# Kraken Eyes Bitnomial Buyout in $550M Cash and Stock Transaction

*Author: Jack Inabinet*
*Published: Apr 17, 2026*
*Source: https://www.bankless.com/fr/read/news/kraken-eyes-bitnomial-buyout-in-500m-cash-and-stock-transaction*

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Payward, Inc. (dba Kraken) is slated to acquire CFTC-licensed derivatives exchange Bitnomial in a $550M cash and stock a transaction that values Payward’s equity at $20B.

### What's the Scoop?
- **Latest Acquisition:** Crypto exchange Kraken's parent company has [declared](https://blog.kraken.com/news/payward-acquires-bitnomial) its intention to acquire fully CFTC-licensed derivatives exchange Bitnomial. Under the terms of the agreement, which values Payward equity at $20B, Payward will acquire 100% of the outstanding equity of Bitnomial for up to $550M, payable in cash and stock upon the deal's close sometime during the first half of 2026.
- **Acquisition Tear: **Payward (through Kraken) has been on a relentless buying spree in recent months, [acquiring](https://www.bankless.com/read/news/kraken-parent-company-acquires-60b-token-vesting-platform-magna) six companies besides Bitnomial since the start of 2025, including its at-the-time record-breaking $1.5B [purchase](https://www.bankless.com/read/kraken-is-acquiring-futures-platform-ninjatrader-for-1-5b) of the U.S. futures platform NinjaTrader.
- **Recent Raise: **On Tuesday, Frankfurt Stock Exchange operator Deutsche Börse Group [announced](https://www.bankless.com/read/news/frankfurt-stock-exchange-operator-announces-200m-investment-in-crypto-exchange-kraken) its intention to make a $200M strategic investment via secondary markets into crypto exchange Kraken, conferring a 1.5% and valuing the exchange at $13.3B.
- **IPO Limbo:** While Kraken [announced](https://blog.kraken.com/news/draft-registration-statement-initial-public-offering) via press release in November 2025 that it had "confidentially" initiated the IPO process with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, last month, CoinDesk [reported](https://www.bankless.com/read/news/kraken-pauses-ipo-plans-amid-difficult-market-conditions-coindesk) last month that the crypto had shelved its plans for multi-billion dollar public market debut due to downtrodden market conditions. Still, earlier this week, Kraken co-CEO Arjun Sethi [confirmed](https://www.cnbc.com/2026/04/14/crypto-exchange-kraken-confirms-it-has-confidentially-filed-for-an-ipo.html) the exchange's IPO plans at Semafor World Economy in Washington, D.C.
[Payward to acquire Bitnomial, creating a fully CFTC-licensed derivatives platformCombination of Bitnomial’s decade-built US regulatory infrastructure and Payward’s global distribution, scale, and multi-brand operating model to create one of the most comprehensively regulated and vertically integrated U.S. derivatives platforms![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)Kraken BlogKrakenFX![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/e4/b7/e4b77544-5a37-4f0b-8824-8440aa348476/content/images/thumbnail/Kraken-Blog@2x.jpg)](https://blog.kraken.com/news/payward-acquires-bitnomial)