lightning withdrawals and user-verifiable PoR.Evidence profileCoinbaseAccount-tier Advanced fees, Bitcoin + Lightning, large-custody financial disclosures.Evidence profileBitstampLong operating history, MiCA context and account-level fee/withdrawal checks.Evidence profileBitvavoClear public EUR fee tier, published BTC withdrawal fee, PoR; no Lightning.
Disclosure: no paid ranking or affiliate redirect is used in this comparison. Direct exchange links are research references only. Affiliate policy.
Regional scope is editorial, not regulatory.
The “post-Soviet regional scope” below is an audience/research grouping, not a statement about current CIS membership or political alignment. Availability is checked country by country.
Evidence comparison
Four exchanges, one evidence framework — no winner score.
Checked 28 August 2026. Fees, withdrawal costs and country eligibility can change, so confirmation-time values still matter.
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| Field | Kraken | Coinbase | Bitstamp | Bitvavo |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regional signal | Broad global eligibility except prohibited regions; product restrictions vary. | Country-specific KYC documentation is broad; product/payment availability still varies by residence. | EEA MiCA context is documented; country/product availability needs live verification. | Current supported-country article is limited to a defined European/SEPA list. |
| EEA regulatory context | Central Bank of Ireland MiCA entities. | Coinbase Luxembourg S.A. · CSSF N00000004. | Bitstamp Europe S.A. · CSSF N00000003. | Bitvavo B.V. · AFM 41000010. |
| Spot-fee evidence | 0.40% maker / 0.80% taker at standard Kraken Pro Tier 1. | Current complete Advanced fee structure is account/tier dependent and visible after sign-in. | Public API examples exist; universal current retail tier remains a live-refresh field. | 0.15% maker / 0.25% taker for the checked Category A entry tier. |
| Bitcoin withdrawal | On-chain + Lightning supported; fee/minimum dynamic and shown at confirmation. | On-chain + Lightning supported; Lightning sends carry a published 0.2% processing fee. | BTC withdrawal supported; API example retained only as context. Lightning not verified. | BTC withdrawal supported; checked page listed 0.000019 BTC. Lightning unsupported. |
| Custody evidence | Custodial exchange; user-verifiable PoR is published separately from account/security controls. | Coinbase says customer digital assets are held 1:1; Q2 2026 SEC reporting provides financial/custody context, not user-verifiable PoR. | Custodial venue under residence-dependent serving entities; current user-verifiable exchange-wide PoR was not verified in this pass. | Bitvavo describes legally/operationally segregated customer crypto with pooled custody and cold-storage providers. |
| Reserve evidence | Published user-verifiable PoR; BTC 102.9% snapshot on 30 Jun 2026. | No current user-verifiable Coinbase PoR verified in this research pass. | No current user-verifiable Bitstamp PoR verified in this research pass. | Published selected-asset PoR; BTC 100% snapshot on 31 Mar 2026. |
Published reviews
Use the comparison as a map, then open the full evidence.
All four review pages are published. “Published” means the evidence needed to explain important boundaries is present — not that the exchange is better, safer or suitable for every reader.
Kraken reviewFees, on-chain + Lightning withdrawals, PoR and security controls.Coinbase reviewAccount-dependent fees, Lightning, custody disclosures and incident history.Bitstamp reviewRegulatory context, account-level fee evidence and explicit Lightning/PoR gaps.Bitvavo reviewSupported-country scope, EUR fee tier, BTC withdrawal costs and selected-asset PoR.
Comparison boundary:
Do not choose a venue from one row. Country eligibility, the serving entity, live fees, payment rails and the Bitcoin withdrawal preview all need a final check before funding an account.
Regional availability matrix
Country-by-country evidence states.
These labels describe the strength of current public evidence, not a promise that every product, payment rail or onboarding path is available today.
Broad eligibility
Broad public eligibility statement; verify residence-specific products and funding.
KYC docs published
Official identity-verification documentation exists; not a full product-availability guarantee.
Live check
Public evidence is not strong enough for a country-level yes/no conclusion in this pass.
Supported-country list
Country appears on the current Bitvavo supported-country article used for this pass.
EEA
30 countries
Regulatory context is strongest here, but payment methods and products can still differ by residence.
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| Country | Kraken | Coinbase | Bitstamp | Bitvavo |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Austria | Broad eligibility | KYC docs published | EEA context · live check | Supported-country list |
| Belgium | Broad eligibility | KYC docs published | EEA context · live check | Supported-country list |
| Bulgaria | Broad eligibility | KYC docs published | EEA context · live check | Supported-country list |
| Croatia | Broad eligibility | KYC docs published | EEA context · live check | Outside current Bitvavo list |
| Cyprus | Broad eligibility | KYC docs published | EEA context · live check | Outside current Bitvavo list |
| Czechia | Broad eligibility | KYC docs published | EEA context · live check | Supported-country list |
| Denmark | Broad eligibility | KYC docs published | EEA context · live check | Supported-country list |
| Estonia | Broad eligibility | KYC docs published | EEA context · live check | Supported-country list |
| Finland | Broad eligibility | KYC docs published | EEA context · live check | Supported-country list |
| France | Broad eligibility | KYC docs published | EEA context · live check | Supported-country list |
| Germany | Broad eligibility | KYC docs published | EEA context · live check | Supported-country list |
| Greece | Broad eligibility | KYC docs published | EEA context · live check | Outside current Bitvavo list |
| Hungary | Broad eligibility | KYC docs published | EEA context · live check | Outside current Bitvavo list |
| Iceland | Broad eligibility | KYC docs published | EEA context · live check | Outside current Bitvavo list |
| Ireland | Broad eligibility | KYC docs published | EEA context · live check | Supported-country list |
| Italy | Broad eligibility | KYC docs published | EEA context · live check | Supported-country list |
| Latvia | Broad eligibility | KYC docs published | EEA context · live check | Supported-country list |
| Liechtenstein | Broad eligibility | KYC docs published | EEA context · live check | Outside current Bitvavo list |
| Lithuania | Broad eligibility | KYC docs published | EEA context · live check | Supported-country list |
| Luxembourg | Broad eligibility | KYC docs published | EEA context · live check | Supported-country list |
| Malta | Broad eligibility | KYC docs published | EEA context · live check | Supported-country list |
| Netherlands | Broad eligibility | KYC docs published | EEA context · live check | Supported-country list |
| Norway | Broad eligibility | KYC docs published | EEA context · live check | Supported-country list |
| Poland | Broad eligibility | KYC docs published | EEA context · live check | Supported-country list |
| Portugal | Broad eligibility | KYC docs published | EEA context · live check | Supported-country list |
| Romania | Broad eligibility | KYC docs published | EEA context · live check | Supported-country list |
| Slovakia | Broad eligibility | KYC docs published | EEA context · live check | Supported-country list |
| Slovenia | Broad eligibility | KYC docs published | EEA context · live check | Supported-country list |
| Spain | Broad eligibility | KYC docs published | EEA context · live check | Supported-country list |
| Sweden | Broad eligibility | KYC docs published | EEA context · live check | Supported-country list |
Europe outside EEA
13 countries
Non-EEA European markets require separate serving-entity and product checks; EEA authorization is not automatically applied.
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| Country | Kraken | Coinbase | Bitstamp | Bitvavo |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albania | Broad eligibility | KYC docs published | Live check | Outside current Bitvavo list |
| Andorra | Broad eligibility | KYC docs published | Live check | Outside current Bitvavo list |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | Broad eligibility | KYC docs published | Live check | Outside current Bitvavo list |
| Kosovo | Broad eligibility | KYC docs published | Live check | Outside current Bitvavo list |
| Monaco | Broad eligibility | KYC docs published | Live check | Outside current Bitvavo list |
| Montenegro | Broad eligibility | KYC docs published | Live check | Outside current Bitvavo list |
| North Macedonia | Broad eligibility | KYC docs published | Live check | Outside current Bitvavo list |
| San Marino | Broad eligibility | KYC docs published | Live check | Outside current Bitvavo list |
| Serbia | Broad eligibility | KYC docs published | Live check | Outside current Bitvavo list |
| Switzerland | Broad eligibility | KYC docs published | Live check | Outside current Bitvavo list |
| Turkey | Broad eligibility | KYC docs published | Live check | Outside current Bitvavo list |
| United Kingdom | Broad eligibility | KYC docs published | Live check | Outside current Bitvavo list |
| Vatican City | Broad eligibility | KYC docs published | Live check | Outside current Bitvavo list |
Post-Soviet regional scope
10 countries
Editorial coverage includes these markets. The grouping is practical, not political or treaty-based.
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| Country | Kraken | Coinbase | Bitstamp | Bitvavo |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Armenia | Broad eligibility | KYC docs published | Live check | Outside current Bitvavo list |
| Azerbaijan | Broad eligibility | KYC docs published | Live check | Outside current Bitvavo list |
| Georgia | Broad eligibility | KYC docs published | Live check | Outside current Bitvavo list |
| Kazakhstan | Broad eligibility | KYC docs published | Live check | Outside current Bitvavo list |
| Kyrgyzstan | Broad eligibility | KYC docs published | Live check | Outside current Bitvavo list |
| Moldova | Broad eligibility | KYC docs published | Live check | Outside current Bitvavo list |
| Tajikistan | Broad eligibility | KYC docs published | Live check | Outside current Bitvavo list |
| Turkmenistan | Broad eligibility | KYC docs published | Live check | Outside current Bitvavo list |
| Ukraine | Broad + restrictions | KYC docs published | Live check | Outside current Bitvavo list |
| Uzbekistan | Broad eligibility | KYC docs published | Live check | Outside current Bitvavo list |
Primary sources
What the comparison fields are based on.
Source check: 28 August 2026. Dynamic fees, withdrawal costs and country eligibility should still be rechecked at the point of use.
- Kraken — current Spot fee schedule
- Kraken — Proof of Reserves, 30 Jun 2026
- Kraken — serving entities and broad eligibility
- Coinbase — Advanced fee methodology
- Coinbase — pricing disclosures and Lightning fee
- Bitstamp — authenticated trading/withdrawal fee endpoints and response samples
- Bitvavo — current EUR fee tiers and BTC withdrawal table
- Bitvavo — Lightning status
- Bitvavo — supported-country scope
Before you fund an exchange account
Verify your residence is supported, identify the legal entity serving you, review the live order/fee preview, confirm the Bitcoin withdrawal network and fee, and decide how quickly you plan to move funds to self-custody. Availability and costs can change after this source check.