Kraken Soars to $20B Valuation Following Citadel’s Game-Changing Investment

Wall Street meets crypto in a landmark deal that's shaking traditional finance to its core.

The $20 Billion Milestone

Kraken just secured Citadel's backing at a staggering $20 billion valuation—proof that institutional money can't resist crypto's gravitational pull anymore. This isn't just funding; it's a full-scale endorsement from one of finance's most formidable players.

Strategic Implications

Citadel doesn't place bets—it moves markets. Their investment signals a seismic shift in how traditional powerhouses view digital assets. Suddenly, crypto exchanges aren't rebellious startups but legitimate infrastructure players.

Market Transformation

Watch traditional finance scramble to catch up while Kraken builds the future. The old guard's hesitation just became their biggest liability—nothing moves slower than a legacy institution realizing its obsolescence.

This partnership rewrites the rules of finance while Wall Street analysts still debate whether crypto is 'real.' Too late—the future already priced them out.

Citadel’s shift toward digital assets

The investment aligns with signs that Citadel Securities is becoming more open to digital assets. Earlier this year, the company reportedly began preparing to trade on large crypto exchanges and has participated in other blockchain-focused funding rounds.

This shift is a significant change for the company that earlier avoided crypto markets because of regulatory uncertainty in the U.S.

Earlier fundraising and Kraken’s growth

For Kraken, the new capital strengthens its financial position ahead of its planned listing. The exchange had already been active in earlier fundraising efforts.

In July, it began seeking a $500 million round at a $15 billion valuation. In September, it closed that raise without a lead investor, attracting participation from investment firms, venture capital funds, and Sethi’s Tribe Capital.

Operationally, Kraken reported $472 million in Q1 2025 revenue, up 19% from a year earlier, and processed $40.5 billion in trading volume last month among exchanges offering USD support. 

Additionally, the company has been expanding aggressively, including buying Small Exchange for $100 million to build a U.S. derivatives platform and acquiring NinjaTrader for $1.5 billion earlier this year.

With the two recent raises, Kraken stated that it plans to expand into more international markets and develop further its payments and trading products, positioning itself for the public markets.