Kraken to acquire NinjaTrader for $1.5B to offer US crypto futures

Update (March 20, 1:00 pm UTC): This article has been updated to include an official acquisition agreement announcement by Kraken.

Crypto exchange Kraken is preparing for a $1.5 billion acquisition of trading platform NinjaTrader, a move that would expand Kraken’s customer base and enable it to offer crypto futures and derivatives in the United States.

Kraken officially announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire NinjaTrader on March 20, confirming a previous report by The Wall Street Journal.

Kraken’s expanded offerings would be made possible through NinjaTrader’s registration as a Futures Commission Merchant registered with the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

Source: Kraken

The move would help Kraken’s strategy to work across several asset classes — including plans for equities trading and payments — while enabling NinjaTrader to expand into the UK, continental Europe and Australian markets.

In the announcement, Kraken said that NinjaTrader is expected to remain a standalone platform under Kraken, with its clients gaining access to an expanded array of trading opportunities in the future.

NinjaTrader is majority-backed by Long Ridge Equity Partners, it added.

Source: Wall Street Journal Markets

Subject to customary closing conditions, the acquisition is expected to close in the first half of 2025, Kraken said.

Kraken posted $1.5 billion in revenue and $665 billion in trading volume from 2.5 million funded customer accounts on its platform in 2024, while NinjaTrader recently said its futures trading tools are used by over 1.8 million customers.

Kraken announced its intention to broaden its product offerings and services last November when it shuttered its non-fungible token marketplace.

Source: Blocknews

It comes as the US Securities and Exchange Commission dropped its lawsuit against Kraken on March 3 after it initially alleged that the crypto platform acted as an unregistered broker, dealer, exchange and clearing agency. 

The suit was dismissed with prejudice, with no admission of wrongdoing, no penalties paid and no changes to Kraken’s business. 

Related: Australia fines Kraken operator $5M for regulatory breaches

Kraken is one of many firms that stand to benefit from a more relaxed regulatory environment in the US under President Donald Trump, who has promised to make America the “crypto capital” of the world.

The crypto exchange was founded in 2011 by Thanh Luu, Michael Gronager and former CEO Jesse Powell, who handed the reins over to former data analytics executive Amir Orad last July.

Kraken consistently ranks among the top seven to 15 largest crypto exchanges by spot trading volume, handling between $390 million and $4.4 billion in daily trades over the past three months, according to CoinGecko data.

Additional reporting by Helen Partz.

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