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Crypto exchange Kraken agreed to acquire NinjaTrader, a futures trading platform, for $1.5 billion, the companies announced Thursday.

Why it matters: Derivatives are considered the holy grail for crypto exchanges, with this deal giving Kraken a path to offering the asset in the U.S.

In December alone, the monthly spot trading volume of centralized exchanges hit $3.7 trillion. Derivatives dwarfed that figure, at $7.6 trillion, per CCData.

Between the lines: Buying NinjaTrader is something of a speed-up button for Kraken, giving it a license to provide access to derivatives without sending them to a broker.

Coinbase got one in August 2023, after a nearly two-year application process.

Coinbase's derivatives trading volume hit $416 billion in December 2024, roughly 18 months after it launched its derivatives products, per CCData.

Zoom out: This marks the largest acquisition in the crypto space, surpassing Stripe's $1.1 billion deal for Bridge last year.

The derivatives space was already hot for acquisitions, even prior to the Trump administration, as companies battled it out for a handful of licenses.

Zoom in: NinjaTrader held some $291.1 million of customer assets as of March 3, according to a CFTC filing. Long Ridge Equity Partners and DRW Venture Capital back the business.

Flashback: The CFTC fined Kraken back in 2021 for offering margined crypto products without registering for the proper licenses (a DCM or FCM).

Kraken to buy NinjaTrader for $1.5B

This marks the first big crypto buy of the year.

Illustration of a tentacle holding a bunch of cash. 

Crypto exchange Kraken agreed to acquire NinjaTrader, a futures trading platform, for $1.5 billion, <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="the companies announced Thursday" data-vars-click-url="https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250320152798/en/Kraken-to-Acquire-NinjaTrader-Introducing-the-Next-Era-of-Professional-Trading" data-vars-content-id="78ad8ed4-f3f5-487b-acb5-4f6cc64132fd" data-vars-headline="Kraken to buy NinjaTrader for $1.5B" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250320152798/en/Kraken-to-Acquire-NinjaTrader-Introducing-the-Next-Era-of-Professional-Trading" target="_blank">the companies announced Thursday</a>.Why it matters: Derivatives are considered the holy grail for crypto exchanges, with this deal giving Kraken a path to offering the asset in the U.S.

Kraken to buy NinjaTrader for $1.5B

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