Why Kraken’s $550 Million Bet on Bitnomial Could Change U.S. Crypto Trading

TLDR

• Kraken’s parent company Payward agreed to buy Bitnomial for up to $550 million in cash and stock
• The deal values Payward at $20 billion
• Bitnomial is the first crypto-native firm to hold all three CFTC licenses needed to run a full U.S. derivatives business
• New products including spot margin, perpetual futures, and options will launch for U.S. clients under CFTC oversight
• The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2026

Kraken’s parent company Payward has agreed to acquire Bitnomial, a U.S.-based crypto derivatives platform, for up to $550 million in cash and stock. The deal values Payward at $20 billion.

Bitnomial was founded over a decade ago. It is the first crypto-native company to secure all three licenses from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission needed to run a full U.S. derivatives business — an exchange, a clearinghouse, and a brokerage.

Acquiring those three licenses would have taken Payward years to build on its own. The deal effectively shortcuts that process.

What Products Are Coming

Kraken announced on X that spot margin, perpetual futures, and options will be coming to its platform under CFTC regulation. These products will be available to U.S. clients.

The deal also expands Payward Services, the company’s business-to-business arm. Banks, fintechs, and brokerages will be able to access regulated U.S. derivatives through a single API.

Bitnomial’s infrastructure will be combined with Payward’s global distribution and liquidity across its brands, which include Kraken and NinjaTrader.

Kraken’s Recent M&A History

This is not Payward’s first major acquisition. In 2025, it paid $1.5 billion for NinjaTrader, a U.S. retail futures platform. That was described as the largest deal ever between traditional finance and crypto.

Before that, Kraken acquired BCM in 2023 and later bought Small Exchange to build out its derivatives capabilities.

Payward also acquired a U.K. crypto futures platform in 2019 and launched an EU derivatives offering in 2025.

The Bitnomial deal follows that same pattern — using acquisitions to add regulatory licenses and trading infrastructure rather than building from scratch.

IPO Plans on Hold

Kraken had been preparing for an initial public offering. Payward submitted a draft S-1 to the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 19 last year.

However, the company put those IPO plans on hold due to difficult market conditions. Sources say the company is still open to going public but is waiting for conditions to improve.

The Bitnomial transaction covers 100% of Bitnomial’s equity and is expected to close in the first half of 2026, pending regulatory approvals.

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