diff --git a/swap/src/bin/asb.rs b/swap/src/bin/asb.rs
index df0b7676..a40e46f9 100644
--- a/swap/src/bin/asb.rs
+++ b/swap/src/bin/asb.rs
@@ -92,7 +92,7 @@ async fn main() -> Result<()> {
                 bitcoin_wallet.new_address().await?
             );
 
-            let kraken_rate_updates = kraken::connect().await?;
+            let kraken_rate_updates = kraken::connect()?;
 
             let (event_loop, _) = EventLoop::new(
                 config.network.listen,
diff --git a/swap/src/bin/kraken_ticker.rs b/swap/src/bin/kraken_ticker.rs
index 2dca382a..9c0d3fdd 100644
--- a/swap/src/bin/kraken_ticker.rs
+++ b/swap/src/bin/kraken_ticker.rs
@@ -3,12 +3,10 @@ use anyhow::{Context, Result};
 #[tokio::main]
 async fn main() -> Result<()> {
     tracing::subscriber::set_global_default(
-        tracing_subscriber::fmt().with_env_filter("trace").finish(),
+        tracing_subscriber::fmt().with_env_filter("debug").finish(),
     )?;
 
-    let mut ticker = swap::kraken::connect()
-        .await
-        .context("Failed to connect to kraken")?;
+    let mut ticker = swap::kraken::connect().context("Failed to connect to kraken")?;
 
     loop {
         match ticker.wait_for_update().await? {
diff --git a/swap/src/kraken.rs b/swap/src/kraken.rs
index e15c2f9f..69dc4bb5 100644
--- a/swap/src/kraken.rs
+++ b/swap/src/kraken.rs
@@ -1,93 +1,57 @@
 use crate::asb::Rate;
-use anyhow::Result;
-use bitcoin::util::amount::ParseAmountError;
-use futures::{SinkExt, StreamExt};
-use reqwest::Url;
+use anyhow::{anyhow, Context, Result};
+use futures::{SinkExt, StreamExt, TryStreamExt};
 use serde::{Deserialize, Serialize};
-use serde_json::Value;
-use std::convert::TryFrom;
+use std::convert::{Infallible, TryFrom};
+use std::sync::Arc;
+use std::time::Duration;
 use tokio::sync::watch;
-use tokio_tungstenite::tungstenite;
-use tracing::{error, trace};
 
-pub async fn connect() -> Result<RateUpdateStream> {
-    let (rate_update, rate_update_receiver) = watch::channel(Err(Error::NotYetRetrieved));
-
-    let (rate_stream, _response) =
-        tokio_tungstenite::connect_async(Url::parse(KRAKEN_WS_URL).expect("valid url")).await?;
-
-    let (mut rate_stream_sink, mut rate_stream) = rate_stream.split();
+/// Connect to Kraken websocket API for a constant stream of rate updates.
+///
+/// If the connection fails, it will automatically be re-established.
+pub fn connect() -> Result<RateUpdateStream> {
+    let (rate_update, rate_update_receiver) = watch::channel(Err(Error::NotYetAvailable));
+    let rate_update = Arc::new(rate_update);
 
     tokio::spawn(async move {
-        while let Some(msg) = rate_stream.next().await {
-            let msg = match msg {
-                Ok(tungstenite::Message::Text(msg)) => msg,
-                Ok(tungstenite::Message::Close(close_frame)) => {
-                    if let Some(tungstenite::protocol::CloseFrame { code, reason }) = close_frame {
-                        error!(
-                            "Kraken rate stream was closed with code {} and reason: {}",
-                            code, reason
-                        );
-                    } else {
-                        error!("Kraken rate stream was closed without code and reason");
+        let result = backoff::future::retry_notify::<Infallible, _, _, _, _, _>(
+            backoff::ExponentialBackoff::default(),
+            || {
+                let rate_update = rate_update.clone();
+                async move {
+                    let mut stream = connection::new().await?;
+
+                    while let Some(update) = stream.try_next().await.map_err(to_backoff)? {
+                        let send_result = rate_update.send(Ok(update));
+
+                        if send_result.is_err() {
+                            return Err(backoff::Error::Permanent(anyhow!(
+                                "receiver disconnected"
+                            )));
+                        }
                     }
-                    let _ = rate_update.send(Err(Error::ConnectionClosed));
-                    continue;
-                }
-                Ok(msg) => {
-                    trace!(
-                        "Kraken rate stream returned non text message that will be ignored: {}",
-                        msg
-                    );
-                    continue;
-                }
-                Err(e) => {
-                    error!(%e, "Error when reading from Kraken rate stream");
-                    let _ = rate_update.send(Err(e.into()));
-                    continue;
-                }
-            };
 
-            let update = match serde_json::from_str::<Event>(&msg) {
-                Ok(Event::SystemStatus) => {
-                    tracing::debug!("Connected to Kraken websocket API");
-                    continue;
-                }
-                Ok(Event::SubscriptionStatus) => {
-                    tracing::debug!("Subscribed to updates for ticker");
-                    continue;
+                    Err(backoff::Error::Transient(anyhow!("stream ended")))
                 }
-                Ok(Event::Heartbeat) => {
-                    tracing::trace!("Received heartbeat message");
-                    continue;
-                }
-                // if the message is not an event, it is a ticker update or an unknown event
-                Err(_) => match serde_json::from_str::<TickerUpdate>(&msg) {
-                    Ok(ticker) => ticker,
-                    Err(e) => {
-                        tracing::warn!(%e, "Failed to deserialize message '{}' as ticker update", msg);
-                        let _ = rate_update.send(Err(Error::UnknownMessage { msg }));
-                        continue;
-                    }
-                },
-            };
+            },
+            |error, next: Duration| {
+                tracing::info!(%error, "Kraken websocket connection failed, retrying in {}ms", next.as_millis());
+            }
+        )
+        .await;
 
-            let rate = match Rate::try_from(update) {
-                Ok(rate) => rate,
-                Err(e) => {
-                    let _ = rate_update.send(Err(e));
-                    continue;
-                }
-            };
+        match result {
+            Err(e) => {
+                tracing::warn!("Rate updates incurred an unrecoverable error: {:#}", e);
 
-            let _ = rate_update.send(Ok(rate));
+                // in case the retries fail permanently, let the subscribers know
+                rate_update.send(Err(Error::PermanentFailure))
+            }
+            Ok(never) => match never {},
         }
     });
 
-    rate_stream_sink
-        .send(SUBSCRIBE_XMR_BTC_TICKER_PAYLOAD.into())
-        .await?;
-
     Ok(RateUpdateStream {
         inner: rate_update_receiver,
     })
@@ -95,143 +59,263 @@ pub async fn connect() -> Result<RateUpdateStream> {
 
 #[derive(Clone, Debug)]
 pub struct RateUpdateStream {
-    inner: watch::Receiver<Result<Rate, Error>>,
+    inner: watch::Receiver<RateUpdate>,
 }
 
 impl RateUpdateStream {
-    pub async fn wait_for_update(&mut self) -> Result<Result<Rate, Error>> {
+    pub async fn wait_for_update(&mut self) -> Result<RateUpdate> {
         self.inner.changed().await?;
 
         Ok(self.inner.borrow().clone())
     }
 
-    pub fn latest_update(&mut self) -> Result<Rate, Error> {
+    pub fn latest_update(&mut self) -> RateUpdate {
         self.inner.borrow().clone()
     }
 }
 
-const KRAKEN_WS_URL: &str = "wss://ws.kraken.com";
-const SUBSCRIBE_XMR_BTC_TICKER_PAYLOAD: &str = r#"
-{ "event": "subscribe",
-  "pair": [ "XMR/XBT" ],
-  "subscription": {
-    "name": "ticker"
-  }
-}"#;
-
 #[derive(Clone, Debug, thiserror::Error)]
 pub enum Error {
-    #[error("Rate has not yet been retrieved from Kraken websocket API")]
-    NotYetRetrieved,
-    #[error("The Kraken server closed the websocket connection")]
-    ConnectionClosed,
-    #[error("Websocket: {0}")]
-    WebSocket(String),
-    #[error("Received unknown message from Kraken: {msg}")]
-    UnknownMessage { msg: String },
-    #[error("Data field is missing")]
-    DataFieldMissing,
-    #[error("Ask Rate Element is of unexpected type")]
-    UnexpectedAskRateElementType,
-    #[error("Ask Rate Element is missing")]
-    MissingAskRateElementType,
-    #[error("Bitcoin amount parse error: ")]
-    BitcoinParseAmount(#[from] ParseAmountError),
+    #[error("Rate is not yet available")]
+    NotYetAvailable,
+    #[error("Permanently failed to retrieve rate from Kraken")]
+    PermanentFailure,
 }
 
-impl From<tungstenite::Error> for Error {
-    fn from(err: tungstenite::Error) -> Self {
-        Error::WebSocket(format!("{:#}", err))
+type RateUpdate = Result<Rate, Error>;
+
+/// Maps a [`connection::Error`] to a backoff error, effectively defining our
+/// retry strategy.
+fn to_backoff(e: connection::Error) -> backoff::Error<anyhow::Error> {
+    use backoff::Error::*;
+
+    match e {
+        // Connection closures and websocket errors will be retried
+        connection::Error::ConnectionClosed => Transient(anyhow::Error::from(e)),
+        connection::Error::WebSocket(_) => Transient(anyhow::Error::from(e)),
+
+        // Failures while parsing a message are permanent because they most likely present a
+        // programmer error
+        connection::Error::Parse(_) => Permanent(anyhow::Error::from(e)),
     }
 }
 
-#[derive(Debug, Serialize, Deserialize, PartialEq)]
-#[serde(tag = "event")]
-enum Event {
-    #[serde(rename = "systemStatus")]
-    SystemStatus,
-    #[serde(rename = "heartbeat")]
-    Heartbeat,
-    #[serde(rename = "subscriptionStatus")]
-    SubscriptionStatus,
-}
+/// Kraken websocket connection module.
+///
+/// Responsible for establishing a connection to the Kraken websocket API and
+/// transforming the received websocket frames into a stream of rate updates.
+/// The connection may fail in which case it is simply terminated and the stream
+/// ends.
+mod connection {
+    use super::*;
+    use crate::kraken::wire;
+    use futures::stream::BoxStream;
+    use tokio_tungstenite::tungstenite;
 
-#[derive(Debug, Serialize, Deserialize)]
-#[serde(transparent)]
-struct TickerUpdate(Vec<TickerField>);
+    pub async fn new() -> Result<BoxStream<'static, Result<Rate, Error>>> {
+        let (mut rate_stream, _) = tokio_tungstenite::connect_async("wss://ws.kraken.com")
+            .await
+            .context("Failed to connect to Kraken websocket API")?;
 
-#[derive(Debug, Serialize, Deserialize)]
-#[serde(untagged)]
-enum TickerField {
-    Data(TickerData),
-    Metadata(Value),
-}
+        rate_stream
+            .send(SUBSCRIBE_XMR_BTC_TICKER_PAYLOAD.into())
+            .await?;
 
-#[derive(Debug, Serialize, Deserialize)]
-struct TickerData {
-    #[serde(rename = "a")]
-    ask: Vec<RateElement>,
-    #[serde(rename = "b")]
-    bid: Vec<RateElement>,
-}
+        let stream = rate_stream.err_into().try_filter_map(parse_message).boxed();
 
-#[derive(Debug, Serialize, Deserialize)]
-#[serde(untagged)]
-enum RateElement {
-    Text(String),
-    Number(u64),
-}
+        Ok(stream)
+    }
+
+    /// Parse a websocket message into a [`Rate`].
+    ///
+    /// Messages which are not actually ticker updates are ignored and result in
+    /// `None` being returned. In the context of a [`TryStream`], these will
+    /// simply be filtered out.
+    async fn parse_message(msg: tungstenite::Message) -> Result<Option<Rate>, Error> {
+        let msg = match msg {
+            tungstenite::Message::Text(msg) => msg,
+            tungstenite::Message::Close(close_frame) => {
+                if let Some(tungstenite::protocol::CloseFrame { code, reason }) = close_frame {
+                    tracing::debug!(
+                        "Kraken rate stream was closed with code {} and reason: {}",
+                        code,
+                        reason
+                    );
+                } else {
+                    tracing::debug!("Kraken rate stream was closed without code and reason");
+                }
+
+                return Err(Error::ConnectionClosed);
+            }
+            msg => {
+                tracing::trace!(
+                    "Kraken rate stream returned non text message that will be ignored: {}",
+                    msg
+                );
 
-impl TryFrom<TickerUpdate> for Rate {
-    type Error = Error;
-
-    fn try_from(value: TickerUpdate) -> Result<Self, Error> {
-        let data = value
-            .0
-            .iter()
-            .find_map(|field| match field {
-                TickerField::Data(data) => Some(data),
-                TickerField::Metadata(_) => None,
-            })
-            .ok_or(Error::DataFieldMissing)?;
-        let ask = data.ask.first().ok_or(Error::MissingAskRateElementType)?;
-        let ask = match ask {
-            RateElement::Text(ask) => {
-                bitcoin::Amount::from_str_in(ask, ::bitcoin::Denomination::Bitcoin)?
+                return Ok(None);
             }
-            _ => return Err(Error::UnexpectedAskRateElementType),
         };
 
-        Ok(Self { ask })
+        let update = match serde_json::from_str::<wire::Event>(&msg) {
+            Ok(wire::Event::SystemStatus) => {
+                tracing::debug!("Connected to Kraken websocket API");
+
+                return Ok(None);
+            }
+            Ok(wire::Event::SubscriptionStatus) => {
+                tracing::debug!("Subscribed to updates for ticker");
+
+                return Ok(None);
+            }
+            Ok(wire::Event::Heartbeat) => {
+                tracing::trace!("Received heartbeat message");
+
+                return Ok(None);
+            }
+            // if the message is not an event, it is a ticker update or an unknown event
+            Err(_) => match serde_json::from_str::<wire::TickerUpdate>(&msg) {
+                Ok(ticker) => ticker,
+                Err(e) => {
+                    tracing::warn!(%e, "Failed to deserialize message '{}' as ticker update", msg);
+
+                    return Ok(None);
+                }
+            },
+        };
+
+        let update = Rate::try_from(update)?;
+
+        Ok(Some(update))
+    }
+
+    #[derive(Debug, thiserror::Error)]
+    pub enum Error {
+        #[error("The Kraken server closed the websocket connection")]
+        ConnectionClosed,
+        #[error("Failed to read message from websocket stream")]
+        WebSocket(#[from] tungstenite::Error),
+        #[error("Failed to parse rate from websocket message")]
+        Parse(#[from] wire::Error),
     }
+
+    const SUBSCRIBE_XMR_BTC_TICKER_PAYLOAD: &str = r#"
+    { "event": "subscribe",
+      "pair": [ "XMR/XBT" ],
+      "subscription": {
+        "name": "ticker"
+      }
+    }"#;
 }
 
-#[cfg(test)]
-mod tests {
+/// Kraken websocket API wire module.
+///
+/// Responsible for parsing websocket text messages to events and rate updates.
+mod wire {
     use super::*;
+    use bitcoin::util::amount::ParseAmountError;
+    use serde_json::Value;
+
+    #[derive(Debug, Serialize, Deserialize, PartialEq)]
+    #[serde(tag = "event")]
+    pub enum Event {
+        #[serde(rename = "systemStatus")]
+        SystemStatus,
+        #[serde(rename = "heartbeat")]
+        Heartbeat,
+        #[serde(rename = "subscriptionStatus")]
+        SubscriptionStatus,
+    }
 
-    #[test]
-    fn can_deserialize_system_status_event() {
-        let event = r#"{"connectionID":14859574189081089471,"event":"systemStatus","status":"online","version":"1.8.1"}"#;
+    #[derive(Clone, Debug, thiserror::Error)]
+    pub enum Error {
+        #[error("Data field is missing")]
+        DataFieldMissing,
+        #[error("Ask Rate Element is of unexpected type")]
+        UnexpectedAskRateElementType,
+        #[error("Ask Rate Element is missing")]
+        MissingAskRateElementType,
+        #[error("Failed to parse Bitcoin amount")]
+        BitcoinParseAmount(#[from] ParseAmountError),
+    }
 
-        let event = serde_json::from_str::<Event>(event).unwrap();
+    #[derive(Debug, Serialize, Deserialize)]
+    #[serde(transparent)]
+    pub struct TickerUpdate(Vec<TickerField>);
 
-        assert_eq!(event, Event::SystemStatus)
+    #[derive(Debug, Serialize, Deserialize)]
+    #[serde(untagged)]
+    pub enum TickerField {
+        Data(TickerData),
+        Metadata(Value),
     }
 
-    #[test]
-    fn can_deserialize_subscription_status_event() {
-        let event = r#"{"channelID":980,"channelName":"ticker","event":"subscriptionStatus","pair":"XMR/XBT","status":"subscribed","subscription":{"name":"ticker"}}"#;
+    #[derive(Debug, Serialize, Deserialize)]
+    pub struct TickerData {
+        #[serde(rename = "a")]
+        ask: Vec<RateElement>,
+        #[serde(rename = "b")]
+        bid: Vec<RateElement>,
+    }
+
+    #[derive(Debug, Serialize, Deserialize)]
+    #[serde(untagged)]
+    pub enum RateElement {
+        Text(String),
+        Number(u64),
+    }
 
-        let event = serde_json::from_str::<Event>(event).unwrap();
+    impl TryFrom<TickerUpdate> for Rate {
+        type Error = Error;
+
+        fn try_from(value: TickerUpdate) -> Result<Self, Error> {
+            let data = value
+                .0
+                .iter()
+                .find_map(|field| match field {
+                    TickerField::Data(data) => Some(data),
+                    TickerField::Metadata(_) => None,
+                })
+                .ok_or(Error::DataFieldMissing)?;
+            let ask = data.ask.first().ok_or(Error::MissingAskRateElementType)?;
+            let ask = match ask {
+                RateElement::Text(ask) => {
+                    bitcoin::Amount::from_str_in(ask, ::bitcoin::Denomination::Bitcoin)?
+                }
+                _ => return Err(Error::UnexpectedAskRateElementType),
+            };
 
-        assert_eq!(event, Event::SubscriptionStatus)
+            Ok(Self { ask })
+        }
     }
 
-    #[test]
-    fn deserialize_ticker_update() {
-        let message = r#"[980,{"a":["0.00440700",7,"7.35318535"],"b":["0.00440200",7,"7.57416678"],"c":["0.00440700","0.22579000"],"v":["273.75489000","4049.91233351"],"p":["0.00446205","0.00441699"],"t":[123,1310],"l":["0.00439400","0.00429900"],"h":["0.00450000","0.00450000"],"o":["0.00449100","0.00433700"]},"ticker","XMR/XBT"]"#;
+    #[cfg(test)]
+    mod tests {
+        use super::*;
+
+        #[test]
+        fn can_deserialize_system_status_event() {
+            let event = r#"{"connectionID":14859574189081089471,"event":"systemStatus","status":"online","version":"1.8.1"}"#;
+
+            let event = serde_json::from_str::<Event>(event).unwrap();
 
-        let _ = serde_json::from_str::<TickerUpdate>(message).unwrap();
+            assert_eq!(event, Event::SystemStatus)
+        }
+
+        #[test]
+        fn can_deserialize_subscription_status_event() {
+            let event = r#"{"channelID":980,"channelName":"ticker","event":"subscriptionStatus","pair":"XMR/XBT","status":"subscribed","subscription":{"name":"ticker"}}"#;
+
+            let event = serde_json::from_str::<Event>(event).unwrap();
+
+            assert_eq!(event, Event::SubscriptionStatus)
+        }
+
+        #[test]
+        fn deserialize_ticker_update() {
+            let message = r#"[980,{"a":["0.00440700",7,"7.35318535"],"b":["0.00440200",7,"7.57416678"],"c":["0.00440700","0.22579000"],"v":["273.75489000","4049.91233351"],"p":["0.00446205","0.00441699"],"t":[123,1310],"l":["0.00439400","0.00429900"],"h":["0.00450000","0.00450000"],"o":["0.00449100","0.00433700"]},"ticker","XMR/XBT"]"#;
+
+            let _ = serde_json::from_str::<TickerUpdate>(message).unwrap();
+        }
     }
 }