Overview of Opt-In Rewards on Kraken

Opt-In Rewards gives you the option to earn rewards on available and idle account balances you otherwise maintain in your Kraken trading account.

Is On-chain staking and Opt-In Rewards the same feature?

No. While similar in design on our client interface, on-chain staking and Opt-In Rewards are separate features. On-chain staking utilizes assets “On-chain” in Proof-of-Stake protocol such as Tezos. Opt-In Rewards utilizes assets as further described in our Terms of Service. You can read more about On-chain staking here.

Am I eligible for Opt-In Rewards?

An overview of eligibility criteria (including geographic restrictions) can be found here. If Opt-In Rewards is not showing as an option for your account, you may not be eligible.

What does Kraken do with Opt-In Rewards funds?

For a complete list of the terms, conditions and details of the Opt-In Rewards program, please see our Terms of Service.

Assets eligible for Opt-In Rewards

Opt-In Rewards is currently available for Bitcoin (BTC), USD Coin (USDC) and Tether (USDT) balances in your Kraken account.

Rewards and Minimums

Opt-In Rewards rewards are generally paid out twice a week. The asset rewarded is based on the asset. For example, your rewards for BTC will be in BTC. Rewards will only be added if the reward is greater than the smallest decimal precision.

There may be variance in payout timing due to platform upgrades.

Asset	Rewards Per Annum	Minimum Amount
Bitcoin (BTC)	0.15%	0.00000001 BTC
USD Coin (USDC)	4.25%	0.01 USDC
Tether (USDT)	4.25%	0.01 USDT

Time

There is no minimum Opt-In Rewards time needed to earn rewards. You start earning pro-rated rewards for Opt-In Rewards as soon as it is processed by Kraken (which may be within minutes of you Opting-in your funds). Any rewards earned will be credited to your Opt-In Rewards balance on the following payout day.

Fees

There are currently no fees for Opt-In Rewards.

Why do my rewards say “0”?

Rewards below five decimal places will only display on exported ledger history, since the Kraken website truncates to five decimal places.

Balance hold & impact on equity for margin trading

While your assets are held in our Opt-In Rewards program, they are not available for trading and cannot be withdrawn to an external (non-Kraken) account or wallet. You will be able to instantly remove assets at any time, but Kraken reserves up to seven days to process requests.

Opt-In Rewards of BTC, USDC or USDT can also impact your equity for margin trading, because these assets are collateral currencies and while opted In, will be removed from your trading and equity balances. Your equity balances affect your free margin and margin level for margin trading.

Mobile

Opt-In Rewards is available with the Kraken Pro app. For a step-by-step guide to Opting in with the Pro app, visit our Kraken Pro app FAQ.

DISCLAIMER: KRAKEN IS NOT A BANK OR OTHER DEPOSITORY INSTITUTION. YOUR KRAKEN ACCOUNT IS NOT A DEPOSIT ACCOUNT OR A BANK ACCOUNT. THE OPT-IN REWARDS PROGRAM IS NOT A DEPOSITORY OR BANK PROGRAM. NEITHER YOUR KRAKEN ACCOUNT NOR OPTED IN ASSETS ARE COVERED BY INSURANCE AGAINST LOSSES OR SUBJECT TO FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE CORPORATION (FDIC) OR SECURITIES INVESTOR PROTECTION CORPORATION (SIPC) PROTECTIONS OR THE PROTECTIONS OF ANY COMPARABLE ORGANIZATION ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD. YOU SHOULD INFORM YOURSELF OF ANY LEGAL OR TAX CONSEQUENCES OF PARTICIPATING IN THE OPT-IN REWARDS PROGRAM. KRAKEN IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY SUCH CONSEQUENCES TO YOU.

For further information read our Terms of Service and feel free to contact our support team for additional questions.

The decimal and thousands separators shown in this article may differ from the formats displayed on our trading platforms. Review our article on how we use points and commas for more information.