TL;DR:
The exchange Kraken formalized its liquidity provider program with a five-tier structure spanning three product verticals: Spot, Futures, and xStocks. The system replaces the traditional fixed notional volume logic with a relative participation-based scheme, a significant methodological shift for the institutional market making industry.
The core of the program is the Maker Contribution Share (MCS): the percentage of the exchange’s total maker volume that each participant represents, measured over a 30-day rolling window. A mid-sized trader active in a less liquid market can reach a threshold below 1% of participation and access a meaningful tier without needing to match the flow of the largest players in the market.
Rebates improve at each step of the ladder: up to -0.005% on Spot, -0.006% on Futures, and -0.020% on xStocks at the highest tier. Qualification operates independently by product: reaching the threshold in Futures grants the corresponding tier even if Spot activity is low, and vice versa. All three markets feed into a single tier progression, with no separate ladders per vertical.
Kraken’s program incorporates three tolerance mechanisms. At launch, the initial classification is calculated based on total historical volume, not the 30-day rolling window, granting two months of grace for prospective participants to stabilize their position. Additionally, two performance exceptions per calendar year are allowed: requested before the end of the period, the exception extends the evaluation by 30 additional days and preserves the tier without penalty.
From the third tier onward, participants can access institutional credit lines, a benefit that most competitor programs do not integrate directly into the tier structure. The specific terms are negotiated bilaterally with Kraken‘s institutional team, but require no separate arrangements: access derives automatically from the tier reached.
New applicants can request a one-week trial at LP 3 before committing to the formal ladder. Performance during that period determines the actual entry tier, with no long-term lock-ins or additional complexity. Kraken noted that it has operated in the market for 15 years and that the program does not respond to a promotional cycle, but rather to a structural incentive policy for deep and consistent liquidity provision.
