Kraken Raises $800 Million, Surges to $20B Valuation Ahead of IPO Plans

Kraken has secured $800 million in fresh funding across two tranches, boosting its valuation to $20 billion.

With the new capital, the company plans to support its push into new markets, build more asset offerings, and strengthen its position ahead of a planned IPO next year, as it plans to speed up its strategy of bringing traditional finance products on-chain.

Citadel Invests $200M

The main funding round was backed by major institutional investors like Jane Street, DRW Venture Capital, HSG, Oppenheimer Alternative Investment Management, and Tribe Capital, with a strong additional commitment from Arjun Sethi’s family office.

While an agreement for a subsequent $200 million strategic investment from Citadel Securities was executed at a $20 billion valuation. Citadel Securities’ partnership with Kraken will focus on differentiated liquidity provision, risk management expertise, and market structure insights,

“This investment represents long-term conviction in Kraken’s mission to build trusted, regulated infrastructure for the open financial system,” said Arjun Sethi, Co-CEO of Kraken. Kraken’s goal is to let anyone trade any asset anywhere, and the new investors share the same vision.

Kraken Not In A Rush for IPO

Before this, Kraken had only raised $27 million in venture capital. In November, CEO Arjun Sethi had said that the company is not in a rush to go public, noting that it already has plenty of capital as a private business.

This valuation places Kraken above the recently listed crypto firms like Bullish and Gemini, both of which have struggled since their IPO.

Kraken Plans to Expand Globally

With the new funding, Kraken plans to expand its global operations, strengthen its regulatory presence, and expand its products both through new development and acquisitions.

It plans to enter more markets across Latin America, Asia Pacific, and EMEA and offer more than just crypto by new asset classes, better trading tools, staking solutions, payment services, and improved services for institutions.

Kraken’s Recent Moves

Kraken has significantly expanded its multi-asset ecosystem in recent months. It added U.S. futures trading through its NinjaTrader acquisition, launched trading for equities and tokenized equities, and released KRAK, a global app for payments, savings, and investing.

It has grown into a global platform with a strong, fully regulated infrastructure. It supports everything from spot and derivatives trading to equities, tokenized assets, staking, and payments.