Quick answer
For most Estonian private limited companies (OÜ), Kraken is the practical choice. It opens business accounts for EU companies online, with a standard review of five business days, and the company can then buy, hold and sell crypto and withdraw euros to its own bank account. Coinbase is also licensed in the EU, but its account for small businesses, Coinbase Business, is open only to companies from the US and Singapore.
Many founders want crypto to sit with their Estonian company rather than with them personally, either as company reserves or as payment from clients. The two crypto exchanges they usually think of first are Coinbase and Kraken.
For a private person, choosing between them is mostly about fees and the app. For a company the first question is more basic: which of the two will open an account for an OÜ at all. This Coinbase vs Kraken comparison answers it, then covers the Kraken business account, its costs and the tax side.
Both Exchanges Are Licensed in the EU
Under MiCA, the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation, a licence from a single EU country lets an exchange serve clients across the EU. Coinbase received its MiCA licence from Luxembourg’s financial regulator, the CSSF. Its licensed company, Coinbase Luxembourg S.A., is on the Estonian Financial Supervision and Resolution Authority’s list of providers serving Estonia. Kraken serves the EU through Payward Europe Solutions Limited, which holds a MiCA licence from the Central Bank of Ireland.
Both therefore work under the same rules, which our guide to the MiCA regulation explains, and the difference lies in what each exchange offers companies.
Coinbase vs Kraken for an Estonian OÜ at a Glance
| Kraken | Coinbase | |
|---|---|---|
| Account for a small EU company | Yes, a business account | No, Coinbase Business is for US and Singapore companies only |
| Platform for large clients | OTC desk for business accounts | Coinbase Prime, for funds and large corporate treasuries |
| How to apply | Online; standard review takes five business days | Prime: institutional application reviewed case by case |
| Buy, hold and sell crypto | Yes | Only through Prime |
| Checkout for accepting crypto from customers | No | Coinbase Commerce closed outside the US and Singapore |
| Euro transfers | SEPA bank transfers, to and from the company’s own account | Only through Prime |
| Trading fees for small volumes | 1% in the app; on Kraken Pro up to 0.40% (maker) and 0.80% (taker) | Agreed individually on Prime |
In practice, an OÜ that wants to buy and keep crypto opens a Kraken business account, because Coinbase offers companies in the EU only its institutional platform.
What Coinbase Offers Companies in the EU
Coinbase Business is Coinbase’s all-in-one account for startups and small businesses, with trading, payment links and invoices. Coinbase states that it is available in the US and Singapore and plans to expand to more markets. Companies elsewhere can only join a waitlist, so an Estonian OÜ cannot open a Coinbase Business account. Coinbase Commerce, the checkout many online shops used to accept crypto, closed on 31 March 2026 for merchants outside the US and Singapore.
What remains is Coinbase’s institutional offering, mainly Coinbase Prime, the platform for funds and corporate treasuries. It accepts companies from most countries, but onboarding is an institutional application and pricing is agreed individually, so it suits a company with large crypto reserves far better than a small OÜ.
Some founders try a shortcut and buy crypto for the company through their personal Coinbase account. Under Coinbase’s user agreement a personal account is for your own use only, and crypto bought in your name is your asset, so the accountant cannot put it on the company’s books.
How to Open a Kraken Business Account for an Estonian Company
A Kraken business account is held in the company’s name and gives access to Kraken Pro, the advanced trading platform, along with individually set deposit and withdrawal limits and an OTC desk for large trades. The company must already be in the Estonian Commercial Register, and it does not matter how it got there: online with e-Residency or through a notary.
It also needs a business bank account in its own name, because Kraken accepts and sends bank transfers only through such an account; crypto, likewise, may move only to and from wallets the company owns. Tell the bank or payment institution that the company plans to buy crypto, as some restrict transfers to exchanges. If you have not chosen a provider yet, see where to open an account for an Estonian company.
- Sign up on Kraken, choose the Business tab and set up two-factor authentication.
- Under Verify identity, enter the company details exactly as they appear in the Commercial Register, plus the address where the business is run.
- Name the beneficial owners, the people who ultimately own or control the company, and everyone who will use the account; each of them passes an identity check.
- Answer the anti-money laundering questionnaire, explain where the company’s money comes from, upload the documents and submit the application.
Documents Kraken Asks For
Kraken asks for a formation document, a share registry showing the shareholders and their stakes, and an ownership chart if another company owns yours. For an Estonian OÜ the first two usually come from one place: the registry card, an extract from the Commercial Register that lists the shareholders and is available in English. If Kraken wants a signed document confirming who owns and runs the company, a certificate of incumbency covers it.
Kraken also requires an LEI, a 20-character Legal Entity Identifier, from every company based in the EEA, so get the code before you apply: the review starts only when every document is in. Our guide to LEI registration in Estonia explains how to get one.
Other providers ask for the code too. In our practice, crypto exchanges have asked client companies for an LEI when they opened a corporate account, and one bank restricted a client’s crypto trades until the company obtained a code. Revolut Business also asks for an LEI before a company can buy crypto.
The document most likely to slow things down is the proof of business operating address. Kraken wants a business bank statement, utility bill, lease or similar document in the company’s name, issued within the last three months and showing the address you gave as the operating address. A recent statement from the company’s bank account is usually the quickest option, and our guide to proof of address for an Estonian company lists the others.
Kraken Business Account Fees
A business account pays the same trading fees as a personal one. Euro deposits by SEPA, the standard euro transfer within Europe, are free, and a SEPA withdrawal costs about €1. The simple Kraken app charges 1% on instant purchases, and the price may also include a small markup. Kraken Pro charges a maker fee of 0.40% on limit orders that wait in the order book for your price and a taker fee of 0.80% on orders filled at once. Both fall as the company’s trading volume or balance on Kraken grows, as the fee tier rules explain. A company that buys regularly can also save by placing limit orders.
Fees change
Fees and conditions are taken from Kraken’s and Coinbase’s public pages in November 2026. Check the current figures in your account before you trade.
Accepting Crypto Payments From Your Customers
Neither exchange gives an Estonian company a checkout for its website. Kraken Pay sends money to other people by username or payment link rather than taking payments in an online shop. As an alternative to Coinbase Commerce, a company that wants to be paid in crypto usually signs up with a specialised crypto payment gateway, which takes the customer’s payment and settles it to the company. If the gateway pays out in crypto, the company can convert it on its Kraken account and send euros to the bank. Before choosing a gateway, check that it appears in the EU register of MiCA-licensed providers.
Accepting crypto as payment for your own goods or services needs no licence. A licence is needed to exchange crypto with clients or to hold or transfer it for them, because these are crypto-asset services under MiCA. Kraken’s application also asks whether the company resells crypto to third parties. If that is your plan, read our guide to crypto-asset service providers.
Crypto in the Company’s Taxes and Accounting
An Estonian company pays no corporate income tax on crypto gains while it keeps them, because Estonia taxes profit only when it is distributed, as our article on corporate income tax in Estonia explains. Under the EU’s DAC8 rules, however, crypto platforms have been collecting data on their customers, companies included, since 1 January 2026, and the first reports to tax authorities are due in 2027.
Crypto on the company’s Kraken account belongs to the company, so pay yourself from the company’s bank account as a salary, board member fee or dividend, never straight from the exchange. When larger sums arrive from Kraken, the bank may ask where they came from, so keep the exchange statements to answer that.
Estonian accounting rules have no dedicated standard for crypto, only general guidance from the Accounting Standards Board, so the accountant chooses how to value the holdings and needs the exchange statements every month. Our article on investing in crypto through an Estonian company covers the tax and bookkeeping side in more detail.
How Eesti Firma Helps
We register Estonian companies for founders from abroad and prepare what exchanges ask for, from company documents such as certificates of incumbency to LEI codes. Our crypto accounting team keeps the books of companies that hold crypto or trade on exchanges, and if your plans go beyond the company’s own funds, we also help with the MiCA licence.
If you are setting up an Estonian company that will hold or receive crypto, send us a short description of the business and we will suggest the next steps.
Frequently Asked Questions
Not a small-business one, because Coinbase Business is open only to companies in the US and Singapore. An Estonian OÜ can apply for Coinbase Prime, the institutional platform built for funds and companies with large crypto balances.
Yes, the company can apply wherever its owners live, unless an owner’s country falls under Kraken’s geographic restrictions. It also needs an LEI and a bank account in its own name for euro transfers.
Five business days is the standard, but review starts only once every document is in and can take a week or more if Kraken asks for extra documents. Exact Commercial Register details, a ready LEI and a recent proof of address help avoid follow-up requests.
No. Kraken does not convert verified personal accounts, and money cannot be moved between a personal and a business account, so the company needs its own account opened under the Business tab.
Not while it keeps them. Estonia charges corporate income tax only when profit leaves the company, for example as dividends, so crypto gains held in the company are not taxed until then.
