Kraken Pro fee tiers now reward what you hold, not just what you trade

Kraken Pro introduced a revised fee-tier system on July 9, 2026, that now considers a user's assets on platform (AOP) as a qualification method alongside spot and futures trading volumes. The change allows users to access the most favorable rate tier based on whichever of the three measures achieves the highest level, with that tier then applied to both spot and futures trading.

Previously, spot and futures fee tiers were calculated independently, and holding a balance on the platform without trading had no impact on rates. Under the new system, AOP is assessed in real time, meaning that a user's crypto, tokenized assets, fiat, and holdings in staking or Dual Investment products can all contribute to qualifying for a better tier even without recent trading activity.

To reach a given tier, a user only needs to meet the threshold in one of the three categories. For example, Tier 3 requires either $10,000 in 30-day spot volume, $10 million in futures volume, or $20,000 in AOP. Higher tiers scale up to the Pro levels, such as Pro 5 requiring $500 million in spot volume, over $5 billion in futures volume, or $100 million in AOP.

AOP excludes loans, Embed parent client balances, and equities; it is calculated as a point-in-time snapshot rather than a 30-day average. This means that if a user withdraws funds or the market moves, their tier may adjust immediately in either direction. The tier applies uniformly to both spot and futures fee schedules, so a user qualifying via futures volume receives the same spot rates as someone qualifying via spot volume.

Kraken noted that this change is not a blanket fee reduction but a recalibration of how tiers are determined. Users in CA, US, and NZ cannot use futures volume for tier qualification due to regulatory restrictions; only spot volume and AOP count for those countries. No action is required from users, as accounts are automatically assigned to the correct tier based on the best qualifying measure.