Stacy Pereira
- Kraken launches U.S.-regulated futures platform called Kraken Derivatives US for traders to access CME-listed Bitcoin and Ethereum futures.
- The platform enables seamless collateral transfers between spot and futures accounts.
- Kraken also plans to extend its futures offerings to commodities, FX, and equities to become a multi-asset trading hub.
Kraken on July 15, launched Kraken Derivatives US, a U.S.-regulated platform allowing American users to trade CME-listed Bitcoin and Ethereum futures, the company said in its blog post. Kraken Pro users will get to trade in derivatives along with spot crypto assets. This marks Kraken’s first significant expansion into regulated derivatives, empowered by its March acquisition of futures broker NinjaTrader.
“With this launch, Kraken clients in the U.S. can now trade futures alongside one of the world’s most liquid cryptocurrency spot markets,” said Shannon Kurtas, Kraken’s Head of Exchange, emphasizing it offers “broad market access and increased capital efficiency within a regulated and high‑performance environment.”
The platform supports both cash-settled and physically-delivered contracts, with instant collateral transfer capabilities between spot and futures accounts. This unified interface caters to sophisticated traders by allowing efficient risk management and advanced strategies, all within U.S. compliance frameworks.
Aim to become a multi-asset trading hub
Kraken’s decision to embrace regulated derivatives follows the broader industry trend toward institutional-grade crypto offerings from rivals like CME Group and Coinbase. Earlier this year, the exchange introduced commission-free trading for over 11,000 U.S. stocks and ETFs. It plans to further expand into futures tied to commodities, fixed income, FX, and equities in the near future.
The exchange wants to solidifying its position as a unified venue for digital and traditional asset-classes. In April, trading platform introduced commission-free equities trading in the U.S., giving users access to more than 11,000 stocks and ETFs. More recently they announced tokenized equities offering too.
