Kraken has raised $800 million in new funding to speed up its plan to move traditional financial markets onto blockchain systems. The company received $200 million from Citadel Securities as part of a larger round led by major institutional investors. Kraken said the deal valued the firm at $20 billion and pushed it into one of its strongest growth phases yet.
The round came in two clear stages. The main tranche included support from Jane Street, DRW Venture Capital, HSG, Oppenheimer Alternative Investment Management and Tribe Capital. Citadel Securities then made a separate $200 million strategic investment. This investment lifted the total raise and helped the company exceed its earlier targets.
Earlier reports indicated Kraken sought $500 million at a $15 billion valuation. Demand increased sharply during the final stages of the round, which drove the raise higher. Arjun Sethi said the investment shows strong confidence in Kraken’s mission to build a fully regulated infrastructure for open financial markets.
He also said the exchange plans to keep developing a platform where users can trade any asset at any moment. The involvement of firms like Citadel Securities and Jane Street offered strong industry backing for the company’s roadmap. This raised a broader question for observers: Can major financial players accelerate the shift toward blockchain-based markets?
Kraken launched in 2011 and built a trading system that covers spot markets, derivatives, tokenized assets, and payments. The company operates its own custody, clearing, settlement and wallet services. This structure gives Kraken the ability to introduce new products while keeping regulatory controls in place.
The firm kept its funding needs low for more than a decade. Kraken raised only $27 million in primary capital before this year. Still, the exchange generated $1.5 billion in revenue in 2024 and passed that number by the third quarter of 2025. These results helped build confidence among investors throughout the raise.
Over the last year, the company expanded into more asset classes. Kraken bought NinjaTrader to open U.S. futures trading and began offering tokenized equities. It also launched KRAK, a global payments and investing app aimed at retail and institutional users.
The new investment arrived as Kraken moved closer to a public listing. The Economist reported in March that the firm targeted an early-2026 IPO window. Tuesday’s announcement supported that timeline and marked a new phase in its preparation for public markets.
Investor interest in established crypto firms continued to grow during the year. Market volatility remained in place, yet infrastructure companies still attracted institutional capital. Arthur Hayes recently linked a downturn to weaker dollar liquidity, but large-scale firms continued to secure funding for expansion.
As the industry advanced, Kraken’s $800 million raise marked a shift toward a more global and institution-focused position within digital asset markets.
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Kraken’s $800 million raise signals stronger institutional confidence and supports its expansion into multi-asset markets. The funding strengthens its infrastructure plan, boosts long-term growth goals and positions the exchange closer to a potential 2026 IPO. Readers may continue tracking Kraken for further strategic moves.