Kraken is widening its gateway into traditional finance, adding access to a broader range of CME Group derivatives as it continues building a one-stop trading platform before a possible public listing.
A company representative told The Block that Kraken’s U.S. derivatives arm is rolling out support “from equity indices to energy, metals, FX and more,” linking clients directly to CME’s futures markets via its regulated futures commission merchant, Kraken Derivatives US.
The expansion marks a major push by the crypto exchange to blur the boundaries between digital assets and conventional markets. CME, the Chicago-based powerhouse that dominates global derivatives trading, offers contracts spanning equities, commodities, and currencies.
With the new integration, traders on Kraken can now access benchmark equity index futures such as the S&P 500, NASDAQ, and Dow Jones Industrial Average, as well as commodities including gold, oil, silver, rice, cattle, and soybeans. The offering also covers major FX pairs like the euro, pound, yen, and Australian dollar, alongside CME’s CBOT, NYMEX, and COMEX product lines.
Kraken’s traditional contracts are built for experienced traders and priced at what the firm calls an “ultra-competitive” 0.5 basis points per trade. It is also offering discounted market data packages to attract both retail and institutional clients.
The move reflects Kraken’s ambition to compete not only with crypto-native exchanges but also with mainstream brokerages such as Robinhood, which has been adding exposure to traditional assets like oil and gold. Outside the U.S., the two companies are also going head-to-head in the emerging market for tokenized equities.
The expansion follows a year of strategic deals as Kraken accelerates its crossover into traditional markets. Earlier in 2025, the exchange acquired retail futures broker NinjaTrader for roughly $1.5 billion—the largest crypto‑Trad Fi merger to date. Over the summer, Kraken launched CME‑listed bitcoin and ether futures on Kraken Pro, promising to add contracts in other commodities, foreign exchange, fixed income, and equities by year‑end.
The company’s derivatives pivot also comes as it reportedly prepares for an IPO that could value it near $20 billion. Sources familiar with the matter said the exchange has been holding early discussions with potential underwriters but has yet to set a timeline.
What remains uncertain is whether Kraken will mirror CME’s traditional “24/5” trading schedule or move toward round‑the‑clock access. CME chief executive Terry Duffy said last week the exchange plans to open crypto futures and options to “24/7” trading, a shift that could ripple across broader financial markets.
CME’s crypto division has been enjoying record momentum, averaging 340,000 contracts a day—about $14.1 billion in notional value—during the third quarter. The exchange plans to introduce options on Solana and XRP futures on Oct. 16, signaling growing institutional appetite for crypto‑linked products.
For Kraken, the expansion is as much about perception as product. By pairing traditional derivatives with digital assets under one roof, the firm is positioning itself as a full‑spectrum trading venue for both crypto traders seeking regulated exposure and traditional investors exploring digital markets.
As one derivatives analyst at a rival exchange put it this week: “If Kraken executes this right, it stops being just a crypto exchange—it becomes a futures broker with crypto DNA.”