Kraken Forges Major Alliance with Deutsche Börse to Supercharge Digital Assets

Kraken just shook hands with one of Europe's oldest financial institutions. The crypto exchange is partnering with Deutsche Börse—the powerhouse behind the Frankfurt Stock Exchange—to launch a new digital asset venture. This isn't just another integration; it's a direct bridge between crypto's wild west and the heart of traditional European finance.

Why This Partnership Matters

Forget the hype. This deal is about infrastructure and access. Deutsche Börse brings its colossal regulatory clout, institutional network, and settlement systems to the table. Kraken brings the crypto-native tech and a massive user base. Together, they're building a platform designed to lure the big money—pension funds, asset managers, and banks that have been watching from the sidelines.

The Institutional On-Ramp Just Got Wider

The goal is clear: create a regulated, institutional-grade gateway for digital assets. Think spot trading for cryptocurrencies, but also custody services and potentially even crypto-based derivatives down the line. It’s a play for legitimacy that bypasses years of regulatory uncertainty by hitching a ride with an established market operator. One cynical finance veteran might call it 'paying the toll to get onto the old-money highway.'

This move signals a seismic shift. When a 400-year-old exchange structure teams up with a crypto pioneer, the message is unmistakable. Digital assets aren't a fringe experiment anymore—they're being wired directly into the mainframe. The race to own the future of finance just found its new frontrunner.

Key Highlights

• Kraken and Deutsche Börse form a multi-phase partnership spanning FX, derivatives, tokenization, and custody.
• First integration links Kraken to 360T for bank-grade FX liquidity and improved fiat flows.
• Collaboration strengthens Deutsche Börse’s broader digital-asset strategy, including stablecoin settlement and tokenized equities.

Kraken has entered a new partnership with Deutsche Börse Group to connect crypto trading infrastructure with Europe’s established market systems. 

The agreement comes in late 2025 as Deutsche Börse, parent of Clearstream, Eurex, and 360T continues to oversee the region’s largest market infrastructure, while Kraken expands its institutional services through recent acquisitions. 

The partnership aims to merge regulated market plumbing with crypto-native execution, creating a unified settlement channel for institutions in the U.S. and Europe as tokenization accelerates.

Kraken’s recent expansion

Kraken has expanded rapidly, most recently acquiring Backed Finance, the Swiss firm behind xStocks, a tokenized-equity standard covering over 60 stocks and ETFs. xStocks controls about 23% of the market, and Kraken plans to extend the assets to Solana, Ethereum, TON, and Mantle.

The deal was Kraken’s fifth acquisition of 2025, strengthening its regulated stack ahead of a planned 2026 listing and aligning with Deutsche Börse’s expanding digital-market strategy.

A multi-phase integration

Kraken will integrate with 360T to give clients direct access to bank-grade FX liquidity, strengthening fiat on and off-ramps, a key hurdle for institutional adoption.

We just announced a groundbreaking partnership with Deutsche Börse Group to bring TradFi & crypto closer than ever.

FX via 360T is phase one. Derivatives, enhanced liquidity, Embed, & xStocks are next.

Institutional access is getting a serious upgrade.https://t.co/rtunQkmtyn

The collaboration will expand to Eurex derivatives, custody and settlement through Clearstream and Crypto Finance, and integration of xStocks into the 360X platform for tokenized equities and, later, tokenized securities.

Kraken Embed will also roll out across Deutsche Börse’s network, enabling European banks and fintechs to offer regulated trading and custody services.

What investors should expect

For institutional clients, the partnership offers a unified architecture spanning trading, collateral management, tokenized assets, and settlement. Kraken Co-CEO Arjun Sethi described the collaboration as the intersection of two systems “designed for scale and trust,” signaling deeper institutional integration to come.

CEO Stephan Leithner said the MOVE fits Deutsche Börse’s plan to merge regulated infrastructure with digital-asset innovation, in line with MiCA and the EU’s tokenization agenda.

Deutsche Börse’s broader strategy

The move builds on Deutsche Börse’s integration of SocGen-FORGE’s euro and dollar stablecoins into Clearstream, the first entry of CoinVertible tokens into mainstream infrastructure, and extends the digital-settlement groundwork established with its 2024 launch of DBDX.

The Kraken–Deutsche Börse partnership could shape the next phase of crypto adoption, particularly as integration moves into derivatives, custody, and tokenized equities before 2026.

Also read: CoinDCX Reveals Smarter Crypto Investors Driving Growth Across India