The American exchange Kraken transformed its European presence in 2025. MiCA license obtained from the Central Bank of Ireland, deployment in the 30 EEA countries, launch of the Krak Card with Mastercard, xStocks tokenized shares, Circle partnership for stablecoins: look back at a year which positions Kraken as a major player in the European market.
In brief
- Kraken obtains the MiCA license and deploys its services in all 30 EEA countries.
- The exchange enriches its offering with xStocks, the Krak Card and major partnerships (Circle, Mastercard, Deutsche Börse).
- 2025 marks an accelerated convergence between crypto and traditional finance for Kraken.
MiCA license: a passport for 30 European countries
On June 25, 2025, Kraken obtained its license MiCA (Markets in Crypto-Assets) with the Central Bank of Ireland (CBI). This authorization marks a major turning point: Kraken becomes the first major global exchange to receive approval from this regulator renowned for its rigor.
“ Obtaining a license from the Central Bank of Ireland, with its long tradition and experience as a rigorous financial regulator, is not just about compliance. This is a strong signal of Kraken’s commitment to developing the crypto ecosystem through responsible innovation. “, declared Arjun Sethico-CEO of Kraken.
On August 13, 2025, Kraken activated its MiCA license on all 30 countries of the European Economic Area (EEA) : the 27 EU member states plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. All European customers are now served by Kraken's MiCA regulated entity, under a unified regulatory framework.
This MiCA license is in addition to two other key authorizations obtained in 2025: a MiFID license (February 2025) making it possible to offer regulated derivatives to advanced traders, and a EMI license (Electronic Money Institution) (March 2025) for payment services and fiat currency transactions. Together, these three licenses allow Kraken to offer a comprehensive and regulated offering across the European Union.
xStocks: tokenized American stocks arrive in Europe
In September 2025, Kraken has extended its offer xStocks to European investors. This product, developed in partnership with the Swiss fintech Backed Financeallows you to acquire tokenized versions of American stocks and ETFs directly from the Kraken application.
At launch, 55 blue-chip stocks and 5 ETFs are available: Apple, Tesla, NVIDIA, Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, as well as the SPDR S&P 500 (SPY). These assets are issued in the form of SPL tokens on the Solana blockchain, offering significant advantages over traditional circuits.
Extended trading: xStocks are tradable 24/5 on Kraken, well beyond the limited hours of Wall Street (6.5 hours per day). For users storing their tokens in a Solana compatible wallet, trading is even possible 24/7 via DeFi protocols like Jupiter or Raydium.
Fractional investment: it is possible to acquire xStocks from just €1, with no obligation to purchase a whole share. This democratization allows small investors to access securities whose unit price can exceed several hundred dollars.
Dividends reinvested: dividends generated by the underlying shares are automatically reinvested in the corresponding asset. Instead of receiving a cash payout, the investor's token balance increases proportionally via a multiplier system managed by Backed Finance.
Since its launch, the xStocks platform has generated more than $10 billion in trading volumedemonstrating strong demand for traditional tokenized assets.
Strategic partnerships: Mastercard, Circle, Deutsche Börse
Krak Card: spend your crypto everywhere with Mastercard
On November 25, 2025, Kraken officially launched the Krak Carda Mastercard debit card allowing you to spend over 400 cryptocurrencies and fiat currencies. Available to residents of the European Union and the United Kingdom, this card works at all 150 million merchants accepting Mastercard worldwide.
The Krak Card is distinguished by its total absence of fees transaction and foreign exchange, as well as cashback of up to 1% on all purchases (excluding ATM withdrawals). The user can choose to receive this cashback in euros, pounds sterling or directly in Bitcoin.
Innovative functionality: the multi-source payment. If a purchase of €100 can only be covered by €80 of Bitcoin, the card automatically draws the remaining €20 from another asset of the user's choice. This flexibility eliminates the friction associated with prior conversions.
Circle: strengthening stablecoin infrastructure
In September 2025, Kraken announced a partnership with Circleissuer of the USDC and EURC stablecoins. The objective: to deepen liquidity, reduce conversion fees and introduce access toEURCCircle’s euro-backed stablecoin.
This partnership is part of a broader dynamic: the total capitalization of stablecoins exceeded $308 billion in December 2025, with an annual transaction volume exceeding $4,000 billion. Circle, registered as an electronic money institution in France, is the first global stablecoin issuer to comply with MiCA rules.
Deutsche Börse: bridge to traditional finance
In December 2025, Kraken and Deutsche Börse Group announced a strategic partnership aimed at connecting traditional financial markets and digital assets. The first phase integrates Kraken into 360Tthe forex trading platform of Deutsche Börse, one of the largest in the world. Kraken's institutional clients thus gain access to bank-level foreign exchange liquidity.
Kraken Embed: white label crypto for banks
In April 2025, Kraken launched Kraken Embeda Crypto-as-a-Service solution allowing banks, brokers and fintechs to integrate crypto trading into their own platforms in a matter of weeks, without developing internal infrastructure.
First partner: bunqthe second largest neobank in Europe. In April 2025, bunq launched “Bunq Crypto”, allowing its users to open an account and trade over 300 cryptocurrencies in seconds. The service has been rolled out in the Netherlands, France, Spain, Ireland, Italy and Belgium, with expansion planned to the rest of the EEA, the UK and the US.
“ Our Crypto-as-a-Service solution enables a wide range of financial institutions to efficiently meet growing customer demand without the complexity and overhead of operating their own platform said Brett McLain, head of payments and blockchain at Kraken.
NinjaTrader: $1.5 billion to merge TradFi and crypto
In March 2025, Kraken announced the acquisition of NinjaTrader For $1.5 billionthe largest transaction ever between traditional finance and crypto. NinjaTrader, founded in 2003, is the leading US retail futures trading platform, serving nearly 2 million traders.
This acquisition brings several strategic advantages: access to American futures via NinjaTrader's FCM (Futures Commission Merchant) license, accelerated international expansion thanks to Kraken's MiFID licenses in Europe and the United Kingdom, and the ability for clients of the two platforms to trade crypto, futures and traditional financial products seamlessly.
NinjaTrader continues to operate as a standalone platform within the Kraken suite, with gradual integration of trading ecosystems.
Financial results and outlook for 2026
The first quarter of 2025 showed solid results: $472 million in revenue (+19% year-on-year), adjusted EBITDA of $187 million (+17%), trading volume of $208.7 billion (+29%) and 3.9 million funded accounts (+26%).
The euro now represents 17.5% of global crypto spot trading volume in fiatmore than double compared to the previous year. Kraken captures around 35% of euro-denominated crypto liquidity, confirming its dominant position in this market.
In November 2025, Kraken raised 800 million dollars with a valuation of $20 billion, from investors including Citadel Securities, Jane Street and DRW Venture Capital. The exchange has also confidentially filed for an initial public offering (IPO) with the SEC, with a potential launch in 2026.
To close the year, Kraken organized a Celebration Tour 2025 across Europe, meeting directly with his community in Riga, Lisbon, Dublin, Warsaw and Frankfurt.
Timeline 2025: key milestones
- January 2025: Launch of Kraken Pay (cross-border payments in 300+ cryptos)
- February 2025: Obtaining the MiFID license (regulated derivatives in Europe)
- March 2025: Acquisition of NinjaTrader for $1.5 billion + EMI license
- April 2025: Mastercard partnership + Kraken Embed launch with bunq
- June 2025: MiCA license obtained from the Central Bank of Ireland
- August 2025: MiCA activation in all 30 EEA countries
- September 2025: xStocks Europe launch + Circle partnership (USDC/EURC)
- November 2025: Raising $800 million (valuation $20 billion) + Krak Card launch
- December 2025: Deutsche Börse Partnership + Confidential IPO Filing + Acquisition Backed Finance
Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. Cryptocurrencies are highly volatile assets carrying a risk of capital loss. Do your own research before investing.
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