Kraken Prime Launches—Wall Street-Style Crypto Brokerage for Big Money Players

Kraken just rolled out the red carpet for institutional investors with Kraken Prime—a full-service prime brokerage arm that’s gunning for crypto’s institutional billions. Think prime-of-prime liquidity, OTC desks, and leveraged trading—but with fewer suits and more blockchain.

Why now? Because nothing screams 'mainstream adoption' like hedge funds demanding the same hand-holding they get in traditional markets. Bonus: Kraken gets to skim fees off whales while pretending this isn’t just a glorified custody solution.

The punchline? Crypto’s wild west is getting a Goldman Sachs makeover—complete with all the contradictions that entails.

• Kraken Prime gives institutions access to 90% of crypto market liquidity via 20+ venues.
• The platform supports asset-backed lending, T+1 credit and smart order routing tools.
• Kraken Financial enables direct trade execution from qualified custody accounts.

Cryptocurrency exchange, Kraken, has launched Kraken Prime, offering full-service prime brokerage services for institutional investors. This platform is intended to address the growing need among institutions for sophisticated trading, custody and financing solutions in the digital asset market.

In addition, the cryptocurrency exchange seeks to compete with Coinbase Prime and FalconX by broadening its offerings. It targets large asset managers, hedge funds, and corporations that desire secure and smooth market access.

Kraken Prime Offers Deep Liquidity and Advanced Trading Solutions

Kraken Prime brings together deep, multi-venue liquidity by connecting clients to more than 20 global trading venues, representing access to over 90% of the digital asset market. The platform includes a unique smart order routing system that allows for smooth trading through both on-platform and off-platform liquidity pools. This strategy empowers institutional clients to trade effectively while benefiting from the most competitive pricing in the market.

📣 Introducing Kraken Prime – The institutional gateway to crypto

Trade, custody & finance, all in one platform.

✅ Multi-venue liquidity
✅ Smart order routing
✅ Integrated custody
✅ Flexible settlements

Where performance meets trust.

Get started: https://t.co/d5Iy0yXkJ7 pic.twitter.com/u4t8czgxhi

The new brokerage platform goes beyond trading by integrating qualified custody through Kraken Financial, a U.S. state-chartered bank. Clients can trade directly from secure, regulated custody accounts. Furthermore, it offers asset-backed lending, T+1 credit facilities, and 24/7 support from a seasoned account management team, guaranteeing ongoing assistance for institutional clients.

Prime Brokerage Services Set New Standards for Institutional Crypto Clients

David Ripley, co-CEO of Kraken, emphasized that new offering was designed to meet and exceed the expectations of traditional financial institutions. According to Ripley, the crypto exchange’s services have been steadfast across multiple market changes, providing reliable and predictable operations, strong compliance features, and robust compliance standards. Prioritizing quality and consistency is essential for the company since these factors affect institutional investors during unstable times.

The cryptocurrency exchange recent action highlights a broad trend in the industry as regulations become clearer and more institutions embrace digital assets. The introduction of the service comes after several major product expansions for the exchange, such as new derivatives offerings in Europe, the development of its Ethereum Layer 2 blockchain, Ink and the acquisition of NinjaTrader to enhance its multi-asset goals.

Exchange’s Institutional Push and Market Positioning

Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency exchange has experienced impressive financial performance and increasing competition. The firm announced revenues of $472 million for Q1 2025, marking a 19% year-over-year growth, as it moves forward with plans for a possible initial public offering.

According to recent data from analytics company Kaiko, the exchange ranks as the second-best global crypto trading platform for Q2, trailing only Coinbase and outperforming Binance.

Related Reading | Bitcoin Forms Bullish Cup & Handle Pattern Aiming for $200K