Kraken Custody expands to institutional clients in the UK and Australia following US launch

Kraken Institutional has expanded its custody service to new and existing clients in the UK and Australia.

The move follows the launch of Kraken Custody in the U.S. in March, designed to let institutions store, manage and transfer funds securely within a single interface, integrated with the rest of Kraken’s product suite.

"We anticipate demand for qualified custody solutions will continue to grow alongside the crypto products space," a Kraken spokesperson told The Block at the time. 

Kraken claims the market is seeking more custody alternatives, launching its institutional services in February after BlackRock, Franklin Templeton and Grayscale Investments tapped Coinbase as their spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund custodian.

“Custody has always been integral to the institutional crypto space and the recent success of the bitcoin ETFs has only underscored the need for a broader range of qualified custodians,” Tim Ogilvie, Head of Kraken Institutional, said in March. “Kraken has 12+ years of experience in safeguarding client assets and a qualified custody solution is a core part of a full-service institutional offering.”

Kraken Custody is offered via Kraken Financial, a U.S.-based, state-chartered bank that segregates clients’ digital assets from the Kraken exchange.

The expansion follows reports last month that Kraken may aim to raise more than $100 million in a final funding round before potentially going public next year.