Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken has launched a new division to offer specialized services to institutions seeking to participate in the Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) market. Kraken announced its new corporate brand on February 27th. This brand includes existing corporate offerings such as spot and over-the-counter trading, as well as crypto staking services for clients outside the US, targeting asset managers, hedge funds, and high-net-worth individuals.
Kraken’s Noteworthy Move in the Crypto Exchange Market
Staked co-founder Tim Ogilvie, who joined Kraken when his company was acquired in December 2021, will head Kraken Institutional and has stated that the adoption of crypto by institutions is rapidly increasing. Ogilvie added that the recent ETF approval has spurred broader institutional demand.
The new nine Bitcoin ETFs have seen a total inflow of $6 billion since their launches in January, with a daily average inflow of $196 million and recently reached a new daily volume record of $2.4 billion.
Grayscale’s ETF experienced billions of dollars in outflows, but other funds, led by BlackRock and Fidelity’s ETFs, balanced the sales with their inflows. Coinbase became the custodian for eight of the ten newly launched Bitcoin ETFs, leading some analysts to predict strong earnings for the firm in the coming year. Kraken may now be striving to get a slice of this process as well.
Kraken Expands Its Operations
Ogilvie wrote in a blog post on February 27th that Kraken Institutional will launch a qualified custody service supported by Kraken Financial, a Special Purpose Depository Institution in Wyoming.
Kraken Institutional directly competes with Coinbase Institutional and Coinbase Prime, which were launched in 2021 to serve institutional investors. It also stands out against Binance Institutional, launched in mid-2022, offering customized solutions for institutional users such as asset managers, brokers, hedge funds, liquidity providers, and private trading firms.
