Deutsche Boerse Group is acquiring a 1.5% stake in Payward Inc., the parent company of crypto exchange Kraken. The purchase price is $200 million, implying a valuation of roughly $13.3 billion for Kraken.
Furthermore, the transaction is a secondary market purchase of existing shares. As a result, no fresh capital flows to Kraken. Closing remains subject to regulatory approvals. Both parties expect the deal to close in the second quarter of 2026.
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Strategic partnership since December 2025
The investment deepens a collaboration that began in December 2025. At that time, Deutsche Boerse and Kraken announced a strategic partnership. As part of the agreement, Deutsche Boerse integrated Kraken into its 360T FX trading platform. It is one of the largest electronic foreign exchange marketplaces globally.
In addition, four implementation phases are planned. Following the 360T integration, white-label solutions under the name "Kraken Embed" are set to launch. These will give European and American financial institutions access to crypto trading. In parallel, both sides are working on exchange-traded futures and options on crypto assets via Eurex. However, regulatory approval for these products is still pending.
The fourth area of cooperation is tokenization. Deutsche Boerse's Clearstream unit launched a platform for trading tokenized securities in November 2025. Together, the partners aim to cover regulated crypto offerings, institutional liquidity, custody, settlement, and collateral management.
Valuation well below prior round
The decline in valuation stands out. In November 2025, Kraken raised $800 million at a $20 billion valuation. The current transaction, by contrast, implies just $13.3 billion. That represents a drop of roughly 33%.
The numbers speak for themselves. Bitcoin has lost about 40% of its value since its October 2025 high. Consequently, falling trading volumes and lower valuations are hitting the entire crypto industry. Kraken confidentially filed a draft S-1 with the SEC in November 2025. It has since paused its IPO plans due to difficult market conditions.
For Deutsche Boerse, the investment nonetheless represents a calculated bet. According to board member Thomas Book, the company aims to build an integrated value chain for all forms of assets. This includes both tokenized and fully digital instruments. In concrete terms, $200 million is manageable for a group with assets under custody in the trillions. At the same time, the exchange operator secures a direct crypto footprint without having to build its own infrastructure from scratch.
Deutsche Boerse, Kraken, and TradFi-crypto convergence
The transaction does not stand in isolation. Traditional financial infrastructure operators are seeking direct access to crypto markets. Moreover, the goal is no longer limited to custody or trading individual assets. Instead, it is about merging entire value chains.
Deutsche Boerse is therefore pursuing a hybrid strategy. Traditional and tokenized assets are to flow into a unified liquidity pool. For example, the group operates the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, the Eurex derivatives exchange, and Clearstream settlement services. Kraken contributes the crypto infrastructure, liquidity, and access to digital assets.
What is easy to overlook: Kraken has also positioned itself remarkably well on the regulatory front in recent months. In March 2026, its Wyoming banking subsidiary Kraken Financial received a master account from the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. As a result, it became the first crypto company with direct access to Fedwire, without intermediary banks. For institutional USD transactions, that is a strategic advantage. Because of this regulatory anchoring, Kraken is particularly attractive as a partner for Deutsche Boerse. The deal remains subject to customary closing conditions, with completion expected in Q2 2026.
