The acquisition advances Kraken’s goal of building a unified, high-performance trading ecosystem that connects spot, futures and margin products under one roof.
Building Institutional-Grade Markets
Arjun Sethi, co-CEO of Kraken, emphasized that this step will bring scale, transparency, and efficiency to U.S. derivatives markets. With CFTC oversight, Kraken can now integrate clearing, risk management, and matching in a single environment, similar to the largest global exchanges. This integration reduces market fragmentation, lowers funding latency, and allows real-time collateral movement across jurisdictions. The acquisition also complements Kraken’s existing regulated derivatives operations in the United Kingdom and European Union, spanning six fiat currencies and over 450 digital and traditional assets.
⚡️ LATEST: Kraken has acquired Small Exchange for $100M to launch a regulated derivatives trading platform in the US. pic.twitter.com/lGbzHFj6l7
— Cointelegraph (@Cointelegraph) October 16, 2025
A Designated Contract Market, or DCM, allows Kraken to legally design and operate exchange-listed derivatives for U.S. clients. This type of licensing is critical for institutional investors, who demand regulated and compliant venues for trading futures and other derivatives. Earlier this year, Kraken acquired NinjaTrader, a leading U.S. futures platform, enabling clients to trade CME-listed cryptocurrency futures alongside spot crypto in a single interface. In October, Kraken expanded this offering to include contracts covering equities, foreign exchange indices, and commodities such as oil and gold.
BREAKING: Wall Street is officially onchain.
xStocks are now live on Kraken ❎60 U.S. equities tokenized and tradable 24/5. More coming soon.
We’re not waiting for the future. We’re building it.👇https://t.co/iKu44ZiwZN
Not available in the U.S. or to U.S. persons. Geo… pic.twitter.com/FjOsxDJ9se
— Kraken (@krakenfx) June 30, 2025
These developments reflect a broader trend in the cryptocurrency industry. As digital assets mature, there is increasing demand for regulated, U.S.-based derivatives platforms. According to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, U.S. crypto futures trading volumes exceeded $15 billion in the first half of 2025, highlighting strong institutional appetite for onshore derivative products. Kraken’s acquisitions ensure that it meets this demand with a robust and compliant infrastructure.
More About Kraken
Kraken now supports USDC deposits and withdrawals via Ink. This will make it easier for users to fund their accounts on this Ethereum Layer 2 network. To deposit, navigate to Funding, select USDC, and choose Ink as the network.
🆕 New network expansion: $USDC deposits and withdrawals are now available on @inkonchain
Start here ⤵️https://t.co/PwCrqg0uxe
*Geographic restrictions apply pic.twitter.com/EHa2ByXrJx
— Kraken (@krakenfx) October 14, 2025
Users should ensure they send USDC only through supported networks, as deposits via unsupported networks may be lost. USDC is a stablecoin designed to track the U.S. dollar and offers faster, lower-cost transactions across multiple networks, including Ethereum, Solana, Avalanche, Sui, and Ink. Ink itself is built on the OP Stack and serves as a hub for DeFi innovation, enabling builders to launch new protocols while securing the network through staking and governance.