Payward, the parent company of Kraken, has completed its acquisition of crypto derivatives venue Bitnomial, securing control of a Futures Commission Merchant, Designated Contract Market, and Derivatives Clearing Organization under CFTC oversight. The deal, first announced on April 17, gives Payward what Bitnomial describes as the first crypto-native set of licenses covering exchange, clearing, and brokerage functions under the CFTC in the United States. Payward plans to use this regulatory infrastructure to expand CFTC-regulated product offerings across both Kraken and NinjaTrader, starting with spot margin and followed by perpetuals and options as the framework matures.Bitnomial will continue operating within its existing regulatory structure following the acquisition, and the infrastructure will be made available to partners including fintechs, banks, and brokerages seeking access to US-regulated derivatives through the company's platform.

The timing is deliberate. US regulators including the SEC and CFTC acknowledged in a September 2025 joint statement that regulatory fragmentation has pushed crypto derivatives activity offshore, and that perpetual futures have been limited under current US frameworks. The agencies signaled they are exploring ways to bring that activity back onshore using existing authorities. Payward's completion of the Bitnomial acquisition positions Kraken to be a primary beneficiary of that regulatory opening as it materializes, with fully licensed infrastructure already in place rather than needing to build or license it from scratch when the rules become clearer.