Kraken launches full-service prime brokerage tailored for institutional crypto clients

Crypto exchange Kraken has launched a full-service prime brokerage solution called Kraken Prime, designed to provide institutional investors with seamless access to trading, custody, and financing.

Kraken Prime aims to offer deep, multi-venue liquidity and sophisticated trading tools consolidated into a single, streamlined interface. The launch marks a key step in Kraken's push to serve growing institutional demand with the performance, reliability, and compliance standards of a traditional prime broker, the firm said in a statement shared with The Block.

"Kraken Prime is built to meet the execution quality and service expectations of today's institutional investors," Kraken co-CEO David Ripley said. "Our infrastructure has been battle-tested across several market cycles, and with Kraken Prime, we're channeling that robustness and unmatched expertise into a premium experience tailor-made for institutions."

As regulatory clarity improves and market infrastructure evolves, a broader set of institutions — from asset managers to hedge funds and corporates — has been moving into crypto. Further explaining the motivation behind the move, Kraken said that these firms need a partner with "technical sophistication," institutional-grade compliance, and round-the-clock support to engage with digital assets at scale.

Kraken Prime's clients gain access to liquidity covering over 90% of the digital asset market across more than 20 global venues with 24/7 white-glove support, the firm added. Clients can execute trades directly from qualified custody held by Kraken Financial, a U.S. state-chartered bank. The platform also provides asset-backed lending, T+1 credit facilities, and connectivity to on- and off-platform liquidity via a proprietary order routing system.

"Kraken Prime enters the market with a clear mandate: deliver execution quality, service depth and institutional rigor that not only meet but exceed what traditional finance expects," Ripley added. "Kraken Prime's edge lies in prioritizing quality, reliability and consistency, which are especially critical in volatile markets. We may not be the first to market but we’re setting the bar for institutional crypto."

Kraken joins the likes of Coinbase Prime and FalconX in offering prime brokerage services to institutional crypto clients.

Kraken's expanding product suite

Kraken has introduced several new initiatives in recent months, including incubating its own Ethereum Layer 2 blockchain Ink, expanding its regulated crypto derivatives offerings in Europe, venturing into commission-free stock trading in the U.S., and plans to launch tokenized stock trading for Apple, Nvidia, and others outside the U.S.

In March, Kraken also agreed to acquire NinjaTrader for $1.5 billion in the largest-ever crypto and tradfi deal — designed to accelerate Kraken’s multi-asset-class ambitions.

Kraken reported earning $472 million in revenue during the first quarter of 2025, a 19% jump year-over-year, amid its plans for an initial public offering as soon as Q1 next year.

Fresh crypto exchange data from Kaiko, which analyzes governance, business, liquidity, security, technology, and data quality metrics, now ranks Kraken second among all platforms for Q2, leapfrogging Binance and sitting marginally behind Coinbase in Kaiko's view.