Crypto Exchange Kraken Unveils Institutional Solution

Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken is introducing a new solution for firms looking to gain exposure to the cryptocurrency.

Dubbed Kraken Institutional, the new brand aims to be a one-stop shop for Kraken’s existing products and services for institutions, asset managers, hedge funds and high net-worth individuals, the company said in a Tuesday (Feb. 27) news release.

Kraken Institutional will act as sole point of contact for scalable and easy-to-integrate solutions for institutions seeking exposure to the crypto asset class, the release said. It combines the Kraken products and services institutions already leverage, including spot trading, OTC trading and staking.

“If you already work with Kraken, you know how much we care about offering high quality products and a client-first experience,” Kraken CEO David Ripley said in the release. “We’ve been the leading crypto exchange for more than a decade and through Kraken Institutional, we’ll offer the same deep expertise and cutting-edge technology to propel trading excellence for institutions.”

The new brand will be led by Tim Ogilvie, who came to Kraken via its acquisition of Staked, according to the release.

“Institutional adoption of crypto is growing rapidly, and with the launch of Kraken Institutional we’re poised to grow with this client segment,” Ogilvie, global head of institutional, said in the release. “The recent ETF approval has spurred broader institutional demand; with Kraken Institutional, Kraken is pulling together products and services to meet the needs of institutional clients. Like crypto itself, Kraken Institutional is moving fast: expect more to come in the near future.”

According to the release, Kraken was founded in 2011 and is one of the first exchanges to offer spot trading with margin, parachain auctions, staking, regulated derivatives and index services. The exchange currently has over 10 million users and institutions on its platform. Its clients trade more than 200 digital assets and six different fiat currencies.

In November, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged Kraken with running an unregistered cryptocurrency exchange.

The SEC’s complaint, according to a PYMNTS report, accuses Kraken of making hundreds of millions of dollars since 2018 by illegally facilitating crypto asset securities sales.

Kraken responded with a blog post disagreeing with the SEC’s position. The exchange said at the time that it intends to defend its position in court.

“The complaint against Kraken alleges no fraud, no market manipulation, no customer losses due to hacking or compromised security, and no breaches of fiduciary duty,” the blog post said.