Kraken will replace 176 crypto trading pairs with synthetic markets and cancel outstanding orders in the affected markets between Nov. 6 and Nov. 9. The new markets charge taker fees on every transaction, including limit orders, and drop partial fills and post-only orders.
Kraken will replace 176 cryptocurrency trading pairs with synthetic markets, eliminating maker-fee eligibility and forcing the cancellation of outstanding orders.
The exchange said in an Oct. 27 notice that affected markets will enter cancel-only mode on Nov. 6 at 14:00 UTC, which prevents customers from submitting new orders. Existing orders will be canceled and the native markets removed between Nov. 6 and Nov. 9.
Which pairs change and when replacements arrive
Replacement markets are scheduled to become available by the end of Nov. 9. However, customers must submit fresh orders because existing instructions will not transfer.
The changes affect pairs including BTC/DAI, ETH/JPY, AAVE/BTC, ADA/AUD and SHIB/USDT. Kraken said the underlying cryptocurrencies will remain available on its platform. Customer balances and margin trading pairs will be unaffected, it said.
Synthetic markets charge taker fees on every trade
Under Kraken's synthetic trading model, orders execute through two underlying markets that share a common currency, typically the US dollar. Both transactions complete simultaneously in its matching engine. A customer exchanging Solana for Dogecoin, for example, can have the transaction routed through SOL/USD and DOGE/USD, and Kraken combines the execution into a single trade with one consolidated fee.
On traditional order books, customers can qualify for maker pricing when their orders remain available for other traders to execute against. Kraken's synthetic markets instead charge taker fees on every transaction, including limit orders.
Synthetic limit orders will remain available, but they will execute only when the underlying markets offer sufficient liquidity at the customer's specified price or better. The new markets also eliminate partial fills and several advanced trading instructions, including post-only orders and time-in-force settings.
Kraken points to tighter spreads
Those restrictions affect trading strategies that depend on providing liquidity, managing partially executed positions or maintaining orders at specific points in the order book.
Kraken said its synthetic model could offer tighter spreads than native markets with limited liquidity because execution draws from deeper underlying order books. Customers also pay one taker fee rather than the separate fees associated with completing two trades manually.
The exchange already offers more than 10,000 synthetic pairs through Kraken Pro, and the affected markets will join that existing system rather than operate through independent order books.
Source: CryptoSlate
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