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Crypto exchange Kraken has debuted a platform targeted at institutional investors in a bid to work with those getting involved in the crypto space.<\/p>\n
The company\u2019s new institutional brand was designed to pull existing Kraken offerings into one place for clients, according to Tim Ogilvie, global head of Kraken<\/a>\u2019s institutional business.<\/p>\n Such services include the company\u2019s spot exchange, as well as its derivatives trading, qualified custody and indices via Kraken subsidiary CF Benchmarks.\u00a0<\/p>\n Read more:<\/strong> Kraken, OKX the latest crypto exchanges moving into new markets<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cThe diversification of the institutional market to include more types of asset managers makes this a timely development, particularly as the institutional adoption of crypto is expected to grow rapidly,\u201d Ogilvie told Blockworks.\u00a0<\/p>\n Kraken Institutional\u2019s full product suite is set to launch later this year, including \u201cqualified custody\u201d services offered by Kraken Financia<\/a>l \u2014 a Wyoming-chartered Special Purpose Depository Institution.<\/p>\n Various segment firms have drawn up crypto custody services in recent months after the US Securities and Exchange Commission proposed<\/a> in February 2023 to require the \u201csafekeeping of client assets\u201d to what they call \u201cqualified custodians.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Read more:<\/strong> Onramp, BitGo introduce latest iteration of crypto custody<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cKraken\u2019s new institutional brand is less about grabbing existing market share and more about preparing the ground for new entrants as they start to engage in the digital asset class,\u201d Ogilvie said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Kraken\u2019s institutional brand launch comes about three years after Coinbase launched<\/a> the beta version of Coinbase Prime, which offers custody, trading and analytics to institutions.\u00a0<\/p>\n The publicly traded Kraken rival more recently introduced a lending platform targeted at US institutional investors<\/a> in September. It then debuted a smart contract platform<\/a> letting institutions trade and create new digital assets.<\/p>\n Coinbase<\/a> said in its fourth quarter shareholder letter published earlier this month that it grew its client base using its trade financing and portfolio margin products in Prime.\u00a0<\/p>\n Institutional customers staked $7.4 billion in assets through Coinbase Prime, and the exchange \u2014 a custodian for eight of the 10 US spot bitcoin ETFs<\/a> \u2014 notched custodial fee revenue of $20 million during the fourth quarter.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is plenty of space for more than one institutional crypto offering,\u201d Ogilvie said. \u201cAs more institutional investors start to enter the space, the total addressable market will only grow.\u201d<\/p>\n
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