Kraken Launches U.S. Crypto Spot Margin Trading

Bitnomial Deal Gives Payward a U.S. Derivatives Stack

Spot margin trading is provided by NinjaTrader Clearing, LLC, doing business as Kraken Derivatives US, a CFTC-registered Futures Commission Merchant and NFA Member with NFA ID 0309379. Financing is provided by Payward Accredited LLC.

Payward’s Bitnomial acquisition gave Kraken’s parent control of a U.S. derivatives stack made up of a Futures Commission Merchant, a Designated Contract Market and a Derivatives Clearing Organization. Bitnomial was described as the first fully CFTC-licensed derivatives company in the United States built for digital assets, with licenses developed over more than a decade.

The acquisition turns Payward into a vertically integrated crypto-native U.S. derivatives operator by bringing exchange, clearinghouse and brokerage functions under one CFTC-regulated framework. Payward plans to use the Bitnomial stack to bring CFTC-regulated spot margin, perpetuals and options to eligible U.S. clients across Kraken and NinjaTrader.

“Margin is a foundational component of global crypto markets, enabling more efficient capital deployment and a broader range of trading strategies,” said Darius Tabatabai, Head of Kraken Pro. “For too long, US traders have been excluded from accessing this functionality in a regulated environment. This launch brings a critical piece of market structure onshore in a way that prioritizes transparency, risk management, and regulatory compliance.”

“Closing this deal brings a regulated US derivatives stack to Payward, its client and partners. A broker, exchange, clearinghouse purpose-built for digital assets, not adapted to them,” said Arjun Sethi, Co-CEO of Payward and Kraken. “That stack is what makes the next set of products possible. We’re starting with spot margin on Kraken, with perpetuals and options to follow. All under CFTC regulation, all in the US.”

Payward said Bitnomial will continue operating inside the Payward group with its existing licenses, regulatory structure and third-party businesses intact. Payward also plans to scale Bitnomial’s team and operations as it expands U.S. derivatives capabilities.

Kraken Expands Regulated Derivatives Access

Payward Services is positioned as a business-to-business channel for fintechs, banks, brokerages, payment providers and neobanks that want to offer regulated U.S. derivatives to end clients through a single integration. The partner channel is designed to sit alongside crypto trading, tokenized equities, staking and on/off-ramps.

Bitnomial’s contracts are structured for physical delivery, meaning users can take delivery of actual digital assets instead of receiving only dollar settlement at expiration. The structure differs from much of the cash-settled regulated U.S. derivatives market.

The rollout addresses a long-standing gap in the U.S. market, where leveraged crypto tools and perpetual futures have generated major global activity but have had limited regulated access for U.S. retail users.

Kraken Pro already offers spot markets for U.S. traders, advanced order types, professional-grade execution and access to futures through NinjaTrader. Spot margin now becomes part of Kraken Pro’s active trader toolkit.

Payward’s broader product family includes Kraken, NinjaTrader and Payward Services, serving clients in more than 190 countries and territories across crypto trading, derivatives, tokenized equities, staking, custody and business-to-business financial infrastructure.

Kraken, founded in 2011, says clients trade more than 600 digital assets, U.S. futures, U.S.-listed stocks and ETFs, and six national currencies: GBP, EUR, USD, CAD, CHF and AUD.

Kraken’s product suite includes the Kraken App, Kraken Pro, the Krak App, Kraken Institutional, Kraken’s onchain offerings and the NinjaTrader retail trading platform. The suite covers buying, selling, staking, earning rewards, sending and receiving assets, custody, advanced trading, derivatives and portfolio management tools.

The Bitnomial completion followed Payward’s acquisition of the first licensed crypto futures platform in the U.K. in 2019 and the launch of a regulated EU derivatives offering in 2025. The transaction also followed Payward’s NinjaTrader acquisition, creating a structure that connects retail futures trading with regulated U.S. crypto derivatives infrastructure.

Crypto futures and options were described as a dominant layer of digital asset trading, with futures generating around $200 billion in volume over the referenced 24-hour period, roughly double spot-market activity. A large share of crypto derivatives activity, especially options, remains concentrated on unregulated offshore venues.

Kraken’s competitive positioning is framed against CME Group and Coinbase Derivatives. CME remains a dominant institutional venue for high-value hedging, while Coinbase Derivatives has expanded into products including nano-sized contracts aimed at retail users.

The combined Kraken, NinjaTrader and Bitnomial setup spans traditional futures such as oil, gold and equity indices alongside crypto derivatives. Payward co-CEO Arjun Sethi confirmed that an IPO remains on the roadmap despite earlier reports that market conditions had pushed back the timeline.

Commodity trading, including futures and spot margin trading, carries substantial risk, may not be suitable for everyone, can produce losses exceeding the initial investment, may require additional collateral and can amplify both returns and losses through leverage.