Kraken to acquire NinjaTrader: Introducing the next era of professional trading

This acquisition strengthens our position as a 24/7, always-on technology platform built for professional traders, making us a leader in U.S. futures for both traditional and crypto markets. It also accelerates Kraken’s multi-asset-class ambitions, which include plans for equities trading and payments.

Founded in 2003, NinjaTrader provides advanced futures trading tools to nearly two million traders and operates as a CFTC-registered Futures Commission Merchant (FCM). This transaction marks the largest-ever deal combining traditional finance (TradFi) and crypto.

NinjaTrader is a trusted hub for professional futures traders. With this acquisition, strategic benefits include:

• U.S. futures – NinjaTrader’s CFTC-registered FCM license allows Kraken to offer crypto futures and derivatives in the U.S.
• Unlocked global regulatory licensing and growth – Kraken’s U.K. MiFID, EU MiFID and Australian securities licenses accelerate NinjaTrader’s expansion into the U.K., Europe and Australia.
• Seamless multi-asset trading – For both Kraken and NinjaTrader clients, the ability to trade crypto, futures and traditional financial products.
• Access to elite trading tools – Clients will benefit from NinjaTrader’s pro-grade analytics, execution engines and futures liquidity, combined with Kraken’s best-in-class crypto liquidity and trading experience.

“Traditional markets run on post-WWII, 1950s banking systems, exchanges that close at 4 p.m. ET and settlement delays that take days to resolve. Crypto rails fixed these issues, operating with efficient and real-time infrastructure. But legacy finance and crypto have remained separate ecosystems, until today. This transaction is the first step in our vision of an institutional-grade trading platform where any asset can be traded, anytime,” said Arjun Sethi, Kraken’s co-CEO.

You can read the full press release here.