Crypto Exchange Kraken is reportedly shut down to a $1.5 billion acquisition of trading platform Ninjatrader, which will expand Kraken's customer base and enable it to offer US crypto futures and derivatives.
The deal could be confirmed by the morning of the US on March 20, the Wall Street Journal said in a March 19 report that it cited people familiar with the issue.
Kraken's expanded products will be made possible through registration as a merchant on the Ninjatrader futures committee.
The move will help Kraken's strategy to work on several asset classes, including stock trading and payment planning, while also allowing Ninjatrader to expand into the UK, continental Europe and Australian markets, sources told WSJ.
Ninjatrader is expected to remain a standalone platform under Kraken.
Cointelegraph reached out to Kraken and Ninjatrader for comment, but did not receive an immediate response.
Source: Wall Street Journal Markets
Kraken posted revenue of $1.5 billion and trading volume of $665 billion from 2.5 million funded customer accounts on the platform in 2024, but Ninjatrader recently said its futures trading tool is being used by more than 1.8 million customers.
Kraken announced its intention to expand its product offerings and services last November.
Related: Australia fines $5 million Kraken operator for regulatory violations
This comes when the Securities and Exchange Commission dropped its lawsuit against Kraken on March 3 after the Securities and Exchange Commission allegedly acted as an unregistered broker, dealer, exchange and clearing agency.
The lawsuit was dismissed for bias, did not tolerate fraud, paid penalties, or changed Kraken's business.
Kraken is one of many companies that are supposed to benefit from the more relaxed regulatory environment in the United States under President Donald Trump, who has pledged to make America the “crypto capital” of the world.
Crypto Exchange was founded in 2011 by Thanh Luu, Michael Gronager and former CEO Jesse Powell.
According to Coingecko data, Kraken has consistently ranked among the top 7-15 largest crypto exchanges by spot trading volume, processing daily transactions ranging from $390 million to $4.4 billion over the past three months.
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