Kraken exchange buys derivatives platform NinjaTrader

The exchange also reported a 19% year-over-year revenue growth

02.05.2025 - 11:10

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What’s new? Leading US centralized crypto exchange (CEX) Kraken has completed the purchase of futures trading platform NinjaTrader. Kraken also reported that its Q1 revenue grew 19% year-over-year to $471,7 million.

Press release

What else is known? The purchase of NinjaTrader will give the exchange’s US customers access to the traditional derivatives market, in line with its plans to expand its offerings and become a platform for all types of trading.

NinjaTrader is registered with the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and last month it rolled out trading in more than 11 000 stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) for some US clients.

The deal also allows NinjaTrader to enter the UK, continental Europe, and Australian markets. It comes as Kraken prepares for an initial public offering (IPO) in early 2026.

Bloomberg: Kraken to raise $1 billion before IPO

The exchange is tentatively scheduled to go public in early 2026

Kraken announced the launch of fee-free securities trading in mid-April. The new feature will initially be available to customers in New Jersey, Connecticut, Wyoming, Oklahoma, Idaho, Iowa, Rhode Island, Kentucky, Alabama, and the District of Columbia, and will later be rolled out to all eligible US customers.

While Kraken’s revenue grew 19% year-over-year, it fell 6,8% year-over-year to Q4 2024. Trading volume fell 9,6% quarter-on-quarter to $208,7 billion and the value of assets under custody fell 18% to $34,9 billion.

Kraken attributed the drop to a “slowdown in overall market trading activity” as Trump-initiated trade wars triggered an 18% quarter-over-quarter drop in crypto market capitalization.

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