Kraken Acquires Crypto Derivatives Platform, Crypto Facilities, In Historic Deal

Kraken, one of the biggest crypto exchanges in the world is making one of the biggest statements in the crypto space with its acquisition of UK-based crypto derivatives platform and index provider, Crypto Facilities.

The crypto exchange announced on its website on Monday, February 4th that it has completed the buyout in a nine-figure deal. Although the exact value of the deal was undisclosed as at press time, the nine-figure deal easily becomes the biggest of its kind by Kraken or and any crypto exchange for that matter.

In the past, Kraken has announced major acquisitions including NYC-based Coinsetter, Canadian bitcoin exchange Cavirtex, and Dutch crypto exchange CleverCoin all in the first half of 2016. Later that year, Kraken will announce the addition of Chicago-based crypto wallet Glidera and popular multi-exchange charting, trading and portfolio tracking platform Cryptowatch in 2017.

The move by Kraken already looks a very strategic one as it allows San Francisco-based Kraken to reach a wider customer base Crypto Facilities has in Europe while also offering cryptocurrency spot and futures trading.

“I’m thrilled to welcome the Crypto Facilities team into the Kraken family,” Kraken’s CEO Jesse Powell said as he headlined the deal noting that it will “introduce eligible clients to industry leading futures and index products.”

As Smartereum reported, Crypto Facilities recently issued the first perpetual futures contracts for XRP/USD and four others trading pairs. As matter of fact, the exchange was the first to introduce XRP futures contracts back in 2016. Regulated by UK’s Financial Conduct Authority, Crypto Facilities is the pioneer regulated exchange to issue futures on Bitcoin [BTC], Ethereum [ETH], Ripple [XRP], Litecoin [LTC] and Bitcoin Cash [BCH].

Furthermore, the Crypto Facilities provide the cryptocurrency pricing data for financial and trading institutions including the CME through its crypto indices. As Smartereum reported, CME’s Ether index launched last May is based on pricing data from Crypto Facilities.

Powell hinted that Kraken will expand the offerings of Crypto Facilities which currently include BTC/USD ETH/USD, XRP/USD, LTC/USD, BCH/USD and XRP/BTC. He explained:

“Over the coming months, our teams will continue to enhance and expand these offerings. We’ve got great stuff in store for traders and institutional clients in 2019.

Solomon Sunny is the market reporter for Smartereum, one of the global leaders in Ethereum, blockchain and currency news. He produces technical price updates on digital currencies and writes recent developments about blockchain.

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