KRAKEN | Crypto

Kraken says it is being extorted by a criminal group threatening to release internal material after two support staff members improperly accessed limited customer data. In a security update published by chief security officer Nick Percoco on X, the crypto exchange said it identified two cases of inappropriate access to client support data, revoked access, […] The post Kraken is actively being extorted by criminals threatening to release the top crypto exchange’s internal data appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Deutsche Börse said it will invest $200 million in Kraken’s parent company for a fully diluted stake of 1.5%, subject to regulatory approval. Update April 14, 12:39 pm UTC: This article has been updated to include a comment from a Kraken spokesperson. Deutsche Börse said Tuesday it will invest $200 million in Payward, the parent company of crypto exchange Kraken, deepening a partnership between the two companies as the German exchange operator expands further into digital assets. The investment, which is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to close in the second quarter, will give Deutsche Börse a 1.5% fully diluted stake in Kraken through a secondary share purchase. Read more

Deutsche Börse teamed up with Kraken in December to bridge traditional and digital markets and help expedite institutional cryptocurrency adoption in Europe.

The exchange’s head of security said there had been two incidents involving “inappropriate access” to client data, involving about 2,000 user accounts. Kraken’s chief security officer said that the company would not be negotiating with a criminal group threatening to release certain information related to client data. In a Monday X post, Nick Percoco reported an attempt to extort an unspecified amount from the cryptocurrency exchange by an unnamed group “threatening to release videos of our internal systems with client data shown.” He said Kraken’s systems “were never breached” and user funds were not at risk from the attempt. “We will not pay these criminals,” said Percoco. “We will not ever negotiate with bad actors.” Read more

The firm said a criminal group is attempting to extort it over limited insider-related data access incidents affecting about 2,000 accounts. Kraken says it will not pay and is working with law enforcement.

STS Digital said the platform offers institutional clients access to options-based strategies through predefined crypto investment products. Crypto derivatives firm STS Digital said on Wednesday it had launched a structured products platform for digital assets, with Kraken as its first distribution partner. STS Digital said the platform allows clients to access options-based strategies packaged into predefined payoff structures. Kraken has integrated the platform via an API and is using it to power its Dual Investment product, which offers eligible clients fixed returns on Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH).  The launch reflects a broader trend of firms packaging derivatives into structured products that can offer yield or downside protection in crypto markets. Read more

Nasdaq and Kraken will enable tokenized equities to move between regulated and onchain markets while preserving issuer rights and regulatory compliance. Nasdaq, the world’s second-largest stock exchange by market capitalization, is expanding its push into tokenized equities through a partnership with crypto exchange Kraken and its infrastructure affiliate Backed. The exchange said Monday it plans to support equity tokenization in a way that preserves issuer control, as it looks to connect traditional market infrastructure with blockchain-based networks. Nasdaq has partnered with Payward, Kraken’s parent company, and its subsidiary Backed, the issuer behind xStocks, to develop an equities transformation gateway. Read more

Nasdaq plans to work with Kraken to distribute tokenized versions of public stocks globally as the exchange pushes to bring blockchain infrastructure into traditional markets.

The new onchain trading engine from the xStocks platform enables trading of more than 70 tokenized equities across Ethereum and Solana. Kraken’s tokenized equities platform xStocks has launched xChange, an onchain trading engine designed to facilitate trading of tokenized stocks across the Ethereum and Solana networks. According to the company, the system supports trading of more than 70 tokenized equities backed 1:1 by underlying shares held in custody, with prices intended to track the corresponding public market stocks. The launch adds new trading infrastructure for tokenized equities, part of the broader tokenized real-world asset market that aims to bring traditional financial instruments such as stocks onto blockchain-based trading systems. Read more

Kraken secures Fed payment access, MARA clarifies its Bitcoin treasury plans, Fold cuts $66M in debt, and analysts say NYSE tokenization could attract institutions. The digital asset sector took another step toward integration with traditional finance this week when Kraken secured direct access to the US Federal Reserve’s payment rails — a milestone that could reshape how crypto companies move dollars. Direct access to the Fed’s payment infrastructure could give the crypto exchange greater control over dollar flows while reducing reliance on banking partners, a longstanding challenge for the industry. It also signals that crypto infrastructure is continuing to mature and integrate with the traditional banking system despite broader industry headwinds and a months-long market correction — one of the key themes in this week’s Crypto Biz newsletter. Meanwhile, Bitcoin (BTC) miner MARA Holdings pushed back on speculation that it plans to dump its BTC reserves, clarifying that recent regulatory filings simply expa...

The US Federal Reserve has issued a limited-use master account to Kraken, marking a major pro-crypto shift in policy. Recent events at the US Federal Reserve signal acceptance of digital assets at the highest levels of the country’s monetary system.  Kraken recently became the first crypto exchange to receive a master account at the Federal Reserve. The Fed could also see a new crypto-friendly chair. US President Donald Trump on Wednesday submitted a pro-Bitcoin candidate for the Senate’s consideration. Read more

Kraken has cleared a regulatory hurdle that crypto firms have chased for years: direct access to the Federal Reserve’s core payments infrastructure. On March 4, the exchange said its Wyoming-chartered bank, Kraken Financial, has been granted a Federal Reserve master account, allowing it to settle US dollar payments directly over Fed rails instead of routing […] The post Kraken just got rare Federal Reserve access in a move crypto firms have chased for years appeared first on CryptoSlate.

In a first for crypto, Kraken’s banking unit gained access to the US Federal Reserve’s payment system, Fedwire, though without full banking privileges such as interest on reserves. US cryptocurrency exchange Kraken’s banking unit has been granted a limited-purpose master account by the US Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, giving it direct access to the Fed’s core payments system in a first for the crypto industry. Kraken Financial, the exchange’s banking unit, has gained access to the Fed’s payment system, Fedwire, allowing it to move money on the same rails used by banks and credit unions, according to an announcement on Wednesday. The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City approved a limited-purpose account for Wyoming-based Payward Financial as a “Tier 3 entity,” according to a statement by the bank. Read more

The approval lets Kraken speed up deposits and withdrawals for large traders and institutional clients, but is limited.

[PRESS RELEASE – San Francisco, CA, USA, February 26th, 2026] PACT, the leading on-chain credit and payments infrastructure protocol and #1 RWA protocol on Aptos, today announced that its native token, $PACT, is now supported on the world’s most trusted cryptocurrency exchanges, including Kraken, MEXC, and Gate. PACT Expands Access as It Builds the Future […]

The crypto exchange’s new Flexline product lets Pro users borrow against digital assets at fixed rates of 10%–25% APR for terms of up to two years. Crypto exchange Kraken has launched Flexline, a crypto-backed loan product that allows Kraken Pro users to borrow against their digital asset holdings without selling them. According to Wednesday’s announcement, the fixed-rate loans carry terms ranging from two days to two years, with proceeds issued in crypto or stablecoins that can be traded on the platform or withdrawn, depending on regional eligibility. The company describes its eponymous product as “geared toward beginners and individual investors, while Kraken Pro is for advanced and institutional traders.” Read more

Kraken’s new contracts, built on the xStocks framework, offer up to 20x leverage on tokenized benchmarks tied to US equities and gold. Crypto exchange Kraken has launched trading of tokenized equity perpetual futures on its regulated derivatives platforms, allowing eligible non-US clients to trade 24/7 leveraged exposure to major US stock indexes, gold and individual companies including Nvidia, Apple and Tesla. According to Tuesday’s announcement, the contracts are structured as perpetual futures, derivatives that trade without expiry, and are offered to eligible clients outside the United States. Kraken described the products as the first regulated tokenized equity perpetual futures to be listed on a derivatives venue. The products are built using the xStocks framework, which issues blockchain-based representations of publicly traded stocks and exchange-traded funds. Kraken said the contracts reference tokenized equity benchmarks rather than directly holding the underlying shares. Read more

At NEARCON 2026, Dragonfly’s Haseeb Qureshi and Kraken co-CEO Arjun Sethi delivered a sharp debate over how soon those agents can be trusted with real money.

Blockchain-based versions of US stocks are drawing growing investor activity, with onchain wallets and cross-venue trading expanding rapidly. Kraken’s tokenized equities platform, xStocks, has surpassed $25 billion in total transaction volume less than eight months after launch, underscoring accelerating adoption as tokenization gains traction among mainstream investors. Kraken disclosed Thursday that the $25 billion figure includes trading across centralized exchanges and decentralized exchanges, as well as minting and redemption activity. The milestone represents a 150% increase since November, when xStocks first crossed $10 billion in cumulative transaction volume. The xStocks tokens are issued by Backed Finance, a regulated asset provider that creates 1:1 backed tokenized representations of publicly traded equities and exchange-traded funds. Kraken serves as a primary distribution and trading venue, while Backed is responsible for structuring and issuing the tokenized instruments. Read more

The crypto exchange's parent company acquired several platforms in 2025 while confidentially filing for an initial public offering with the SEC. Payward, the parent company of cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, has acquired tokenization platform Magna, expanding the company’s infrastructure. Kraken said Wednesday the acquisition would allow Magna to operate “as a standalone platform, powered by” the crypto exchange. The company’s announcement said Kraken would use the platform for “onchain and offchain vesting, white-label token claims, custody and escrow workflows, specialized staking functionality” and other functions. “Joining Kraken gives us the resources to support existing and new clients with institutional-grade infrastructure, deeper liquidity, and global distribution,” said Magna CEO Bruno Faviero. Read more