Kraken expands access to traditional CME contracts like oil and gold

Crypto exchange Kraken is expanding its offering of traditional CME Group's derivatives contracts "from equity indices to energy, metals, FX and more," a company representative told The Block on Wednesday.

Kraken's U.S. derivatives platform will connect traders directly to CME futures markets through its regulated futures commission merchant, Kraken Derivatives US. CME is the leading global derivatives marketplace.

The move ups Kraken's ante against brokerages like Robinhood and other crypto-native trading platforms that are beginning to expand into traditional asset classes, like oil and gold. Notably, Kraken and Robinhood are also competing head-to-head on tokenized equities outside the U.S.

The exchange, which is reportedly mulling an initial public offering at a $20 billion valuation, has been plotting its expansion into traditional futures for months. Earlier this year, Kraken purchased U.S. retail futures platform NinjaTrader for $1.5 billion, in the largest-ever crypto and TradFi tie-up at the time.

Kraken launched CME-listed crypto futures like BTC and ETH over the summer on Kraken Pro, with an announcement to expand into other commodity, fixed income, foreign exchange, and equity futures in the coming months.

Traders will now have access to CME markets in equities indices like the S&P 500, NASDAQ, and Dow; commodities like gold, oil, silver, rice, cattle, and soybeans; and FX majors including EUR, GBP, JPY, and AUD all through one platform, according to the representative. The exchange is also offering CME exchange products like CBOT, NYMEX, and COMEX.

Kraken's traditional derivatives contracts are "designed for serious futures traders" and priced at an "ultra-competitive" 0.5 basis points. It is also offering deals on market data access for retail and professional traders.

It is unclear whether Kraken will follow CME’s traditional "24/5" trading hours or offer around-the-clock access. Last week, CME CEO Terry Duffy said the exchange would offer "24/7" crypto futures and options markets, suggesting it is a natural first step towards full-week trading access across finance.

CME's crypto markets climbed to a record average daily volume of 340,000 contracts, worth about $14.1 billion in notional value, in the third quarter. The exchange plans to launch options on Solana and XRP futures on Oct. 16.