Kraken Hits $20B Valuation After Citadel’s Strategic Investment

Crypto exchange Kraken has raised a total of $800 million in new funding over the last two months. This has brought its valuation to $20 billion and strengthened its financial position ahead of a planned public listing in 2026.

The funding happened through two separate tranches. The first tranche, totaling $600 million, came from major institutional investors including Jane Street, DRW Venture Capital, HSG, Oppenheimer Alternative Investment Management, Tribe Capital, and the family office of Sethi. Kraken confirmed this earlier round publicly for the first time.

The second was a $200 million strategic investment from Citadel Securities, the U.S. market-making firm led by Ken Griffin, which was executed at a $20 billion valuation.

In the announcement, Kraken’s Co-CEO Arjun Sethi said, “This investment represents long-term conviction in Kraken’s mission to build trusted, regulated infrastructure for the open financial system.” He added that the company aims to create a platform where “anyone can trade any asset at any time.”

Citadel’s involvement marks a notable shift, as the firm has generally stayed away from crypto markets in recent years due to regulatory uncertainty. According to Kraken, Citadel Securities will work with the exchange on areas such as liquidity, risk management, and market structure.

Citadel Securities’ President Jim Esposito said the firm is joining Kraken’s latest funding round to support the exchange’s growth as it navigates a changing digital-asset market.

Additionally, Sethi noted that Citadel Securities has played a major role in shaping modern market structure over the past 25 years by improving efficiency and transparency for investors.

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.