Kraken nears $1.5B deal allowing it to offer US crypto futures: Report

Crypto exchange Kraken is reportedly closing in on a $1.5 billion acquisition of trading platform NinjaTrader, a move that would expand Kraken’s customer base and enable it to offer crypto futures and derivatives in the US.

The deal could be confirmed by the morning of March 20 in the US, The Wall Street Journal said in a March 19 report, citing people familiar with the matter.

Kraken’s expanded offerings would be made possible through NinjaTrader’s registration as a Futures Commission Merchant. 

The move would help Kraken’s strategy to work across several asset classes — including plans for equities trading and payments — while enabling NinjaTrader to expand into the UK, continental Europe and Australian markets, the sources told WSJ.

NinjaTrader is expected to remain a standalone platform under Kraken.

Cointelegraph reached out to Kraken and NinjaTrader for comment but did not receive an immediate response.

Kraken posted $1.5 billion in revenue and $665 billion in trading volume from 2.5 million funded customer accounts on its platform in 2024, while NinjaTrader recently said its futures trading tools are used by over 1.8 million customers.

Kraken announced its intention to broaden its product offerings and services last November when it shuttered its non-fungible token marketplace.

Related: Australia fines Kraken operator $5M for regulatory breaches

It comes as the US Securities and Exchange Commission dropped its lawsuit against Kraken on March 3 after it initially alleged that the crypto platform acted as an unregistered broker, dealer, exchange and clearing agency. 

The suit was dismissed with prejudice, with no admission of wrongdoing, no penalties paid and no changes to Kraken’s business. 

Kraken is one of many firms that stand to benefit from a more relaxed regulatory environment in the US under President Donald Trump, who has promised to make America the “crypto capital” of the world.

The crypto exchange was founded in 2011 by Thanh Luu, Michael Gronager and former CEO Jesse Powell, who handed the reins over to former data analytics executive Amir Orad last July.

Kraken consistently ranks among the top seven to 15 largest crypto exchanges by spot trading volume, handling between $390 million and $4.4 billion in daily trades over the past three months, according to CoinGecko data.

Magazine: Deposit risk: What do crypto exchanges really do with your money?