Just after undergoing a big rebrand, the long-running cryptocurrency exchange, Kraken, has announced its purchase of United Kingdom-based startup, Crypto Facilities.
As an FCA-regulated digital asset exchange, Crypto Facilities is useful to Kraken due to its implementation of cryptocurrency futures. This deal will allow Kraken to expand and offer regulated futures trading to it’s customers. The deal is said to have been worth over nine figures.
Expanding Their Offerings
Before the purchase, Crypto Facilities supported Asian, European, and Latin American markets. Thanks to Kraken’s buyout, the group is looking to provide to U.S. markets as well. Kraken claims the integration will enable investors to buy into futures for six different crypto pairs.
Founder and CEO Jesse Powell says that this merger will “massively accelerate” Kraken’s expansion. Now, the company can avoid a ton of “licenses and approvals” required by the European government if they want to start something across the pond, reports CoinDesk.
“The deal brings out total developer team to over 100,” he told the news website. It will “accelerate Crypto Facilities by enabling us to add more assets. We plan to launch more contracts in the medium-term and Kraken also has plans to launch more assets.”
Read: What are Bitcoin Futures?
A couple of months ago, Kraken fired 57 employees from its Canada-based office in an attempt to cut costs, reports FinanceMagnates. Unfortunately, it is one of many crypto-related spaces that had to cut staff due to the market drop. However, all Crypto Facilities employees will remain with the company through this merger, including CEO Timo Schlaefer. The exchange will work as its own company under Kraken Group, which is Kraken’s umbrella company.
“I’m thrilled to welcome the Crypto Facilities team into the Kraken family,” says Powell. “We are excited to introduce eligible clients to these industry leading futures and index products. 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.”
Continuing The Mission
Kraken had once been the most significant European cryptocurrency exchange in the world, with the company holding around three percent market share in the United States as well. Since its inception in July 2011, Kraken has gone on to purchase Chicago-based Gildera and the Dutch exchange CleverCoin. The company was initially intended to diversify the number of cryptocurrency exchanges, providing an alternative to the now-deceased Mt. Gox.
Powell launched the beta version of Kraken in May 2013, and initially offered Bitcoin and Litecoin before expanding to Ethereum and a ton of other assets. It is highly regarded thanks to its lack of security compromises and is seen as one of the best exchanges on the market. Similar to Coinbase, the company takes its time when adding new assets or trading pairs, ensuring that only the most reliable assets are available to investors.
Schlaefer seems happy to join with Kraken, commenting on the merger:
“It has been our mission to build the most sophisticated, powerful and user friendly cryptocurrency trading platform. Teaming up with Kraken allows us to innovate the next generation of products and tremendously boosts the value we are able to provide to our clients.”
Overall, the goal is to help Kraken become “the most liquid futures exchange,” says Schlaefer. With this deal, investors will be able to trade crypto futures on nights and weekends instead of relying on the limited 9-5 trades of the United States market.
This seems like a solid partnership, and Powell says there are probably one or two more acquisitions to come this year. These additions combined with Kraken’s interface overhaul should result in a very bright 2019 for the company.
