Kraken and Deutsche Börse Team Up to Bridge Crypto and Global Finance

• Kraken and Deutsche Börse partner to merge traditional and digital market infrastructure.
• Integration enables seamless institutional access across FX, crypto, derivatives, and tokenized assets.

The new partnership between Kraken and Deutsche Börse Group is focused on one thing: connecting traditional financial markets with the digital asset ecosystem through complementary services. This collaboration encompasses cross-asset trading access, custody, transaction settlement, and tokenization, allowing institutions to more easily navigate between two previously separate worlds.

Kraken Unlocks Institutional Channels

Initially, the exchange will connect directly with 360T, Deutsche Börse Group’s global FX platform. This integration provides institutional clients with access to bank-grade foreign exchange liquidity previously difficult for digital asset market participants. In addition, fiat movements in and out of the platform are expected to run more smoothly, allowing funds to circulate through the ecosystem with far less friction.

Additionally, Kraken Embed offers financial institutions a ready-made framework to provide crypto services while keeping everything under the appropriate level of oversight. Through the shared white-label build, these services can reach customers throughout Europe and the United States.

This collaboration also expands access to derivative products. Kraken and Deutsche Börse aim to make Eurex-listed derivatives tradable directly on the Kraken platform. Meanwhile, Deutsche Börse clients will gain a new pathway to trade crypto and derivatives through Crypto Finance, with custodial support from Clearstream and Crypto Finance.

Furthermore, the collaboration also touches on tokenization through the integration of xStocks into the 360X ecosystem. This will facilitate the distribution of tokenized securities for the exchange clients.

A New Push Into Tokenized Equities

On December 2nd, Kraken announced plans to acquire Backed Finance, the company behind the issuance of tokenized equities called xStocks. Since its debut, xStocks has recorded a combined volume of over $10 billion.

Furthermore, this relationship comes as the exchange is pushing its long-term agenda. In mid-November, Kraken officially filed its S-1 with the SEC, the first step toward an initial public offering (IPO). This move follows an $800 million funding round that boosted the company’s valuation to around $20 billion.

This IPO effort aligns with their year-long expansion strategy, including the launch of Krak last June, as we reported. Krak is a peer-to-peer app that allows the transfer of over 300 assets across 110 countries without the need for bank details or wallet addresses. Krak even added a “Spend & Earn” feature with returns of up to 10%.