Overview
- Payward, Kraken’s parent, completed the Bitnomial purchase and now controls CFTC approvals to run an exchange, a clearinghouse, and a brokerage under one roof.
- Co‑CEO Arjun Sethi said the rollout will start with spot margin trading on Kraken, followed by perpetual futures and options subject to CFTC oversight.
- Payward plans to plug Bitnomial’s systems into Kraken, NinjaTrader, and a single B2B API so banks, brokerages, and payment firms can access onshore crypto derivatives.
- The deal was previously outlined at up to $550 million and implied a $20 billion valuation for Payward, though final closing terms were not disclosed.
- Bitnomial spent more than a decade securing DCM, DCO, and FCM approvals, a rare combination for a crypto‑native U.S. firm, which can let institutions trade, post collateral, and settle in a regulated setting.