Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken has announced its expansion into traditional finance with the launch of commission-free stock and ETF trading in the United States.
The new service is offered through the company’s FINRA-regulated Kraken Securities division. This will allow users to trade over 11,000 U.S.-listed stocks and ETFs directly within their existing Kraken accounts.
Kraken To Launch Initially In Ten States
The rollout has begun with availability in ten states: New Jersey, Connecticut, Wyoming, Oklahoma, Idaho, Iowa, Rhode Island, Kentucky, Alabama, and the District of Columbia. This marks the first phase of what Kraken describes as a “phased national rollout.”
The cryptocurrency exchange plans to expand to additional U.S. states in the near future, followed by international markets including the UK, Europe, and Australia.
Kraken’s new equities offering allows users to manage stocks, cryptocurrencies, cash, and stablecoins in a single platform. The integration allows easy transitions between digital and traditional asset classes.
The platform introduces several key features designed to ease the trading process. Users can immediately reinvest funds after selling assets, whether into other stocks or cryptocurrencies, without the need to transfer between separate platforms.
“Crypto isn’t just evolving, it’s becoming the backbone for trading across asset classes, such as equities, commodities, and currencies. As demand for 24/7 global access grows, clients want a seamless, all-in-one trading experience,” stated Arjun Sethi, Kraken’s co-CEO, in the company’s blog post announcing the service.
Regulatory Approvals Pave Way For Global Expansion
Kraken’s entry into stock trading follows a series of regulatory achievements. On March 11, the exchange secured Electronic Money Institution (EMI) authorization from the UK’s financial watchdog.
In the United States, the equities trading service is being offered through Kraken Securities, the company’s FINRA-regulated division specifically created to deliver equity trading services. The company is also pursuing a broker-dealer license from FINRA to further solidify its regulatory standing in the U.S. traditional finance market.
These regulatory milestones are central to Kraken’s international expansion strategy. Following the initial U.S. rollout in ten states, the company plans to extend stock trading services to additional states “shortly,” before moving into key international markets including the UK, Europe, and Australia.
Kraken’s Expansion Is A Part Of A Bigger Vision
Kraken’s expansion into equities is a part of a bigger strategic vision for the future of finance. According to Sethi, this move into traditional markets “paves the way for the tokenization of assets.” This statement suggests Kraken sees its equities offering as a stepping stone toward bringing blockchain technology to traditional financial instruments.
The company’s blog post frames the future of trading as “borderless, always on and built on crypto rails,” with Kraken positioning itself to “lead this shift.” This vision aligns with growing industry interest in tokenized securities—traditional assets represented as tokens on blockchain networks, which could potentially enable 24/7 trading, fractional ownership, and programmable compliance.
By establishing itself in both cryptocurrency and traditional equity markets, Kraken is creating infrastructure that could later support tokenized assets if regulatory frameworks become better to permit them.
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