Kraken Parent Payward Gains U.S. Derivatives Licenses in Bitnomial Acquisition

Payward, which owns the crypto exchange Kraken, has wrapped up its acquisition of Bitnomial, gaining a full set of U.S. derivatives licenses.

The deal grants Payward approvals as a Futures Commission Merchant, Derivatives Clearing Organization, and Designated Contract Market. With these licenses in place, the company can now offer CFTC-regulated products to eligible U.S. users, including spot margin, perpetuals, and options.

Co-CEO Arjun Sethi said spot margin trading will be the first product launched on Kraken, with additional derivatives products to follow.

Chicago-based Bitnomial will continue to operate under Payward while maintaining its existing regulatory framework as the company scales its U.S. derivatives business. Financial terms were not disclosed. However, the transaction had previously been valued at up to $550 million.