Kraken owner to buy Bitnomial for up to $500M
Payward, the parent company of crypto exchange Kraken, is spending up to $550 million to acquire Bitnomial, a Chicago-based digital asset derivatives exchange, the firm said Friday.
The major exchange operator has intensified its expansion push after clearing the SEC lawsuit last March, and the acquisition of Bitnomial adds to its trio of major derivatives deals, following the purchase of NinjaTrader and Small Exchange.
Commenting on the acquisition, Payward co-CEO Arjun Sethi said Bitnomial brings a decade-built, fully regulated clearing and settlement infrastructure designed for digital assets, which will enable Payward to accelerate the rollout of US crypto derivatives products.
“The shape of a market is determined by its clearing infrastructure, not its front end. Settlement mechanics, margin models, and contract structures define what products can exist and who can access them. The US has had no clearing infrastructure built for digital assets,” Sethi stated.
The deal is a cash-and-stock transaction covering all of Bitnomial’s equity. It gives Payward three separate regulatory approvals from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Bitnomial operates as a designated contract market, a derivatives clearing organization, and a futures commission merchant.
The acquisition will combine Bitnomial’s regulated derivatives infrastructure with Payward’s global client base, liquidity, and distribution across its trading and infrastructure platforms.
“Bitnomial was built on a simple conviction: that the future of derivatives is digital-asset-native, and that the US should lead it, not follow it. That’s why we built our exchange and clearinghouse from the ground up for crypto — and it’s why Bitnomial has been first on nearly every meaningful capability,” Bitnomial’s founder Luke Hoersten noted.
The transaction implies a $20 billion valuation for Payward and is slated to close in the first half of 2026, subject to regulatory approvals.
The agreement comes days after Payward secured a $200 million strategic investment from Deutsche Börse Group, deepening a partnership focused on regulated crypto, tokenized markets, and institutional trading infrastructure.
