How to name beneficiaries and fund a trust at Kraken
Trust paperwork is taken online
Estate planning for your Kraken accounts starts with understanding how each one transfers at death. Beneficiary designations and trust retitling both bypass probate, but the right approach depends on the account type, your tax situation, and how much control you want over distributions.
Kraken offers 9 accounts, each with its own transfer rules. The sections below cover how to set up beneficiaries, fund a trust, and which products support each approach.
Beneficiary designation is not available for investment accounts at Kraken.
- Corporate Formation Document: for a trust this is the trust deed or trust agreement
- Company Share Registry indicating the ownership or beneficial-owner structure
- Organizational Chart displaying ownership structure, if the entity is owned by another entity
- Proof of Business Operating Address dated within the last three months and showing the entity name: bank statement, credit card statement, lease agreement, utility bill or title deed
- Kraken does not accept P.O. Box addresses from any country
- For every beneficial owner and account accessor: Government Issued ID, Proof of Residence, and a Face Photo (South African and US clients)
- Full legal name of the trust
- Date the trust was established
- Full legal name of each trustee
- Full legal name of the beneficiaries
- Signature of the grantor and trustee; Kraken states both must have signed
- State under which the trust is established
- Bank deposits and withdrawals can only be transferred to and from a business bank account registered under the same business name
- Crypto deposits and withdrawals must be from a business-owned wallet, not a third-party wallet
- Funds cannot be transferred between a Kraken business account and a Kraken personal account
Required Documents
- Trust deed or trust agreement, or a certificate of trust. Kraken's Corporate Formation Document for a trust. Either is taken; Kraken says trustees often prefer a certificate because the full document may contain sensitive personal information about beneficiaries
- Amended or restated trust agreement (where applicable)
- General business information. Entity name, registration number, registration date, registered and operating address
- Company Share Registry. Indicating the ownership or beneficial-owner structure
- Organizational Chart (if the trust is owned by another entity). Displaying the ownership structure
- Proof of Business Operating Address. Dated within the last three months and showing the entity name: a bank statement, credit card statement, lease agreement, utility bill or title deed. Kraken does not accept post office box addresses from any country
- Government Issued ID (for every trustee, beneficial owner and account accessor)
- Proof of Residence (for every trustee, beneficial owner and account accessor)
- Face Photo (for US and South African clients, for every beneficial owner and account accessor)
What Kraken says about beneficiaries and trusts
Each section is Kraken's own statement, with the document it comes from numbered under Sources.
Which accounts take a beneficiary3
- Crypto account
No POD or TOD beneficiary designation is available on any Kraken individual account. Kraken does not currently offer the option to add a beneficiary or nominee to a spot, margin, futures or staking account.1
Kraken Wallet balances are outside the Kraken account entirely, and no beneficiary can be named on them.1
- Investment account
Kraken does not currently offer the option to add a beneficiary or nominee to an individual equities account.1
- Loan
Kraken does not currently offer the option to add a beneficiary or nominee to a Flexline account.1
Which accounts a trust can hold1
What Kraken says about trust accounts2
- Whether a new account is opened
Trust accounts are opened as business accounts at Kraken, as a new and separate account. Kraken states a verified personal account cannot be converted into a business account, and an application submitted under the wrong type cannot be changed later.2, 3
Kraken states funds cannot be transferred between a Kraken business account and a Kraken personal account.2, 3
- Review of the trust document
Kraken subjects a trust to the same corporate identity verification as any other legal entity. It states that trusts "receive close attention during the onboarding process" and that it is required under FinCEN regulations to identify the trustees who control the trust and the beneficiaries who benefit from it.5
The trust agreement or certificate of trust must carry six items: the full legal name of the trust, the date it was established, the full legal name of each trustee and of the beneficiaries, the signature of the grantor and trustee (both must have signed), and the state under which the trust is established.5
Not in Kraken's published guidance1
- What the owner provides to name a beneficiary
Sources
Data sourced from Kraken primary sources (30 pages reviewed). How we research.
Download these Kraken instructions
Download instructions for the whole estateA printable PDF with the steps, required documents, and contact details — verified against Kraken primary sources. Bring it to the branch or keep it beside the phone.
Kraken estate support
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Estate requests go through general customer service.
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