Why did Kraken close US staking?

In 2023 it settled with the SEC, which argued the programme was an unregistered securities offering. Kraken paid a penalty, ended the US service and returned staked assets.

What does Kraken staking cost?

Roughly 15–20% of rewards depending on the asset — cheaper than Coinbase's retail tier and well above professional operators.

Is Kraken staking custodial?

Yes. Staked assets remain with Kraken, so exchange risk applies alongside protocol risk.

Can I stake Ethereum on Kraken and withdraw anytime?

Unstaking follows the Ethereum exit queue plus Kraken's processing, so withdrawals are not instant.

Kraken Staking Review 2026: Cheaper Than Coinbase, Still Custodial

Name: Kraken Staking review
Item: Kraken Staking
Rating: 7.5
Author: OBOL

Kraken operates staking across a broad set of networks with a clean record and commission in the 15–20% range — expensive against a professional operator, noticeably cheaper than Coinbase's retail tier.

The 2023 US shutdown

The SEC took the position that Kraken's staking-as-a-service programme constituted an unregistered securities offering. Kraken settled, paid a penalty and closed the programme for US clients, returning staked assets. Coinbase, facing similar arguments, litigated instead. The episode is the clearest illustration of a risk specific to custodial staking: a regulator can end the product, and your position ends with it.

Operations and coverage

Support spans Ethereum, Solana, Polkadot, Cosmos chains and others in eligible regions, with no client losses from slashing on record. Rewards are distributed regularly and the interface is straightforward.

The economics

At 15–20% commission you keep roughly 80–85% of network rewards against 90% or more at a professional operator, and you take on exchange custody risk to do so. For small balances the convenience premium is defensible; for larger positions it is not.

Who should use it

Existing Kraken customers in supported regions staking modest amounts. Larger stakers should use a dedicated operator or a liquid staking protocol, and hold the underlying assets in self-custody.

#	Service	Best for	Cost	Score
1	Chorus One	Research-led validation across many chains	Typically ~8% of rewards	8.6
2	Allnodes	Running your own validator without running servers	Flat monthly node fees or ~5–8% commission	8.5
3	Figment	Institutional staking with reporting to match	Typically 8–10% of rewards for institutions	8.5
4	Kiln	Staking infrastructure embedded in other products	Typically ~7–10% of rewards	8.5
5	stakefish	Retail Ethereum staking without a minimum	~10% of rewards	8.5
6	Staking Facilities	European institutional delegation with strong governance participation	Typically ~8%	8.4
7	Everstake	Low-commission delegation across many chains	~5–10% depending on network	8.2
8	P2P.org	Broad network coverage with solid performance	Typically ~8% of rewards	8.2
9	Luganodes	Institutional staking with a clean short record	Institutional pricing, typically ~8%	8.1
10	Blockdaemon	Enterprise-grade node and staking infrastructure	Institutional pricing, typically 8–12%	7.9
11	RockX	Asia-based institutional staking	Typically ~8–10%	7.9
12	InfStones	Broad node infrastructure with developer APIs	Varies by network, typically 8–10%	7.7
13	Twinstake	Regulated institutions needing non-custodial staking	Institutional pricing on request	7.6
14	Kraken Staking	Simple staking for European and international users	Roughly 15–20% of rewards	7.5
15	Coinbase Staking	Convenience for existing Coinbase customers	Up to 25–35% of rewards for retail	7.1

Service

Score

8.6

8.5

8.5

8.5

8.5