Payward to acquire CFTC-licensed Bitnomial for up to $550M

Payward Inc., the parent company of cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, entered a definitive agreement to acquire Bitnomial for up to $550 million in cash and stock, the companies announced Friday. The transaction values Payward equity at $20 billion.

Bitnomial holds the three CFTC-issued licenses required to run a full domestic crypto derivatives business: a designated contract market (exchange), a clearinghouse, and a brokerage. Those licenses give Bitnomial domestic clearing, settlement and custody capabilities for U.S. derivatives products.

Payward said it will fold Bitnomial’s regulatory infrastructure into its B2B unit, Payward Services, which provides financial infrastructure to partners through APIs. The company plans to offer licensed U.S. derivatives alongside its existing services.

After the acquisition, the platform will combine crypto trading, tokenized equities, staking, fiat on- and off-ramps, and regulated U.S. derivatives. Payward plans to begin offering spot margin, perpetuals and options to U.S. clients under CFTC oversight, using the clearing, settlement and margining systems contributed by Bitnomial.

Arjun Sethi, co-CEO of Payward, stated: “The shape of a market is determined by its clearing infrastructure, not its front end. Settlement mechanics, margin models and contract structures define what products can exist and who can access them. The U.S. has had no clearing infrastructure built for digital assets.” He added that Bitnomial “spent a decade building it: crypto settlement, crypto collateral, continuous 24/7 markets,” and described those capabilities as ones that “cannot be retrofitted onto legacy systems.”

The acquisition price is payable in cash and Payward stock for a total consideration of up to $550 million. Payward’s $20 billion equity valuation matches the figure disclosed when the company raised $800 million in late 2024. Earlier this year, Deutsche Börse agreed to invest $200 million for a 1.5% fully diluted stake in Payward; that investment is expected to close in the first half of 2026 pending regulatory approval.

Payward expanded its derivatives footprint in Europe with a 2025 EU launch and confidentially filed a draft S-1 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in November. The company put public-market plans on hold in March, citing unfavorable market conditions.

Payward said Bitnomial’s CFTC approvals provide a regulated pathway to offer U.S. derivatives that require domestic clearing and custody. Adding exchange, clearinghouse and brokerage licenses will allow Payward to use domestic settlement and margining arrangements for its derivatives products.