Kraken parent Payward completes Bitnomial acquisition, unlocking US crypto derivatives offering

Payward, the parent company of crypto exchange Kraken, has completed its acquisition of Bitnomial, enabling it to offer crypto derivatives in the U.S.

With the deal closed, Payward now holds a full suite of U.S. derivatives licenses, including a Futures Commission Merchant, a Designated Contract Market, and a Derivatives Clearing Organization, according to a Friday company statement.

“This is the foundation that enables Payward to bring CFTC-regulated spot margin, perpetuals and options to eligible U.S. clients on Kraken and NinjaTrader,” the company said.

Arjun Sethi, co-CEO of Payward and Kraken, said that the company will start with rolling out spot margin services on Kraken, with perpetuals and options to follow. “That stack is what makes the next set of products possible,” Sethi added.

Bitnomial is a Chicago-based crypto-native exchange that holds three licenses issued by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to run a full-stack domestic digital asset derivatives business. The platform has often been among the first in the country to list new assets, such as Aptos futures.

As part of the acquisition, Payward plans to expand Bitnomial’s team as it builds out its U.S. derivatives business, according to the press release. Bitnomial will operate within Payward while retaining its existing licenses, regulatory framework and third-party businesses.

The company did not disclose the final terms of the deal. When it first announced the acquisition in April, Payward said it planned to acquire Bitnomial for up to $550 million in cash and stock, in a transaction that would value Payward’s equity at $20 billion. 

Derivatives push

Payward said the acquisition also creates a new channel for its partners — including banks, brokerages and payment providers — to offer U.S. derivatives to their end clients.

Outside the U.S., Payward said it operates regulated derivatives businesses in the UK after acquiring a crypto futures platform in 2019. It also launched regulated EU derivatives offerings last year.

The Bitnomial acquisition follows Payward’s disclosure earlier this month of a $200 million investment from Deutsche Borse Group, which runs the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and provides clearing infrastructure across Europe. 

Payward has been gearing up for a potential public listing, and confidentially submitted a draft S-1 registration statement to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in November.

The Block has reached out to Payward for further information.

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