Key takeaways
- IG Group has completed the sale of Small Exchange to Payward, the parent company of cryptocurrency exchange Kraken.
- The acquisition is part of Kraken’s efforts to bring the type of sophisticated access to derivatives locally that has traditionally only been available on offshore platforms.
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Kraken has acquired Small Exchange, a CFTC-regulated derivatives trading platform owned by IG Group, a major global online trading and fintech company, in a deal valued at $100 million, it said Thursday. press release.
The acquisition is part of Kraken’s strategy to roll out its full range of derivatives products in the US, strengthening its regulated presence in the world’s largest capital market. Small Exchange’s Designated Contract Market (DCM) license will allow Kraken to design and operate exchange-listed derivatives markets locally.
“Kraken’s acquisition of the CFTC-regulated custom contracts market creates the foundation for a new generation of financial derivatives markets in the US,” said Arjun Sethi, CEO of Kraken.
“This move links spot, futures and margin products within one regulated liquidity system, reducing fragmentation, reducing funding latency, and bringing to shore the kind of access and performance that has often existed offshore,” Sethi added.
This acquisition strengthens Kraken’s global derivatives network. The company has established venues for regulated derivatives in the UK and EU.
The move comes after Kraken signed a deal to acquire NinjaTrader, enabling US customers to trade CME-listed cryptocurrency futures alongside spot cryptocurrencies.
IG Group acquired Small Exchange in 2023 from Foris DAX Markets, the parent company of Crypto.com. The futures exchange offers small-volume contracts aimed at retail traders seeking access to the US futures markets.
