Kraken Advances U.K. Expansion With the Acquisition of Futures Platform

U.S.-based cryptocurrency exchange platform Kraken has completed the largest transaction in its history after it made its foray into the futures trading world with the acquisition of London-based Crypto Facilities.

Jesse Powell, chief executive officer of Kraken, stated, “I’m thrilled to welcome the Crypto Facilities team into the Kraken family. 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.”

Kraken reports that it paid “nine figures” for Crypto Facilities, a company that lists futures of digital assets including bitcoin (BTC), ether (ETH), litecoin (LTC) and ripple (XRP). The exchange will also acquire Crypto Facilities’ index business as part of the deal, which makes Kraken one of the first crypto exchanges to offer both spot and future trading in cryptocurrencies.

Powell told Bitcoin Magazine via email that the platform is now open to non-U.S. users, enabling them to trade futures from their Kraken accounts. He added that there are no plans to add support for U.S. customers at the moment.

Kraken Futures: Strong Entrance Into the U.K.

Crypto Facilities will be rebranded to Kraken Futures going forward, but it will continue to operate out of the U.K., “benefiting from the regulatory oversight of the Financial Conduct Authority, one of the world’s most forward-looking and innovation-focused regulators, and reflecting Kraken’s commitment to the UK as the leading financial and cryptocurrency hub in Europe.”

Foreign Expansion: A Practical Move for Crypto Exchanges

Kraken isn’t the only U.S. cryptocurrency exchange that has made moves to increase its reach and expand across the borders of the United States. In October 2018, crypto exchange Bittrex launched an overseas division of its trading platform, which afforded it the opportunity to segregate its U.S. users to provide more digital tokens to foreign markets.

Among other benefits, potential markets provide many opportunities for expansion, as the growth of most exchanges has been stifled by the patchwork regulatory landscape of the American crypto market.