The parent company of crypto exchange Kraken has agreed to acquire digital asset derivatives platform Bitnomial for up to $550 million, in a cash and stock transaction that values the company at $20 billion, Payward said in a press release shared exclusively with CoinDesk.
Bitnomial, founded more than a decade ago, is the first crypto-native platform to guarantee the three licenses necessary to operate a full derivatives business nationwide. It has approvals to operate a designated contract market, a derivatives clearing organization and a futures commission trader. The acquisition effectively shortens years of regulatory development for Payward as it expands its U.S. presence.
“The shape of a market is determined by its clearing infrastructure, not its interface,” said Payward co-CEO Arjun Sethi, pointing to Bitnomial’s crypto-native settlement, collateral and 24/7 trading capabilities as core to the strategy.
Transaction activity in the cryptocurrency sector has begun to recover after a prolonged recession, as companies look to consolidate capabilities and shore up infrastructure after years of market volatility and regulatory scrutiny.
Larger, better-capitalized players are increasingly targeting acquisitions that fill strategic gaps such as custody, derivatives or compliance, rather than pursuing growth at any cost. At the same time, depressed valuations have created opportunities for buyers, while smaller startups facing funding constraints are more open to being acquired, setting the stage for a more pragmatic phase of industry consolidation.
Expanding
Kraken has been growing ahead of its planned initial public offering (IPO). Payward said it confidentially filed a draft S-1 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Nov. 19 last year.
However, CoinDesk reported last month that the company had suspended its IPO plans due to difficult market conditions. According to sources, the company is still considering an initial public offering, but probably not until market conditions improve.
In recent years, Kraken has pursued a relatively targeted but increasingly strategic M&A strategy, focused on expanding beyond pure cryptocurrency trading into a multi-asset and derivatives infrastructure.
The largest transaction was the $1.5 billion acquisition of NinjaTrader in 2025, a US-based retail futures platform and CFTC-registered FCM, which marked the largest deal ever between traditional finance and cryptocurrencies and gave Kraken a direct position in the US derivatives markets and a large base of futures traders.
Prior to that, Kraken executed smaller acquisitions, such as BCM in 2023, and other platform or exchange purchases, including the subsequent Small Exchange acquisition, with the goal of developing its derivatives and institutional capabilities.
Overall, Kraken’s trading activity indicates a clear strategy. Use mergers and acquisitions to acquire regulatory licenses, trading infrastructure and user bases to help it evolve into a broader, institutional-grade, multi-asset trading platform spanning both crypto and traditional markets.
derivatives business
The combined platform will integrate Bitnomial’s regulated infrastructure with Payward’s global distribution and liquidity across brands such as Kraken and NinjaTrader. Initial offerings are expected to include spot margin, perpetual futures and options for U.S. clients under the supervision of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
Payward has been building its derivatives business globally, acquiring a crypto futures platform in the UK in 2019 and launching an EU offering in 2025. With Bitnomial, it now adds a fully regulated US stack.
The deal also expands Payward Services, the company’s B2B infrastructure arm, which enables banks, fintechs and brokerages to access regulated US derivatives through a single API integration.
The transaction, covering 100% of Bitnomial’s equity, is expected to close in the first half of 2026, pending customary conditions and regulatory filings.
Read more: Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken was the target of an extortion attempt, but says there was no breach and no customer funds were at risk.
