Deutsche Börse bets on Kraken

Deutsche Börse said on April 14 it is buying a $200 million stake in Kraken’s parent, Payward, taking a 1.5 percent fully diluted holding. (deutsche-boerse.com) The German exchange operator said the deal is a secondary share purchase, so the money goes to existing shareholders rather than into Kraken itself. Reuters reported the transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2026, subject to regulatory approvals. (deutsche-boerse.com) (bloomberg.com) The stake expands a partnership the two companies announced on December 4, 2025. In that agreement, Kraken and Deutsche Börse said they would connect regulated crypto trading, tokenized markets, derivatives and institutional liquidity across Europe and the United States. (deutsche-boerse.com) That earlier plan included making Eurex-listed derivatives available on Kraken, letting Deutsche Börse clients access crypto through Crypto Finance and Kraken, and using Clearstream and Crypto Finance for custody. The companies also said they would work on distributing securities held at Clearstream in tokenized form to Kraken clients. (businesswire.com) The structure of the new deal shows what Deutsche Börse is buying: access to plumbing, not just a trading brand. Payward was described in Deutsche Börse’s announcement as the infrastructure layer behind Kraken, and Bloomberg said the exchange operator wants broader access to securities that move over blockchain-based rails. (deutsche-boerse.com) (bloomberglaw.com) At $200 million for 1.5 percent, the transaction implies a valuation of about $13.3 billion for Kraken. CoinDesk noted that figure is below the roughly $20 billion valuation attached to Kraken in a 2022 funding round. (coindesk.com) Kraken has been pushing deeper into regulated markets as it prepares for public-market scrutiny. The company agreed in March 2025 to buy futures platform NinjaTrader for $1.5 billion, a deal Kraken said would expand its United States futures and multi-asset offerings. (kraken.com) (reuters.com) Deutsche Börse has been building its own digital-asset stack for years through Clearstream, Eurex and Crypto Finance. It bought a majority stake in Crypto Finance in 2021 and took full ownership in 2024, giving the group a regulated crypto trading, brokerage and custody arm inside its broader market infrastructure. (deutsche-boerse.com 1) (deutsche-boerse.com 2) The immediate question is whether the partnership turns into distribution: Eurex products on Kraken, tokenized securities flowing out of Clearstream, and more institutional crypto access through Crypto Finance. Deutsche Börse’s $200 million check does not settle the wider case for crypto, but it does put one of Europe’s largest exchange groups deeper inside Kraken’s network. (businesswire.com) (deutsche-boerse.com)