Eligibility criteria

The list sits in the terms of service you accept at signup, not in the signup form. Kraken's Global Terms of Service, last updated 4 September 2026, set out seven conditions and then reserve the right to refuse you even when you meet all of them. Read the conditions before you upload a passport, because failing one is a refusal that no amount of verification can fix.

How it works

Eligibility criteria are written as a short checklist, and only one line of it is about geography.

Kraken's Global Terms open with a section headed "Eligibility; Account" and set out seven Conditions: be old enough to form a binding contract where you live, which the terms put at 18 in the United States; be a duly organised entity if you sign up as one; hold a current email address, mobile number and street address; have full power and authority to sign; not have been restricted from the service before; not be resident in a sanctioned or embargoed jurisdiction, of which nine are named as examples; and not appear on a US Treasury, Commerce Department, United Nations or regional watchlist.

Two clauses at the close do more work than the bullets. The first says extra local requirements can apply "whether notice has been provided or not". The second is blunt: "Even if you meet the Conditions, we may, in our sole discretion, determine that you are not eligible to have an account or use the services." Passing the checklist buys permission, never entitlement.

Which checklist applies depends on where you live. Kraken publishes four separate agreements, a Global one plus dedicated versions for Canada, Brazil and the 30 countries of the European Economic Area. Bitstamp splits by legal entity instead, with seven documents covering six of them: Bitstamp Ltd, Europe S.A., USA Inc., Global Ltd, UK Ltd and Asia SG, plus a second UK Ltd version for the Robinhood app. Their conditions differ: section 4.1 of the USA Inc. terms requires you to be at least 18 and to "reside in the United States or U.S. territories", a residence test none of the other six carries.

Where you see it

Eligibility criteria surface as a rejected signup, a feature you cannot switch on, or a clause you read only after something has gone wrong.

Account eligibility and product eligibility are different tests filed under one heading. Bitstamp's Terms of Use for Bitstamp Ltd say only that some functions may be unavailable "depending on your country of residence", and name exactly one country as closed: residents of Canada have not been permitted to open new accounts since March 24, 2023. Its support article on card purchases then names 55 further countries and territories beyond the EU and most US states, and ends on the line that catches people out: card purchases are only available for personal accounts.

The app adds a third layer. Bitstamp lists its Robinhood-branded app as available in 63 countries and territories on iOS and 141 on Android, and the two lists disagree over Indonesia and Montenegro. A download you cannot get is not an account you cannot open.

That is why an exchange record here carries only the countries an operator writes down: 12 for Kraken, 2 for Bitstamp. The conditions behind those lists refuse far more accounts than the lists do.

Eligibility criteria vs Prohibited jurisdiction

A prohibited jurisdiction is a place an operator names as closed, while eligibility criteria are the full set of tests that closure is one line of. Live somewhere no exchange has ever listed and you can still fail. An applicant Kraken has restricted before fails its condition on prior restriction wherever they now live, and a business signing up on a personal Bitstamp account fails section 4.3 of its US terms with no country involved.

Reading only the country list tells you where the door is bolted, not who it opens for, and the discretion clause means the operator never has to explain.