Crypto exchange Kraken has completed a $100 million acquisition of the licensed trading platform Small Exchange from IG Group. The deal gives Kraken Designated Contract Market (DCM) status in the United States, expanding its regulated derivatives footprint across the U.S., the U.K., and the EU.
Small Exchange operates as a CFTC-licensed DCM market. This designation grants Kraken the right to develop and launch exchange-traded derivatives under direct supervision from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). According to the company, the acquisition lays the groundwork for a fully regulated U.S. derivatives market.
The DCM status allows Kraken to consolidate contract development, listing, and trading under a single CFTC-regulated framework. The firm plans to connect its spot, futures, and margin segments into a unified liquidity system, enabling faster margin settlements and more efficient collateral management.
Kraken’s Previous Moves in Derivatives
The purchase of Small Exchange continues Kraken’s strategic expansion in the derivatives sector.
In 2019, the company acquired U.K.-based Crypto Facilities, regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and operating as a Multilateral Trading Facility (MTF). That acquisition enabled Kraken to launch one of Europe’s largest crypto futures offerings under the MiFID II directive.
In 2025, Kraken bought NinjaTrader, giving U.S. clients access to CME crypto futures within a unified interface alongside spot trading. In October, the lineup was expanded to include contracts on equities, currency indices, and commodities such as oil and gold.
Following the latest acquisition, Kraken now operates regulated derivatives platforms across the U.S., the U.K., and the European Union. The unified infrastructure supports trading in more than 450 digital and traditional assets, as well as six fiat currencies – GBP, EUR, USD, CAD, CHF, and AUD.
The company emphasized that its upgraded system enables real-time collateral transfers and cross-jurisdictional risk offsets, reducing capital inefficiencies for U.S. market participants.
Kraken added that the goal of the deal is to create an institutional-grade trading environment and deliver a unified, high-performance ecosystem for spot and derivatives products in the world’s largest capital market – the United States.
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