You can delete your Kraken account directly from the app or website in just a few minutes, with no need to contact support. Before you start, you’ll need to withdraw all funds and download any transaction records you might need for taxes. Here’s how to handle each step.
Before You Close: Withdraw Funds and Save Records
Kraken will not let you close an account that still holds a balance, so move everything out first. Transfer any cryptocurrency to an external wallet and withdraw any fiat currency to your linked bank account. If you have open orders or staking positions, close those as well.
Once your account is closed, you lose access to your transaction history. That history matters at tax time because the IRS treats cryptocurrency sales, swaps, and certain other transactions as taxable events. To export your records, sign in on the web, click your profile icon in the top right corner, and select “Documents” to open the Document Center. From there, click “New Export” and choose the type of record you need:
- Trades: Detailed execution data for both margin and non-margin trades. You can filter by date range, asset, or trading pair, and export as PDF or CSV.
- Ledger: A full log of deposits, withdrawals, trades, and fees. Same filtering and format options as trades.
- Account statement: A summary for a specific date range and currency, exported as a PDF.
- Balances: A snapshot of your holdings on a particular date, available as PDF or CSV.
Export requests can take anywhere from a few minutes to about a week to process, and the finished files are only available for download for 14 days. Generate your exports well before you plan to close the account, and save copies somewhere safe like a cloud drive or external hard drive.
One more thing: if you have any active subscriptions billed through the Apple App Store or Google Play Store, closing your Kraken account does not cancel them. Go into your app store’s subscription settings and cancel manually, or you’ll keep getting charged.
How to Close Your Account on the Web
Sign in to Kraken at kraken.com, then click your account icon in the top right corner and select “Settings.” Scroll all the way to the bottom of the settings page, where you’ll see a “Close account” option. Click it, review the information Kraken shows you about what closure means, and click “Continue” if you’re ready to proceed. You’ll be asked to select one or more reasons for leaving. After that, click “Continue” one more time, then confirm by clicking “Yes, close my account.” You’ll be logged out of all devices immediately.
The process is nearly identical on Kraken Pro’s web interface. Go to Settings from your account icon, scroll to the bottom, and follow the same confirmation steps.
How to Close Your Account in the App
In the standard Kraken app, tap your account icon in the top left corner, then tap “Account details.” Scroll to the bottom of that screen and tap “Close account.” Review the information, tap “Continue,” select your reasons for closing, tap “Continue” again, and confirm with “Yes, close my account.”
In the Kraken Pro app, the flow is the same except your account icon is in the top right corner instead of the top left. Tap it, go to “Account details,” and follow the closure prompts from there.
What Happens to Your Data After Closure
Closing your account removes your ability to sign in, trade, or view your history. It does not erase all of your personal information from Kraken’s systems. Under anti-money laundering regulations, Kraken is required to retain identity verification records and transaction data for at least five years after the business relationship ends. That includes copies of the documents you submitted during identity verification, records of your transactions, and details of your relationship with the platform. Kraken notes that data may be kept even longer than five years if legal, regulatory, or technical requirements prevent deletion.
If you’re closing your account specifically for privacy reasons, this is worth knowing. Your trading history and personal identification records will remain in Kraken’s systems for years regardless of whether your account is active.
Can You Reopen a Closed Account?
Kraken treats account closure as permanent. If you think there’s a chance you’ll want to use the platform again, consider simply withdrawing your funds and leaving the account open but empty rather than closing it entirely. There’s no fee for maintaining a zero-balance account, and it saves you the hassle of going through identity verification again on a new account later.