Kraken Parent Payward Closes Bitnomial Deal

Payward, the parent company of Kraken, has completed its acquisition of Bitnomial, giving the crypto exchange group a fully Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)-licensed derivatives stack in the United States.

The deal brings together three key pieces of regulated derivatives infrastructure: a Futures Commission Merchant, a Designated Contract Market and a Derivatives Clearing Organization. Payward said Bitnomial will keep operating inside the group with its licenses, regulatory structure and third-party businesses intact.

The acquisition gives Payward the ability to build and distribute federally regulated crypto derivatives products in the US through Kraken, NinjaTrader and Payward Services. Payward said the infrastructure will support spot margin first, with perpetuals and options expected to follow.

The company also plans to use Payward Services, its business-to-business infrastructure platform, to let fintechs, banks, brokerages and payment providers offer regulated US derivatives access.

Bitnomial is a Chicago-based crypto derivatives venue built for digital assets under CFTC oversight. Its regulatory footprint includes approvals to operate as a DCM, DCO and FCM.

Payward announced on April 17 that it would acquire 100% of Bitnomial's outstanding equity for up to $550 million in cash and stock, in a deal that valued Payward's equity at $20 billion.

The closing moves the deal from plan to execution. Payward said it plans to grow Bitnomial's team and operations as it builds out its US derivatives business.

The Bitnomial acquisition fits into Kraken's wider derivatives push. Kraken announced its $1.5 billion NinjaTrader deal in March 2025 and completed it in May 2025, expanding into regulated futures beyond crypto spot trading.

Together, NinjaTrader and Bitnomial give Payward both distribution and regulatory infrastructure. NinjaTrader brings a retail futures user base, while Bitnomial brings the licenses and clearing structure needed for US-regulated derivatives products. That combination gives Payward both retail futures distribution and the regulatory infrastructure needed for US-regulated crypto derivatives products.

The deal comes as crypto firms try to capture more trading activity under US regulatory oversight instead of leaving most derivatives volume to offshore platforms. For Payward, closing the Bitnomial deal strengthens its position before any broader US market structure law is finalized.

It gives the company an existing CFTC-regulated route while lawmakers continue debating how digital asset spot and derivatives markets should be supervised. The next test is rollout of the roadmap Payward has outlined: spot margin first, with perpetuals and options expected to follow.