Kraken's Big Move: Crypto Exchange Raises $800M to Expand

A Massive Boost for Crypto Exchange

Kraken, a leading crypto exchange, has just secured a staggering $800 million investment. This includes a $200 million contribution from Citadel Securities, a major financial institution. The goal? To bring traditional finance into the blockchain era.

A Two-Part Funding Round

The funding round was split into two parts:

First Part: Led by major investors like Jane Street and DRW Venture Capital.
Second Part: A $200 million injection from Citadel Securities, boosting Kraken's value to $20 billion.

Kraken's Vision and Growth

Founded in 2011, Kraken offers a range of services, from trading to payment solutions. Its unique structure allows it to quickly launch new products while staying compliant with regulations. Arjun Sethi, Kraken's co-CEO, emphasized their mission: to create a platform where anyone can trade any asset, anytime, anywhere.

A Major Milestone

This funding round is a big deal for Kraken, which had only raised $27 million before. Despite limited outside funding, Kraken generated $1.5 billion in revenue in 2024 and surpassed that by Q3 2025. Over the past year, Kraken has been expanding into multi-asset trading:

Acquired NinjaTrader to launch U.S. futures trading.
Started offering tokenized equities.
Introduced KRAK, an app for payments, savings, and investing.

Collaboration with Citadel Securities

Citadel Securities President Jim Esposito praised Kraken as a key player in the next chapter of digital innovation in markets. The firm plans to collaborate with Kraken on liquidity provision and risk management, areas where Citadel has extensive experience.

Expansion Plans

With the new funds, Kraken plans to:

Expand into Latin America, Asia Pacific, and EMEA.
Add more trading tools, institutional products, staking solutions, and payment services.
Meet the growing demand for regulated access to digital and tokenized assets.