Blockchain tokenization is radically expanding the definition of money, enabling anyone to trade, save and spend in virtually any asset they like, says Kraken’s Mark Greenberg. Blockchain tokenization is transforming money beyond fiat currencies such as the US dollar by allowing users to save and instantly move virtually any asset across platforms, said a Kraken executive. “I think we’re past the point where money only means fiat or your local currency,” Kraken head of consumer Mark Greenberg told CNBC on Wednesday, adding that “anything can be money” with tokenization. Kraken’s xStocks is one of several tokenized stock offerings to hit the market this year as crypto exchanges look to expand beyond offering crypto trading. Coinbase and Gemini have also begun to offer tokenized stocks and have pushed betting via prediction markets as another offering to hook users. Read more
Kraken’s pending IPO and the wave of crypto companies seeking public listings may help the industry attract more TradFi capital. A potential initial public offering (IPO) next year by cryptocurrency exchange Kraken may attract fresh capital from traditional finance (TradFi) investors. Bitcoin recorded an all-time high price above $126,000 on Oct. 6, but hasn’t recovered from a $19 billion liquidation event that hit the industry a few days later. At the time of writing, the world’s largest cryptocurrency was trading at $87,015 per coin, down 6% in two weeks, according to CoinGecko. Still, Dan Tapiero, founder and CEO of 50T Funds, claimed that the Bitcoin (BTC) bull market is "still mid-stage.” He added that Kraken’s IPO and an increasing number of (M&As) may provide the necessary tailwinds to bring new capital from TradFi. Read more
Kraken and Deutsche Börse plan to connect foreign exchange, tokenized stocks and Eurex derivatives in a phased rollout targeting institutional clients. Deutsche Börse Group, a global exchange organization, has entered into a strategic partnership with the US crypto exchange Kraken with a mission of bridging traditional and digital markets. Kraken and Deutsche Börse are joining forces to create unified access across traditional and digital asset markets, according to a joint announcement on Thursday. The companies plan to improve institutional access to regulated crypto products, including spot trading, tokenized markets and derivatives, as well as enhanced liquidity for institutions across multiple jurisdictions. Read more
The acquisition will give Kraken full control of the xStocks tokenized-equity platform, strengthening the exchange’s push into regulated real-world assets. US-based crypto exchange Kraken has agreed to acquire Backed Finance AG, the company behind the issuance of xStocks, adding to a string of acquisitions the exchange has made this year while bringing the tokenized-equities platform under its roof. According to Tuesday’s announcement, Kraken plans to integrate xStocks’ issuance, trading and settlement more tightly into its products, including its global money app, while expanding support to additional blockchains and markets. XStocks is a platform that issues tokenized versions of publicly traded equities, such as stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs). It currently offers over 60 tokenized products and has recorded more than $10 billion in combined exchange and onchain volume since launching earlier this year. Read more
The confidential filing with the SEC for a US initial public offering came less than a week after Grayscale Investments announced a similar move. Kraken, the US cryptocurrency exchange headquartered in Wyoming, announced the confidential filing of a draft registration statement for a proposed initial public offering, following months of speculation among many in the cryptocurrency and blockchain industry. In a Wednesday notice, Kraken said it had confidentially submitted a Form S-1 with the US Securities and Exchange Commission for a proposed IPO of its common stock, setting the groundwork for the company to go public. The potential IPO is subject to review by the SEC, which recently returned to full operations and staffing after a 43-day government shutdown. The filing came less than a week after Kraken co-CEO Arjun Sethi gave an interview in which he said the exchange wasn’t “rac[ing] to the door as quickly as possible” to go public. Reports had been circulating since 2024 suggesting that Kraken was planni...
Arjun Sethi criticized the UK’s crypto regulations for burdening users with excessive disclaimers, saying they worsen customer experience. Arjun Sethi, the co-CEO of major crypto exchange Kraken, criticized the United Kingdom’s crypto regulations, which he said hinder services for their customers. In an interview with the Financial Times, Sethi said that “in the UK today, if you go to any crypto website, including Kraken’s, you see the equivalent to a cigarette box.” He suggested that the disclaimers have a significant impact on customer experience. Sethi suggested that disclosures slow users down and that, because of the importance of speed in crypto trading, “it’s worse for customers.” He concluded that “disclosures are important [...] but if there are 14 steps, it’s worse.” Read more
The exchange reported $648 million in quarterly revenue as trading activity, user growth, and new acquisitions boosted performance. Kraken reported $648 million in revenue for the third quarter of 2025, up 114% from a year earlier, which the company described as its strongest financial performance to date. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) rose to $178.6 million as profit margins widened nine percentage points to 27.6%, Kraken said Wednesday. Total trading volume increased 106% year over year to $561.9 billion, while assets on the platform grew 89% to $59.3 billion. Kraken’s user base also expanded, reaching 5.2 million funded accounts by the end of the quarter. Read more
After acquiring NinjaTrader for $1.5 billion, Kraken expands its derivatives offerings in the US with a $100 million acquisition of Small Exchange. Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken has expanded its derivatives trading offering in its home jurisdiction through a new acquisition. Kraken acquired Small Exchange, a designated contract market maker (DCM), from the trading company IG Group for $100 million, the company announced on Thursday. With the DCM licensed by the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the Small Exchange acquisition authorizes Kraken to build markets for exchange-listed derivatives in the US. Read more
The reported funding round comes amid earlier indications that the crypto exchange is preparing for a potential public offering. Kraken has reportedly raised $500 million at a $15 billion valuation, strengthening its financial position amid growing speculation that the cryptocurrency exchange is preparing for an initial public offering (IPO). The funding was first reported by Fortune, which cited a source close to the negotiations in a profile on co-CEO Arjun Sethi. The source claimed that Kraken closed the round earlier this month. When contacted by Cointelegraph for confirmation, a Kraken representative declined to comment. Read more
The roundtable between the two US financial regulators announced earlier this month will come after several policy changes affecting digital assets. Executives from a few cryptocurrency companies will speak on panels to discuss “regulatory harmonization efforts” between two US financial regulators next week. In a Wednesday notice, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said it would host a roundtable event with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) on Monday as part of efforts to coordinate on financial regulation, including cryptocurrencies. Representatives from cryptocurrency exchange Kraken and Crypto.com, as well as prediction markets Kalshi and Polymarket, will speak on panels. Though focused on bridging regulation between the two agencies, the roundtable event will be held amid a dearth of leadership at the CFTC. This year, every commissioner at the financial regulator has resigned or departed, with the exception of acting Chair Caroline Pham. Former CFTC Chair J. Christopher Giancarl...
Kraken committed $2 million to Freedom Fund PAC and America First Digital, citing a need to defend crypto users’ rights in the US. Crypto exchange Kraken pledged $2 million to two politically aligned groups as part of what it calls an ongoing battle to defend core crypto freedoms in the US. In a Tuesday post on X, Kraken Co-CEO Arjun Sethi announced that the exchange will donate $1 million to the Freedom Fund PAC and increase its 2025 commitment to America First Digital to $1 million. “The fight for crypto in the United States is far from over,” Sethi wrote. He warned that crypto’s foundational rights, like self-custody and decentralized access, remain under threat from “regulatory uncertainty,” bans on privacy tools and efforts to criminalize infrastructure. Read more
While Kraken said that the partnership opens up stocks for 200 million users, others said that geographical restrictions exist. Crypto exchange Kraken, the main distribution partner for Backed’s tokenized equities product xStocks, has partnered with Trust Wallet, one of the world’s largest self-custody crypto wallets, to extend the reach of tokenized equities to users. In a Friday announcement, Kraken said it is “bringing interoperable tokenized equities to over 200 million users across the world” by extending xStocks to Trust Wallet users, who will be able to trade tokenized equities by Backed, a provider of collateralized onchain assets. The integration will allow Trust Wallet users to buy and hold 60 different xStocks using a variety of local fiat currencies. It would also enable deposits and withdrawals across multiple chains, including Solana, BNB Chain, Tron and Ethereum. Read more
Can tokenized stocks from centralized issuers like Robinhood or Kraken ever be truly decentralized? Experts are divided. Crypto is supposed to be about freedom permissionless networks, immutable ownership, assets that no government or intermediary can arbitrarily revoke. At least, that was Satoshis dream a vision that has admittedly faded over time as reality butted in. Amid all the other dying idealism, along came stock tokens, shiny digital wrappers for traditional equities such as Tesla, Apple and Amazon. Suddenly, the crypto space found itself dressed up in Wall Streets regulatory straitjacket. Stock tokens, as currently structured, such as Kraken’s, Robinhood’s and in the future, Coinbase’s are about as decentralized as a Goldman Sachs board meeting. Theyre digital and tokenized, but users must pass KYC to acquire them; they can only move between whitelisted addresses, and issuers can freeze or revoke them at will. In short, they arent really crypto at all. Theyre securities in a digital costume, playing...
Can tokenized stocks from centralized issuers like Robinhood or Kraken ever be truly decentralized? Experts are divided. Crypto is supposed to be about freedom permissionless networks, immutable ownership, assets that no government or intermediary can arbitrarily revoke. At least, that was Satoshis dream a vision that has admittedly faded over time as reality butted in. Amid all the other dying idealism, along came stock tokens, shiny digital wrappers for traditional equities such as Tesla, Apple and Amazon. Suddenly, the crypto space found itself dressed up in Wall Streets regulatory straitjacket. Stock tokens, as currently structured, such as Kraken’s, Robinhood’s and in the future, Coinbase’s are about as decentralized as a Goldman Sachs board meeting. Theyre digital and tokenized, but users must pass KYC to acquire them; they can only move between whitelisted addresses, and issuers can freeze or revoke them at will. In short, they arent really crypto at all. Theyre securities in a digital costume, playing...
The deal expands Kraken’s trading infrastructure push following its $1.5B NinjaTrader acquisition in May 2025. Kraken has stepped into proprietary trading with the acquisition of Breakout, a Tampa, Florida startup that backs traders with capital. In a Thursday announcement, crypto exchange Kraken announced the acquisition of Breakout, a startup that backs traders with up to $200,000 in capital under a “rigorous evaluation” methodology that tests risk management and strategy discipline. “Breakout gives us a way to allocate capital based on proof of skill rather than access to capital itself… We want to build systems that reward demonstrated performance, not pedigree,” Kraken's co-CEO Arjun Sethi said in a statement. Read more
According to a Binance Research report, tokenized stocks are nearing a major inflection point reminiscent of the early days of decentralized finance. On Wednesday, cryptocurrency exchange Kraken and tokenization platform Backed Finance announced an expansion of xStocks, a tokenized stock product offering, to the Tron blockchain. The move comes as real-world asset (RWA) tokenization, particularly within stocks, is taking hold. According to the announcement, Backed will deploy the stocks as TRC-20 tokens. Previously, Kraken and Backed launched xStocks on Solana and BNB Chain. Debuted in late June 2025, xStocks has had more than $2.5 billion in combined DEX and CEX volume, according to a Kraken blog post. “The enthusiasm developing in the RWA sector is more indicative of a growing institutional confidence in the utility of layer 1 blockchain networks like Tron,” a TronDAO representative told Cointelegraph. “As institutional blockchain continues to evolve, we plan to stay focused on building the infrastructure ne...