Bitfinex vs Kraken: Revenue, Profit and Business Model
Bitfinex had $63.5M (unaudited) of annual revenue in FY2023. Kraken had $2.2B of annual revenue in FY2025.
Latest financial snapshot
Financial summary
Bitfinex
Bitfinex does not publish audited accounts, so hard numbers are rare. The best-known disclosure came in May 2019, when it reported 2017 gross profit of $333.5 million, net profit of $326 million and $246 million in dividends, according to Bloomberg. That year iFinex also raised $1 billion selling LEO tokens after about $850 million held by payment processor Crypto Capital was frozen. In December 2025 the exchange said it had been consistently profitable for many years when it removed trading fees. The largest swing factor is the 94,643 BTC seized by US authorities from the 2016 hacker: January 2025 court filings supported returning it to Bitfinex in kind, and under the LEO white paper at least 80% of net recovered funds, after Recovery Right Token holders are paid, go to LEO buybacks within 18 months. Bitfinex operates as a highly lucrative but privately held cryptocurrency exchange, handling billions in daily trading volume.
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. Kraken is one of the world's oldest and largest cryptocurrency exchanges, achieving a massive private market valuation estimated at over $10 billion.
Revenue and profit by year
Bitfinex
| Year | Revenue | Net income | Margin | Growth | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2023 (unaudited) | $63.5M | — | — | — | Source |
Kraken
| Year | Revenue | Net income | Margin | Growth | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $2.2B | — | — | +46.7% | Source |
| FY2024 | $1.5B | — | — | +123.5% | Source |
| FY2023 | $671M | — | — | — | Source |
Where the revenue comes from
Bitfinex
- Margin funding
Not formally reported
Users lend USD, USDT, BTC and other assets to leveraged traders, and Bitfinex keeps 15% of the interest that lenders earn. Trading itself is free: on 17 December 2025 Bitfinex set maker and taker fees to zero on spot, margin, perpetual derivatives, securities and OTC trading.
- Derivatives funding and transfer fees
Not formally reported
Derivatives funding plus deposit and withdrawal fees.
- Bitfinex Securities
Not formally reported
Fees for issuing tokenized securities on the platform.
Kraken
- Transaction Fees
~47% of 2025 adjusted revenue
Maker-taker fees on Kraken Pro and spreads on simple retail purchases.
- Derivatives
Not formally reported
Crypto futures through Kraken Futures, plus US futures and options through NinjaTrader and Bitnomial.
- Asset-Based Income
Not formally reported
Staking commissions, interest and financing on customer balances, and custody fees on about $40-50 billion of platform assets.
- Institutional and B2B Services
Not formally reported
OTC block trading, prime services and infrastructure that partner firms build on via APIs.
Business model and strategy
Bitfinex
How it makes money
Bitfinex earns money from the services around trading rather than from trades themselves. On 17 December 2025 it set maker and taker fees to zero on spot, margin, perpetual derivatives, Bitfinex Securities and OTC trading.
Growth strategy
Bitfinex is growing through licences in friendly jurisdictions and through price. It moved its derivatives arm from the Seychelles to El Salvador in January 2025, added a licence for the main exchange in May 2026, and uses Bitfinex Securities to list tokenised bonds and equities. In Latin America it invested in Chilean exchange Orionx in 2023 and launched peer-to-peer trading in Venezuela, Argentina and Colombia.
Competitive advantage
Bitfinex's edge is depth and longevity. It has run continuously since 2012, lists more than 250 spot pairs and over 60 perpetual contracts, and operates one of the best-known peer-to-peer margin funding books in crypto, which keeps lender capital parked on the platform.
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
Kraken has grown beyond spot crypto trading into derivatives, through Kraken Futures and US futures and options via NinjaTrader and Bitnomial, and into services for institutions such as OTC trading, prime services and API infrastructure. It has also pursued regulatory licences in Europe so that it can operate there as a regulated financial institution.
Competitive advantage
Kraken's advantage is its reputation for security. In an industry with a history of exchange hacks and fraud, Kraken has built a long record without a major security breach, and its co-founder Jesse Powell made security a priority from the start. That record matters to institutional investors, who look for trusted infrastructure when they place large orders.
Questions about Bitfinex vs Kraken
Which company has higher revenue — Bitfinex or Kraken?
Bitfinex had $63.5M (unaudited) (FY2023), while Kraken had $2.2B (FY2025). By latest annual revenue, Kraken is the larger business, with Bitfinex showing a smaller revenue base. Note: these are from different fiscal years and are not a direct like-for-like comparison.
How does revenue per employee compare for Bitfinex and Kraken?
Bitfinex has $159k / employee in revenue per employee, while Kraken has $846k / employee. Headcounts may use different dates, so the ratio alone does not establish which business operates more efficiently.
How do Bitfinex and Kraken make money?
Bitfinex and Kraken generate revenue in fundamentally different ways. Bitfinex: Bitfinex earns money from the services around trading rather than from trades themselves. Kraken: Kraken earns money in four main ways.
Is Bitfinex bigger than Kraken?
By last reported revenue, Kraken ($2.2B (FY2025)) is the larger company compared to Bitfinex ($63.5M (unaudited) (FY2023)). 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 Bitfinex vs Kraken overview