Payward Moves to Buy Bitnomial in $550M Deal, Gaining a Complete U.S. Crypto Derivatives Platform

TL;DR:

• Payward, Kraken’s parent company, agreed to acquire Bitnomial for up to $550 million in cash and stock, valuing the firm at $20 billion.
• The deal grants Kraken the three licenses required to operate a full-stack derivatives business in the United States.
• The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2026, subject to regulatory conditions and the corresponding approvals.

Payward, the parent company of crypto exchange Kraken, agreed to acquire digital asset derivatives platform Bitnomial for up to $550 million in a combined cash-and-stock transaction. The deal values the parent company at $20 billion, according to an official statement.

Bitnomial, founded over a decade ago, is the first crypto-native platform to obtain the three licenses required to operate a full-stack derivatives business in the United States: a designated contract market, a derivatives clearing organization, and a futures commission merchant. The acquisition allows Payward to bypass years of regulatory groundwork.

Bitnomial’s Capabilities Are Crucial for the Market

Arjun Sethi, co-CEO of Payward, noted that “the shape of a market is determined by its clearing infrastructure, not its interface,” pointing out that Bitnomial’s crypto-native settlement, collateral, and around-the-clock trading capabilities are central elements of the strategy. The combined platform will integrate that regulated infrastructure with the global distribution and liquidity of Kraken and NinjaTrader. Initial offerings will include spot margin, perpetual futures, and options for U.S. clients under the oversight of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

The acquisition is part of a mergers-and-acquisitions strategy that Kraken has been executing for some time. The most significant deal to date had been the purchase of NinjaTrader for $1.5 billion in 2025, the largest transaction between traditional finance and the crypto world to date.

Payward Waits to Execute Kraken’s IPO

The deal will also expand Payward Services, the company’s B2B infrastructure arm, which will allow banks, fintechs, and brokerages to access regulated derivatives in the United States through a single API integration. The transaction covers 100% of Bitnomial’s share capital and is expected to close in the first half of 2026.

Kraken is moving toward a public listing that faces more than one layer of complexity. The company confidentially submitted a draft S-1 to the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 19, 2025, although sources indicated in March that IPO plans are on hold pending more favorable market conditions.