Kraken

Kraken records trade execution separately from changes to account balances

Kraken spot trades can be reconciled by comparing execution records with ledger entries for each affected currency balance. Trades history supplies prices, quantities and execution costs. Ledger history shows the actual debits, credits and fees, so both views explain why a completed trade changed the balances.

Last updated · 7th Oct 2026

Execution price, volume and cost use different units

A spot execution record expresses price and cost in the quote currency, with volume in the base currency. The base currency is the asset being bought or sold, and the quote currency measures its exchange value. Price therefore means quote units per base unit, while volume means base units exchanged. Multiplying these values gives gross execution cost. For a purchase, that cost represents quote currency exchanged for the asset. For a sale, it represents quote currency proceeds before fees.

The cost field excludes trading fees. Treating it as the commission confuses the exchange value with Kraken’s charge.

Execution price belongs to the recorded fill, while a later portfolio valuation uses prices from another moment. Even when both figures use the same quote currency, they describe different events. A changing valuation alone does not establish another ledger debit or credit.

Order IDs and ledger references connect the records

Identifiers connect executions with balance entries without assuming that nearby timestamps describe the same event. In a Trades export, txid identifies an execution. Executions belonging to the same order share an ordertxid. A ledger row uses txid to identify its individual posting and refid to connect that posting with the underlying transaction, which allows related currency entries to be matched without confusing them with separate executions or orders. The ledgers field supplies associated ledger IDs when included in trade data.

An order’s total executed volume and cost come from its fill rows. Dividing total execution cost by total executed volume gives the volume-weighted price before fees. An unweighted average gives small and large fills equal influence. Grouping by order ID summarizes execution activity, but an unfilled remainder adds no executed quantity to those totals.

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Why does the balance change differ from trade cost?

Ledger entries record the transaction amount and fee separately, so a purchase’s balance debit can exceed its trade cost. Each row concerns one asset, with separate amount and fee fields that record the debit or credit and the corresponding charge. A fee charged in quote currency increases the quote outflow from an unleveraged purchase. A base-currency fee reduces the net base-asset credit below the gross executed volume.

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The fee in Trades history is a quote-currency estimate, even when the actual deduction uses base currency. Comparing raw fee numbers across currencies therefore gives a misleading result. The ledger identifies the actual fee asset and amount. A quote-currency fee value cannot be subtracted directly from a base-asset balance without accounting for the different units.

Fee currency selection is a preference that the exchange may not honor. Only certain pairs allow base-currency fee selection, and available balances can affect the deduction. The preference entered with the order does not establish which asset actually paid the fee.

Ledger balances reconstruct the account over time

Ledger history provides a running balance for each asset after the recorded transaction has affected that asset. Using the signed amount, the relationship is new balance = old balance + amount - fee. A ledger balance already includes the deduction of that entry’s fee. Subtracting the fee again from that balance would count it twice. Across a reporting period, opening balance plus all signed amounts minus fees gives closing balance. Deposits, withdrawals and internal transfers can change balances without adding spot executions.

A historical balance comes from the last posting for that asset before the chosen cutoff. No transaction on the reporting date is necessary. A Balances export supplies a snapshot for a chosen date, whereas matched Trades and Ledgers exports cover a date range and retain the execution and posting details that explain movements during the period. Asset filters and omitted columns can hide part of that relationship. Full ledger exports reveal balances and dated activity, so share only the entries needed to discuss a discrepancy.

Purchase methods and margin use change the records

An app purchase and an order book execution can change balances without appearing in the same Trades export. Purchases through the Kraken app or Buy Crypto widget appear in Ledger history. Their spend entries record assets debited, and their receive entries record assets credited. These entries should not be treated as missing order book executions merely because the Trades export lacks a matching row. Their balance changes still belong in an account reconciliation.

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Kraken provides the funds for an opening spot trade on margin, so execution cost is not deducted from your account balance. The margin field records the margin used in quote currency; zero denotes a non-margin trade. The trading fee’s currency preference does not apply to margin opening or rollover fees, so a reconciliation that groups every position charge under the ordinary trading fee would misstate which amounts belong to each charge.

Associated ledger IDs connect rollover charges with the trade that opened the margin position. Margin ledger amounts record profit or loss when all or part of a position closes; the amount is zero at opening. The opening entry’s fee field combines trading and margin opening fees, while rollover fees have separate entries.