Kraken doubles down on US futures with $100M ‘Small’ acquisition

Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken has expanded its derivatives trading offering in its home jurisdiction through a new acquisition.

Kraken has acquired Small Exchange, a designated contract market maker (DCM) from the trading company IG Group, for $100 million, the company announced Thursday.

With the DCM being licensed by the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), Small Exchange, the acquisition officially authorizes Kraken to build markets for exchange-listed derivatives in the US.

“Under CFTC oversight, Kraken can now integrate clearing, risk, and matching into one environment that meets the same standards as the largest exchanges in the world,” Kraken co-CEO Arjun Sethi said.

Unified crypto trading platform

The Small Exchange acquisition advances Kraken’s mission to build a unified trading platform, creating a foundation for a “new generation of US derivatives markets.”

The CFTC-licensed DCM helps Kraken connect spot, futures and margin trading products inside a single regulated liquidity system, reducing fragmentation and increasing the speed of trade execution, Sethi said.

The move is also part of a larger effort targeting global derivatives infrastructure, including Kraken’s derivatives platforms in the United Kingdom and the European Union.

“Together, these elements create a network that moves collateral in real time, nets exposure across jurisdictions, and reduces capital inefficiencies that have long held back US traders,” the co-CEO noted.

Kraken bets on derivatives markets

Kraken’s Small Exchange acquisition is not the first move by Kraken into derivatives markets in the US. The exchange launched a derivatives platform for US traders in July through a $1.5 billion acquisition of the futures trading platform NinjaTrader.

Announced in March 2025, the NinjaTrader acquisition enabled Kraken to offer Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME)-listed crypto futures, alongside spot crypto products in a unified interface.

Source: Arjun Sethi

The expansion of derivatives products comes in line with Kraken’s multi-year commitment in derivatives markets, including the acquisition of UK-based derivatives platform Crypto Facilities in 2019.

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In May 2025, Kraken launched derivatives trading in the European Union in compliance with the local crypto derivatives-related framework, Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II).

Crypto derivatives trend rising

Kraken’s ongoing efforts in creating a new generation of crypto derivatives come amid the derivatives segment holding momentum against spot trading on centralized exchanges (CEXs).

While spot trading volumes reportedly plummeted as much as 22% in the second quarter of 2025, derivatives were more resilient, experiencing a decline of roughly 4% and totaling $20.2 trillion.

According to Mark Jennings, head of Europe at Winklevoss’s crypto exchange Gemini, the global derivatives market has exploded in recent months and is expected to hit $23 trillion by the end of 2025.

Spot versus derivative volume shares on major exchanges in Q2. Source: TokenInsight

With derivatives emerging as a key trend in crypto in 2025, major derivatives platforms and CEXs have been rushing to expand their products.

In early October, CME Group said it will expand its services to offer always-on trading for crypto derivatives starting in 2026.

Coinbase, the largest US crypto exchange by trading volumes, has also been actively expanding into derivatives with the Deribit acquisition in May.

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