Kraken cryptocurrency exchange logo is seen in this illustration taken July 28, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
(Reuters) -Kraken, one of the world's largest cryptocurrency exchanges, said on Thursday it would buy retail futures trading platform NinjaTrader for $1.5 billion, in a deal that would allow it to expand into multiple asset classes and grow its user base.
The acquisition comes at a time the crypto industry is optimistic about more relaxed regulation under U.S. President Donald Trump, who courted crypto donors during the election and promised to support the sector.
Industry leaders hope for policy shifts that roll back enforcement actions, encourage institutional adoption and create clearer rules for digital asset trading.
Earlier this month, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission dismissed a civil lawsuit accusing Kraken of operating illegally as an unregistered securities exchange.
Kraken is the world's tenth-ranked cryptocurrency spot exchange based on traffic, liquidity, trading volumes and confidence in the legitimacy of reported trading volumes, according to trading data website CoinMarketCap.
The deal also highlights the deepening ties between crypto companies and traditional financial firms as digital assets gain wider acceptance.
Growing demand from retail traders to access a wide range of assets — from stocks and bonds to crypto and derivatives — has pushed companies to expand beyond their roots and integrate more deeply into their customers' financial habits.
"It is an important deal for the industry because it is a deal that a crypto native acquiring a traditional finance and it is a large, billion-dollar-plus deal," said Oppenheimer analyst Owen Lau.
Lau expects "more deals to come under the most pro-crypto president, Congress and regulators", and said "there will be continuous crypto-traditional finance convergence".
Long Ridge Equity Partners-backed NinjaTrader will continue to operate as a standalone platform under Kraken.
Founded in 2003, NinjaTrader provides affordable retail future trading platform to nearly 2 million traders.
The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2025.
(Reporting by Prakhar Srivastava in Bengaluru; Editing by Shreya Biswas and Shilpi Majumdar)
