{"id":6453,"date":"2019-02-04T21:08:42","date_gmt":"2019-02-04T19:08:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forklog.media\/?p=6453"},"modified":"2019-03-29T11:20:56","modified_gmt":"2019-03-29T09:20:56","slug":"kraken-launches-bitcoin-futures-after-acquiring-u-ks-crypto-facilities-in-a-nine-figure-deal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/kraken-launches-bitcoin-futures-after-acquiring-u-ks-crypto-facilities-in-a-nine-figure-deal\/","title":{"rendered":"Kraken Launches Bitcoin Futures After Acquiring U.K\u2019s Crypto Facilities In a \u201cNine-Figure Deal\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>San Francisco-based cryptocurrency exchange Kraken announced today that it had acquired leading crypto derivatives provider Crypto Facilities.<\/p>\n<p>The parties declined to reveal the exact figure involved in the deal, saying that it was a \u201cnine-figure deal\u201d and \u201cKraken\u2019s largest acquisition to date and one of the largest the industry has seen.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-lang=\"en\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Kraken acquires Crypto Facilities, positioning itself as the world\u2019s first crypto spot and futures exchange! <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/W4Xr1XNPpQ\">https:\/\/t.co\/W4Xr1XNPpQ<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Kraken Exchange (@krakenfx) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/krakenfx\/status\/1092436490343337984?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 4, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>\u201cI\u2019m thrilled to welcome the Crypto Facilities team into the Kraken family,\u201d <\/strong>said Kraken CEO Jesse Powell in a press release.<strong> \u201cWe are excited to introduce eligible clients to these industry leading futures and index products. Over the coming months, our teams will continue to enhance and expand these offerings. We\u2019ve got great stuff in store for traders and institutional clients in 2019.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Futures trading will not, however, be available for Kraken\u2019s U.S. customers.<\/p>\n<p>Crypto Facilities, which began operating in 2015, is fully regulated by the U.K.\u2019s Financial Conduct Authority and offers futures on Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, Litecoin and Bitcoin Cash and also calculate the <a href=\"http:\/\/forklog.media\/cme-group-to-launch-bitcoin-futures\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">CME CF Bitcoin Reference Rate<\/a>\u00a0and <a href=\"http:\/\/forklog.media\/cme-group-launches-daily-price-benchmark-for-ethereum\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Ether Reference Rate<\/a> that power the CME Group\u2019s Bitcoin and Ethereum futures.<\/p>\n<p>With the acquisition, which has been in the works for the past ten months, Kraken will be able to offer crypto futures to its clients almost immediately. In an interview with <a href=\"http:\/\/fortune.com\/2019\/02\/04\/kraken-crypto-facilities-jesse-powell\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Fortune<\/a>, Jesse Powell also revealed that the exchange has already integrated the back-end operations of Crypto Facilities, adding that deal will increase revenues and help attract institutional clients. He further revealed that Kraken\u2019s strong balance sheet allowed it to acquire the London-based company outright.<\/p>\n<p>Futures trading will not, however, be available for its U.S. customers.<\/p>\n<p>From a strategic point of view, the acquisition helps Kraken become a one-stop shop for trading. Crypto Facilities CEO and founder Timo Schlaefer will stay on in his current role.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>\u201cIt has been our mission to build the most sophisticated, powerful and user friendly cryptocurrency trading platform. Teaming up with Kraken allows us to innovate the next generation of products and tremendously boosts the value we are able to provide to our clients,\u201d <\/strong>said Timo Schlaefer.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Kraken\u2019s previous acquisitions include major Bitcoin exchanges <a href=\"http:\/\/forklog.media\/kraken-eats-out-two-american-exchanges-and-its-a-big-deal\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Coinsetter, Cavirtex<\/a> and CleverCoin; the award-winning wallet funding service Glidera; and the popular multi-exchange charting, trading and portfolio tracking platform Cryptowatch.<\/p>\n<h3>$100 million funding round<\/h3>\n<p>Adding to the announcement, Kraken also confirmed that it is on the cusp of completing a $100 million funding round financed by its larger customers. As <a href=\"http:\/\/forklog.media\/crypto-exchange-kraken-considers-private-listing-at-4b-valuation-report\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">reported last December<\/a>, Kraken was considering a private offering which would bring its valuation to $4 billion.<\/p>\n<p>Powell confirmed the valuation to Fortune and said the new round is \u201cjust about all spoken for.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Kraken\u2019s earlier investors include Hummingbird Ventures, Blockchain Capital, Digital Currency Group as well as Japanese <a href=\"http:\/\/forklog.media\/following-the-partnership-with-ripple-sbi-holdings-invests-in-kraken\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">SBI Holdings<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/forklog.media\/japans-brokerage-company-money-partners-group-invests-in-kraken\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Money Partners Group<\/a>. While not disclosing the identities of the new investors, Powell described them as everyone from \u201ccrypto OGs to funds to random guys who trade and believe in the company.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Kraken did not need to register the round with the SEC, Powell said, because the company only approached accredited investors and others covered by an exemption. Most of the new investment came from outside the U.S., he added.<\/p>\n<p>The Kraken CEO, like many established figures in the crypto world, is known for his unorthodox views and strident language. This has included a <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/jespow\/status\/1042450533120786432\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Twitter storm<\/a> against New York regulators, who he likened to an \u201cabusive controlling ex\u201d in part because of the state\u2019s controversial permit known as the BitLicense, which cryptocurrency businesses must obtain.<\/p>\n<p>Powell says he continues to share a vision set out by Satoshi Nakamoto, Bitcoin\u2019s creator, of a world where people control their own money outside the constraints of government.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>\u201cIf you asked me seven years ago, I would have said Bitcoin would take over the world by 2015,\u201d <\/strong>he said.<strong> \u201cI still think it\u2019s going to take over.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Follow ForkLog on <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\" https:\/\/twitter.com\/forklog_en\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Twitter<\/a><\/span> and <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/forklogen\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"> Facebook<\/a><\/span>!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>San Francisco-based cryptocurrency exchange Kraken announced today that it had acquired leading crypto derivatives provider Crypto Facilities. The parties declined to reveal the exact figure involved in the deal, saying that it was a \u201cnine-figure deal\u201d and \u201cKraken\u2019s largest acquisition to date and one of the largest the industry has seen.\u201d Kraken acquires Crypto Facilities, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6306,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"select":"1","news_style_id":"","cryptorium_level":"","_short_excerpt_text":"","creation_source":"human_written","_metatest_mainpost_news_update":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[725,732,609,193],"class_list":["post-6453","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-and-analysis","tag-acquisitions","tag-crypto-facilities","tag-futures","tag-kraken"],"aioseo_notices":[],"amp_enabled":true,"views":"354","promo_type":"1","layout_type":"","short_excerpt":"","is_update":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6453","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6453"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6453\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6457,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6453\/revisions\/6457"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6306"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6453"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6453"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6453"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}