Kraken's parent company buys a decade of US regulatory licenses to bypass regulatory buildout

U.S. clients will gain access to spot margin, perpetual futures, and options under Commodity Futures Trading Commission oversight. This access is provided by Payward, the parent company of Kraken, which has agreed to acquire digital asset derivatives platform Bitnomial for up to $550 million in cash and stock.

Bitnomial is the first crypto-native platform to secure the three licenses required to operate a full-stack derivatives business in the U.S.: a designated contract market, a derivatives clearing organization, and a futures commission merchant. By acquiring these licenses, Payward bypasses years of regulatory buildout.

"The shape of a market is determined by its clearing infrastructure, not its front end," said Payward Co-CEO Arjun Sethi.

Payward will integrate Bitnomial's regulated infrastructure with its global distribution and liquidity across brands including Kraken and NinjaTrader. The deal also expands Payward Services, its B2B infrastructure arm, allowing banks, fintechs, and brokerages to access regulated U.S. derivatives through a single API integration.

Payward's equity is valued at $20 billion.