Newton Vs Kraken: Which Is Better For Canadians In 2026?

How Do Newton And Kraken Compare, Fact By Fact?

Every row below comes from each company’s own pages and the Canadian registries, checked October 2026. Where a row has no fair winner, it says so.

What Are The Key Differences Between Newton And Kraken?

How Do You Fund And Cash Out Newton And Kraken In Canada?

Neither accepts: paypal.

Account verification is required before any deposit. Crypto withdrawals to an external address need the address saved in your address book first. Fund by Interac for free, trade on Kraken Pro, and expect to pay CAD 10 to take Canadian dollars back out by e-Transfer. Wire deposits can lose a 13.74 intermediary fee. Kraken has been reported to delay new account checks at busy times.

What Does It Actually Cost To Buy On Newton And Kraken?

Newton: Standard Silver-tier spread fee shown at trade time: 1.00% to 1.15% on BTC, ETH and USDC, up to 1.60% on other assets, checked 2026-10-03 on Newton's fee article. Signature status lowers it, to 0.05% at CAD 5M of trailing 365-day volume. Kraken: Kraken Pro base tier 0.40% maker / 0.80% taker (Tier 1, USD 0 volume), checked 2026-10-03. The high end is the 1% Instant Buy fee, which is charged on top of a spread Kraken does not publish. Custom orders are 1.5%. Ranges reflect each platform’s published band, not a single quote. Bank and network fees are not included.

What Do Newton And Kraken Offer Beyond Buying And Selling?

Newton Only

• Signature Program: Fee tiers assigned automatically by trailing 365-day volume: Gold CAD 100K (BTC, ETH, USDC at 1.00%), Platinum CAD 1M (0.85% and 1.00%), Diamond CAD 2M (0.50%), Onyx CAD 5M (0.05%).
• Staking: Up to 4.5% APY shown for ETH, SOL and ADA (estimates, not guaranteed). Newton keeps 30% of ETH rewards plus execution income, 27% of SOL rewards plus MEV rewards, and 7.5% of ADA rewards. Staked assets are locked.
• Recurring buys: Set an amount, a coin and a frequency for automatic purchases.
• Referral program: A friend gets a CAD 20 bonus after signing up and trading CAD 100 within 90 days; the referrer earns up to CAD 100 depending on activity.

Kraken Only

• Kraken Pro: Order book trading with maker/taker fees from 0.40% / 0.80%, down to 0.0% / 0.10% at USD 10M monthly volume. Tiers can also be reached by holding assets on the platform (USD 20K for Tier 3).
• Staking: Flexible staking with an on-chain unbonding period carries a 20% commission. Canadians cannot stake GRT or FLR, use Opt-In Rewards, or use Babylon Bitcoin staking, and ETH2.S cannot be traded.
• Kraken+: Subscription giving zero trading fees on up to USD 10,000 (or CAD equivalent) a month in Buy, Sell and Convert, with spreads and card fees still applying. The subscription price was not retrieved.
• Recurring buys: Recurring trades are charged the 1% Instant Buy fee plus a spread.

What Happens To Your Money If Newton Or Kraken Fails?

Newton: As a CIRO investment dealer member since March 2026, cash left in a Newton account is covered by CIPF, but Newton states crypto is not protected by CIPF, CDIC or any investor protection scheme. Over 80% of assets are kept offline and Newton says it carries crypto insurance, but it gives no amount and the custodian is not named on the current page, and no proof of reserves is published. An exchange hack or insolvency would leave you relying on that insurance and on the dealer's regulatory capital rules for the portion you cannot withdraw in time.

Kraken: Kraken is a CSA Restricted Dealer, which brings regulator oversight, loss notifications and purchase caps, but its client assets are not covered by CIPF and Kraken says so. Kraken publishes third-party proof of reserves (June 2026 ratios 100.3% to 102.9% for the five largest assets), which shows assets were held at the snapshot but is not insurance, and no insurance amount is published. Residual risks are exchange hacks, an insolvency where you are an unsecured creditor, and restrictions that can force you to withdraw coins Kraken later removes for Canada.

How Are Newton And Kraken Treated For Tax In Canada?

Newton: Selling, swapping one coin for another and staking rewards are dispositions or income; buying and withdrawing to your own wallet are not. Newton exports your history as a Koinly-formatted CSV and links directly to Koinly; there is no CRA-ready report from Newton.

Kraken: Selling, converting one coin to another and staking rewards are taxable events. Kraken exports ledger and trade history as CSV and links to Koinly, which can produce a CRA Schedule 3 report; Kraken does not produce a CRA-ready report itself.

Selling, swapping or spending crypto is a disposition for the CRA on any platform. This is not tax advice: see my guide to crypto taxes in Canada.

Which Should You Choose, Newton Or Kraken?

Choose Newton If

• You want a Canadian-only CIRO dealer with free Interac and EFT funding and a simple app.
• You trade small amounts of the majors and prefer one visible price over order book mechanics.
• You trade over CAD 1M a year and can reach Signature tiers that cut the fee below 1%.

Choose Kraken If

• You want the widest coin list available to Canadians and a real order book.
• You will use Kraken Pro rather than Instant Buy to keep trading costs near 0.4% to 0.8%.
• You value published proof of reserves over a CIRO dealer.

How Do Newton And Kraken Compare On Fees?

Kraken Pro starts at 0.40% maker and 0.80% taker and drops as your 30-day volume grows, so an active trader pays less there than on Newton's 1.00% to 1.60% spread. Kraken's Instant Buy is 1% plus a spread, which is close to Newton's rate on BTC but with an extra spread on top. On $1,000 of Bitcoin, Newton's spread costs about $10.00 to $11.50, while a Kraken Pro taker order at the entry tier costs $8.00 in fees. Your real saving depends on the market spread at the moment you trade.

Which Is Better For Funding And Withdrawing CAD?

Newton takes free Interac e-Transfer, wire and pre-authorized debit (EFT) deposits. Interac requests top out at CAD 10,000 per transaction and CAD 70,000 per week. Withdrawals carry no stated fee: Interac goes out at up to CAD 10,000 per transaction and CAD 50,000 per week, and wires go up to CAD 1,000,000.

Kraken takes free Interac e-Transfer deposits with a CAD 5 minimum and limits of CAD 10,000 per transaction and per day, CAD 30,000 per week and CAD 100,000 per month. Domestic wires are free, though a CAD 13.74 intermediary bank fee is noted. Debit card deposits cost CAD 0.25 plus 3.75%. Interac withdrawals cost CAD 10.

Both take free Interac e-Transfer deposits. Newton also takes free wires and EFT, and it states no withdrawal fee. Kraken charges CAD 10 on every Interac withdrawal, so small, frequent cash-outs favour Newton.

Which Has More Coins?

Newton's official help article lists 59 CAD pairs, and it warns that pairs can be switched off. That covers the big names and a decent altcoin shelf, but it is not a deep menu. You get spot trading, swaps, recurring buys and limit orders, with no margin or derivatives for Canadians. Staking is shown at up to 4.5% APY, which is an estimate and not a guarantee.

Kraken publishes no official Canadian coin count. Take its public trading-pair list, remove the tickers its own Canada restrictions bar, and you land at about 498, which is a very large shelf. Staking works for Canadians with exceptions, including no Opt-in Rewards, and Canadian clients cannot trade margin or derivatives.

Kraken is far ahead on selection, with about 498 tickers derived from its public list against Newton's 59 CAD pairs.

Which Is Safer?

Newton Crypto Ltd. became a CIRO investment dealer member on March 18, 2026, and it also sits on the CSA list (original decision August 15, 2022). It is a FINTRAC-registered money services business too. Newton says over 80% of assets are stored offline in cold storage and that it maintains crypto asset insurance. It is a CIPF member for cash, but crypto is not protected by CIPF.

Payward Canada Inc. (Kraken) is a CSA Restricted Dealer under a decision dated April 1, 2025, and a FINTRAC-registered MSB. It is not a CIRO member, though press reports say it intends to apply. Kraken's Proof of Reserves snapshot for June 30, 2026 shows reserve ratios of 102.9% on BTC, 100.5% on ETH and 100.6% on SOL. Canadian clients also face a net purchase limit of CAD 30,000 over a rolling 12 months on assets other than BTC, ETH, LTC and BCH (CAD 100,000 for eligible investors), outside Alberta, BC, Manitoba, Quebec and Saskatchewan.

Both are CSA-listed and FINTRAC-registered. Newton is a CIRO investment dealer member, while Kraken is a Restricted Dealer and not a CIRO member. Kraken publishes a Proof of Reserves snapshot (June 30, 2026: BTC 102.9%, ETH 100.5%, SOL 100.6%). Newton states its cold storage share instead of publishing a reserve snapshot.

Which App Is Easier To Use?

Newton's interface remains one of the cleanest in Canadian crypto: modern, casual in tone, and simple enough that a first-time buyer can fund via Interac and place a trade within minutes. The iOS app is rated 4.62 across 24,473 Canadian App Store ratings, and Google Play shows 4.3 from 8.14K reviews.

Kraken's iOS app is rated 4.62 from 5,662 Canadian ratings, and Google Play shows 4.2 from 55.1K global reviews. Instant Buy keeps the first purchase simple, and Kraken Pro is where the order book, charts and lower fee schedule live.

The iOS scores tie at 4.62, with Newton on 24,473 ratings and Kraken on 5,662. On Google Play it is 4.3 for Newton and 4.2 for Kraken.

What Are The Pros And Cons Of Newton And Kraken?

Newton: Pros And Cons

Kraken: Pros And Cons

Who Should Choose Newton, And Who Should Choose Kraken?

Choose Newton If

Choose Newton if you want one simple app, free CAD rails both ways and a CIRO-supervised dealer.

Visit Newton Read My Newton Review

Choose Kraken If

Choose Kraken if you want a huge coin list and lower fees through Kraken Pro, and you are fine with a CAD 10 Interac withdrawal fee.

Visit Kraken Read My Kraken Review

What Else Should You Know Before You Deposit?

Neither platform should be your long-term vault. Crypto on an exchange is not covered by CIPF at either one, so coins you plan to hold for years belong in a wallet you control, and only the amount you are about to trade needs to sit on the platform.

Tax follows you wherever you trade. The CRA treats crypto as a commodity, so selling, swapping or spending it can trigger tax, and whether the result is business income or a capital gain depends on how you use it. Export your transaction history from both apps and keep it.

Finally, prices and limits move. The fees, limits and coin counts above come from each platform's own pages as checked in October 2026, so look at the quote in the order preview before you confirm any trade.

The full ranking sits on the best crypto exchanges in Canada page. Not sure which one fits you? The quiz narrows it down in a minute.