The cryptocurrency exchange Kraken has reached an agreement to acquire the U.S. futures platform NinjaTrader for $1.5 billion, aiming to enhance its offerings in crypto futures and derivatives trading within the United States.
Founded in 2003 and licensed by the CFTC, NinjaTrader serves nearly 2 million customers with its futures trading tools. Kraken stated that it currently has 15 million clients worldwide, as mentioned in a recent announcement. With Kraken’s licenses in the U.K., EU, and Australia, NinjaTrader plans to expand its operations in these regions.
Kraken is determined to increase its share in the crypto derivatives market. Currently, the exchange’s 24-hour trading volume in derivatives hovers around $1.2 billion, which is significantly lower than competitors like Binance and OKX, both of which surpass the tens of billions, according to data from CoinMarketCap. Last month, reports suggested that Kraken was in discussions to acquire the options exchange Deribit for a value potentially reaching $5 billion.
“This acquisition is the initial step toward our vision of creating a professional trading platform where any asset can be traded at any time,” remarked Arjun Sethi, co-CEO of Kraken.
Earlier this month, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) dropped a lawsuit initially filed in November 2023 that accused the San Francisco-based exchange of mixing customer and corporate funds and operating as an unregistered securities broker.
In January, Kraken reinstated staking for U.S. customers, an action that, along with the plan to acquire the CFTC-licensed NinjaTrader platform, signals a stronger focus on the U.S. market amid an evolving regulatory landscape.
The deal is subject to closing conditions and is anticipated to finalize by the end of the first half of 2025.
Sources familiar with the situation had previously reported the transaction.
UPDATE (March 20, 12:37 UTC): Includes details on derivatives trading volume, discussions about Deribit in the third paragraph, and the SEC lawsuit in the fifth.