Payward, the parent company of cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, has entered into an agreement to acquire Bitnomial, a digital asset derivatives platform, for a cash-and-stock transaction valued at up to $550 million. This deal values the firm at $20 billion, as announced in a press release shared with CoinDesk.
Founded over a decade ago, Bitnomial is the first crypto-native platform to obtain all three necessary licenses to operate a full-stack derivatives business in the U.S., including approvals for a designated contract market, a derivatives clearing organization, and a futures commission merchant. The acquisition allows Payward to bypass years of regulatory development, accelerating its U.S. expansion. Kraken, though trailing in spot trading volumes behind platforms like OKX, Bybit, and Coinbase, remains a significant player in the crypto derivatives market.
It is a U.S.-based cryptocurrency exchange that allows users to buy, sell, and trade digital assets, including bitcoin and ether, using fiat or crypto. Kraken has expanded its services to include derivatives, staking, and custody, positioning itself as a comprehensive trading platform beyond a basic retail app. 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 key to the strategy. The acquisition is part of a larger trend in the crypto sector, where deal activity is increasing as firms seek to consolidate capabilities and strengthen infrastructure following years of market volatility and regulatory scrutiny.
Larger, well-capitalized players are targeting acquisitions that fill strategic gaps, such as custody, derivatives, or compliance, rather than pursuing growth at any cost. The 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. Kraken has been scaling up ahead of its planned initial public offering (IPO), with Payward confidentially submitting a draft S-1 to the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission in November last year. However, the firm has put its IPO plans on hold due to difficult market conditions, considering an initial public offering when market conditions improve. In recent years, Kraken has pursued a targeted M&A strategy focused on expanding beyond pure crypto trading into multi-asset and derivatives infrastructure. The most significant transaction was its $1.5 billion acquisition of NinjaTrader in 2025, a U.S.-based retail futures platform and CFTC-registered FCM, giving Kraken a direct foothold in U.S.
derivatives markets and a large base of futures traders. 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 U.S. clients under Commodity Futures Trading Commission oversight.
Payward has been building out its derivatives business globally, acquiring a U.K. crypto futures platform in 2019 and launching an EU offering in 2025, and with Bitnomial, it now adds a fully regulated U.S.
stack. The deal expands Payward Services, the firm's B2B infrastructure arm, allowing banks, fintechs, and brokerages to access regulated U.S. 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 U.S.
derivatives possible,' Sethi said in emailed comments.