Kraken Launches Regulated Crypto Derivatives in Europe
Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken has announced the introduction of regulated derivatives trading on its platform, adhering to the European Union’s Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II).
According to a May 20 announcement, Kraken’s perpetual and fixed maturity crypto futures contracts will soon be available for both retail and institutional customers across the European Economic Area (EEA). This follows the exchange obtaining an MiFID license in early February through the acquisition of a Cypriot investment firm, which was approved by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission.
Shannon Kurtas, Kraken’s head of exchange, remarked, “Europe is one of the fastest-growing regions for digital asset trading and investment, featuring some of the most sophisticated and demanding clients and institutions.”
He further noted, “Clients and partners are increasingly seeking comprehensive offerings within a regulated framework.”
Source: Kraken Pro
By the time of publication, Kraken had not responded to Cointelegraph’s request for comment.
Release the Kraken
Kurtas stated that with the launch of the new derivatives products, “users can seamlessly trade futures as part of a comprehensive suite of offerings” on the platform.
He explained that derivatives will enhance “capital efficiency, access to liquidity, reliability and enable sophisticated strategies and position management.” These derivatives will be provided through a Cyprus-based MiFID II-regulated entity, Payward Europe Digital Solutions.
This launch comes after Kraken completed its acquisition of the futures trading platform NinjaTrader earlier this month, with its first-quarter revenue rising by 19% year-on-year to $471.7 million.
Crypto derivatives see lots of activity
Recently, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong expressed that his firm will continue exploring merger and acquisition opportunities after acquiring the crypto derivatives platform Deribit. This statement followed the publicly listed US crypto exchange’s agreement earlier this month to acquire Deribit, one of the largest crypto derivatives trading platforms worldwide.
Major crypto exchange Gemini has also recently received regulatory approval to broaden its crypto derivatives trading throughout Europe. Gemini’s head of Europe, Mark Jennings, said in a statement on May 9:
“Once we start our business activities, we will be able to offer regulated derivatives across the EU and EEA [European Economic Area] under MiFID II.”
Decentralized finance platform Synthetix is also looking to delve deeper into crypto derivatives, planning to reacquire the crypto options platform Derive, pending approval from both the Synthetix and Derive communities.
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