Kraken adds forex perpetual futures contracts to its Pro platform

Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken introduced foreign exchange (forex) perpetual futures contracts to its Kraken Pro platform on April 18, giving traders further exposure to global currency markets.

The first two perpetual forex futures available on the platform will be the euro-US dollar (EUR-USD) and the British pound-US dollar (GBP-USD) contracts, according to a company announcement.

Both contracts feature 20x leverage and no expiry date, meaning they do not have to be rolled or settled by a deadline, unlike traditional futures contracts, which have an expiry date.

Kraken’s move is the latest in a series of expansions from the company, as it seeks to blur the line between digital assets and traditional financial products — a trend reflected across the crypto industry.

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Kraken rolled out spot forex trading to clients worldwide except for the United States in March 2020.

The launch gave crypto traders access to nine major currency pairs on the platform, including the euro, US dollar, Canadian dollar, Japanese yen, pound, and Swiss franc pairs.

The crypto exchange in March signed an agreement to purchase NinjaTrader, a retail futures platform, for $1.5 billion.

The deal is expected to close during the first half of 2025 and will position Kraken to offer crypto futures trading to US residents.

Mastercard and Kraken partnered in April to release a crypto debit card that gives holders the ability to spend cryptocurrencies in standard retail transactions.

On April 14, the exchange introduced stock and ETF trading in select US states, including New Jersey, Connecticut, Wyoming, Oklahoma, Idaho, Iowa, Rhode Island, Kentucky, Alabama and the District of Columbia.

Kraken is also reportedly eyeing a capital raise of up to $1 billion as the company explores going public, according to a Bloomberg report published in March.

If Kraken's IPO plans materialize, the public offering will likely happen in the first quarter of 2026, Bloomberg reported.

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