Deutsche Börse Invests $200 Million in Kraken for 1.5% Stake

Deutsche Börse AG acquired a $200 million stake representing 1.5% fully diluted ownership in Kraken parent company Payward Inc., valuing the crypto exchange at $13.3 billion—a 33% decline from its November 2024 $20 billion valuation when it raised $800 million and filed confidentially for an IPO. The investment, pending regulatory approval and expected to close in Q2 2025, builds on a December partnership integrating Kraken with Deutsche Börse's 360T foreign exchange platform and enabling tokenized asset trading on the 360X venue. The deal follows a similar $200 million investment by Intercontinental Exchange in crypto exchange OKX valued at $25 billion, signaling deepening ties between traditional finance and crypto markets. Kraken is simultaneously contending with an extortion attempt affecting approximately 2,000 customers while its IPO remains on hold and its affiliated SPAC KRAKacquisition Corp. seeks acquisition targets up to $10 billion.

Deutsche Börse's $200 Million Investment in Kraken

• ▪Intercontinental Exchange, parent of the New York Stock Exchange, invested approximately $200 million in crypto exchange OKX earlier in 2025.
• ▪Deutsche Börse AG acquired a $200 million stake in Payward Inc., Kraken's parent company.
• ▪Deutsche Börse AG's stake in Payward Inc. represents 1.5% fully diluted ownership.
• ▪Kraken's $13.3 billion valuation represents a decrease from its $20 billion valuation during a November fundraising round.
• ▪The Deutsche Börse AG deal with Payward Inc. is expected to close in the second quarter pending regulatory approval.
• ▪The Intercontinental Exchange investment in OKX valued OKX at $25 billion.
• ▪The Deutsche Börse AG investment in Payward Inc. values Kraken at approximately $13.3 billion.

Strategic Partnership Between Traditional Finance and Crypto

• ▪xStocks on 360X enables trading of blockchain-based tokens representing real equities and ETFs, each backed 1:1 by underlying assets held with licensed custodians.
• ▪Kraken integrated directly with 360T, a Deutsche Börse subsidiary and one of the world's largest foreign-exchange trading venues.
• ▪xStocks launched on 360X, Deutsche Börse's regulated trading venue, in February 2025.
• ▪The Kraken integration with 360T gives Kraken clients access to bank-grade FX liquidity.

Kraken's Public Market Ambitions and Valuation

• ▪KRAKacquisition Corp., a SPAC sponsored by a Kraken affiliate, completed a $345 million public offering in January 2025.
• ▪KRAKacquisition Corp. is hunting for an acquisition target valued as high as $10 billion.
• ▪Kraken confidentially filed for an IPO in November 2024 after raising $800 million at a $20 billion valuation.

Security Incident and Extortion Threat

• ▪Around 2,000 individuals potentially had their information viewed in the Kraken extortion incident.

Perspective of Deutsche Börse AG

• ▪Deutsche Börse's $200 million investment in Kraken deepens ties between traditional finance and crypto markets.

Perspective of Kraken

• ▪Kraken's $13.3 billion valuation in the Deutsche Börse deal represents a 33% decrease from its November 2024 $20 billion valuation.

Perspective of Traditional finance institutions

• ▪Traditional exchange operators including Deutsche Börse and Intercontinental Exchange are making strategic investments in cryptocurrency platforms in 2025.

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