The San Francisco-based crypto exchange Kraken just purchased the crypto futures company Crypto Facilities for at least $100 million.
Crypto Facilities is partnered with Ripple and offers UK traders a fully regulated way to purchase crypto futures, including Bitcoin, XRP, Ethereum and Litecoin. Kraken says it acquired Crypto Facilities for at least $100 million, but declined to release an exact number.
Kraken CEO Jesse Powell says the company plans to expand the platform throughout 2019.
“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.”
Kraken says the acquisition is the biggest in the company’s history.
“The nine-figure deal is Kraken’s largest acquisition to date and one of the largest the industry has seen. Kraken’s previous acquisitions include major Bitcoin exchanges Coinsetter, Cavirtex and CleverCoin; the award-winning wallet funding service Glidera; and the popular multi-exchange charting, trading and portfolio tracking platform Cryptowatch.”
Crypto Facilities will remain in London, where it is fully compliant with the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority. The deal will allow Kraken clients located in the UK to gain access to crypto futures.
“The acquisition of Crypto Facilities reinforces Kraken’s commitment to meeting client demand for innovative products and services that complement its core spot exchange and white-glove OTC service. Eligible Kraken clients will gain access to futures on six cryptocurrency pairs, providing a highly efficient way to trade and hedge cryptocurrency in any market environment.”
Ripple partnered with Crypto Facilities in 2016, making it the first derivatives exchange to list regulated XRP futures contracts.
In an equally large acquisition in the crypto industry, Tron bought peer-to-peer file sharing platform BitTorrent for an estimated $100 million last year.
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