News linked to both this project and an event.
the Bitcoin treasury company Nakamoto officially announced that it generated approximately $48 million in net proceeds by selling about 600 BTC and related derivative positions, thereby repaying approximately $45 million in outstanding debt to Kraken. This move is expected to reduce annual financing costs by approximately $4 million.Following the transaction, the company signed a new loan term sheet with Kraken for the remaining 165 million USDT, with a principal of 105 million USDT deferred to June 30, 2027, and an annual interest rate that can be reduced to 7.75% upon meeting the Bitwise custodied wallet collateral threshold. Additionally, the company’s board of directors has authorized a share repurchase program of up to $25 million. Currently, the company still holds approximately 4,467 BTC on its balance sheet. Furthermore, according to a notice from Nasdaq, the company has regained compliance with listing requirements.
According to reports, SpaceX, the aerospace company led by Elon Musk, has attracted over $250 billion in investment demand for its IPO, surpassing its planned fundraising target of $75 billion. The offering is nearly 4 times oversubscribed, valuing the company at $1.8 trillion. Bankers and investors noted that long-term funds have submitted large orders. Pricing is expected to be finalized on Thursday, though demand figures could still change before orders are placed by major institutional investors. SpaceX's growth narrative is primarily tied to its satellite internet business, Starlink, which has become a significant source of revenue and profit for the company. SpaceX also highlighted that its artificial intelligence products address a market opportunity worth $23 trillion. Cryptocurrency exchanges including Binance, Coinbase, Kraken, and Bybit have listed pre-IPO perpetual futures for SPCX this month. Binance's related product has accumulated a trading volume of $2.1 billion over 18 days, covering over 130 countries. Decentralized exchange Hyperliquid recorded a trading volume of $70 million in the past 24 hours, with open interest exceeding $115 million. (Cointelegraph)
DeFi lending protocol Morpho has announced the completion of a $175 million funding round, led by a16z Crypto, Paradigm, and Ribbit Capital, with participation from Apollo Funds, Circle Ventures, VanEck, and other institutions.The report states that this funding round was priced based on the average price of Morpho tokens over the past month, corresponding to a valuation of approximately $2 billion for the protocol. Morpho allows institutions to customize lending markets and risk parameters on-chain and has already attracted adoption by institutions such as Coinbase, Kraken, Anchorage Digital, and Galaxy Digital.Data shows that Morpho's current Total Value Locked (TVL) is approximately $6.6 billion. The company stated that it will continue to expand its institutional-grade DeFi lending business and strengthen competition with lending protocols like Aave. (Fortune)
stablecoin payment infrastructure platform OpenPayd has announced a definitive business combination agreement with special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Titan Acquisition Corp. Upon completion of the transaction, OpenPayd will be listed on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol "OP", with a post-combination enterprise valuation of approximately $1.145 billion. OpenPayd currently offers stablecoin transaction services, counting eToro, Kraken, and OKX among its clients. According to reports, assuming Titan shareholders do not redeem their shares, OpenPayd is expected to secure up to $276 million in financing to strengthen its balance sheet and expand its financial infrastructure capabilities. (Businesswire)
Binance's US stock business adopts a dual-core structure of "introducing broker + clearing broker," with Nest Trading responsible for order referral, and US fintech company Alpaca Securities handling the entire process of trade execution, clearing, settlement, and asset custody.Nest Trading, formerly known as BCI Limited, obtained a broker-dealer license from the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) FSRA at the end of 2025 and officially began operations on January 5, 2026. Together with Nest Exchange and Nest Clearing and Custody, it forms Binance's compliance "troika" in ADGM. Registered on Reem Island in Abu Dhabi, Nest Trading handles key Binance services such as OTC, Convert, and Earn.Alpaca is an SEC-registered broker-dealer and a member of FINRA and SIPC, commanding a 94% market share of tokenized US stocks and ETFs, facilitating 1:1 on-chain asset conversion for platforms like Ondo Finance. In January 2026, Alpaca completed a $150 million Series D funding round at a valuation of $1.15 billion, achieving unicorn status with investments from Citadel Securities, Kraken, MUFG, and others. As of early 2026, Alpaca serves over 300 institutions, covering 9 million brokerage accounts. By the end of 2025, it held total assets of $1.386 billion and net capital exceeding $100 million.Public information indicates that Binance and its core team had no prior connection with Alpaca. This collaboration establishes a cross-border US stock trading loop characterized by "ADGM licensed connectivity + US compliant clearing."
Bitget Wallet has announced the completion of its RWA trading upgrade and integrated xStocks as a new source of tokenized stocks, providing users with global tokenized stock trading capabilities. From May 19 to June 14 (Beijing time), Bitget Wallet users who complete tiered trading tasks can receive up to $264 in rewards, with a total prize pool of $100,000. Additionally, users who hold, add liquidity to, or participate in the lending market for any xStocks token will receive a 20% exclusive xPoints bonus.Through this upgrade, users can now trade over 300 types of RWA tokens across Ethereum, Solana, and BNB Chain, covering various assets such as US stocks, ETFs, oil, precious metals, and country indices. The service supports 24/7 trading, low transaction fees, and gas-free execution, with trading starting from $0 and no minimum threshold requirement. Currently, Bitget Wallet supports a dual RFQ + AMM trading mechanism, enabling instant execution and effectively reducing spread slippage. It has also integrated AI market signals to assist in trading decisions.xStocks is developed in collaboration between Kraken and Backed. Its tokenized stock products adopt a 1:1 full collateral mechanism with underlying assets. Since its launch in June 2025, the platform has processed a cumulative trading volume exceeding $30 billion. This integration will further advance Bitget Wallet's "Everyday Finance, Onchain" strategy, aiming to enable users to conduct daily trading of traditional financial assets through on-chain wallets, breaking down the geographical and entry barriers imposed by traditional financial infrastructure.
Kraken's parent company, Payward, has announced layoffs of approximately 150 employees to streamline its organizational structure and prepare for its upcoming initial public offering (IPO).According to reports, the company is also seeking a new round of funding at a target valuation of around $20 billion, and plans to expand its business footprint through mergers and acquisitions to pave the way for its listing. Analysts suggest that these layoffs and capital moves indicate that Kraken is accelerating its transition towards a traditional public company governance structure to enhance profitability and market competitiveness. (CoinDesk)
according to sources familiar with the matter, MetaMask developer Consensys has postponed its U.S. IPO plans to earliest this fall. The company originally planned to submit a draft S-1 filing with the SEC by the end of February, but market demand weakened due to the market downturn in February, macroeconomic uncertainty, and Bitcoin ETF outflows. Besides Consensys, Kraken and Ledger have also paused their IPO plans.Consensys completed a $450 million funding round in 2022 at a valuation of $7 billion. Additionally, BitGo, which was the first crypto company to go public in 2026, raised $213 million but has since seen its stock price drop 36% from its $18 offering price, reflecting the public market's cautious approach toward valuing crypto infrastructure companies.
crypto wallet provider Ledger has suspended its US IPO plans, citing unfavorable current market conditions. (CoinDesk)
According to CoinDesk, French crypto hardware wallet company Ledger has suspended its U.S. IPO plans due to unfavorable market conditions. Sources familiar with the matter said Ledger was previously valued at approximately $4 billion and had engaged Goldman Sachs, Jefferies, and Barclays as IPO advisors—but it has not yet filed any registration documents with the SEC. The company may instead consider private fundraising. Earlier, Kraken also paused its IPO citing market conditions, while publicly listed BitGo’s stock price has fallen roughly 36% from its offering price, indicating a broad cooling of enthusiasm among crypto firms for U.S. listings.
Franklin Templeton, the parent company of Kraken and a global asset management giant, has announced a collaboration with Kraken to develop on-chain investment products and advance the tokenization of traditional financial assets. The two parties will combine Franklin Templeton's experience in asset tokenization and compliant fund issuance with Kraken's trading, custody, and global user infrastructure, focusing on launching compliant products such as tokenized funds and on-chain wealth management. This initiative aims to bridge the connection between traditional finance and the crypto market. (Coindesk)
Odaily Odaily News According to the latest weekly report from Gate Ventures, global markets continued to strengthen last week, driven by the technology sector. Both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq index hit new record highs, with the S&P 500 gaining 2.36% for the week and the Nasdaq rising 4.52%. In the crypto market, BTC rose 4.6% last week, ETH rose 2.1%, spot BTC ETFs recorded net inflows for the fifth consecutive week, and market sentiment recovered to the neutral range. Additionally, the total market cap of cryptocurrencies excluding the top ten assets increased by 12.6% for the week.On the macroeconomic front, the ISM Services Price Index rose to 70.7, a two-year high, coupled with energy price fluctuations and the Federal Reserve's policy expectation of "keeping interest rates higher for longer," leading to increased market focus on a "stagflation" environment. On the industry level, Payward, the parent company of Kraken, has applied to the OCC for a national trust charter, highlighting the increasingly evident trend of industry compliance. In terms of investment and financing, 10 deals were completed last week totaling $34.2 million, primarily concentrated in the DeFi and infrastructure sectors. Among them, OpenTrade completed a $17 million funding round to accelerate the development of institutional-grade stablecoin yield infrastructure; OnRe secured a $5 million Series A round to advance its Solana-based tokenized reinsurance product offerings.
According to CoinDesk, Payward, Kraken’s parent company, is seeking new funding at a $2 billion valuation. Payward has recently accelerated its acquisition efforts, acquiring stablecoin payments firm Reap and digital asset derivatives platform Bitnomial—both transactions valued the company at $2 billion. Earlier, in 2025, Payward completed its $1.5 billion acquisition of U.S. retail futures platform NinjaTrader. Payward has confidentially filed a draft S-1 registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in preparation for a potential IPO. Kraken declined to comment on the latest funding round.
According to Bloomberg, Payward Inc., Kraken’s parent company, has agreed to acquire Hong Kong-based Reap Technologies for $600 million in cash and stock. Reap Technologies is a provider specializing in stablecoin-based cross-border and commercial payment services. Arjun Sethi, Co-CEO of Payward and Kraken, stated that the Payward stock issued in this transaction is valued at $2 billion. The acquisition aims to expand Payward’s presence in the Asian market.
According to The Block, Payward, Kraken’s parent company, has announced the completion of its acquisition of Chicago-based crypto-native exchange Bitnomial, thereby obtaining a full suite of U.S. derivatives licenses from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), including Futures Commission Merchant (FCM), Designated Contract Market (DCM), and Derivatives Clearing Organization (DCO) licenses. Payward stated that it will first launch spot margin trading on Kraken, followed by perpetual contracts and options products, all available to eligible U.S. customers. This acquisition will also provide partners—including banks, brokers, and payment service providers—with a channel to offer U.S. derivatives to their end customers. Bitnomial will operate independently under Payward while retaining its existing licenses and regulatory framework. The transaction’s value is reported to be up to $550 million, comprising cash and stock, implying a valuation for Payward of approximately $20 billion; however, the final terms have not been disclosed.
Blockworks has announced the completion of a Series A extension funding round, achieving a post-money valuation of $192 million. The round was co-led by ParaFi Capital and Reciprocal Ventures, with support from Coinbase Ventures, MoonPay Ventures, and several other institutions and industry participants. The funding also attracted investments from over 20 founders and operators of ecosystem projects including Solana, LayerZero, Arbitrum, and Kraken, though the specific amount raised has not been disclosed.The company stated that while the crypto market has grown to a trillion-dollar scale lacking traditional capital market infrastructure, it still faces issues such as fragmented data, inconsistent disclosure standards, and a lack of investor communication mechanisms. Blockworks aims to fill this gap through a "data + disclosure + investor relations" tripartite architecture. (CNBC)
Odaily Odaily Planet Daily reports that investors including Pantera Capital Management are pushing UK Bitcoin reserve company Satsuma to sell its $50 million Bitcoin reserve. In August 2025, Satsuma shifted to an "AI-driven" Bitcoin reserve strategy, successfully raising £164 million (approximately $221 million) through convertible loan notes. The round was led by ParaFi Capital, with participation from Pantera, Digital Currency Group (DCG), Kraken, Arrington Capital, and others.It is reported that Satsuma confirmed that some shareholders have "demanded a return of capital," but did not disclose the specific identities of those shareholders. In an email statement, Satsuma's Executive Chairman Ranald McGregor-Smith said the company is exploring options to facilitate these requests while protecting the interests of all shareholders. (The Block)
According to CoinDesk, Payward, Kraken’s parent company, announced the acquisition of digital asset derivatives platform Bitnomial for up to $550 million in cash and stock. The deal values Payward at approximately $20 billion. Bitnomial is the first crypto-native platform in the U.S. to hold all three key regulatory licenses: a Designated Contract Market (DCM), a Derivatives Clearing Organization (DCO), and a Futures Commission Merchant (FCM). Following the acquisition, Payward will instantly obtain all regulatory authorizations required to operate a full derivatives business in the U.S., significantly accelerating its path to compliance compared to building such capabilities organically. Post-integration, the combined platforms will launch spot margin, perpetual futures, and options products for U.S. customers. Through Payward Services’ B2B infrastructure, these regulated U.S. derivatives offerings will be made available to banks, fintech firms, and brokers via a single API. This acquisition marks Payward’s second major deal following its $1.5 billion acquisition of NinjaTrader in 2025. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2026.
According to CNBC, Arjun Sethi, Co-CEO of global major cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, confirmed on April 14 that the company has confidentially filed its initial public offering (IPO) application with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). This IPO filing formally advances a plan first announced in November last year. Data shows Kraken’s latest valuation stands at approximately $13.3 billion—significantly down from $20 billion in November 2025. Previously, Kraken had paused its IPO plans amid a crypto market downturn. Earlier reports indicated that Deutsche Börse Group has committed to invest $200 million in exchange for a 1.5% fully diluted ownership stake in Kraken.
According to Bloomberg, Deutsche Börse has invested $200 million in Payward Inc., the parent company of cryptocurrency exchange Kraken. This transaction will grant Deutsche Börse a fully diluted 1.5% stake in the company. The investment aims to advance Frankfurt Stock Exchange’s provision of broader securities services via blockchain technology and is expected to close in the second quarter, subject to regulatory approval. Previously, Kraken was valued at $20 billion in a share sale in November 2025.