Quick Takeaways:
- Kraken raised $500 million, pushing its value up to $15 billion.
- Revenue is up 19% year-over-year as the company eyes a 2026 IPO.
- With xStocks, Kraken now lets users trade tokenized shares like Apple and Tesla, 24/7.
Kraken Raises $500M and It’s Just Getting Started
Kraken just made a huge move. The popular crypto exchange raised $500 million in a fresh funding round, giving it a new valuation of $15 billion. But this isn’t just about adding more money to the bank.
This raise is a big step toward something much bigger: going public in 2026. If you’ve been watching the crypto space, you know how fast things can shift.
Kraken’s latest move shows it’s thinking ahead, not just about the next bull run, but about becoming a long-term player in both crypto and traditional finance.
According to Co-CEO Arjun Sethi, this new funding is about growth, yes, but also about building trust, improving the user experience, and making sure the company is ready for the public markets.
It’s about playing the long game. And things are already looking up. In early 2025, Kraken reported $472 million in revenue, which is 19% higher than last year.
At the same time, the company got a huge boost when the U.S. SEC dropped its lawsuit in March 2025.
That, combined with regulatory approval in the EU under MiCA, means Kraken has a much clearer path forward—legally and strategically.
Kraken Raises the Bar by Blending Crypto and Traditional Finance
Let’s be real: most crypto exchanges stick to crypto. But Kraken is doing something different, and kind of exciting. Instead of staying in its lane, it’s merging crypto with traditional investing in a way that feels fresh and useful.
First, Kraken bought NinjaTrader for $1.5 billion, a platform known for trading derivatives and equities. Then it launched xStocks, which lets users trade tokenized versions of big-name stocks like Apple and Tesla just like they would with Bitcoin or Ethereum. And here’s the kicker: it’s available 24/7, unlike the stock market.
So why does this matter? Because for the first time, retail investors and even institutions can trade traditional assets on a crypto platform, without needing to log into two different worlds.
It’s one login, one experience, and way more flexibility. Sure, Kraken’s trading volume (around $1.37 billion daily) still trails behind Coinbase’s, but Kraken is clearly betting on something bigger than volume: variety and access.
With tokenized stocks, crypto, and soon even futures all in one place, Kraken is trying to become the platform, not just for crypto traders, but for modern investors in general.
Kraken Raises Expectations Ahead of Its 2026 IPO
Going public is no small feat, especially for a company in crypto. But Kraken seems ready to take on that challenge. With solid revenue, stronger regulation, and a growing product lineup, it’s checking off all the boxes that matter to future shareholders.
But more than that, Kraken is doing the smart thing by reducing its dependence on crypto alone. By adding regulated products like tokenized stocks, it’s building more stability into its business.
That’s exactly what potential investors want to see.
What stands out most is that Kraken isn’t chasing hype.
It’s laying foundations: for trust, for compliance, and for a platform that makes sense in a world where traditional finance and crypto are no longer separate silos. If Kraken keeps
