Kraken has announced a High-Touch VIP Program targeting ultra high net worth clients, positioning the exchange to offer bespoke services for large accounts.
High-Touch VIP Program: what is known and what is missing
The title indicates Kraken intends a dedicated service tier for ultra high net worth clients, but the published material accessible to this report lacked substantive operational detail. Eligibility thresholds, custody and settlement arrangements, fee structure, and explicit onboarding or KYC procedures were not available from the retrieved source, and these omissions hinder assessment of counterparty and custody risk for large accounts. Technical term — proof-of-reserves: a transparency practice in which an exchange demonstrates custodial holdings against liabilities in a verifiable manner.
Compliance and risk implications for institutional clients
A High-Touch VIP Program typically raises elevated considerations for counterparty risk, segregation of assets, and auditability, yet without program documentation those considerations remain speculative. Institutional managers and compliance teams will need confirmation on whether VIP accounts receive segregated custody, dedicated relationship management, or bespoke settlement windows, and the retrieval error that halted data collection underscores an operational risk: incomplete public disclosure can hinder third‑party validation and increase reliance on private attestations.
- custody model (segregated vs pooled)
- settlement and credit terms
- availability of independent audits or attestations
- legal jurisdiction and regulatory oversight for contractual terms
Kraken’s announced High-Touch VIP Program signals a strategic move toward servicing ultra high net worth clients, but the lack of accessible program documentation prevents assessment of custody controls, counterparty risk, and auditability. For investors and security teams, the next verified milestone is publication of full program terms, accompanying audit reports, or a formal regulatory filing that provides verifiable custody and operational details; related confirmation of proof-of-reserves or an independent attestation would materially reduce uncertainty for institutional counterparties.