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What is the Bitcoin (BTC) Vault on Kraken
Last updated: 3 ліпеня 2026 г.
Kraken's Bitcoin Vault lets you earn rewards on your Bitcoin directly from your Kraken account. Your BTC is allocated to onchain lending markets through a non-custodial embedded wallet, and rewards accrue automatically over time. You can withdraw your BTC any time with a 3-day wait time.
Like other vaults, your assets are held in a self-custodial embedded wallet and allocated to decentralized protocols. The key difference is that the BTC Vault is purpose-built for Bitcoin, so your rewards are paid in Bitcoin and you stay fully exposed to Bitcoin price movement.
How the BTC Vault works
When you allocate BTC to the vault, it is wrapped to kBTC and sent to your embedded wallet on the Ink network. From there, it is deposited into a Veda vault managed by the vault's risk manager, Sentora.
Next, the kBTC is supplied as collateral to a lending protocol and stablecoins are borrowed against it. These stablecoins are deployed into reward-generating DeFi strategies. Rewards are converted to kBTC and re-deployed so that they auto-compound.
When you allocate, kBTC is unwrapped back into BTC and returned to your Kraken account.
All of this happens behind the scenes so you do not need to worry about onchain complexity. In the Kraken interface, you simply see your BTC balance grow.
Allocation instructions
On the Home screen, navigate to the Earn page and find Bitcoin. You can also go to Portfolio, find BTC, and tap Allocate.
If a strategy picker appears, select Advanced Strategies.
If it's your first time, read through the informational pages to better understand the Bitcoin Vault, then tap Continue.
On the "Earn on BTC" screen, enter the amount you want to allocate. The minimum is 0.00006 BTC. Then tap Review.
Review the earning rate, wait times, and estimated annual earnings. If everything is to your satisfaction, tap Confirm.
Complete the Privy OTP email verification if required.
You will see a success screen confirming your allocation.
On the Home screen, navigate to the Earn page and find Bitcoin. You can also go to Portfolio, find BTC, and tap Allocate BTC.
If a strategy picker appears, select Advanced Strategies, then tap Continue.
If it's your first time, read through the informational pages to better understand the Bitcoin Vault, then tap Continue.
On the "Earn on BTC" screen, enter the amount you want to allocate. The minimum is 0.00006 BTC. Then tap Review.
Review the earning rate, wait times, and estimated annual earnings. If everything is to your satisfaction, tap Confirm.
Complete the Privy OTP email verification if required.
You will see a success screen confirming your allocation.
Sign in to your Kraken account.
Go to the Earn page.
Find Bitcoin in the "Ready to earn" table.
If a strategy picker appears, select Advanced strategies.
On the "Earn on Bitcoin" screen, enter the amount of BTC you want to allocate. You can enter in USD or switch to BTC. The minimum is 0.00006 BTC. Use the quick-select buttons (25%, 50%, 75%, Max) or type a custom amount.
Review the details shown including the earning rate (APY), deallocation wait time, and estimated earnings.
Click Review.
Review the earning rate, wait times, and estimated annual earnings. If everything is to your satisfaction, click Confirm.
Complete the Privy OTP email verification if required
Once processed, you will see a success screen showing your allocated BTC amount and the message "Allocation initiated."
Sign in to your Kraken account.
Go to the Earn page.
Click BTC in the "Ready to earn" asset table, or use the "For you" section. You can also access the allocation flow from Portfolio by selecting BTC and choosing Allocate.
If a strategy picker appears, select Advanced strategies.
On the "Earn on Bitcoin" screen, enter the amount of BTC you want to allocate. You can enter in USD or switch to BTC. The minimum is 0.00006 BTC. Use the quick-select buttons (25%, 50%, 75%, Max) or type a custom amount.
Review the details shown including the earning rate (APY), deallocation wait time, and estimated earnings.
Click Review.
Review the earning rate, wait times, and estimated annual earnings. If everything is to your satisfaction, click Confirm.
Complete the Privy OTP email verification if required.
Once processed, you will see a success screen showing your allocated BTC amount and the message "Allocation initiated."
Deallocation instructions
Open the Kraken app and go to the Earn page.
Find your allocated BTC and tap it to open the Asset Detail Page.
Tap the Vault, then tap Deallocate.
Enter the amount you want to deallocate.
Tap Review.
On the confirmation screen, verify the details including the wait time.
Tap Confirm.
Complete the Privy OTP email verification if required.
You will see a success screen confirming your deallocation.
Your BTC will be returned to your Kraken balance after the deallocation wait time.
Open the Kraken Pro app and go to the Earn page.
Find your allocated BTC and tap it to open the Asset Detail Page.
Tap the Vault, then tap Deallocate.
Enter the amount you want to deallocate.
Tap Review.
On the confirmation screen, verify the details including the wait time.
Tap Confirm.
Complete the Privy OTP email verification if required.
You will see a success screen confirming your deallocation.
Your BTC will be returned to your Kraken balance after the deallocation wait time.
Sign in to your Kraken account, then go to the Earn page.
Find Bitcoin in your Allocated assets, then click on it.
You will see the Vault allocation here, click the three dots and then click Deallocate.
Enter the amount you want to deallocate. You can enter in USD or BTC.
Click Review.
On the confirmation screen, verify the deallocation amount, vault, earning rate, amount, and wait time.
Click Confirm.
Complete the Privy OTP email verification if required.
You will see a success screen with the message "Deallocation initiated."
Your BTC will be returned to your Kraken balance after the deallocation wait time.
Sign in to Kraken Pro, then go to the Earn page.
Find Bitcoin in your Allocated assets, then click on it.
A panel on the right side will appear, where you will see the Vault allocation, click the three dots and then click Deallocate.
Enter the amount you want to deallocate. You can enter in USD or BTC.
Click Review.
On the confirmation screen, verify the deallocation amount, vault, earning rate, amount, and wait time.
Click Confirm.
Complete the Privy OTP email verification if required.
You will see a success screen with the message "Deallocation initiated."
Your BTC will be returned to your Kraken balance after the deallocation wait time.
Additional Information
Rewards accrue continuously and are auto-compounded into your vault balance. You do not need to claim them manually. There are no reward transactions associated with them, your balance simply grows. Note that vault rewards are not guaranteed and can change until you deallocate.
You can track your lifetime earnings in the "Lifetime Earnings" section of the Earn page.
Earning rates are variable and depend on borrowing demand in the underlying lending markets. The APY displayed is the trailing 7-day average and may change over time.
Note: During the initial launch period of the BTC Vault, the displayed APY is a fixed estimate of 2.0% net of fees.
There is a 25% performance fee on vault earnings, applied at the protocol level. There are no fees to allocate or deallocate, and no gas fees for deposits or withdrawals on the Ink network. The APY you see is net of fees.
The BTC Vault uses well established protocols and infrastructure that have been widely tested in the market. However, as with any onchain strategy, there are important risks to be aware of.
Smart contract risk: The vault relies on audited and widely used smart contracts. As with any onchain system, there is a possibility of bugs or exploits that could impact funds.
Liquidity risk: In periods of high demand or market stress, withdrawals may be delayed if liquidity is not immediately available. Funds generally remain in the vault and continue earning until liquidity returns.
Bad debt and market risk: The strategy relies on overcollateralized lending. In extreme market conditions, rapid price movements can lead to losses that may reduce your vault balance, including your initial deposit. Any resulting losses are shared proportionally across vault users.
Liquidation risk: The BTC Vault relies on borrowing stablecoins against BTC collateral. If the value of BTC collateral declines significantly or withdrawal demand increases sharply, positions may need to be closed quickly. Any resulting losses are shared proportionally across vault users.
Cross chain execution risk: The vault moves assets across blockchains. Delays or issues with these transfers can slow withdrawals or position adjustments, which may increase exposure to changing market conditions.
Leverage risk: The vault uses leverage by borrowing against BTC collateral to increase exposure. While this can enhance returns, it also increases sensitivity to market movements, meaning losses can be amplified during periods of volatility.
Downstream asset exposure: The vault's strategy may involve assets beyond what you deposit, including wrapped or synthetic tokens (e.g., WBTC) and stablecoins. These carry their own risks, such as loss of peg or custodian failure.
The rewards you earn can change over time, and there's a chance you could lose some or all of your deposit. Vaults aren't part of any government or bank protection program, so they don't come with the same safety nets as traditional savings accounts.
When you use the Bitcoin Vault, you're taking on market and protocol risk, meaning the value of assets or the systems involved could change or fail.
Frequently asked questions
The Bitcoin Vault allocates your BTC to decentralized lending markets to earn yield. Staking involves participating in proof-of-stake network validation. These are separate strategies with different risk profiles and reward mechanisms.
No. Kraken automatically creates a non-custodial embedded wallet for you when you make your first DeFi Earn allocation. You do not need to manage seed phrases, download wallet apps, or interact with any external tools.
Yes. All rewards are denominated in Bitcoin and auto-compounded into your vault balance.
You use the same embedded wallet for all DeFi Earn allocations. Your BTC and USDC positions are tracked separately, and you can manage them independently.
The vault is managed by Sentora as the risk manager and administered by Veda. Kraken provides access to the vault but does not control the vault strategy or manage the underlying protocols.
Yes. You can export your embedded wallet's private key at any time through Earn Settings. This is a permanent and irreversible action. For more information, see here.
BTC Vaults are not available in the UK, Australia, and UAE.