Kraken Buys Small Exchange for $100M, Paving the Way for U.S. Derivatives Expansion Ahead of IPO

Kraken has taken another major leap in its bid to dominate regulated digital asset markets, announcing a $100 million acquisition of U.S.-based Small Exchange. The deal—comprising $32.5 million in cash and $67.5 million in Payward stock, Kraken’s parent company—cements the exchange’s push into American derivatives trading under Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) oversight.

Founded in 2017 and formerly owned by the IG Group, Small Exchange specializes in futures, derivatives, and options trading. The acquisition grants Kraken the legal foundation to create and list its own exchange-traded derivatives in the U.S., something it previously lacked. The company said the purchase “lays the foundation for a fully U.S.-native derivatives product suite” that will integrate seamlessly with its spot and margin services.

Arjun Sethi, co-CEO of Kraken, described the deal as a move toward “reducing market fragmentation and bringing onshore the kind of performance and access that has mostly existed offshore.” He emphasized that the integration of spot, futures, and margin markets will give U.S. traders a unified, regulated liquidity system.

The acquisition follows a string of similar moves by Kraken aimed at building a vertically integrated trading ecosystem. Earlier this year, the company purchased futures platform NinjaTrader for $1.5 billion and later added proprietary trading platform Breakout in September. These deals build on Kraken’s 2019 acquisition of UK-based Crypto Facilities, which enabled the exchange to launch futures trading in Europe earlier this year.

While no timeline has been given for when derivatives trading will go live for U.S. users, the acquisition aligns with recent U.S. regulatory developments such as the GENIUS Act and Clarity Act, which have brought unprecedented clarity to crypto-based futures markets.

Kraken’s continued expansion comes as it reportedly prepares for a potential Nasdaq IPO in January 2026. Meanwhile, its former partner IG Group is making its own foray into digital assets, having secured an FCA cryptoasset license in the UK this September.

With regulatory green lights now appearing across both sides of the Atlantic, Kraken’s strategic acquisitions are positioning it to become one of the few exchanges capable of offering a full suite of compliant crypto derivatives to both retail and institutional investors.