Binance vs Kraken: Revenue, Profit and Business Model
Binance reported $16B of revenue in FY2025 and — of net income. Kraken reported $2.2B of revenue in FY2025 and — of net income.
Latest financial snapshot
Financial summary
Binance
Binance does not publish audited accounts, so every revenue figure is an outside estimate. Fortune put 2022 revenue at about $12 billion. Bloomberg's billionaires index estimated $9.8 billion for the 12 months to March 2024, using tracked trading volume and published fee rates. In March 2026 Forbes quoted an Artemis analyst estimating $16 billion to $17 billion a year in 2024 and 2025, about two and a half times Coinbase's $6.6 billion. Forbes valued Binance at about $100 billion and estimated CZ's stake at roughly 90%. The only disclosed outside equity investment is MGX's $2 billion minority stake from March 2025, settled in the USD1 stablecoin. The largest known cost was the roughly $4.3 billion US penalty agreed in November 2023.
Kraken
Payward, Kraken's parent, reported adjusted revenue of $2.2 billion in 2025 (up 33%) and adjusted EBITDA of $531 million on $2.0 trillion of platform volume. Growth slowed in 2026: Q2 adjusted revenue rose 17% to $508 million while adjusted EBITDA fell to $23 million as spot volumes dropped.
Revenue and profit by year
Binance
| Year | Revenue | Net income | Margin | Growth | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $16B | — | 0.0% | +0.0% | Source |
| FY2024 | $16B | — | 0.0% | +63.3% | Source |
| FY2023 | $9.8B | — | 0.0% | -18.3% | Source |
| FY2022 | $12B | — | 0.0% | — | Source |
Kraken
| Year | Revenue | Net income | Margin | Growth | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $2.2B | — | 0.0% | +46.7% | Source |
| FY2024 | $1.5B | — | 0.0% | — | Source |
Business model and strategy
Binance
How it makes money
Binance earns most of its money from trading fees. Regular spot traders pay 0.1% per trade, or 25% less when they pay in BNB, and futures fees start at 0.02% for makers and 0.05% for takers, falling for high-volume VIP tiers. Derivatives carry most of the volume, so they carry most of the fee income.
Growth strategy
Under Richard Teng, and since December 2025 co-CEO Yi He, Binance has swapped its old borderless model for licences and a single home regulator. The ADGM authorisation, effective January 5, 2026, puts the main platform under Abu Dhabi's FSRA.
Competitive advantage
Liquidity is the moat. Binance has the most traders, so its order books are the deepest and its spreads the tightest, which draws more traders and market makers. Forbes put its share of global crypto trading at about 38% in early 2026.
Kraken
How it makes money
Kraken earns money in four main ways. 1. Transaction fees: maker-taker fees on Kraken Pro and spreads on simple retail purchases, which made up roughly 47% of 2025 adjusted revenue. 2. Derivatives: crypto futures through Kraken Futures plus US futures and options through NinjaTrader and Bitnomial. 3.
Growth strategy
Facing large regulatory crackdowns in the US (specifically regarding their highly lucrative staking program), Kraken's large growth strategy is aggressive international expansion (specifically Europe) and heavily expanding beyond simple trading into 'Web3' infrastructure. They are aggressively applying for formal banking licenses in Europe to become a fully regulated financial institution.
Competitive advantage
Kraken's absolute competitive advantage is its large, leading reputation for security and its flawless, multi-decade track record. In an industry plagued by catastrophic hacks and large fraud, Kraken has never suffered a large, debilitating security breach. The founder, Jesse Powell, is famously paranoid about security. This large trust moat is highly valuable;
Questions about Binance vs Kraken
Which company has higher revenue — Binance or Kraken?
Binance reported $16.0B (FY2025), while Kraken reported $2.2B (FY2025). By last reported revenue, Binance is the larger business, with Kraken reporting a smaller revenue base.
What is the market cap of Binance vs Kraken?
Kraken has a market capitalisation of $21.0B. A public market cap figure for Binance was not available (it may be privately held).
Which is more financially efficient — Binance or Kraken?
Binance generates $3.20M / employee in revenue per employee, while Kraken generates $846k / employee. Binance shows higher revenue efficiency per headcount, though this reflects business model differences — capital-light software companies routinely outperform labour-intensive manufacturers on this metric.
How do Binance and Kraken make money?
Binance and Kraken generate revenue in fundamentally different ways. Binance: Binance earns most of its money from trading fees. Kraken: Kraken earns money in four main ways.
Is Binance bigger than Kraken?
By last reported revenue, Binance ($16.0B (FY2025)) is the larger company compared to Kraken ($2.2B (FY2025)). Revenue scale is one dimension of size — market capitalisation, employee count, and geographic reach are also relevant depending on the context.
Figures come from each company's filings and the sources linked beside them. Amounts reported in another currency are shown in US dollars at an approximate rate and marked with ~. Back to the Binance vs Kraken overview