Kraken / Bitnomial
Crypto exchange group holding the full CFTC trifecta of FCM, DCM and DCO registrations after buying Bitnomial.
Regulatory posture
- Payward, Kraken's parent, closed a $550 million acquisition of Bitnomial on May 4, 2026, taking the exchange out of the independent DCM landscape and giving the group an FCM, a DCM and a DCO.
- Bitnomial's January 2026 no-action relief covers fully collateralized binary and bounded swaps on digital assets and economic indicators; Bitnomial Clearinghouse was added as a covered DCO for clearing Railbird contracts in May 2026.
- NinjaTrader Connect sells the group's FCM stack to other brokers and fintechs as white-label prediction-market infrastructure, a distinct B2B posture from the affiliate-FCM filings elsewhere on the tracker.
- A reported plan to route Hyperliquid-linked crypto perpetuals to US traders through the Bitnomial stack has been outlined to the CFTC but carries no filing, interpretive rule or approval.
Licensing
- DCM
- Approved (Bitnomial Exchange, LLC, registered 2014)
- FCM
- Approved (NinjaTrader Clearing LLC, pre-existing registration acquired March 2025)
- No-action
- Granted January 2026 for fully collateralized event contracts (CFTC Staff Letter 26-01)
Filings on the tracker (2)
Licensing Tracker- No-ActionBitnomial Exchange, LLCApprovedAug 31, 2026
- FCMKraken Derivatives US (NinjaTrader Clearing LLC, Kraken affiliate)ApprovedMar 3, 2026
Products
Development timeline
Dated developments compiled for this operator, newest first. Select an entry for the full detail.
- August 31, 2026
Bloomberg reported a plan to route Hyperliquid-linked perpetuals through Bitnomial's regulated stack
Bloomberg reported on August 31, 2026 that Payward is in advanced talks to route a limited set of Hyperliquid-linked crypto perpetuals through Bitnomial's CFTC-regulated exchange and clearing stack, letting US traders access products mirroring Hyperliquid's decentralized markets without connecting directly to Hyperliquid. Payward has presented the CFTC an outline of the structure, but no formal filing, interpretive rule or approval has been granted, and outside counsel estimates 10 to 12 months before custody-and-routing questions could be resolved.
- July 29, 2026
Bitnomial named a co-defendant in a South Carolina gambling-recovery suit
Charleston attorney James M. Hughes sued DraftKings, Polymarket-affiliated entities, Robinhood, CME, Crypto.com Derivatives North America and several market makers including Bitnomial under South Carolina's Statute of Anne-derived recovery statute, alleging the sports event contracts are unlicensed wagers and seeking an accounting of South Carolina losses plus quadruple damages. Bitnomial is named for facilitating trades rather than as a venue operator.
- May 4, 2026
Payward closed its $550 million acquisition of Bitnomial
Payward, the parent of Kraken, closed its acquisition of Bitnomial for up to $550 million in cash and stock, gaining Bitnomial's CFTC-licensed futures broker, exchange and clearinghouse. Kraken planned to start with spot margin on the exchange and NinjaTrader, with perpetuals and options to follow.
- May 4, 2026
CFTC Staff Letter 26-13 added Bitnomial Clearinghouse as a covered DCO for Railbird contracts
The Divisions of Market Oversight and Clearing and Risk modified CFTC Letter 25-26 to add Bitnomial Clearinghouse as a covered DCO, allowing Railbird to clear Railbird Contracts through Bitnomial on the same terms as QC Clearing, and removed the condition prohibiting intermediation.
- March 3, 2026
NinjaTrader unveiled Connect, a white-label platform for regulated prediction-market businesses
NinjaTrader Group unveiled NinjaTrader Connect, a white-label B2B platform letting other brokers and fintechs build regulated futures and prediction-market businesses on NinjaTrader Clearing's existing FCM registration.
Show 1 earlier developmentCollapse earlier developments
- January 20, 2026
CFTC no-action relief on event contracts took effect for Bitnomial
Regulatory history
No enforcement actions matching this operator by name.
Recent activity
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