Kraken Launches Crypto Platform For Big Investors

Kraken crypto exchange launches new products. (Photo; Doc. Techicy)

JAKARTA Kraken is one of the oldest and largest crypto exchanges in the world. Recently, Kraken launched a special platform for institutional investors who want to invest in digital asset classes. This platform combines various services offered by Kraken, such as spot trading, derivatives, custodies, and indexes.

Tim Ogilvie, kepala global bisnis institusi Kraken, mengatakan bahwa platform ini direncanakan untuk memenuhi kebutuhan dan permintaan investor institusi yang semakin meningkat. Menurut Ogilvie, pasar institusi telah berdiversifikasi untuk mencakup berbagai jenis pengelola aset, seperti bank, perusahaan asuransi, dana pensiun, dana pelindung nilai, dan keluarga kaya.

"We see the adoption of institutions against crypto will grow rapidly in the future, and we want to prepare land for new players as they start engaging in digital asset classes," Ogilvie told Blockworks, a crypto media focused on institutional investors.

The platform, called Kraken Institutional, will launch its complete product suite this year, including a qualified custodian asset service offered by Kraken Financial, a special purpose storage agency affiliated with Wyoming. This service will allow institutional investors to securely store their crypto assets and in accordance with regulatory standards.

Kraken Financial is one of several institutions that obtained a'special purpose depository institution' (SPDI) license from Wyoming, a state known to be crypto-friendly. This license gives institutions the right to provide banking and financial services related to digital assets, such as deposits, loans, transfers, and payments.

Kraken is not alone in targeting institutional markets. Coinbase, Kraken's main competitor, has launched Coinbase Prime, a platform that also offers custom, trade and analytic services to institutional investors. Coinbase Prime has attracted many institutional clients, including eight out of 10 US spot bitcoin ETFs. Coinbase says institutional customers put 7.4 billion US dollars (approximately IDR 115 trillion) assets through Coinbase Prime, and recorded a custodian cost revenue of 20 million US dollars (approximately IDR 312 billion) during the fourth quarter of 2023.

Apart from Coinbase, there are also other platforms that offer crypto services to institutions, such as Binance, Gemini, Bitfinex, Bitstamp, and others. Ogilvie says that there is a lot of room for more than one crypto offering institution, and that the total accessible market will only grow as more institutional investors enter this space.

"We believe that crypto is a legal and attractive asset class, and we want to help institutional investors participate in this development," Ogilvie said.