Kraken unlocks full U.S. derivatives play after Bitnomial buy

Payward has completed its acquisition of Bitnomial, giving Kraken a regulated pathway to launch crypto derivatives in the U.S.

According to a company statement released Friday, the deal hands Payward control of a full set of Commodity Futures Trading Commission licenses, including a Futures Commission Merchant, a Designated Contract Market, and a Derivatives Clearing Organization, allowing it to operate trading, clearing, and brokerage services under one framework.

Arjun Sethi, co-CEO of Payward and Kraken, said the rollout will begin with spot margin trading on Kraken, with perpetual contracts and options scheduled to follow, adding that “that stack is what makes the next set of products possible.”

Bitnomial, based in Chicago, spent more than a decade securing the three CFTC approvals required to run a complete derivatives operation, a combination no other crypto-native U.S. firm holds at the same time, according to Payward’s earlier disclosure in April.

With the transaction closed, Bitnomial will operate within Payward while keeping its regulatory structure and third-party services intact, the company said, alongside plans to expand the exchange’s team as development continues.

Payward said the integration will connect Bitnomial’s infrastructure across Kraken, NinjaTrader, and its business-to-business platform, allowing banks, brokerages, and payment firms to access regulated U.S. crypto derivatives through a single API.

When the acquisition was first announced, Payward said the deal could reach up to $550 million in cash and stock, valuing the company at $20 billion, although final terms were not disclosed upon closing.

Company data released in April showed Payward generated $2.2 billion in revenue in 2025, processed about $2 trillion in transaction volume, and held more than $48 billion in customer assets at year-end.

Outside the U.S., Payward said it already runs regulated derivatives businesses in the UK following a 2019 acquisition and introduced EU-regulated offerings in 2025, building out its international presence ahead of entering the U.S. market with a fully licensed structure.

The acquisition follows a separate $200 million investment from Deutsche Börse Group earlier this month, while Payward confirmed it had confidentially filed a draft S-1 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in November as it continues to consider a public listing.