Kraken Raises $800 Million to Bring Traditional Financial Products On-Chain

Cryptocurrency platform Kraken achieved a valuation of $20 billion in the second of two tranches in which it raised a total of $800 million, the company said in a Tuesday (Nov. 18) press release.

This announcement came about two months after it was reported that Kraken was valued at $15 billion in a funding round that closed in September and raised $500 million.

Kraken said in its Tuesday press release that it will use its new funding to accelerate its efforts to bring traditional financial products on-chain.

The company said it will expand its product suite organically and through targeted acquisitions; deepen its regulated footprint; enter new markets in Latin America, Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East and Africa; and continue to expand its offerings beyond crypto.

“This investment represents long-term conviction in Kraken’s mission to build trusted, regulated infrastructure for the open financial system,” Kraken Co-CEO Arjun Sethi said in the release. “Our focus has always been straightforward: to create a platform where anyone can trade any asset, anytime, anywhere.”

Sethi said Kraken will benefit from the expertise in markets and technology of a new investor, Citadel Securities. Citadel Securities invested $200 million in one of the two recent tranches, according to the release.

Citadel Securities President Jim Esposito said in the release: “We’re excited to support Kraken’s continued growth as it helps shape the next chapter of digital innovation in markets.”

Kraken said in October that it acquired Small Exchange, a Commodity Futures Trading Commission-licensed designated contract market for $100 million, and that this move would expand its global trading infrastructure and support its plans to launch a fully U.S.-native derivatives product suite.

In September, Kraken acquired trading firm Breakout to expand its product suite for advanced traders. The company said Breakout allows qualified traders to access up to $200,000 in notional capital by passing a “rigorous” evaluation and maintaining performance above predefined drawdown limits.

The company made another acquisition in August, buying trading automation firm Capitalise.ai. Kraken said that Capitalise.ai developed a natural language platform that “transforms everyday text into executable trading strategies” and that it will add this functionality to its own Kraken Pro product.