Payward, the parent company of cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, has entered into an agreement to acquire digital asset derivatives platform Bitnomial for a sum of up to $550 million in a cash-and-stock deal, valuing the company at $20 billion. This acquisition was announced via a press release shared exclusively with CoinDesk.
Bitnomial, established over a decade ago, holds the distinction of being the first crypto-native platform to obtain all three necessary licenses to operate a full-stack derivatives business in the US, including approvals for a designated contract market, a derivatives clearing organization, and a futures commission merchant. This acquisition effectively streamlines Payward's regulatory compliance process as it seeks to expand its footprint in the US. While Kraken may trail behind platforms such as OKX, Bybit, and Coinbase in terms of spot trading volumes, it maintains a significant presence in the crypto derivatives market.
Kraken, a US-based cryptocurrency exchange, facilitates the buying, selling, and trading of digital assets like bitcoin and ether using either fiat or crypto. The platform has diversified its services to include derivatives, staking, and custody, positioning itself as a comprehensive trading platform beyond basic retail applications.
According to Payward Co-CEO Arjun Sethi, 'The shape of a market is determined by its clearing infrastructure, not its front end,' highlighting Bitnomial's crypto-native settlement, collateral, and 24/7 trading capabilities as pivotal to the strategy. Following a prolonged downturn, the crypto sector has witnessed an uptick in deal activity as companies seek to consolidate capabilities and bolster infrastructure in the face of market volatility and regulatory scrutiny.
Larger, well-capitalized players are increasingly targeting strategic acquisitions that address gaps in areas such as custody, derivatives, or compliance, rather than pursuing growth at all costs. Concurrently, depressed valuations have created opportunities for buyers, while smaller startups facing funding constraints are more receptive to acquisition, setting the stage for a more pragmatic phase of industry consolidation. As Kraken scales up ahead of its planned initial public offering (IPO), Payward confidentially submitted a draft S-1 to the US Securities and Exchange Commission on November 19 last year.
However, according to recent reports, the firm has put its IPO plans on hold due to challenging market conditions, with sources indicating that the company is still considering an initial public offering but likely not until market conditions improve. In recent years, Kraken has pursued a targeted yet increasingly strategic M&A strategy aimed at expanding beyond pure crypto trading into multi-asset and derivatives infrastructure. The most notable transaction was its $1.5 billion acquisition of NinjaTrader in 2025, a US-based retail futures platform and CFTC-registered FCM, marking the largest-ever deal between traditional finance and crypto and providing Kraken with a direct foothold in US derivatives markets and a large base of futures traders. Prior to this, Kraken executed smaller acquisitions such as BCM in 2023 and other platform or exchange purchases, including the later acquisition of Small Exchange, aimed at building out its derivatives and institutional capabilities.
Overall, Kraken's deal activity signals a clear strategy of using M&A to acquire regulatory licenses, trading infrastructure, and user bases that help it evolve into a broader, institutional-grade, multi-asset trading platform spanning both crypto and traditional markets. The combined platform will integrate Bitnomial's regulated infrastructure with Payward's global distribution and liquidity across brands including Kraken and NinjaTrader, with initial offerings expected to include spot margin, perpetual futures, and options for US clients under the oversight of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Payward has been building out its derivatives business globally, acquiring a UK crypto futures platform in 2019 and launching an EU offering in 2025, and with Bitnomial, it now adds a fully regulated US stack. The deal also expands Payward Services, the firm's B2B infrastructure arm, allowing 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. 'We are not acquiring a company. We are adding the infrastructure layer that makes the next generation of US derivatives possible,' Sethi stated in emailed comments.