Kraken's Parent Company to Invest Up to $550 Million to Acquire Bitnomial, Accelerating U.S. Derivatives Expansion

April 17th — Payward, Kraken’s parent company, announced it will acquire crypto derivatives platform Bitnomial in a cash-and-stock transaction valued at up to $550 million. The acquisition will grant Payward the three core licenses required for a U.S.-compliant derivatives business — broker, clearinghouse, and exchange licenses — significantly shortening its compliance timeline in the U.S. market. Payward’s Co-CEO noted that the derivatives market’s foundation lies in clearing infrastructure, and Bitnomial’s strengths in settlement, collateralization, and 24/7 trading are the key value drivers of this deal. On the business front, the integrated platform will combine Bitnomial’s compliance framework with Kraken and NinjaTrader’s liquidity and distribution capabilities to launch U.S. market products regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), including spot leverage, perpetual contracts, and options. Additionally, the transaction will strengthen Payward’s B2B infrastructure business, enabling banks, fintech firms, and brokerages to access the U.S. compliant crypto derivatives market via a single API. In context, Kraken has been bolstering its multi-asset and institutional trading capabilities through acquisitions. Previously, in 2025, it acquired futures platform NinjaTrader for approximately $1.5 billion to deepen its U.S. derivatives market presence. The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2026, subject to regulatory approvals and other customary conditions.