Kraken’s parent company, Payward, has finalized the acquisition of the Bitnomial platform. This marks the first firm in the United States with a full suite of CFTC licenses for derivatives trading.
The parties have not disclosed the final terms of the agreement. In April, Payward valued Bitnomial at up to $550 million.
Through this deal, Payward has gained the status of broker, exchange, and clearinghouse. This infrastructure will enable the launch of regulated margin trading, perpetual contracts, and options for Kraken and NinjaTrader clients in the U.S.
Kraken’s co-leader, Arjun Sethi, noted that the first product under the new structure will be spot margin trading. The company plans to add other derivatives later.
Bitnomial will continue to operate within the Payward group, retaining its current licenses and team. External partners—fintech services, banks, and brokers—will be able to offer their clients regulated instruments through Payward Services’ infrastructure.
With the acquisition of Bitnomial, the company has completed the formation of a global network of licensed platforms. Similar platforms were launched by Payward in the United Kingdom in 2019 and in the European Union in 2025.
SOL Strategies Acquires Cross-Chain Aggregator
Investment firm SOL Strategies has acquired the cross-chain aggregator HoudiniSwap. The deal was valued at $18 million.
HoudiniSwap is a non-custodial platform for exchanging assets across different networks with a focus on privacy. In 2023, the project generated approximately $13 million in revenue. The service selects transaction routes through centralized and decentralized exchanges, as well as blockchain bridges.
SOL Strategies stated that the acquisition will help integrate Solana technologies into institutional finance. The company plans to expand its business beyond staking and validator management. It will now focus on infrastructure for transaction routing and cross-chain liquidity.
The company’s Chief Strategy Officer, Stephen Ehrlich, noted that the acquisition will create an additional revenue stream. According to him, this will make cash flow more resilient and reduce dependence on market cycles.
The $18 million deal includes:
- $8.25 million in cash;
- a $5.75 million promissory note with a six-month maturity;
- $4 million in company shares.
SOL Strategies emphasized that it will not sell its SOL reserves to finance the purchase. The company currently holds over 524,000 SOL, with an additional 3.8 million SOL managed through validators.
Adam Back Invests $1.28 Million in Capital B
French public company Capital B has raised €1.1 million ($1.28 million) through the issuance of warrants. The investor was Blockstream CEO Adam Back.
The cryptographer purchased 10 million warrants at $0.13 each. Each warrant entitles the holder to acquire one share of Capital B in the future at a price of $0.98.
Following this transaction, Back’s stake in the company increased to 9.97% (39.5 million shares). Previously, the creator of Hashcash also supported the British firm Connecting Excellence Group, which received $794,000 from investors.
Capital B will use the new funds to expand its Bitcoin strategy. Following the news, the company’s shares rose by 6.5% on the exchange. According to BitcoinTreasuries, the firm ranks 25th among public cryptocurrency holders with assets totaling 2,943 BTC.
Back in March, Kraken suspended its plans for an IPO four months after the announcement.